mgianzero

At our last group DIY, I've gotten some questions on doing the HID headlights on our 993's. I know we've discussed this topic a bit before on RL, but I wanted to share my experience to encourage others to do this mod ...

Replacing your standard halogens with HID's is probably one of the most beneficial DIY projects I've done. HID"s not only provide better, clearer headlight visibility when compared to the OEM halogen, but they also run a bit cooler and more efficient.

I actually changed out my headlights to HID's over 6 years ago, but now the technology is even better and cheaper than before. With slim ballasts and a little patience, you can get the entire setup to cleanly install inside your standard headlight assembly. I'd recommend the slim HID ballasts from DDM Tuning. They are located in Huntington Beach (http://www.ddmtuning.com) and you can get a SCREAMING deal on a set of ballast with HID lights. (I have no affiliation with DDM ... yada yada ...)

The install is a little tricky but not too difficult and I'd recommend doing a little soldering to change out the standard thin spade connectors with one thick and one bullet connector so that they connect to the OEM connectors with minimal modification ... pretty much plug-n-play at that point.

In the 1st and 2nd pics are my connectors I made and the 3rd pic shows how I tucked the ballast assembly inside the headlight assembly. It took me a while to come up with a tucking technique for the wiring to make sure you allow plenty of space for the back of the lamp to move in all directions for readjustment. I find that, regardless how well you previous lights were aligned, they always need a little tweaking when switch to HID's. The light projects differently from a halogen bulb. if you've got a can of silicone spray lubricant, it might be a good time to spray these adjustment gears (white plastic gears on a shaft that connect to outside adjustment (see pic 4)

In my last pic (pic 5) you'll see my standard halogen lamps compared to a 5000k HID low and high beams. I also changed out the highs to bulb which matches the blueish hue of the HID's almost perfectly. I cannot remember which bulb I used for the highs but I'm sure I could figure it out with a little research.

Hope this helps those who were on the fence about upgrading to HID's.

Marc G.

element

did you do your high beams? I need to find a good solution to warm other drivers of me approaching.. the stock lights get washed out with the HID (which is a must mod!!)

phil.

mgianzero

Phil,
I guess I wasn't clear in my description, but I did NOT install HID high beams as this is not practical (a second HID bulb needs 1-2 seconds to warm up which would negate a "flashing" of highs.)

In newer cars that come stock with Xenons, this problem is usually solved by one of three ways:
1) Having a dual low/high HID bulb that share same ballast
2) Raising the lows in elevation as a way to create a high beam effect which redirects the light a little more distant
3) Have a high beam that has same hue as lows, but are not HID lamps.

This third option is what I have as stock Xenon's in my Toyota mini-van and how I chose to solve the problem of HID lows with non-matching highs in my 993. Furthermore, options 1 & 2 are not possible using the stock headlight assembly for the Porsche 993. Thus, I did replace the highs with a bluish lamp that matches the lows in color. My HID's are 5000K - so they appear less yellow and a little blue when compared to stock 993 halogens (see my last pic above as a comparison for reference). It really only provides just a bit more light over the lows, but I don't really find the need to have highs with HID lows. Do I make sense?

So the overall appearance is a bit different with a blue over a yellow headlamp, but I really like the change. You'll also find that the 5000k HID's match the newer LED bulbs (which are plug-n-play for most other bulbs in and outside the car). Already, I've changed my cabin, license plate, engine bay and hood lights to LED and they match almost perfectly.

EckFe1

This is a nice write up but nothing new around here. I recently got my hands on a second set of headlights and convert over to Bi Xenons. I took out the old low beam projector and will install a set of Mini Morimoto's. True Bi Xenon headlights with a slider. My hid higb beams will remain as is. Even though they take some 5 seconds to fully warm up, I like the idea of having 4x high 55w hid's.
Should be an easy mod as the new projector housing is smaller as the new one. Both have 60mm lenses but the new housing is smaller in every dimension so fitting should be easy. I'll post a new thread when I'm done.
Ed

mgianzero

Ed,

Yes, I know I am merely reiterating a lot of what's been said about HID mods on our cars. I was asked several times about my project so I expressed it in my words and pictures. I often use several write-ups I review when attempting a new project for myself as well.

Please share with us your Bi-Xenon headlight prototype for the 993. I am curious to know your strategy. Pictures are priceless on Rennlist. And thanks for chiming in on this. Everyone's experience can bring new light onto a older topic. I'm intrigued. Please explain.

GwynnieMae

Marc, where did you get a bullet connector big enough to fit in the stock ground plug. I can't find those anywhere.

P-daddy

Marc, nice write-up. I had a kit from ddm a few years ago. Unfortunately, the kit only lasted about 2 years. For what I bought them for, it was money well spent. Thanks for sharing your info and pics.

Kika

Beau, IIRC, the stock bullet that is used from the car side, vice the bulg side, is the male end. I found female ones that were close to the same size, but a little too snug, then gently pryed them open a little.

I went to an electronics store we have near my house.

You might try Fry's, Pep boys and other auto parts stores also carry electrical hardware.

JPP

Always good to check the headlight adjustment after doing this. I've found that the placement of the ballast and wires is critical to allow the lamp assembly to move about for adjustment after it's closed up .. and if it's stuck, you can easily strip the adjusting gear or snap a gear shaft .. easy does it.

GwynnieMae

Maybe my car is different than yours. The stock ground wire(female), plugs into a cast bullet that is integrated into the housing. I've been to several auto parts stores and a local electronics store. No luck. The male bullets that I've found are much smaller than the stock female end. I want to avoid hacking up the original harness as much as possible. Right now I have the HID spade end wedged into the stock bullet ground. Not the most reliable connection.

axl911

How do you get the plastic adjustment gears out? Mine is stripped and needs replacing.

Kika

I am probably not remembering correctly. I did this mod about 5-6 years ago. I did maintain the stock connections, in case I need to put the stock bulbs back in, in an emergency, and carry spares in my glove box.
What pieces do you need? I have a box with all my spare parts in the garage. If I have what you need, I'd be happy to send them to you.

GwynnieMae

That's great. All I really need is two male bullet connectors that fit in the stock ground plug. Otherwise, I could make a series of spade connections to be able to switch back to stock in case of an emergency. I'd prefer the big bullet though.

Kika

Beau,
I found female plugs in my box o'parts, which LEDs me to believe that I spliced on the other side, and left the male side. I have two female plugs, if you want them, pm me your address and I will put them in the mail tomorrow.

They have a slit in the side, so they can be "adjusted" to fit.

mgianzero

Beau -
I didn't find a bullet connector big enough. But the standard, larger, blue insulated one was just large enough that I slightly crimped the stock female ground connector over it. So I bent the OEM connector a bit, but it's not that distorted that I couldn't reverse the mod.

Yes, I ended up chewing up a set of gears because it was binding. I also found that if you spray down the plastic gears with silicone before reassembly, that they lubricate enough to make them turn easier when adjusting the headlights later.

See my answer to your previous comments above.

The plastic gears come out if you carefully push on the metal adjusting screws outwards. They seem to be held in by a rubber o-ring that slips out. Then the gears come out easily once the adjusting screws are out.