w00tPORSCHE

I read this statement somewhere and it made so much sense: If the eyes are the window to the human soul, headlights are the window into the automotive soul. That leads us to icon number 2 in our series of 911 icons: The distinctively designed HEADLIGHTS of the 911. The lighting of a 911 was crafted to complement the car's styling. Fans of the classic Porsche 911 will immediately recognize the charismatic styling cues of the 911. The two upright front fenders ending with flat surfaced circular strong glass headlights. Look closely, although the front is flat, a part of it is slightly reclined. Wow what a masterpeice. These headlights were certainly not a transitional figure in the Porsche 911 genealogy. In all it's thirty years of the classic 911, the shape never changed until the 993 and there was a damn good reason for that: It just looked and felt right.

Wow factor for me: 1. Just the way it's designed to stand out sharply as the flow of those front wings end: Just makes a strong statement compared to those smoothened look of the later version cars. 2. The frosted finish at it's top (on later models of the H4's like mine). 3. The feel of the glass (yah right not plastic). 4. The illumination of the elegantly crafted ribbing inside the glass when the lights are turned on (go take a look now and you will understand). It just is visually stunning.

How to care for them: It is very simple. I have installed a ventureshield polyurethane film over my car's headlights. 3M (which is slightly thicker), xpel, griots garage are other very good brands that carry film that you can use to protect the headlights from bugs, road grime, dirt, scratches, nicks and more importantly chipping/cracking as a result of rock chips.

So esteemed members, sound off. What turns you on when you look at these headlights. Share any experiences, problems, upgrades, pictures or anything that you think is appropriate on this celebration series of threads. Do you even agree if it should be part of this series of icons that epitomize the 911. Well let's see last time the debate was on the impact of G-force on the valve stem guides. Let's see what surprise debate in store on this thread. H1 vs H4, sella vs Bosch, dual relay upgrades, 65/100 watt bulb vs 80/100 watt bulb.

....headlights are the window into the automotive soul. I did some soul searching and came up with these pictures. Hope you enjoy them. I certainly am.

w00tPORSCHE

The frog eye look...I can see all the bugs that have fallen prey.

bart1

I can tell you this - I love my 993, but have spent some time driving a 3.2 and 964. I really came to like the bazooka tubes. I know Dr. Porsche put them there for a reason and they serve that purpose well.

Brett San Diego

However, there's no denying the evolution of this shape from the 356. Butzi Porsche certainly had a lot more liberties to take with front end design given that he didn't have to cover up a big hunk of metal in the front. With the collapsible spare taking up less room in the 911 vs. the 356 spare, he could flatten the hood and sharpen the lines. And because it lasted so long in production and graced the front end of so many winning Porsche race cars... definitely an iconic look.

Many prefer the later H4 look, but I like the earlier look with painted bezels (not chrome). Is it any wonder, since that's what my car has? I like the look of the paint enveloping the headlamp.

Some pics of my headlamps.



This one's just bizarre to me. If you didn't know what you were looking at you may have trouble identifying it.








Brett

w00tPORSCHE

Brett, stunning car. Thank you for anticipating this item and sharing your pictures. Wish I could see the car in person. You should be very proud of this purely gorgeous automotive piece of art. I love these headlights. Wonder why many prefer the H4's other than I guess better night visibility.

rusnak

You can put H4 Halogens inside the sugar scoops. There is a motorcycle H4 that will fit right in there. The benefits are more light from a brighter bulb and more precise reflector design. It's not going to pass concours inspection though.

ivangene

hard to photo orange... looks red, I bet its stunning in person, love the angle and YES, I am keeping my standard lights too

theiceman

pic too big , have to drag my mouse back and forth just to read the type .. and I'm lazy ..

w00tPORSCHE

Ice, that's all you got to say. Cmon you can do better than that

whalebird

Ahh the lights. Brett and w00t...BEAUTIFUL cars...great pictures. Thanks to you both for showing what 1000 words could never describe.
My take on it is from the helm of a 911. There is a grace, a feeling of confidence from the drivers seat,and in my opinion the fender tunnels are the directional referance you can't find in any other car. This really comes thru at the track where your line is easy to "see". It's hard to describe, but I think it was race911 who said no other car "places" on the track like a 911. You can change your line mid-turn, hit track-out, and set up for the next at most any point in a 911. I think the forward directional referance the fenders provide is a subtle part of this - you know where the corners of the car is and where you are going. Its always in your periphery.
This is a big part of my admiration of the 964 and a lack in the 993-as much as I love them too. My eyes stumble across a 959 at the flattened fenders.
An automotive journalist said(possibly Brock Yates),IIRC, that a 911 is the perfect marriage of glass and metal (I paraphrase); the glass is part of the shape. Headlights are no exception.
I do like the H4s. Some of the latest versions are plastic lenses. The good ones are the old lead-crystal varient and getting harder to find. I have installed a few sets of the "offroad use only", lead crystal lensed, sealed beam replacements found in the JC Whitney catalog, not the Hella, the cheap $18 ones. I have them now in the 924S with a H3, or is it a H6 bulb-the standard bulb whatever it is. Just careful aiming required and they are a huge improvement over the sealed beams. I would advise anyone to get the Hella K-codes for the record.
Thanks a million w00t.

w00tPORSCHE

Whalebird. Your second paragraph captures the essence of what I wanted to convey...but did not know how to describe it. That's what separates the real pros (like you) from amateur 911 newbies like me. Thank you for these great contributions. I know you are enjoying this.

Ed Hughes

I was fortunate when I bought Ruby, that she had H1's. When I was looking into what I thought would be an "upgrade" to an H4, thank goodness that someone knowledgable educated me on what I have. The downside-parts are NLA, except I've got a couple of NOS lenses in stock, and my reflectors are in great shape. I've got a HL relay kit to install, and I may try upping the wattage at that point.

ivangene

OK so its raining and I wanted to try the fish eye lens... sorry if you dont like these, its just for fun

anyhow, I blurred the shot (I am blaming the dog) and at 5 Meg they looked bad so I cropped the hell out of it since the rain started again and I am too lazy to go back out

w00tPORSCHE

Niiiiccce Ed. Way to go. I love the second shot.

Brett San Diego

Get a bigger screen.

Brett