Halogen vs Xenons

[red_wagen]

So as I thought, xenons are not a big step up from halogens performance wise. Plus they prolly cost an arm and a leg when they burn out and have to be replaced. But they look so cool...

[RandallNeighbour]

I guess I'm the odd guy here on this topic... I've had base halogens on my 1997 and upgraded to the litronics... huge difference in lighting brightness and color. The car is far more fun to drive at night now because I can see the road ahead and animals on the road (both with paws and drivers of cars).

I'm of the mindset that if you enjoy driving fast, and you plan on doing even freeway speeds in your Boxster at night, litronics make it safer and that's a good thing one can't put a price tag on.

[SD987]

So as I thought, xenons are not a big step up from halogens performance wise. Plus they prolly cost an arm and a leg when they burn out and have to be replaced. But they look so cool...

Most xenon lamp bulbs are "lifetime". The chart below quantifies the difference between halogen and xenon in the 987. However, as Audioguy notes, the halogens in the 987 are excellent, the 986 halogens...not so much, which explains peoples reactions to performing the upgrade in the different models. (I've owned a 987 with each). It's a universal violation (in countries with a standard vehicular code) to run HIDs without self-levelling and washers, but I suspect most folks don't give a rat's ass.

Interesting bit of 987 xenon trivia, the washers actually route the water spray in the direction that the vehicle is moving. So instead of deflecting the water spray, the air flow actually increases its speed of delivery.

[Boxtaboy]

He let me swap out my halogens for his litronics, so here's my impressions after putting them in my 01 Boxster-

Pros: To me, the halogens did not provide enough lighting in low beam mode so I always drove with my fog lights on in conjunction with my low beam halogens in order to get more fill on the road. With the litronics, I no longer need to turn on the fogs.

I prefer the white/blue lighting, and understand that the litronic bulbs themselves will last up to 10 times longer than halogen bulbs while also drawing approx. 30% less power from the battery than standard halogens.

Other car makes (ie. Nissan, Acura, etc.) are including Xenons as standard in their cars these days, and to me, it is almost embarrasing to pull up at a light next to a Toyota Prius or Mini Cooper with xenons on their car when you're crusing in a Porsche with the old tech halogens, regardless of whether or not you've got the 987 improved projector beam halogens. I've noticed other folks, both pedestrians in the street and drivers on the road take notice of the car more than when I had the halogens in them too, so they definitely garner more attention to your car than the halogens. To me, it says that you are riding in a car with the most recent technological advances. IMO, Porsche should put these lights standard in all their cars from the get go. JMHO. YMMV and all that good stuff.

Cons: I'm wary of where I park my car now due to all the stories of people getting their xenons stolen.

Cheers

[Douge]

I don't know if it was mentioned, but the color of the light emitted by the xenons is closer to natural light and reduces eye fatigue if you drive a lot at night. I wouldn't be caught dead without them on a road trip but I have regular halogens on my truck that sees in town driving and primarily during the day so no concern there. If you plan to do some after work drives out of the city or drive with some frequency at night it is money well spent IMO.

.net rulez!

[Jeph]

I'm a fan of the Litronics. I firmly believe to get the full effect of them, they must be properly aligned (which is a more difficult task then just using the adjusters).

WARNING: Once you go xenon, you'll never want a car without it.

php rulez!

[blue2000s]

There's a good article on this in the October issue of Excellence. Check out page 161.

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

Practically speaking, I think it's all about the aesthetic. The Xenons are indeed brighter and whiter, so what? My wife's Jag S-Type has xenons, and they're nice, but not $1300 worth of nice. So what if they're Lifetime? At $7/H7 Halogen bulb, it's not a big deal to change them every 4-5 years when they burn out

If you're in the city, the ambient light is usually sufficient to drive by alone. And, if you're in a rural area without any competing light sources, the halogens light everything up just fine (when have we heard of a Boxster crashing because their lights weren't bright enough?).

So far as eye fatigue, how much sleep did you get last night? How good is your diet? General Health? Smoker? Caffein drinker? Under a deadline or other stress? These things have a much greater effect on eye fatigue than whether you're driving with xenons or not.

I'm staying with the Halogens (a quantum leap over the old tungsten filaments), and saving my dough for an RMS, Oil Seperator, Intermediate Shaft Failure, cracked Coolant Reservoir, broken motor mounts, faulty Fuel Cap, faulty Coolant Cap, and the like...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99