Lutronic headlights are they that much better ?
 

H4 headlights have been the standard for a long time but now Litronics are on the scene. So for those of you that have had both are the Litronics far superior ? What are the real advantages ? I've started some email discussions with two sellers on this forum for used OEM Litronics but before I pull the trigger I want to make sure they are worth it.

I sure like mine. I've had xenon lights in an Audi TT, VW Passat, wife's MINI and the Boxster. The VW lights are nothing special, but the rest have been great and I find the Litronics to give a nice crisp white light. If you're trying to decide between halogens and Litronics its a no-brainer... get the Litronics.

I have custom projectors instead of the OEM litronics, but the result is similar. HID xenons are much brighter and sharper than halogens. Just keep in mind that you won't have the self leveling capability without the angle sensors and computer.

I really like mine. At first when I upgraded I was underwhelmed but I believe it was due to old bulbs and an aging headlamp switch. I got new bulbs off ebay (the right ones, I forget but if you search you will find it) and a new headlamp switch, and it made a huge difference at night over the stock halogens.

I did not get the extra module and wiring to rotate the low beams up when the brights are on so I can't comment on that, except to say even without that the high beam has great visibility as well.

I paid $1000 for my set and was happy to find it at that price; I believe there are a couple on here for even less, darn it ��

Mine came optioned on my box, and I like it better than all of my other cars xenons. Besides, it looks like a piece of art. Nowadays, headlights seem to me to be just all the components jammed into one unit without much thought.

It would be best to compare a Boxster with halogen versus one with HID, and I haven't. This is my first vehicle with HID and it's not noticeably superior to halogen. I've ridden in a couple BMWs with early HID and they were awful--blue is not something you want.

Litronics rock!
 

I have always been a "lighting nut," trying various kinds of auxiliary lamps and all different kinds of bulbs on my halogen-equipped cars. My Boxster is my first experience with xenon lighting (it was factory-installed), and it absolutely blew me away! The beam angle, distance, and color are all fantastic. I almost never use my hi-beams or foglamps, the xenon lo-beams are THAT good.

The headlamps are my second favorite feature of the car, first being the 3.2 liter flat-six, of course!

My Boxter is the first car I've owned with Xenons and it was a revelation compared to halogens. The amount and type of light they produce is awesome and I love the self leveling feature. I highly recommended them.

For mostly urban driving, no I did not notice a huge improvement over the old school halogens. I rarely drive in rural or darkly lit areas.

Cosmetically they were a big difference. I'm just glad I upgraded when I first bought the car and they could still be had for $1,400 in a Brandywine Porsche group buy.

Cosmetically, they look better. IMO.

No comparison they are worth it!!

I feel like I'm playing Devil's Advocate here. IMHO they're a bit better than halogens but not to the extent that they're worth the huge price premium.

I've driven both types in the dark and in the rain in the last fortnight, and other than the lighting colour there really wasn't a great deal of difference. On high beam they were noticeably a bit brighter but it's rare that I ever need them on that setting.

The cost of replacement bulbs is also at least ten times greater than for halogens.

I also don't mind the "fried egg" look of the standard lights, and on most other cars I prefer them as amber indicators (US=turn signals) are easier to see and therefore safer, but Porsche wisely do retain amber indicator lenses on their litetronics but hide them behind frosted clear glass to give the clean look without the safety compromise. I regard lighting as a functional item first and foremost, and cosmetics take a very distant second place.

My car was bought used and had them fitted already. If I'd seen another example which was near identical but with halogens for a notably lower price then I'd have bought that without regret. But as they definitely make the car stand out in comparison to halogen Boxsters they'll certainly make the car easier to resell and maybe without giving as much ground to the buyer on the asking price, so for me that's actually their biggest benefit.

In summary: if money's no object go for them. But on a used car look at the entire package and buy the better car/deal irrespective of the lights.

I do appreciate the feedback. I would only go Litronic by buying used I would not buy new. And then there is the projector style being discussed on this forum for 355.00 that is very nice looking. My S has the amber style headlights and I don't care for them I do like the clear look. The lack of self leveling while retrofitting the OEM Litronic is not a concern for me.

This!!
Here is outside, off, marker, on. Two tone when on. Great look.
http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/a...psf3248783.jpg
http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps1d99776f.jpg
http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/a...psfbef97a5.jpg
http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/a...psa67d02f0.jpg

And here's how the originals looked when I bought the car.....

http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps63da254e.jpg

Timco,
What are you actually showing in your post/pics? The only difference I see is that your drivers side lamp is clearer than the passenger side. Just trying to figure out if you just purchased new lamps because the original ones were getting cloudy.
Thanks

Without the self-levelling you risk annoying other drivers due to the constant distracting colour changes and the blinding glare which the lights appear to have when the car is pitching up and down over road imperfections. You also won't have an effective main beam as that's achieved by the levelling system angling the beams higher: they're not dual-filament lamps like with conventional lights. That will also mean you won't pass MOT tests (if you're UK based) unless you refit the original headlamps every time you have a test, and it could potentially cause insurance problems if the car is inspected as a result of a claim and found not to conform to mandatory construction and use regs.

