moswissa

I know Porsche does not make headlight lens but I am tempted to buy an aftermarket lens replacement from china. I really dont feel like spending over 2k for a headlight that has a minor cracking but its really bugging me and very noticeable. Apparently its a common defect and my car is out of warranty. eBay headlights are all junk, mostly cracked the same way or overly priced and ive been lurking for many months.

I know a headlight retrofitting company locally that can install the lenses.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/20333812980...59.m2763.l2649

The seller agreed for $120 and I can get them installed for $180.

NCheok

Would love to see the end result, no harm giving it a shot.

Porsche_nuts

Keep us posted.

CSK 911 C4S

Please keep us informed and who you use.

I need to get one of my headlights opened up to reattach the reflector housing around the HID.

It's just flopping around at the moment.

drdantheman1

Same with mine. If he does a good enough job on your lenses, I'd be willing to mail him mine to fix as well.

moswissa

ok guys, I just ordered it and ill let everyone know and take plenty pics

jeffm

$180 seems reasonable for the labor. On my 981, I purchased new lenses on ebay and did the install myself. The lens quality was very good, but the process to remove was a PITA.
Let us know how it turns out.

NF4710

Any chance we could have someone make glass lenses? I’m admittedly ignorant of the manufacturing and regulation implications but they seem to be hardier

NF

lukster

Is this for each light? I saw the ad you linked and it says right side. So is the labor just for 1 side as well? I had my lenses ground up and coated for now but these may fail eventually so I’m also looking for a solution. Curious to see how it turns out.

Wellardmac

Do yuo have instructions on how to do this? I'd love to take a look.

koala

I'm very interested in this as well. Years ago, when I had an Acura RSX Type S, a popular mod was to bake the headlamps, crack them open and then black out the interior components. It was the poor man's solution to avoiding the costly JDM Type R lamps.

I realize there are black headlamps for the 991, but it seems that they might not be a direct swap for those of us with the base lighting setup (IE: just low-beam xenon, no PLDS).

Mine are cracking around the edges as well but the original owner had PPF applied on the lenses - normally a big no-no, but in this case, might have actually helped prevent any further cracking.

stout

This is the technique I was thinking about for this, but in reverse because I've got a dark 991 with PLDS and would actually prefer the silver housings of the standard lights. (I know, I know…) With a light 991, I'd probably want the black housings. Thing is, you couldn't get the PLDS functionality without the black housings—and I don't think PLDS is an easy swap into a non-PLDS car.

Not motivated enough to disturb my headlights to do this now, and feel lucky that they haven't shown any of the micro cracks that affected my GT4 lights, but I may buy 2-4 of these lenses to store for a future silvering project and/or the long haul. Seems crazy to spend thousands to replace cracked or pitted lenses.

CSK 911 C4S

Can you imagine baking some perfectly good headlight just to have them melt ....... like tossing 5K into the trash.

If anyone does have a good HID turning headlight ..... I'd be interested.

stout

Yeah…no way.

The process of heating a pair of Porsche headlight units up in an oven might see me break out in hives, so I can't see doing it unless the lenses are cracked or otherwise need to be replaced and there's no warranty coverage. With that said, I suspect that it can be done well if done very carefully.

jeffm

Unfortunately, the adhesive Porsche uses is closer to a silicon/RTV material. You can bake it all you want (ask me, I know), but it will not release from the housing. You have to cut out/physically remove the lens in order to do this. That's why I mentioned earlier that $180 for labor is a pretty good deal.