Don Carter

Like many, I've struggled for years to find 7" headlight lens and bulb combinations with good performance. Of course I could upgrade to 8", but I feel like 7" has the correct look for my 86.5 and I like the chrome ring. Over the last 26 years, I've tried Hella H4's with standard bulbs, HID bulbs, and a couple of different LED bulbs. None of them were great, and some didn't have high beam at all. Recently, one of my LED bulbs burned out so I wanted to try something new.

I found some complete 7" LED headlights on Amazon and the reviews were good, so I decided to take a chance, since returns are so easy on Amazon. For about $140 pair (looks like that was a sale price, and they are now around $160), they were way more affordable than some of the better known names like Truck-Lite. And to me, they look closer to stock than some of those more expensive options.

I know not everyone will like these headlights, but given the performance and the limited options for good 7" headlights, I've very happy with them.so far and I think they are keepers.


Here's the box they came in.


I plugged in the lights to check the pattern, but unfortunately they would not fit through the round hole behind the headlight lense. Since the pattern looked good, and the headlights were super bright, I decided to modify the metal piece behind the bulb to allow the new headlight to fit. This piece is completely hidden, and removing some metal doesn't keep me from going back to standard headlights if I decide to in the future. I marked the area to remove and used a carbide bit on an air grinder to remove the metal.

It only took a few minutes to remove the metal.




Here's the opening


If you don't have this set from Amazon, I highly recommend it.


Here's the rear view.


And the headlight installed. There's also an extra wire where you can make the halo LED around the edge a day time running light, but I haven't played with that yet. I used a small level to make sure the center section was level.

Headlights on...


To me, these don't look that much different than stock when they are off.

The high beams are insanely bright and throw light WAY down the road. (I have never been able to get this with individual LED bulbs)


The low beams are completely smooth and uniform with a very good cutoff, and no glare at all when standing in front of the car.


It's hard to capture road shots, but this gives you an idea of low beam...

And high beam


I just installed these today, so I don't have much drive time with them yet, but so far I'm very happy with the build quality, the brightness and the pattern, but only time will tell if they will hold up long term.

WALTSTAR

Being that anything man made can be improved, I salute your willingness to modify your mounts for improved night time safety. They look good to me. As long as they meet your expectations, no one should have anything negative to say. It's your car, do you.

Flinstigator

The beam pattern looks pretty good! Nice find.

slownrusty

That looks good Don! Well done.

Petza914

Those are much better looking than the other led headlights with all the dots in them and the light output looks really good. Throw some leds into your fog and aux hi beam spots to match the color and improve the output and you'll be done.

4664

Those LEDs look nice!

[Somewhat] related question: is there such a thing as asymmetrical light distribution with low beams in the U.S.? Or is the beam supposed to be symmetric here?

Here's a pic from OSRAM and HELLA to illustrate asymmetrical light distribution (in Europe):

hacker-pschorr

Agreed. Every other retro-fit LED's for this application just looked cheap / busy for some reason.

Don Carter

As far as I know, the asymmetric light pattern is only in Europe.

I agree, it's time to replace the other lights in the bumper to match the color. Any recommendations?

I'd like to try out the DRL, but I don't know of any easy to get to switched power under hood (other than the coil). Let me know if someone has an idea on that.

For more info on these Audexen headlights, here are a couple of good videos

Petza914

I ran switched power from the interior to under the hood through the large seal near the wiper for two different things. One goes to a relay with a manual button switch I installed to control my front fan. Now I can run it at will based on engine temp instead of relying on the thermo.swith which either isn't working in my car or comes on later than I'd like. I also hooked a cold start switch up under my steering wheel that only allows the cold start injector to fire when the switch is on. Has corrected my hot start issue.


Wire comes through here. Things are taped up because I was replacing my A/C Expansion valve at the time too.

Fan switch

Not sure what the DRLs will do for you since the light sill he layed down when they on, but that might also look cool depending on how the DRLs light up.

For the bulbs in the other lights, I used these H3 leds and they fit in the housings and throw a lot of light

Calais Extremely Bright H3 LED...

Petza914

I actually adjust my lights to shine in a pattern like this. Higher, longer, and wider on the right, and lower and shorter on the left to not blind other drivers.


Also put LEDs into my 8" H4 Euro housings. On the right were brand new Hella 80/100 halogen bulbs. On the left are the led ones.



Installed but think this pic was prior to adjustment.

4664

Something like this should work: https://928motorsports.com/parts/led_light_bulbs.php

The key to success would be the LED's ability of effectively transferring heat away from the die, and those appear to be doing that well.
No first-hand experience though...

Don Carter

Petza914,

I found a 2018 thread where rjtw posted about the same bulb you posted, but then later found a bulb that's even brighter and fits well. I just ordered those, and the for the driving lights. $23 for all 4 bulbs! This will be a nice upgrade. Thanks for the additional tips as well.

4664

Definitely interested in the fog LED bulbs, and how they work out.
Something tells me they are 1) either not very bright, or 2) will burn out [i.e. get dimmer] after only a short period of time. There is so little heat dissipation possible with those. For the price, definitely worth a try though! 👍

hernanca

Hi Don,

Those do look good and I also prefer the 7 inch headlights on my 86.5. My only concern is that I thought any non-Halogen headlights require automatic headlight leveling systems (HLS) because differences in vehicle loading together with their extreme brightness can blind oncoming drivers significantly, even if momentarily.

I found Daniel Stern Lighting to be a great resource on worldwide automotive lighting information, and he is familiar with the 928. I am still using the same CIBIE 7 inch headlights I bought from him in 2010 along with his recommended higher output bulbs at the time! Only issue is one of the headlamp lenses has become foggy.

Here is a good resource from his site on the how's and why's of aiming headlights:

Headlight Aim Procedure - Daniel Stern

For 7 inch round Halogens, he currently recommends (and sells) Kioto 7 inch headlamps ($179/pair) and the following bulb to replace the standard bulb they come with: 60/55W Tungsram ($43.18/pair).

He references the following bulb testing by a colleague of his (Virgil):

Headlight Bulb Tests

No affiliation - just a satisfied customer!

Don Carter

hernanca,

I don't really see a strong need for self leveling mechanisms with LEDs. Some are brighter than halogen, but not by that much. I also think it's pretty rare to load up a 928 to the point where it changes the headlight aim.

That's good info on other halogen options, but I'm a big fan of the white light that you just can't get with halogens. (Although two of my S4's, and my 82 still have them)