Mark Wilson

The recent group buy on Vertex HID has had me wondering what if any the downside of an aftermarket HID setup may be. I've read that a headlight housing and lense should be specifially designed to make use of the HID system and the reason they were outlawed is because the glare caused by the aftermarket significantly affects oncoming drivers' ability to see. After some more reseach, I found on Daniel Stern's site an even more compelling reason not to go aftermarket. I've quoted that passage below and you can go to the page and read the rest of his thoughts.

What do you guys think about this?


Daniel Stern page on aftermarket HID

InTheAir

Mark, you might want to do a search for Daniel Stern on this forum, since we discusses his article at great length during the last round of HID Group Buy installs.

That being said, the headlight housing and lenses are the same for both standard and OEM Xenon headlights (same part number) in our cars, so apparently Porsche never saw the need to provide two different housings/lenses.

I'm happy with mine.

Arena993

Ditto:

Perception is reality they look much brighter to me IMHO

Mark Wilson

Jeff, guess I used the wrong searh words. I missed the thread.

David in LA

one downside is that I think they are still technically illegal...but other than that IMHO a big improvement over the stock lights and much more cost effective than the litronics

InTheAir

Here they are:

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-forum/221437-pics-from-so-cal-hid-install-thanks-guys.html

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-forum/223584-hid-low-beam-and-replacement-high-beam.html

Mark Wilson

Cool, thanks for the links. The thing is, it looks like everyone is basing their satisfaction on Clive's opinion that this is a good thing. I'm not discounting Clive's opinion, but is he trained in optics? I also did not know that the 993 HID housings are the same as standard. But has anyone really tested the aftermarket side by side with halogen and the factory Zenon? I know most say they are satisfied with the results, but Stern pretty much predicted that.

Robin 993DX

I have also upgraded the headlight on my 993 to an aftermarket HID system, to stay as bright and as close to stock as possible I went with the 5000k kit instead of the higher k units they offered. I felt that the 993's stock headlight are perfect for an aftermarket HID upgrade as it already have the projector lens assembly, after the upgrade I felt very comfortable regards to the concentration of the beam and the possibility of not causing glare to on coming drivers.

I also have HIDs on my 996 which are the factory litronics units, in comparison to the aftermarket HID lights the factory litronics seen weak and dim not as powerful as the aftermarket kits. Porsche decided to use two different lens housing for the standard halogen and the HID lights, so adding an aftermarket HID to the standard headlight housing would cause the scatter of the light beam and produce glare and the issues you were concern about.

So bottom line, there were no corner cutting on the 993s.

Mark Wilson

Robin,
Thanks, that's more of the feedback I was looking for. Do the ones in your 993 cause oncoming traffic to "brightlight" you?

Robin 993DX

Never. But I never re-adjusted the beams after the installattion and since my car is lowered so it was never an issue.

dhicks

I bought the HIDs last summer and was astounded at how much further I could see clearly....yes the foreground if brighter but I can see much more clearly in the distance than I could before.....this is not perception it is reality......I drive the same piece of road very morning and evening and was well aware of what my sight distance was. As for other drivers......I have adjusted as best I can and hope I am not causing anybody else problems....however, I feel much safer driving at night now....a great upgrade in my book

Mark in Baltimore

Mark,

I get beamed on the few occasions I drive my car on the street and at night. I don't have an allen tool long enough to make the adjustment and keep on forgetting to ask my mechanic to adjust it. It's an easy fix.

Also, I've had no issues with my Catz HID's and love the increased visibility.

mcuozzo

If you drive any car with HID's your bound to be 'high beamed' by people. My Audi S4 had 'em and my Acura has 'em. I get beamed regularly and I've made sure the headlights are aimed properly. Eventually HIDS will be standard equipement and people will get used to them.

And I can't see how the lighting on the 993 could be made worse, let alone by upgrading to HIDS. I mean I can barely see 10 ft in front of me with the stock lights :-(

Matt

Terry Adams

My aftermarket HIDs were a huge improvement, notably for reflective street signs. As far as longer distances, I feel that is what high beams are for. Low beam HIDs are plenty for suburban driving.

I have never been high beamed by another vehicle. My car is so low, I regularly get blinded myself by "driving lights" on oncoming and following vehicles.

mborkow

i like the HIDs we got last year in the GB, but feel i should point out two things:
1. i had one bulb fail on me (this was replaced by the vendor at no cost except shipping)
2. the replacement bulb i got is not the same color as the original (although they were both labeled 4300k)

#2 makes me wonder about the quality control of the aftermarket bulbs (they should be the same color). also, putting in a new bulb is not as easy as replacing standard bulbs. you basically have to snake the wiring harness through the rubber grommet into the front trunk all over again. this is not a huge, bug deal, but it is a PITA.

as for being flashed by oncoming traffic: that has never happened. our lights have a built-in level and you just need to make sure that yours are leveled correctly (mine always have been w/o my need to adjust them). also our cars sit pretty low; i don't think i could blind an oncoming SUV (which is what so many people seem to drive now...)