It adds to the cost, but if you're upgrading to litronics then I strongly recommend that you do it properly with the levelling activated. Without them you're spending a lot more to install lighting which is inferior and potentially unsafe to other road users.

I would caution you against buying used Litronics. Typically they still command a high price but do not come with a warranty -- you don't know what you're getting or how long they'll last. Should one go down on you you'll need to replace it farily quickly. And finding a used light, on the side you need, is going to be pure luck. Most people sell their lights in pairs and will expect you to buy both. It sucks that new ones are expensive but you'll know they'll last a long while.

Just the look of new Lits. Well worth it.

Insurance covered new ones when one was cracked when I was backed into.

Lucky me! New Porsche lits are like 2900 per side as I was told by the agent.

Nice score!

Having no self-leveling feature shouldn't make a big difference because our cars don't pitch much- that is unless you often carrying extra weight in the rear trunk.
Unfortunately OBERTELLI, headlights just have to light in NA, in order to be a pass. We have idiots driving around with 100 watt bulbs!

In Germany it's a legal requirement that cars fitted with HID lighting have automatic leveling. They have to have headlight washing, too.

We'll eventually catch up!:p

My gf's brand new 2014 Mazda has xenon HIDs and no self leveling. I would imagine that there are more makes/models of cars that come with HID from factory do not have any kind of leveling...? I really don't know for sure.

Having a good sharp cutoff eliminates most, if not all, color fluctuation. Correct alignment will also eliminate most "flashing" issues caused by vehicle angle.

FYI the NA Honda accord and Toyota tundra are made in the USA and only sold in NA. Not sure if they have self-leveling headlights.

Our 08 Touareg has HIDs and is not leveling.

It will be big different but not $1000 different because there are other projectors that is much better than the 996 or 986 made by Hella/Bosch. I suggest sending it out for retrofitting.

I don't own those HID projection headlight (aka Litronics) but I have experience in HID projection retrofitting. In the retrofitting world, german projectors (Hella/Bosch) are not very popular, a lot of people use them because they're cheap, but the two most popular brands automaker use are Koito (Lexus & Infiniti) or Stanley (Honda/Acura).

Some of the most notable OEM brand of projectors are the Honda S2000 (Stanley), Lexus SC430 (Koito), Nissan Murano (Koito), Acura TSX (Stanley), Lexus LS430 (Koito), and Acura TL (koito). Acura TSX projector is probably the most favorite projector used by many ppl; it's small, bright, easy to fit, and uniform,

You can get better projection system by going with retrofitting and might cost less than what people are selling the Litronics for. Honestly, I have owned many different Hella projectors years ago and they're sub-par to what the Japanese car are using.

More and more car company are using Koito (projectors) and Denso (ballast) on their car. I believe all Porsche uses those combination now.

It would be cool if a clever person sold the clear lens portion of the headlight so that a DIY'er could somehow dremel away the orange part and slot in the new clear part.

A third of it is already gone to make room for the triangle:

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/z/U4YAAOxy63FSz0DZ/$_57.JPG


Seems to me that simply getting rid of the orange is mostly what the person is after.

I wouldn't even bother getting rid of the orange...I think that the projectors update the car and even make the orange look fantastic! :D

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/a...00000000C3.jpg

I like the amber on the headlight; it's a nice look.

My headlights are amber all the way across I never thought of changing to a clear corner lense. This may be the way to go.

Litronic are something of the pass ;) And so are the old yellow'ed halogen!

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01/011380018977.jpg

^ This. Outperforms the litronics and looking far (far far far) better

^is that the custom CNC bezel you made? What projector/bulb/ballast did you use?

Trey, yes they are the now famous Nine8Six High Performance Bi-Xenon Projectors for Porsche 9x6 (lol).

For less than $600~$700 you get the same by shipping your old halogen headlights to Charles (Particlewave). So much better than the old litronic tech and looks hundred times better. Why would anyone decide to go for a set of $1,500 old tech lit shiners is beyond me.

A's to your questions
- Projector is the latest 2014 version of the MH1. Outperforms most factory HIDs (Mercedese, BMW, Porsche, etc)
- Bulbs are xenon/HID (H1 type)
- Ballasts are CANBUS (w/ EMC) 35 HID ballasts (low noise & low temp)

How are those morimoto (bixenon) projector compare to the popular TSX (clear), TL, or the top dawg S2000?

Benz and BMW uses Hella projectors but I believe Porsche Carrera, Boxster, Cayman all uses Japanese brand projector (Koito) and ballast now (Denso). Koito is a big player in making HID projectors.