Porsche 911UK Forum

Welcome to the @Porsche911UK website. Register a free account today to become a member! Sign up is quick and easy, then you can view, participate in topics and posts across the site that covers all things Porsche.

Already registered and looking to recovery your account, select 'login in' and then the 'forget your password' option.

LED headlight bulbs - realistic alternative to halogen?

Giff

Well-known member
Joined
28 Apr 2013
Messages
280
Hi all,

Where are we up to with headlight technology? Are we at the point where a 55w halogen can be safely replaced with a low energy LED array that produces an equal or greater light output without blinding all oncoming vehicles?

Cheers.
 
Light technology has moved on quite considerably but to a certain extent new and old technology doesn`t mix very well - for eg. yes you can put a H7 55 Watt LED bulb as a replacement for a Halogen bulb and the light output is really white and bright but open type reflectors cause light scatter as the focal point is changed and the headlights become a nuisance to other road users and probably wouldn`t pass an MOT.

LED bulbs do work well with projector type headlights but they also have to be cooled with either heat sinks or cooling fans so physical size/fitment becomes a problem.

*
*
Del.
 
I've gone with 55w HID / 4800 lumens LED on the 996. The HID is perfect for dipped on a projector lens as it doesn't produce too much heat when on for hours on end. LEDs don't really have enough cooling available to allow them to be used as a dipped beam in enclosed headlights such as those in the 993/996.

The LED bulb works absolutely fine for the short amount of time you typically use high beam. An added bonus is that it really is "instant on" but it briefly flashes 3 times while doing so. This is fantastic for getting lane 3 dawdlers to wake up & move over! Light scatter isn't too bad on the 993 / 996 reflectors and the range is way better than any halogen bulb I've tried.

After doing a lot of research, I went with these:

https://www.auto-lighting.co.uk/pro...n-MZ-R4-Headlight-Bulbs-KIT-4800lm-Lumen.html

No fan required, just a braided heatsink. They fit inside the 993 headlight (just!) even though it's a Litronic unit so space is pretty tight.
 
madge said:
NXI20 said:
After doing a lot of research, I went with these:

https://www.auto-lighting.co.uk/pro...n-MZ-R4-Headlight-Bulbs-KIT-4800lm-Lumen.html

No fan required, just a braided heatsink. They fit inside the 993 headlight (just!) even though it's a Litronic unit so space is pretty tight.

They look interesting. Thanks Nick.

Are they a straightforward plug & play or is there any adaptation required?

Very easy & no harder than changing a bulb; the terminals for the control box attached to the bulb via a short cable are the correct size to use the corresponding ones on the loom so you really can't get it wrong (+ve & -ve are different sizes). The bulbs themselves fit perfectly into the headlight receptacles (at least they do on the H1 & H9 bulbs I've fitted).

On the 996, I used a hole saw to cut out the rear cover so I could expose the braided heatsink through the supplied grommet but that's not possible on the 993
 
Did you do any before/after photos of the light projection?
 
Sorry, I didn't
 
NXI20 said:
Very easy & no harder than changing a bulb; the terminals for the control box attached to the bulb via a short cable are the correct size to use the corresponding ones on the loom so you really can't get it wrong (+ve & -ve are different sizes). The bulbs themselves fit perfectly into the headlight receptacles (at least they do on the H1 & H9 bulbs I've fitted).

On the 996, I used a hole saw to cut out the rear cover so I could expose the braided heatsink through the supplied grommet but that's not possible on the 993

Great info. Many thanks. :thumb:
 
I've seen a number of LED bulbs that include a large heat sink at the rear, anyone try them?
 
I had a set in my 997.2. They had flexible foil like heat sink on the end which could be bent to fit in the awkward space. They were much better than the stock halogen high beams and very bright, usable light on country roads.

The only thing stopping me fitting some to the 991 is findinga a set of bulbs that will fit in my lights!
 
I have something to recommend the LED lights bulbs from Xenonpro, base from my experience it really amazing but I don't know if anyone here tested that already, plus they give lifetime warranty, Hope it helps
 

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
124,358
Messages
1,439,476
Members
48,716
Latest member
993gtnut
Back
Top