Bizman928

I have long been looking to upgrade my side lights on my 928 S4 as when I drive with them alone they are near useless and driving with Fog lights on is ....well officially illegal if not somewhat gives the desired effect of medium light during poor daylight conditions. So, I set about searching for a set of Audi A8 style "Day-Glo" lights to convert the side lights and make my 928 have a more modern look at the same time. This it typical style for the Europe Cars.

I had looked around at several different types of lights as well as different sizes of lights and had eventually come round to the decision to mount the LED strip lights on the inside of the Front Fog Light lens. This proved to be somewhat more tricky than once thought, so after much pondering, the final set of 12 LED's were mounted above and outside the lens between the lens and the PU bumper, after I had cleaned and polished all the reflectors and the outside of the glass.

I also replaced the Side light bulbs for LED bulbs with a blue/white glow which are better than the originals but not as good as the LED strip. There was a big difference between a variety of the LED strip light sets available and I have now found a set which give out the most powerful light and fit perfectly hidden above the lens.

For the purists amongst us I am sure this will provide pure terror, however, the LED strip lights cannot be seen when they are off and do not affect the look of the car in anyway. My opinion of course. When they are on, I have managed to get the LED strip lights to light up & reflect through the Fog light reflectors and they light up the whole light lens to give a very useful Blue/White glow which will allow you to drive around on side lights in low light conditions with effective lighting to light up the road in front without the need for full lights. Exactly the result I wanted for my S4.

I attended our Central Region TIPEC meeting in Shirley in the UK the other week and everyone seemed very impressed how effective they look. I have been asked by a few members to put a conversion kit together and I will post the details of that separately if it is of any interest to anyone on the list.

I have uploaded some photo's of the car without the lights on and with the lights on for folks to see. Please use the URL link below:

http://cid-70d4844dc8c361fd.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/928%20LED%20Side%20Light%20conversion?authkey=TLAROTFdjRI$

I would be interested to hear the replies & comments.


Steve Jones
1989 928 S4 Auto MY89 Stone Grey Metallic + LED Side Strip lights conversion

davek9

I like the look, did you remove the bulbs and just use the reflective light? As low the front is I bet you can not see them.

I replaced my front parking lights with LED bulbs, it is a different light set up on an '85, I just needed an 1156 LED. It matches the Silver Stars I have in the Head lights better (not as yellow).

http://superlumination.com/images/au...hite_24_wm.jpg

Bizman928

Hi Davek

Thank for the coments. I am very hapapy with my new look 928.
I upgraded the side light bulb as well as adding the LED light strip above the S4 Fog Light Lens
Steve

danglerb

Very pretty looking 928.

jthwan22

found this on ebay nice but pricey http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PORSC...item35a703b79a

Alan

I notice your new lights are a very different color from your headlights - you may need to try to match the headlight color better - looks a bit odd otherwise.

I'm not sure I think there is enough light to drive by - but its certainly brighter...

Why can't you use just the front fogs as well - they certainly will give you more light in front... do the police now really take note of such things...?


Alan

Bizman928

Hi Alan

Its illegal to use Front Fog Lights anywhere in Europe unless its Foggy!

Hence the need for the upgrade.

I have changed my headlight bulbs several times to Blue White HID which give the best "Blue Light" I can seem to get from Zenon bulbs wihtout doing a HID conversion which is quite costly and suspect on the current demand for our wiring.

The Camera filters out a lot of the colour - so the lights actually look more uniform in colour than comes out on the photos. When driving

Thanks

Steve
Steve

SeanR

I'm interested in the 12 LED strip that you used. I've seen one set up mounted on top of the brake lights, which looks good. I'd like to do as you did with just the strip.

Bizman928

Jthwan22

Thanks for the link - I can do you a set for half that price!
But, simply replacing the bulbs doesn't do a conversion. I included the LED bulbs in my sidelight upgrade but it didn't give enough light - just changed it slightly to give a blue look in the lens.

