Go Back   986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners > Porsche Boxster & Cayman Forums > Boxster General Discussions

Post Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-14-2018, 04:46 PM   #1
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Virginia
Posts: 41
Anyone use "HID ILLUSIONZ" on their headlights yet?

I'm considering sending some 986 headlights to "HID ILLUSIONZ" in New York as they appear to have a good offering. Has anyone tried their product yet?

HID ILLUSIONZ: PORSCHE

Thanks in advance for your response.

SvenskaPoika is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2018, 06:26 AM   #2
1998 Boxster Silver/Red
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: 92262
Posts: 2,915
"Good offering"?

I wouldn't.
__________________
1998 Porsche Boxster
Starter986 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2018, 08:41 AM   #3
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Canada
Posts: 73
Money is better saved and spent on swapping your existing lights out with a LED replacement (complete housing). Total time to swap out is 5 minutes and no more fried egg, much brighter and way cooler. Downside = cost. $1K upgrade unless anyone knows of a cheaper supplier than I've been able to find on ebay.

The current cost is not competitive with what it cost for my BMW (e46) headlight and taillight LED swap: Grand total there was less than $300 for D-Spec
Porsche-Eh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2018, 09:36 AM   #4
1998 Boxster Silver/Red
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: 92262
Posts: 2,915
Quote:
Originally Posted by Porsche-Eh View Post
Money is better saved and spent on swapping your existing lights out with a LED replacement (complete housing). Total time to swap out is 5 minutes and no more fried egg, much brighter and way cooler. Downside = cost. $1K upgrade unless anyone knows of a cheaper supplier than I've been able to find on ebay.

The current cost is not competitive with what it cost for my BMW (e46) headlight and taillight LED swap: Grand total there was less than $300 for D-Spec
I'm going to bite on a pair of those this year (or sooner contingent upon my wife's eyes...).
__________________
1998 Porsche Boxster
Starter986 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2018, 10:45 AM   #5
Custom User Title Here
 
particlewave's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
Posts: 6,163
Garage
Quote:
Originally Posted by Porsche-Eh View Post
Money is better saved and spent on swapping your existing lights out with a LED replacement (complete housing).
This statement is completely false. Those headlights are complete garbage and will begin failing in less than a year (usually a few months).
They have no UV protection (after a few months of sun exposure, the clear coat on the lens will start peeling and look terrible), the LEDs (which are only in the turn signal and parking light) fail very quickly, the housings are not sealed in the slightest, they are halogen and every bit of the reflector is plastic (big fire hazard), they don't lock in place very well (hit the brakes too hard and they fly out), they look and feel very cheap...I could go on, but won't.
You've been warned. Buy at your own risk.
particlewave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2018, 10:53 AM   #6
1998 Boxster Silver/Red
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: 92262
Posts: 2,915
Quote:
Originally Posted by particlewave View Post
This statement is completely false. Those headlights are complete garbage and will begin failing in less than a year (usually a few months).
They have no UV protection (after a few months of sun exposure, the clear coat on the lens will start peeling and look terrible), the LEDs (which are only in the turn signal and parking light) fail very quickly, the housings are not sealed in the slightest, they are halogen and every bit of the reflector is plastic (big fire hazard), they don't lock in place very well (hit the brakes too hard and they fly out), they look and feel very cheap...I could go on, but won't.
You've been warned. Buy at your own risk.
Completely false? 100%?

If you polish hazy plastic headlights you're removing the protective clear coat. No?

How do you know quickly the LEDs will fail?

Housings not sealed in the slightest? C'mon!

If you can go on, please do so. I need more information... personal experiences... anything... as I've been looking at those lights... been reading reviews and personal experiences... and would appreciate you saving me $1,000 if otherwise I'm going to screw myself. I'm not yet convinced.

Thank you.
__________________
1998 Porsche Boxster
Starter986 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2018, 12:15 PM   #7
Custom User Title Here
 
particlewave's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
Posts: 6,163
Garage
Quote:
Originally Posted by Starter986 View Post
Completely false? 100%? YES

If you polish hazy plastic headlights you're removing the protective clear coat. No? Depends on the extent of the damage to the clear coat. Headlight restoration should involve complete removal of old clear coat, followed by new clear.

How do you know quickly the LEDs will fail? Experience. I probably have more experience with the 986/mk1 996 headlights than anyone else...by far.

Housings not sealed in the slightest? C'mon! Nope. They are full of "cooling holes"...an attempt to prevent the cheap plastic reflector from melting or catching fire.

If you can go on, please do so. I need more information... personal experiences... anything... as I've been looking at those lights... been reading reviews and personal experiences... and would appreciate you saving me $1,000 if otherwise I'm going to screw myself. I'm not yet convinced.The information is out there if you look hard enough. As I said, buy at your own risk. Makes no difference to me.

