Headlight bulb upgrade 911/996

[Hilux2400]

My 2003/996 has H9 65w halogen headlight bulbs.

I can see from the market place that there is now quite a range of bulbs available with greater light intensity.

Do readers have any views or recommendations on an upgraded bulb. I don't want to increase the power above 65w as that would be a modification and require fuse changes.

Thanks

H

[Pugley]

Agree that standard bulbs are in the "dont go out after dark category"

The link below lists one of many suppliers of HID upgrade kits. They produce excellent illumination when correctly adjusted and use much less power than filament bulbs so dont require a wiring upgrade.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SLIMLINE-HID-KIT-H7-6000K-PO...

The downside:- Very soon someone will be along to tell you that it is illegal to modify your lighting and that you will dazzle all oncoming traffic. You will fail every MOT and will never be able to drive the car on public roads ever again, on top of that you will gain zillions of points on your license and there is every chance you wont be going to heaven when the great day arrives. The very same people may also affirm that our future lies as members of the future European dictatorship centred in Brussels (this part of the rant refers to EU meddling with our ability to modify our own motor vehicles)

The reality:- I have installed and used HIDs in several vehicles, including 2 Porches, during the past 7 years and have never had any issues at MOT time. This may be because they have been correctly adjusted so as not to dazzle oncoming motorists and I have used units that are less than 6000K on the light/colour spectrum so do not make the car look like a boy racer special. They are really simple to fit and the latest slimline ballasts will actually fit inside the headlamp unit without using any tools.
If you are really worried about the "thought police" you could slip your glow worm bulbs back in when you go for MOT.

I see this upgrade as a major contribution to safety because seeing in the dark kind of appeals to me.

The choice really is yours!

[Hilux2400]

Thanks. I have seen those kits and it's interesting to know that they work. However, they do, I think, come under the description of a modification to the base vehicle. This could cause problems in the event of an accident.

What I am searching for is a better 65w bulb. I know that "Xenon" bulbs are not always true non-filament types, but apparently filament bulbs filled with xenon do burn brighter. I was wondering if any readers had experience of a brighter filament bulb.

H

[jkh112]

I tried Phillips xtreme bulbs in my 996. They are an improvement over standard bulbs but still far from what I consider to be satisfactory.

[rlw]

Since putting 65watt bulbs in will also be illegal I believe - aren't they supposed to be 60/55 - I would suggest staying on the right side of the law and driving within the limit of the lights, wearing a bright yellow jacket and a crash helmet.

..ffs........................

[Hilux2400]

The standard fitting for my 911/996 is an H9 65w single filament bulb.

H

[sundayjumper]

I have some Osram Nightbreakers, they're noticably better than standard bulbs and not expensive.

[thegoose]

Pugley said:

Agree that standard bulbs are in the "dont go out after dark category"

The link below lists one of many suppliers of HID upgrade kits. They produce excellent illumination when correctly adjusted and use much less power than filament bulbs so dont require a wiring upgrade.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SLIMLINE-HID-KIT-H7-6000K-PO...

The downside:- Very soon someone will be along to tell you that it is illegal to modify your lighting and that you will dazzle all oncoming traffic. You will fail every MOT and will never be able to drive the car on public roads ever again, on top of that you will gain zillions of points on your license and there is every chance you wont be going to heaven when the great day arrives. The very same people may also affirm that our future lies as members of the future European dictatorship centred in Brussels (this part of the rant refers to EU meddling with our ability to modify our own motor vehicles)

The reality:- I have installed and used HIDs in several vehicles, including 2 Porches, during the past 7 years and have never had any issues at MOT time. This may be because they have been correctly adjusted so as not to dazzle oncoming motorists and I have used units that are less than 6000K on the light/colour spectrum so do not make the car look like a boy racer special. They are really simple to fit and the latest slimline ballasts will actually fit inside the headlamp unit without using any tools.
If you are really worried about the "thought police" you could slip your glow worm bulbs back in when you go for MOT.