You have to do the LED strip light upgrade to get any increase in light that you would notice whilst driving on the road.

The set on Ebay I would be very suspect of at that price without seeing each bulb and what you were getting for your money.

I have 32 LED plate bulbs for my rear lights which give a completely different light intensity and look than a 12 LED panel bulb. Which are commonly available on Ebay for pretty much the same price as the 32 LED panel bulb.

Bizman928

Hi Sean

The 12 LED strip cost me £45 from a local Auto Electricians. I am putting another order in with him this week if you want me to put you down for a set?

I can supply the instructions on how I fitted them no problem.

I found that polishing up the Fog lenses also made a drastic difference to the lights in general. I will make sure I polish up all the lenses on the front of the car before the summer.

Thanks
Steve

UKKid35

Hi Steve, my instinct is to be suspicious, but your upgrade looks very neat indeed. The stealth effect is the key. Did we see a work in progress at the Merry Miller (or am I remembering incorrectly)? My only proviso is that they should be used as daytime running lights, rather than in place of headlights at dawn or dusk.

Also great advice about polishing the lenses, which I will definitely follow.

Bizman928

Thanks UK Kid

I didn't get to the Meffy Miller unfortunately. Adrian Langford did send me a photo of the LED's on show at the Merry Miller - but I wasn't very impressed and they looked very tacky in my view. More of a bit of fun for the day I thought.

They are great as Day-Glo running lights and also as it starts to be reduced light conditions. But agree that when dusk arrives Headlights are definately the order of the day.

I am ordering a few sets of LED strip lights this week for a few people that have requested interest in them. let me know if you want me to order another set.

The 12 LED strip just fit neatly between the two plastic locating lugs that hold the lens to the plastic backing.

As you say, the lenses on our older 928 do need a good polish from time to time.

Cheers
Steve

brianrheffron

Great idea Steve and good execution.
Up here in Scotland daytime running lights are an important issue in my view.
The further North you are the longer the transition from light to dark and in
the winter we seem to be in permanent half light most of the time.
Lots of drivers seem averse to using lights at all till it is pitch black
and, believe me, a dark grey car in murky gloom is practically invisible.
In my day to day car I just drive on dipped headlights all the time but
I don't like driving my 928 with the headlights popped up
during the day (ugly) and I think that a dark blue 928 with pathetic
4 watt sidelights is not very noticeable in the half light.
As noted in this thread in the UK it is illegal to use foglights
except in conditions of fog or falling snow so they don't help.
Your idea for the LED strip would give bright daylight running
lights but still be within the law.
Is there scope to go further and run a second LED strip below
the spot/ fog pod and maybe do something similar for the rear?

brianrheffron

Quick second thought.
You say the LED strips were about £45.
This seems very expensive compared to
any I have seen(Ebay or Maplins).
Are your LED strips special in any way.

Bizman928

HI Brian

Thanks for the comments. I would think it possible to include another 2nd strip if you thought it was necessary. You may have to squeeze them in below the lens if there was enough flex between the fog lamp lens and the PU front bumper.

As for the price, I tried a couple of cheapo's off ebay and sent them back - they were....well to put it politely - quite useless. In daylight you could not see them and in the dark, they did nothing more than look like Xmas tree lights. I kept trying different sets until I found a set that gave the correct brightness and were the right size. Can't comment on the Maplin one's as I only looked at them briefly in the catalogue and didn't give them a secind glance.

My friendly Auto Electrician managed to source a couple of sets of which the one's I have fitted worked the best. If I get enough interest I am sure I can get him to reduce the price as we did have to do a lot of searching and trying of different sets to reach the best that suited my 928 needs.

Don't forget you will need to make sure your lenses are polished up good as this helps the effectiveness of any lights. I ven polished up my main headlights whilst I was at it. This was most effective.

Thanks
Steve