Jonas

My 1996 993 C2 has factory fitted Litronic headlights. My problem is that using the standard 55W bulbs for the fullbeam only gives a marginal improvement in visibility. Therefore, I was contemplating fitting 100W bulbs for the fullbeam. Will this damage the reflector due to the extra heatbuildup from the 100W comapred with the 55W bulbs? Any thoughts? I live in Sweden, it is very very dark here in wintertime....

Is it possible to fit larger speakers than the standard 5.25 inch speakers in the front doors without drilling/modification? (I don't have the sound package on my car)

I drilled holes in my airbox cover during the weekend. A noticeable improvement in sound. Still waiting for my RSR mufflers from Gert...

maurice97C2S

Hi JonRib

I too am appalled by the hi beam, I don't have litronics (until my HID kit arrives!), but I did upgrade all the bulbs, even the fogs. I use Osram Supers in dip, with PIAA Super Whites in Hi and Fog - these are supposed to output equivalent to 100W (watts isn't a unit of light!). Aligning the fogs so they cut off inline with the dip pattern gives a useful boost, but the PIAA upgrade (£28 each plus VAT) made no difference to the hi beam.

In my opinion, the problem is rudimentary - it is a crap design! The reflector area is small and can only focus about 20% of the light output, there is no lens in front to focus that portion, and there are currugations in the headlamp glass to spread any light that goes perchance in that direction!

So there are a couple of choices - add driving lamps - I have a pair of PIAA 1500s that will look OK in the centre grille, and not upset the airflow - or modify the headlamp. I am experimenting with adding a lens, see what that gets me.

HTH, cheers, Maurice

Geoffrey

Lumen is the measurement for light

Curtis - '97 Targa

I've replaced my low beams with HID and put 100 watt bulbs in for high beam. The high beams are just marginally better than stock but haven't caused any problems.

The low beams from autolamps-online are an incredible improvement.

Has anyone played around with putting the HID in for high beams, too? Other than the delay coming on, any forseeable problems?

Curtis

maurice97C2S

WRT my previous comment, I think that putting HID into the hi beam wouldn't gain much for the same reasons, amounting to poor design. I would like to see how the newest Litronic deals with the main beam - even heard its always on when geadlights are on and shuttered (thanks to SteveW - and also thanks for the ride round Donington)! Crude, but effective, I suppose. (not Steve's driving, of course!)

BTW, my comment on watts for light units refers to a lot of the PIAA blurb, where they quote draw watts and 'produces xx watts'. Marketing crap! Should have explained.

Dimly yours, cheers, Maurice

STLPCA

I've been running 100W main (high) beams for more than a year w/o any problems. However, they are not on for extended periods (longest is maybe 5-10 min). They add nothing within the range of my HID low beams, but do extend further down the road.
There was not a huge difference going from 55W to 100W, but it is noticeable.

Edited 9/29/03: About 3 years now w/o any blown fuses or bulbs and no sign of any heat/draw damage to any component incl. insulation.

Jeff 993TT

This topic comes up pretty often and there was a link to a great web site which pretty much exposed how aftermarket bulbs were pretty much a scam.

Does anybody know where that link is?

I remember the gist of the article being that the aftermarket bulbs have a tighter wound core, which do produce more light for a given wattage, however, also produce more heat, leading to a shorter bulb life.

With these bulbs being pretty pricey, it sounds like a good little business to be in.

Jeff

STLPCA

[quote]Originally posted by Jeff 993TT:
<strong>This topic comes up pretty often and there was a link to a great web site which pretty much exposed how aftermarket bulbs were pretty much a scam.

Does anybody know where that link is?</strong><hr></blockquote>

I almost hesitate to post the link, since it is a commercial site of questionable objectivity. Mr. Stern seems to denigrate any product he doesn't sell.

My personal experience is that good quality "high output" aftermarket bulbs (e.g., PIAA) produce very noticably whiter & more useable light compared to oem w/o any decreased life. YMMV.

<a href="http://lighting.mbz.org/tech/info/bulbs/" target="_blank">DANIEL STERN LIGHTING</a>