I see this upgrade as a major contribution to safety because seeing in the dark kind of appeals to me.

The choice really is yours!

Perfect advice. Improving illumination and being able to see (whilst not using anything too powerful or blinding oncoming traffic) has to the priority. My 996 has had them for years, never a problem at MOT time nor do they dazzle anyone, my 993 was the same (I fitted them on that and it was SO much better for it).

As to classifying them as a 'modification' that depends how far you take it. Xenon lights were a factory option. If you changed your wheels for an identically-sized genuine set of a different design would you consider that to be a 'modification'? If you changed the radio head unit or added a Bluetooth kit or iPod lead would you consider those to be modifications? In the worst event of having a bad accident -it would have to be bad to damage the car sufficiently that the existence of the HID ballast packs (which attach to the rear of, or even inside, the headlamp unit) to be apparent - it would still mean that an insurance assessor would need to a)notice them b)know that they weren't factory fitted c) care d) not be writing the car off (unlikely given the accident severity required for them to be seen by him in the first place) for them to have any affect on the claim, the strongest likely outcome of which is that they wouldn't pay for replacement HID units - big deal.

Don't waste your time on filament bulbs, do the job properly. If I was walking along the road in the dark I'd rather you could see me better.

[gibbon]

Sorry, daft question time, I could do with 'upgrading' my bulbs in my 996, they really arnt up to all that much. Are they hard to fit? Halfords do a free fitting if you buy the bulbs from them, a simple fix for a lazy person without access to a proper home garage? I dont enjoy crawling around in my underground car park to be honest.

[edc]

gibbon said:

Sorry, daft question time, I could do with 'upgrading' my bulbs in my 996, they really arnt up to all that much. Are they hard to fit? Halfords do a free fitting if you buy the bulbs from them, a simple fix for a lazy person without access to a proper home garage? I dont enjoy crawling around in my underground car park to be honest.

Ona 996/Boxster it's almost as easy as changing a domestic ceiling light bulb!

[thegoose]

gibbon said:

Sorry, daft question time, I could do with 'upgrading' my bulbs in my 996, they really arnt up to all that much. Are they hard to fit? Halfords do a free fitting if you buy the bulbs from them, a simple fix for a lazy person without access to a proper home garage? I dont enjoy crawling around in my underground car park to be honest.

The bulbs can be changed at the roadside - have a look in your manual and check the headlight removal tool is still in the toolkit.

Halfords won't fit an HID kit though, which is what you really need for a worthwhile improvement.

[rlw]

thegoose said:

Perfect advice. Improving illumination and being able to see (whilst not using anything too powerful or blinding oncoming traffic) has to the priority. My 996 has had them for years, never a problem at MOT time nor do they dazzle anyone, my 993 was the same (I fitted them on that and it was SO much better for it).

As to classifying them as a 'modification' that depends how far you take it. Xenon lights were a factory option. If you changed your wheels for an identically-sized genuine set of a different design would you consider that to be a 'modification'? If you changed the radio head unit or added a Bluetooth kit or iPod lead would you consider those to be modifications? In the worst event of having a bad accident -it would have to be bad to damage the car sufficiently that the existence of the HID ballast packs (which attach to the rear of, or even inside, the headlamp unit) to be apparent - it would still mean that an insurance assessor would need to a)notice them b)know that they weren't factory fitted c) care d) not be writing the car off (unlikely given the accident severity required for them to be seen by him in the first place) for them to have any affect on the claim, the strongest likely outcome of which is that they wouldn't pay for replacement HID units - big deal.

Don't waste your time on filament bulbs, do the job properly. If I was walking along the road in the dark I'd rather you could see me better.

Absolutely right. I put in allegedly more powerful bulbs at considerable expense and,compared to the original, they were still st. HIDS4U sent me a great kit referred to as the H7ProMax. Colour temperature was 5000K but they were 35 watt, rather than the lower rated ones, so were very bright. What they didn't do was dazzle or ever fail an MOT. Being a bit brighter, I could leave them on the lowest height setting and still see twice as far as before.