I know there's been a bunch of threads on prospective expectations about the aesthetics and rationale for the LED vs. Xenon headlights, but I'd really be interested to hear from GT3 owners w/ driving time on the 2 options.

Full disclosure: I have an expected Oct. 24th delivery in the U.S. and I opted for the LED headlight option. I actually prefer the aesthetics of the natural Porsche "eyes" that come with the Xenons, but will be doing a fair bit of nighttime driving in mountain roads, so opted for the LEDs in case there were some optical advantages.

I know this falls a little into the "glitter" category, but I'm very interested to hear from 991 GT3 LED owners: nighttime illumination impressions, whether you also have experience w/ similar 991 Xenon headlamps by comparison, and any thoughts on the differences.

It's too late to change my order, but I am on the LED path and think the LEDs make the car look a little less like the "pure" 911 face w/ 2 pupil-filled eyes, but whatever, the opportunity to see a little better swayed me in the end.

Suffice it to say, I'm not picking a side here and this was really the only design choice that I agonized over whatsoever. I like both for different reasons.

Thanks!

 

I would be interested in knowing this as well. I am not locked in to my 2015 build yet and this is one of the items that I am debating.

 

There are several articles on the internet comparing the two.

After considerable deliberation I decided against the LED. Though they have a more modern look I view them more for a luxury sedan and not a high performance track car. Also, I rarely drive the car at night so the LED's would be of little value.

That said, if they were offered free I probably would get them. But for an additional $3000 or so I would spend the money elsewhere.

I had a similar problem with the front lifter. I asked my sales person whether I should get it and he said follow me. He took me outside to the protected area where cars are parked for servicing. There were two 997 GT3's in the lot. He said look at both of them and tell me which one has the front lifter (one had it). I could not tell because they both had scrapes to the front end.

Again, some may have a special situation where a front lifter is necessary but I do not.

 

Nick / others: can you please send the link of a comparison of the 2 991 Porsche light options? I have only seen unhelpful speculation on forums and Porsche spec sheets talking about the 2. I haven't heard from anyone w/ experience actually driving the 2 w/ an ability to compare.

Themes in prior posts revolve around speculation / banter about:
- Xenons are terrific (w/ no LED experience)
- LEDs are a rip-off
- LEDs are more efficient
- I like the ring for the DRL feature
- I hate the way the LEDs look
- I love the way the LEDs look
- Etc.

There are also some generic LED (not Porsche specific) comparisons.

Let's not focus on the front lift, please. Different issue.

 

which is brighter is the key. does anyone have an answer to this?

 

Deleted.

 

Here you go;

https://rennlist.com/forums/991/8103...ht-owners.html

 

Would be nice to have the technical specs on the comparative light output between LED's and Xenons as subjective opinions can be all over the place. Not to mention that there is a pretty good incentive to justify a $3K+ expenditure or savings to yourself.

For me the question was, have I ever felt like the Bi-Xenons on my previous 911's and my Cayenne were inadequate in any way? Since the answer to that was no, it came down to whether I wanted to "waste" the money on lights that were the latest thing and looked cool. I decided to waste the money on other stuff instead.

 

If you do a lot of night driving PDLS+ is a nice bonus with LED.
Now if Xenon had the "+" part of PDLS then the choice would be much tougher IMO.

 

I do not believe one will actually be brighter than the other. I got the LED because I like the new technology and I think they look cool. I like the DRL on them and I like how they have 2 tones in the casing which makes them look busier. If you have $3000 why not?

 

Can't comment on the Porsche LED's, but with the R8, it was a noticeable improvement. Of course, with the introduction of LASER headlights, the LED's will be old technology soon as well. (assuming the new lights get approved for use in the US)

 

Exactly why I ordered them on my 991C2S. Plus, I think the higher up position of the DRL's gives me a little better safety margin when carving small country roads.

The LED technology extends the car's relevance a little longer in the ever changing world automotive advancement.

The PDLS+ functionality is great as is the high beam assist.

In previous Porsches the bi-xenons were also excellent at lighting up the road.

 

I had Xenons on my 991 C4S and TTS and have LEDs on the GT3. The LEDs are, without a doubt, brighter. HOWEVER, the increased brightness adds little as the Xenons are plenty bright. I am unable to discern a difference in the "spread" of the light beam but suspect that if I kept swapping back and forth, will eventually notice it, so if there is a difference, it is not dramatic. I got the LEDs for looks and hoping it was a better light. For practical purposes, to me, LEDs are not better. I love the look and particulary enjoy having the DRLs on track, as they are distinctive enough for other drivers to say "bummer, that's the new GT3 again, I better give a point by"

 

Had LEDs on an A7 and they were great. I could tell a difference between them and the Xenons on my previous car. Having said that, I haven't experienced the LEDs on the 991 yet. I'm ordering them because I like the tech and the distinct look of them. Plus, if I didn't get those I was going to do the Xenon with black casing and PDLS which are around $1300 I think. The way I look at it, the LEDs are costing me $1700 or so at that point. Worth it to me but I understand that it might not be for others. You could probably argue that for most of the options Porsche offers - comes down to personal taste.

 

The fundamental technologies are improving significantly, but it's not clear how much of an advantage they give in the real world at the moment.

Below are Audi's Le Mans healights from about 2006 through 2014, progressing from Xenon through LED/ Xenon hybrid to full LED and finally laser.

At this year's Le Mans the headlights were so bright that slower GT car drivers asked the LMP cars not to flash them from close range to avoid blinding them. Clearly even on race circuits we're near the limit of what's practical to use without better adaptive control to avoid blinding other drivers, so the potential for more power might not translate to actual gains.

The claims I've seen most often for LED are around broadening the pattern, which seems useful on back-roads. Laser is claimed to have a longer throw, more useful for the Autobahn. It'd be interesting to see an actual test, but as mentioned for the way most people use their car Xenon's are pretty darn good already... I'm sure there's a weight difference too, and I suspect the LEDs are lighter, but that's got to be an awfully expensive way to save a few grams.