Geoffrey

Ok, so I'm real confused here. I have an 89 Turbo and the lights leave much to be desired. Question, what headlights are in my car? I heard that 88/89 used H5. Ok, so what exactly are H5 lights, what are H4 lights, what are european beam pattern H4 lights, what are dual bulb (one for low, one for high), what are lights with city lights in (little small lights I assume for others to see the car and not to actually light up the road), what are H1? Whats the deal with the xenon bulbs that you can buy for $12. I'm assuming they are NOT anything like the $1500 lights that come on new 911s or BMWs, Audis, etc. I know you can put higher wattage bulbs in if you wire a relay in, but I'd kind of like to know what I can do with standard watt lights.


I also have an Audi A4 and when I bought it it was wrecked. I put european lights in it because the pattern was much nicer and the lenses were glass rather than plastic. Oh yea, they cost much less too and had city lights in them. That car really lights up the road with standard watt bulbs. I'd like to do something like that with my 930.

What are people using for 911s.

Decolliber

Late Carreras do use the H5, and light output is poor compared to the H4. The H5 is also more expensive to replace ($200 each from Vertex), but it does fit into the standard bucket. If you switch to H4s you need to get adaptor kit and new trim rings (I think). Don't weaste your money on those xenon blue bulbs. I tried them in my A6 and they burned out in a few weeks. Also the blue tint actually reduced visual acuity at night. PIAA bulbs give out a bit more light; I have them in my A6 and my Carrera.

Stephen Masraum

Everyone says H5's give off poor light. I don't actually have a problem with mine, but supposedly the H4's (they are all Euro) have a much better light pattern and so light the road better. The H1's are the dual bulb for high and low beam bulbs. Not sure what they are good for other than being neat and being able to adjust the beams individually (I think), I believe they are quite expensive. I think H4's will have the city lights as long as they aren't the sealed beam H4's. Any bulb with a colored coating will actually reduce the amount of light put out because of the coating.

Some people have noted an improvement in the quality of the light from their H5's by removing the assemblies and cleaning the inside of the lenses.

BER

Please refer to the following link for a very good discussion of the the various types of headlights and the pros/cons of each.
http://lighting.mbz.org/faq/

Bruce
(Two 911's with H-1's)

Volney

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Geoffrey:
[QB]Ok, so I'm real confused here. I have an 89 Turbo and the lights leave much to be desired. Question, what headlights are in my car? I heard that 88/89 used H5. Ok, so what exactly are H5 lights, what are H4 lights, what are european beam pattern H4 lights, what are dual bulb (one for low, one for high), what are lights with city lights in (little small lights I assume for others to see the car and not to actually light up the road), what are H1?

Well you certainly know which questions to ask! I won't try to deliver the definitive answer as you can find that at the mbz link noted elsewhere. But a few thoughts from experience: There are two types of H4: A "bulb" type that is a non-sealed beam replacement for a typical 7" round DOT headlamp. It fits in bracket that sits inside the headlight bucket. When looking at that lamp while it is lit up, you can see a distinctive "3 spoke hub" effect. The other type of H4 light is a complete assembly which secures into the bucket with a single screw. It does not have the three spoke wheel look of the other H4. It has two external aiming screws for horizontal and vertical alignment. The assembly also has the small city light bulb you mention. IMHO these are the better of the H4 options. The former are harder to aim (you must remove the trim ring and turn the spring loaded screws). The city light looks cool IMHO.

H1's are IMHO the coolest. They have separate bulbs for high and low beam, and the lamps when lit in low beam mode look very unusual. But they are no longer made and are very pricey.

I believe the H4 low beams illuminate better. For that reason, and the fact that I worry someone will steal the H1's (don't laugh, someone stole my Recaro Seats and came back the next night for my toolbox. I figured the H1's were next) the H1's live in a box for when I can retire the car from daily driver duty. I have the H4's installed in their place. The H4 assemblies are reasonably priced and available, and as you mention, you can play with the bulb wattage for more light (don't forget the relays). Good luck.

Hladun1

I have H1's 0n my 78 SC. Yes, they have two bulbs and have separate high and direction adjustments for high and low beam. I left the 55w bulb in the low beam and put 100w bulbs in the high beam. This has greatly increased my high beam distance. I guess you could put different bulb types in as well. The only problem I found was that I can't adjust my high beams down enough for my liking. I'm at the limit of the adjustment and the beam is still slightly rising.