Roy821

I have a 76 911 with the Bosch headlights currently installed. I would like to upgrade to HID lights to get better visibility at night. Has anyone had any luck with any particular brands? Any pitfalls to be aware of? Thanks - Roy

Amber Gramps

Welcome to Rennlist, first and foremost. . . .

Not an expert here by any stretch, but what about going with H4's or H5's with a good set of Sylvania bulbs?

In my '88 I can see great now just putting in quality bulbs.

rusnak

I don't know of any good kits. Too many obstacles, even though the new ballasts are now quite small. There is even a Sylvania HID bulb with a built in ballast that only takes 12V, but no one makes a reflector for it.

I stuck with H4s and with the West Engineering relay kit, they get plenty of amps to light up the road ahead.

UberXY

Do you have a headlight relay kit in the car? It provides a little more juice to the headlights, but more importantly, it protects your turn signal/high beam switch. Best (and first) $25 mod you can make to a 911, IMO.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...2D%38%39%29%20

Norske

When I had my 72, I used Cibie Z beams. They were fantastic. I believe they have been discontinued but I would look at Cibie anyway.

Ed Hughes

Look for a set of H1's. Extremely pricey, but the best HL's for a 911.

john bono

If you have a sealed beam 911, you might want to check into these if you want HIDs
http://suvlights.com/product_info.php?products_id=214

They are a sealed beam HID kit. I seriously considered getting these for my 928.

Uber 911

Roy821
I put HID's in my previous 964 and they made a big difference, particularly on dip. A few points to consider. Over here in Europe the car must be fitted with height adjustment, ideally self leveling, plus lense wash and technically the unit should be a projector type not reflective like our 'period' 911's. It may well different in the US.

I have a PDF doc detailing the install. PM me and I'll forward it

Toby Pennycuff

I installed this kit in my 1979 930 about 7 years ago right after Sylvania/Valeo got US DoT approval. They work GREAT! Very easy install. Be aware that there are no auto-level features so you can get some interesting light patterns on a bumpy road.

wwest

Early 911 "buckets" with Ebay bi-xenon projector installed.

RoninLB

Bosch H-4, sealed, DOT, E-code ?????

a few thou $ for a good set of HID isn't necessary around Durham

any light project must start with relays and only new wiring if you go high watts


just changing bulbs to Sylvania Silverstar or PIAA is a waste of $ and expectations

rusnak

I have the Sylvania Silverstars, and I love them. I finally got around to installing the West Engineering relay recently (maybe a year ago is recent in my mind), but I did not change the wiring.

Honest question here - do they consume higher wattage? I know what you're saying about halogens needing good contacts, and I know why you say change the wires if you go with higher wattage, but I didn't know of any higher power usage from them compared to say, Hella 55/80 or the like.

RoninLB

bulbs have more marketing hype than a beauty parlor. PIAA is pure crap imo. Silverstars is no prize either.

thing is that there is a law that relates to legal watts and the lens allowed on the headlights. If a bulb is rated at 55w there is no way it can perform as a 80w. A store must also sell you DOT lens unless you say you want off-road

and it's not like all these ****** make their own bulbs no less the watts stamped being legit

a decent city set is Bosch or Cibie non-DOT, ie: E-code, lens and Narva or Osram bulbs. There's a chance that some cars may be able to run Osram 85/80w without voltage drop. Narva 135/100w definately need bigger wires and high performance bulb sockets. There are others that come and go but i'm not up on all the details.

When you start installing retna burners to anyone doing the limit or less in the left lane adjust them yourself. Start the lows aiming on the down side and confirm no one is flashing you. Then raise them a little and test again. Keep raising till you get flashed once an hour or two of night driving and leave them there.

driving the rurals outside Durham can be spirited and fun but if you can't see what's going on you'll eventually be locking them up because you overdrove your light. A good 55w set up will be plenty.

If your night action is like I-40 in Az or N Mex partying with truckers at 80-110 definately do the retna burning Narvas or even the Osram 85/80 which happens to have a beefy and clean white long life filiment. "Open Range" night driving at speed + also needs brass ***** and real light. When running big watts carry at least one spare.

If you're serious and install new lens and do a lot of interstate or hy driving try using those clear lens protectors. You loose about 7-10% but it more than makes up for it with your optics keeping defined sharp. A sanded lens can be like wearing someone else's eyeglass prescription.

for city driving with street lights any crap is doable

rusnak

I see where you are coming from. In the 1990s, before the housing bubble, we used to have long stretches of pitch black road between Fresno and Morro Bay. I installed airplane landing lights in place of the 40wt driving lights, (in the 914-6) which were more like glow lights.
I have 55/100 Hella bulbs somewhere but I prefer the Silverstar due to superior color rendition.

JBrown

I put about 12 sets in a month at my shop.. They are very easy. The new small balist are digital and draw about 7-8amps to turn on and 5 amps after powered up. There is no need for a upgrade in harness.. They are also designed to work with standard headlight housings. There are actuallly a couple of factory cars that have HIDs in standard housings. You have to make sure you adjust them right and you are good to go. The mini balist will fit in the headlight bucket with no mods and all you have to do is plug them in and put the housing back in and you are on your way.. You will never get any halogen bulb to give you as much light. I have yet to have a customer come in and not say that the light is wonderfull... I am very specific to what company I use and I have been selling and installing them for about 10yrs or as long as they have been out. I have had them in my car for about 8yrs.. Original balilst and bulbs.. The only thing I dont know is if you lights are a sealed beams.. If so you have to upgrade to newer housings. When I sell and install them at my shop I give a 2yr unlimited mileage waranty.. John