jury_ca

Has anyone swapped out the U.S. DOT headlams with a set of E-code spec (Euro Spec) Litronics?

It's frequently been debated that the US DOT regulations are in the dark ages (pun intended) when it comes to lighting standards. Has anyone here considered this mod?

The Daniel Stern Lighting FAQ has temporarily been taken down, but
if you're so inclined, everything you wanted to know about headlight standards http://dsl.torque.net/images/DSL_8885.pdf

programmatore

Are you referring to the Litronics Retrofit Kit for 99-01 cars? I wasn't aware that there are different spec retrofit kits (DOT and E-code). I've actually read posts from our European brethren that they kept their stock halogen headlamps because the need to swap out the Litronics and install the halogen headlamps in order to pass inspection. Apparenly, the Litronics Retrofit Kit is not road legal in Europe since it doesn't have the auto-leveling feature (auto-leveling only comes with factory installed Litronics/bi-Xenons).

jury_ca

All European vehicles sold in N.America have different headlights than in Europe in order to meet the US DOT regulations guiding the beam pattern. E-code headlamps, as you mention have the self-levelling feature and also meet a different set of regulations, that are considered far more advanced than the DOT regulations that hasn't changed since the 60's. I guess this mod would be most worthwhile for those with the halogen lights that want to upgrade to Litronics (and should go for the E-code version rather than the US version).

programmatore

Right. I understand that there are different stock headlights for US versions of European cars (DOT vs. E-code). I just don't understand your question regarding the Litronics. Are there different Litronic Retrofit Kits for US and European markets? Do you have the part numbers for the E-code Litronics Retrofit Kit so that we can compare them with the US part numbers? I know a couple of guys on this forum (a fellow from the UK and another from Germany) who bought the Litronics Retrofit Kit from the US because they couldn't get it in Europe since it is not E-code compliant.

BTW, you didn't mention the year of your 996. As far as I know, the Litronics Retrofit Kit is only available for 99-01 996s. There is no retrofit kit for 02-04 996s although I have heard some people buying the bi-Xenon headlamps and hacking/modding the wiring harness.