Michael Sjerven

My 996 (2000 Mk1) has the standard halogen headlights. They look okay, but the glass inside has cracked/yellowed over time. Although they are passable and work fine, I'd love to eventually upgrade the headlights - options below.
1. Replace with new OEM halogen headlights. Meh, boring.
2. Upgrade to Litronics OEM at a significant cost. Not sure how difficult or costly this conversion is?
3. Upgrade to aftermarket LED lights. I don't like any aftermarket lights I've seen on the market. I'm really surprised that there aren't better aftermarket headlight options available for the 996.
4. Retrofit and rebuild with custom components internally. This is the option I'd be most excited about, but also the trickiest to execute properly. I know some guys use the retrofit source website with morimoto and other HID bulbs. When the headlight is taken apart, and internals painted black with new lights the results can be pretty awesome looking. This method does, however, require the time and know-how to do well, and I don't think I will tackle this job myself.
With any conversion I'd also want to make sure it doesn't cause any electrical faults. With all the new headlight technology out there it seems like an opportunity for an aftermarket company (even Porsche) to manufacture something new for the 996. Or are there any companies that offer a complete headlight restoration and retrofitting with HID bulbs, paint etc? What do you think is best option for upgrading the 996 headlights?

joseph mitro

the photograph you show was a great option that I performed on my first 996 about 5 years ago; great lighting, looked better, and not all that expensive.
Unfortunately I don't think they are available anymore.

my current 996 has OEM litronics with new Phillips bulbs; not bad but the cutoff is not as good as newer/better HID lights, and intensity not quite as good.

this should give you some ideas:
https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...build-log.html