RallyJon

Just wanted to bring you guys current on the Xenondepot HID kit for 993s.

Cliff's Notes: Kit misrepresented. Poor customer service.

To recap, I was enticed by the brand name electronics they use vs most of the other kits out there. The Xenondepot kit also uses a so-called "slim" ballast from Phillips. Good for easier mounting I figured. Most important, their site claims, "This product will include a complete wiring harness that will literally plug directly into your OEM headlight harness via proper mating connectors." and another Rennlister installed a kit from them a few years ago with success.

So I ordered the kit, and it arrived about a month ago.

Well, here's the sad truth. The so-called slim ballasts have the plugs on the flat face, rather than the end. So they'd actually be thicker when installed than the all-in-one kits. The kit also has separate ignitors, so "slim" gets you less than nothing. The wiring harness has two main issues. The arrangement of the relays and how they connect to the bulb, ignitor and ballast is completely incompatible with our unique headlight layout. I could have made it work by cutting everything up, but then any problems would be unsupported of course. The H1 connector is a standard three prong connector used on other cars, maybe, but not ours. No way to make it "literally plug directly into your OEM headlight harness..." A lie, pure and simple. FWIW, the installation posted by the Rennlister appears to use another kit, not the one currently available, with significantly different wiring. In spite of this, Xenondepot told me to follow his installation.

Anyway, I e-mailed them to send it back. They informed me that there would be a 20% "restocking" fee and denied that they misrepresented the kit. They also instructed me to send it back (to Canada) with a customs value purposely understated or they would deduct customs charges from my refund. So it went back uninsured, at my risk. I'll file a claim with Paypal for the difference but I'm sure it won't come to anything.

So consider yourself warned, in case you are considering their kit.

AOW162435

Maddening. I went through a similar 're-stocking fee' circus a few weeks ago with a cell phone on Ebay. Total nightmare and complete misrepresentation of a product. People like this are jackasses and should be dealt with as such. Getting the word out is step one.

Andreas

Mark in Baltimore

Thanks for taking the time to give everyone a heads-up, Jon.

the_buch

I used a Canadian-based company called xenonfactory.com (not xenondepot) and am thrilled with the quality, lighting and robustness of the Phillips-based kit and re-based Phillips Ultinon bulbs after more than 18 months. The kit was expensive ($700 Cdn) and installation was somewhat difficult as you suggest, but you get what you pay for.

RallyJon

The funny thing is they apparently used to sell a nice, Phillips-made, Hella-branded kit which would be a perfect fit. There's a guy selling one on the Pelican classifieds.

the_buch

RallyJon ... when you say 'they' above, who do you mean?? .... thanks,

1998C2S

I called XenonFactory yesterday, and that will be my next purchase. I have been through this before when getting xenons for the motorcycle, and ironically used xenondepot.com for that purchase. Their product is fine, but this time around I had a lengthy discussion with Alex from Xenonfactory, and I got a better feeling from him.

I am doing this for a couple of local 911 friends, so the price he was able to quote for 3 systems was $270 shipped, per unit. So they will likely work the price down a bit for you if you ask. Can't wait...

Bryan

mborkow

if i could do it all again, i would simply plunk down the $ for OEM litronics.

RallyJon

'They' is Xenondepot. The guy on Pelican said he got one of their last kits with the Hella ballast.

TheOtherEric

Wow, I've never heard anyone say that. Aren't litronics like $1500-$2000?? I installed the $270 HID kit from thelegend@aol guy (xequipped.com) and have been happy with them.

mborkow

i also got the kit from the legend...i have now bought the kit 2x since i have blown through 2 bulbs and 1 ballast/ignitor. i figured i be better off buying a whole second kit so i would have extra parts (since it seems i will need them).

Joe S.

With all the issues I've read with the aftermarket kits, this sounds like the only way I'd go as well...

Steve Nagata

Most of the kits sold by these companys for such a low price are those CHINA brand ones. These ballasts over heat and bulbs burn out very quickly. I suggest before you go jumping into expensive factory litronics to spend the extra 100-150 bucks for a German made Hella ballast and re-based H1 Phillips Ultinon bulbs. I've been running my set for 5 years now and not one problem.

With my plug and play kit I did not have to splice any wires. I just took the positive and negative of the old halogen blub connector and plugged it into the supplied harness and viola! Only mod was to cut a slit into the grommet that leads into teh truck to fish the wires through and cut a small hole in the back cover of the headlight adn seal it with the grommet provided with teh plug and play kit. Not one wire was spliced.

Randy 1

Question from a newbie here: I have the factory litronic system. Are you cats just replacing the bulbs on your factory systems, or trying to replicate the litronic driving lights with an aftermarket system?

The prices would suggest you're ripping out the whole system, but then again, I've never bought a headlight for any car, let along the Porsche, and have no concept of how much the part is.

Father of 3

Where did you get replacement bulbs from? I figure I should get some to stock when my bulbs ultimately burn out. I've had my lights in my car for over a year with not problems so far.