Several years ago I wanted to do this mod on my “83 Euro SC and tried the Rennline ones. I had to return them as they would not fit in the headlight buckets . I understand changes have been made and other brands are out there. Anyone made this upgrade

 

I installed the Rennline LED headlights with European parking lights in my 1988 911 Carrera and they fit fine.
Its amazing how much brighter they are than stock...look cool tool!

https://www.rennline.com/Rennline-LE...SABEgK00PD_BwE

 

LED headlights have really improved. Last year I upgraded my '89's H5 lights to carmagic.us units. Great coverage, though they're not showing on his website now.
He uses the JWSpeaker.com 8700 EVO2 units as the actual light source.. Listed as direct replacement of 7" sealed beams, should work for your '83.
Cheers, Jess

 

how long ago did you do it as I heard after my issue some changes were made. Of note when I told the folks at Rennline they would not fit they were great about taking them back
with country roads I need more light than H4’s

 

Curious also. There seem to be a few options but all seem crazy expensive.

 

I bought and installed them about 6 months ago

 

I have a set from Flat6Illumination on my ‘80 Targa (believe Rennline sells them now). They are great. I went with all black. You can change to have either white or yellow/orange angel eyes by changing the wire connector- so you wouldn’t want to do it often.
I believe they were used often on RWB builds.
several options for clear or flutes glass, reflector and surround color, and angel eyes or none.

 

I have gone round and round on the LED headlight question. I have swapped out all the other lights on the car to LED (signal, side marker, brake etc), that was a no brainer with lower wattage, better light and longer life, but really have struggled with the LED headlights.

At issue is a lifetime of driving down country roads, alone, in the dark and having really good lighting...long time ago it was the Cibie lights, now on the 911 it is H4. When I see the patterns of the LED headlight options available, they seem to throw lots of light and glare all over the place but generally don't seem to illuminate as well as a good set of H4's, well aimed of course.

I find the same with my wife's Mercedes which has the stock LED headlights....lots of light, lots of glare but not better vision.

I have done some reading, notably guys like Stern and others and still really wonder if the LED's for our cars is worth the considerable investment.

Now, it probably helps that my visual acuity is way off the charts but being a ginger, I am very sensitive to glare, so maybe it is just my eyeballs...

Cloggie

 

I installed a set of Rennline LED headlights (fluted lenses, chrome reflectors, painted to match rings) in my 84. I was motivated by the total destruction of my right light assembly when the deer accordioned that fender, so essentially insurance helped fund the upgrade from the original sugar scoops. these were ordered probably back in the Feb 2020 time frame. I didn't have any significant issues, and they seemed to fit well enough. I do however debate whether or not they offer any improved viability over a set of H4s with good bulbs and a relay kit. I suspect if I had to make the decision again, I'd choose the H4 route. I'm still of the opinion the the ultra white light produced by the LEDs does scatter more that the yellower Halogen light. in addition the LEDs seem to illuminate the ground close to the front of the car more instead of projecting as far out. this brighter close lighting tends to make your pupils constrict and decrease night time visibility. going with a true LED designed projector like the Rennlines are far superior options than trying to retrofit LED bulbs into a reflector designed for halogens. I tried that in my 928 with 8" Euro H4, reflectors, they produced a massive amount of light, but I couldn't wee the end of the block I lived on due to spilled light cause my eyes to constrict.

 

The Rennline LED headlights on my 88 cab are far better than the stock H4s.

 

Flat6Illumination on 87 Carrera, huge improvement over original.

 

Just for clarification, were the predecessors H4 or H5 (or those sill sugar scoop thingies)?

Cloggie

 

Can you illuminate us as to where you have noticed the improvement? Near in illumination, distance, sign pickup range etc?

I must admit I am probably stuck with H4's, partly as the car is heading back to Europe with me when I go and the road authorities are taking a pretty dim (pun intended) view of aftermarket LED lights, allegedly due to glare issues with oncoming vehicles...but who knows.
I also have the adjustable H4's and that feature is one that is hard to live without once you get used to it. Its awfully nice to be able to tune the lights for distance on a quiet road or put them down a bit for more crowded areas...

Cloggie

 

If you already have h4s, you can simply install the j West upgrade to the fuse box, and buy a set of $50 Amazon LEDs for the h4s and it works amazing.

 

Original were H-5, these are much brighter, project further and throw a fairly flat beam. Sign pickup range is a lot better, I don’t see a big difference between low & high but do see
sign reflection sooner than I see objects which makes sense. My night vision has gotten worse so these were on my list when I did the restoration.