Hi everyone,

I am thinking about treating myself this Christmas with an H4 upgrade for my car. My motivation is mostly cosmetic and if it also improves the output, it's even better! There are a few posts on that topic and it does not look like a complicated upgrade (assuming no relay install initially).

Now looking at the parts, here are the two options I found:

• Complete kit from FVD for $996: https://www.fvd.net/us-en/FVD6319110...965-bosch.html
• Headlight from Pelican for $615 (so $1230 without rings and hardware): https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_In...I=0819&DID=453

FVD is significantly cheaper, is that going to be the same quality?

Thanks!

 

Try Mike at Autobahn. He has boxes of used parts ex Singer donor cars.

 

Any reason you don't want to go full LED instead? While H4 is an improvement, it's still a little disappointing in today's world. If you want to do the upgrade, I would go all the way to LED more reliable (alas no empirical evidence) less heat, less current daw. And of course great light output. Just a thought.

 

Take your lights and retrofit a universal LED with driver. No bulbs, and you'll save tons compared to buying the same thing.

 

If you put LED bulbs into a reflector designed for halogens, the larger LED hotspot won't focus properly in the halogen reflector. You will be putting out more total lumens and you will do a great job of lighting up the road a few feet in front of your car, but even though the lights will be brighter, your ability to see things in the distance will decrease. LED conversions have been around for years, but I'm still waiting on a legit comparison of beamshots that shows an LED retrofit throwing light as far as a H4 with 100w bulbs.

 

Today's LED conversions are not just a bulb, rather the driver built into the projector. The housing remains the same. My car has some universal 2.5" LED projectors (not just bulbs) and the output and cutoff is awesome.

 

Yup - you can get decent light with a projector, although it's kind of the wild west out there for retrofits... there's no regulation for most of this stuff, and there's significant variance in quality between brands.
Nonetheless, I'd still like to see long distance beamshot comparisons with the various LED options out there vs. H1 or H4s... I'm just not willing to spend thousands to do the test.

 

The projectors are like $100 on amazon. I'm amazed people spend $1k for a set of round sealed beam conversions, but I guess it's a Porsche thing.

 

I have a brand new set of Magneti Marelli (OEM) H4’s, never taken out of their boxes, sitting on a shelf. Let me know if you are interested!

 

The H4 units I retrofitted to replace the old H5s on my 964 are made by Bosch.. Can't say as I've heard of H4s for 964s being made by Magneti Marelli. I wonder if those MM H4s are the more common 7" round lights?
.. Gregg

 

MM has been making them for years. I bought mine in 2014. Used to be labelled Bosch, now AL (Automotive Lighting) which is the operating company name. An OEM supplier. See below:

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/porsche-headlight-assembly-aftermarket-91163111300

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/porsche-headlight-lens-911-912-930-1305614005

 

I bought my Bosch H4s back in 2002, and there was no talk of the MM versions at the time. We live and we learn: thanks GoKart.
.. Gregg

 

You can always replace the lenses with Bosch lenses.