Ahhh - this thread suddenly turned left... (or right).

Anyway inexpensive upgrades are possible - but for a significant step up we are talking close to $100 - so not $50, but also not $1000 or more.

I think for a Porsche $100 really is still inexpensive... less than a couple of tanks of gas...

Alan

 

Barney

For less than $50 you can buy a pair of Silverstar Ultra bulbs and it will be better than what you have in there now. I use them on my 91 S4. They are not as good as modern headlamps with a flat beam, good cut off and long range Hi-beam. But they are good enough. And they have lasted for a few years already. I can't say that they have not lit up the road as needed. Drive a little slower if necessary.

I am still employed, could spend the money on H4s I guess but don't see enough benefit for the cost so I've stuck with these. Others think differently, no problem. If $50 is what you have to spend go down to the auto parts store and buy two new bulbs. In 30 minutes you'll be happy.

 

Thanks to all for help in deciding which lights to purchase. For the person who may have questioned the ability of ltheir elders to plan ahead:

It is difficult to adequately plan ahead when our leaders don't properly protect the country. I've been retired for 16 years. Interpret that any way that you like. I will not reveal my political views beyond that.

 

Alan, 100W H3s seem like a lot of heat for the smaller dimensions of the Aux Driving Lights?

 

ROW cars have a different configuration that allows Fog & Aux headlight to be on at the same time (USA cars don't do this). That is Total 110W in the same (overall) unit under the same usage conditions. The lenses are glass and the reflectors are metal. The housings are plastic of course but they are protected or spaced from the bulb reasonably...

The usage on highbeam is situational - it is rarely sustained for very long periods without cycling, it is vary rare to have highbeams on at a standstill - so there is usually significant cooling by airflow when in use.

I'd not propose 100W in the fogs for this and other (spill) reasons... But I do think in the Aux headlights on a USA car it is OK. They aren't in a great place for aiming onto the road - but for picking up large animals in the distance I think they would help (if aimed well).

One caveat - I'd not do this with thick Stongard protectors (or similar) since they reduce the airflow cooling effect significantly on the lens.

I don't think this at all an optimal solution - but it IS a very cost effective & beneficial one... which became the primary question here.

Alan

 

Alan
How do we configure our cars to allow the fogs, low beams (or high or both) and auxiliary lights to all be on?

 

The queston needs some clarification here...

The Aux headlights are auxilliary highbeams (when equipped) - they only ever come on with the highbeams and there is no separate switching for these. You cannot and should not have these on except with highbeams.

On a USA car the fogs always switch off with the highbeams on but stay on with the lowbeams or marker lights. ROW car behaviour is just that when turned on the fogs stay on under all conditions.

USA S4+ cars equipped with fogs & Aux Highbeams have various methods to achieve this: (Notes on how to revert to the ROW config)

87-90 A different foglight relay for USA cars & different wiring for the foglight relay - USA has 85 to highbeam filaments (Connect 85 to ground instead, no need to change the relay, though 53B works too)
91-95 One extra foglight relay to disable the fogs with highbeam (Remove relay VIII and replace with 30/87 bridge: 928.615.125.00)

So unfortunately for you it is more challenging to do this on your '90 than for later cars where its a plug & play switch @ the relays.

Now ROW has one configuration for Japan that is actually wired like the USA version for fogs - so although it isn't shown - I wonder if there is a swappable connector on the back of the CE panel for that in '87-'90? It's not shown in the WDs as a connector - but if not there must actually be 2 panel configs: 1 for USA & Japan and another for ROW (-Japan) for '87-'90 which I don't think is the case either...?)

Alan

 

Alan, given bucks are not a limiting (they are, but it'd be good to know anyhow) factor, would you summarize your favorite/ultimate state-of-the-art lighting configuration on a RoW 928? USA 928?

Perhaps 8" H4s with 100/80W bulbs, or HIDs in 8" H4s, LEDs in 8" H4s, 100W halogen/HID/LED in Aux Driving, 55W halogen/HID/LED in Fogs, etc......what do you like the best?

 

Well I like what I have - of course

As to HIDs - they just don't work well in our optics - hideous & criminal in H5's and poor->just mediocre in H4 7-8" IMO, brighter for sure but less well focussed.

I've not seen the LED's but I think the looks and 7" only options today are not attractive to me yet - will keep monitoring.

In all cases I would say that the ROW configuration is always just far far better (there is NO competition - the USA config is just absolute crap) - so if you have a USA car the first thing to do is dump all the front lights and get the best ROW versions - in this case 8" H4s and (for S4+) ROW fog/aux lamps. Add the electric headlight aim adjusters so you can keep the aim perfect at all times.

I do have HID's in the fogs in ROW config (stay on w/ highbeams) however this requires massive changes to the fog reflectors (blanking) - you cannot use unmodified IMO. My Aux highbeams are 75W 5000K H3 halogens (the HID's are just 35W total/side ~30W in the bulbs so 105W total - vs 110W stock ROW).

Headlight bulbs are H4 70/75W 5000K bulbs with local headlight relays and the option (enabled) to have low & high beams combined for high beam (Roger sells a kit like this I think), but I made my own a long time ago. I think more powerful bulbs are at risk of damage if operated in the "dual-on" mode extensively - most risky is that the ground conductor could melt in the capsule => you loose all lighting on that side (not good). Plus exceeding 150W dissipation in the HL buckets may not be very smart (e.g. dual on 80/100 is 180W @ greater than stock voltage => >>3x the power ever dissipated by a stock config - far too much I think).

I see no reason to upgrade this further - it is far better than any stock 928 ever was, and competes very well with modern purpose designed HID systems.

All in all with the full ROW conversion, HID fog system and local relays its a very expensive way to go... the opposite of this thread's intent.
- But you can sell your redundant H5's and the USA fog/aux lamps for good money to offset ~ 1/2 the new lamp costs.

2 things to note - the headlight aim adjusters and the local relays do make a huge difference - so important things to do if you want the best.

The bulbs I note here are not terribly expensive - but they are very hard to find - and not always even available... (so stock up) my 5000K choice was to ~equalize color temps with the HID's

Alan

 

Thanks to M750rider; I'm going your direction. Hopefully the deer, antelope, moose and elk will have mercy.

 

It won't be that much better - but it will be an improvement - perhaps more so if your current bulbs have dimmed over time.

Anyway - you know what the other options are.

Alan

 

Thanks Alan, gives me a more specific idea of what to shoot for.

 

If anyone wants to upgrade their H4 Euro bulbs to the latest CREE LED then I can supply them from the UK. Check out my 928 S4 photo below. These bulbs draw very little current and have low heat but are extremely bright & effective - 2800 lumens per bulb. But more stable than HID and a direct replacement for a Standard Halogen bulb.

Message me for more details.

Steve
bizman928

 

Can you show how well they work with some night-time shots of the pattern against a wall/garage door from ~20+ feet away.

Extra brightness can be as much an enemy as a friend...it all depends on the actual projected results

Alan

 

Hi Alan
Have taken various night time shots to try to show up the difference between the 2 bulbs. Not done them against any garage doors yet - but can always try to find some doors one evening & test them in the way you suggest.
Check out the photo below, Found a blacked out deserted country lane that was straight & shot several photos with the lights on dip & full beam. The difference in the projections and length of the CREE LED beam was significantly better than the Halogen equivalent - even in Night breaker/extreme ultra format
Steve