Thank you.
Threadjack over.
particlewave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2018, 12:23 PM   #8
1998 Boxster Silver/Red
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: 92262
Posts: 2,915
Quote:
Originally Posted by particlewave View Post
Threadjack over.
Thank you.

I'm out.
__________________
1998 Porsche Boxster
Starter986 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2018, 02:19 PM   #9
98 Arctic silver 986
 
tommy583's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Upstate, NY
Posts: 1,441
Garage
I have a buddy that has those "LED" lights. I put them in for him. Half of the LED's burned out after one year. One word that comes to mind when I think about those lights is JUNK.
tommy583 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2018, 08:40 PM   #10
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Canada
Posts: 73
Quote:
Originally Posted by tommy583 View Post
I have a buddy that has those "LED" lights. I put them in for him. Half of the LED's burned out after one year. One word that comes to mind when I think about those lights is JUNK.
Okay, I know from personal experience with Spec-D that they are not garbage so is there only 1 led light afternarket manufacturer for the 986 and 996? Nope, I just checked eBay.

It would be helpful to know if you think ALL led lights are junk or only 1 particular brand.

Depo is selling some and they are a well respected brand. If someone wishes to send me some to test I'll be happy to report back

Last edited by Porsche-Eh; 01-15-2018 at 09:07 PM.
Porsche-Eh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2018, 09:23 PM   #11
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: CO
Posts: 989
I have Depo taillights and they are ok, but the fit isn’t the best. Haven’t had any issues with them in terms of failing or otherwise. The plastic is rather flimsy for the mounting screws, be careful not to over tighten them, they will break. They work better if you remove the soft foam seal and use the Porsche one.
Geof3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2018, 09:38 PM   #12
Custom User Title Here
 
particlewave's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
Posts: 6,163
Garage
To the OP: I've been in the headlight game for years and have never heard of them. However, retrofitting these headlights is not rocket science. I would ask them for references, pictures of their work and pricing, then go from there.




Quote:
Originally Posted by Porsche-Eh View Post
Okay, I know from personal experience with Spec-D that they are not garbage so is there only 1 led light afternarket manufacturer for the 986 and 996? Nope, I just checked eBay.
Yep. There is only one manufacturer of aftermarket headlights for the 986/996 (those with the LED turn signal) and they are pure junk.
While different sellers may brand them differently, they are all the same. There have been many posts over the years, on this website alone, documenting the many issues they have and their poor construction/materials.

Don't believe it? Buy a set...or flush $1000 down the toilet. The end result will be the same.

Last edited by particlewave; 01-16-2018 at 01:15 AM.
particlewave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-16-2018, 10:21 AM   #13
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Canada
Posts: 73
How much are they charging?


Quote:
Originally Posted by SvenskaPoika View Post
I'm considering sending some 986 headlights to "HID ILLUSIONZ" in New York as they appear to have a good offering. Has anyone tried their product yet?

HID ILLUSIONZ: PORSCHE

Thanks in advance for your response.
Porsche-Eh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-16-2018, 11:31 AM   #14
1998 Boxster Silver/Red
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: 92262
Posts: 2,915
Quote:
Originally Posted by Porsche-Eh View Post
How much are they charging?

$20 would be too much.
__________________
1998 Porsche Boxster
Starter986 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2018, 04:43 PM   #15
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Virginia
Posts: 41
Thanks for the response; they charge ~$500 for retrofitting your headlights with their projectors. Since Fred is no longer making his I thought this might be a good option.
SvenskaPoika is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2018, 09:29 PM   #16
Registered User
 
oldskool73's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posts: 335
That seems like a lot, if you're handy with a dremmel even a beginner can do it yourself in a day or two tops, it's not really that hard.

Check out particalwave's opening and re-sealing videos : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sjOnfMHED0 ... and any of the thousands of retrofit videos for the actually fitting part.

You can buy the morimoto they 'say' they are using direct from the manufacturer for about $200 MORIMOTO ... or you can buy the chinese knockoffs they are probably really using for about $50.
oldskool73 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2018, 10:19 AM   #17
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Canada
Posts: 73
True, but if their cost is really $200 then $300 for labour is not all that bad. Sometimes, paying someone else is just easier and quicker. I'm personally more interested in he solution that's going on over here: http://986forum.com/forums/diy-project-guides/48169-porsche-headlight-retrofit-%5B-cad-prototyping-finish.html#post560478
Porsche-Eh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2018, 06:16 AM   #18
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Virginia
Posts: 41
Thanks everyone for the comments; I definitely prefer the look of Fred's projector headlights but they're not available. Has anyone used the MORIMOTO projectors listed below in their halogen headlights? They don't look too bad, although I would prefer to outsource them then attempt to butcher the headlights myself.

SvenskaPoika is offline   Reply With Quote
Post Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




All times are GMT -8. The time now is 01:14 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2024 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page