DanielW

I have a 2007 997.1 base carrera, with Halogen headlamps. They are starting to show some age. I was thinking about replacing the halogen headlights with the Bi-Xenon headlamps.
Some questions.

Will the Bi-Xenon Headlamps work on my base carrera without any additional modifications to a base carrera that came with Halogen headlamps?

On the used marketplace it looks like the Bi-Xenon's look to be about $600/Side and about $1.2K/side new (which seems outrageous). I would prefer to use OEM parts.
the new Halogen Headlamps look about $550/side which seems reasonable for about $1.1K all brand new headlamps probably good for 10+ years.

On my existing headlamps I can see where there is a slight shadow imprinted onto the inside of the headlamps from the existing lights which is not visually appealing. The grey ring around the outside has a tiny amount of pitting and marks nothing too bad.

I definitely would like to throw more light at night without blinding other drivers so Bi-Xenon's are appealing.

Any other ideas,opinions?

alexb76

1. 100% Xenon lights are superior, it's not even close
2. I do not know how easy retrofitting is, on my Audi, I had to buy the lights, PLUS some converter to high voltage which the Xenons need
3. You may also need a sensor (may or may not be on Halogen) that moves the light up/down depending on the angle of the road. I didn't do it on Audi... but it's a nice option no to blind ppl coming your way

If you can find all above and install easily, it's a worthy upgrade!

You do need this, and I believe 997.1 Xenon isn't bi-xenon, just low beams are.

https://www.suncoastparts.com/product/99763118300.html

OKB

you have to use a kit, to add xenon. they need a power supply.
forget about using stock parts.thousands of $. Just buy a kit which gives you a suitable power supply and the new bulbs.under $100
There are newer led which you can shop for. They may be even better. So you have 12v wires now, and you will hook the power supply to that and wire for the bulb will be included. And you will have to specify what bulbs you have now because they will have to match that size for the new xenon to fit in your headlight socket
call a lighting supplier like ijdmtoy or superbrightleds or oracle

shyamvenky

OEM is an expensive option - even if you buy used. In theory you could buy 997.1 assembly as a whole - it’s plug n play. You won’t get the auto-level feature since the non-xenon cars don’t have the control unit and wiring for auto-leveling. You may also need to get the car programmed to let it know of the xenon lamps - to avoid error codes when the lights come on.

But if you’re handsy with some electrical work, it’s a rewarding DIY for about $150 max - xenon slights put out 3x the amount of light as the halogens 😊 And because of the projector assembly you won’t be blinding anyone. Of course, if the outer lens needs refinishing/polishing - do that as well.

Here’s a post in a thread where I explained what I did, and also has another user's experience with the upgrade.

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...l#post16760645


Thanks
Shyam

Petza914

The bi-Xenon lights in the 997.1 cars are excellent. Someone here installed aftermarket LED headlamps recently and said they were better than their aged Halogen ones but not in the ballpark of the Xenon ones. The Xenon ones can be made even better by taking the lens off, replacing the diffusing lens with a clear one, then resealing the headlight. The lights on my silver 997 had this treatment and I bought them from the guy that did it and posted about it years ago on 6speed. He had moved to a 997.2 dynamic light because he liked the look better and thought he could get the dynamic aspect to function, but ended up he couldn't.

Now that you mention the headlight issue - that's another thing I need to add to my list of reasons people may want an S vs a base. The other being PASM so they can install a TPC DSC box.

I think it's a lot of cost and effort to retrofit bi-Xenons to a base car. I'd probably go the LED route for a slight upgrade or if your lenses are good, add an HID kit to the existing housings instead. That shadowing inside the headlight can be removed by injecting denatured alcohol into the housing, swishing it around on the lens, pouring it out and letting the headlight housing dry lens up, so the alcohol doesn't pool on the lens and make an outline as it evaporates away. You need to us denatured alcohol though, not rubbing alcohol - the latter can actually craze the plastic lens.

Clear projector lens in OEM bi-Xenon headlight

BucketList

I'm with Petza, go with LED's. They have ludicrously bright LED's now. I swapped my kids Halogens out with LED's and they look just as bright as the Xenon's. They are also mostly plug and play in the same socket. One thing I found by trial and error is that the ones with LED emitters all over the barrel are generally not as good. They don't emit the light in the correct way for the lens and reflectors to project it. The ones with emitters on the sides that fire left and right tend to work much better. YMMV

OKB

if theres direct replacement leds I would try that first. There are videos on youtube about different types of leds Or call those lighting stores and talk with them

DanielW

Today I took the headlamps out of my 997.1. The Low Beams are HID Xenon headlight Philips, D2S 35 W. What is weird to me is the VIN decoded as a Halogen headlights maybe the original owners changed the headlights? or maybe it was an upgrade that did not show up in the VIN? Anyways it confused me. I think the High Beams are Philips H9, 65 W which is a plain old Halogen bulb I think. The High Beams seemed plenty bright to me.

So I guess this means I do have Xenon headlights for some reason. I did notice that the one I pulled there was a little off-white spot on the center bulb of the old bulb, so maybe it was on its way out kind of. I don't know if these Xenon's dim for oncoming traffic or not, I don't know what to look for, it was the first time I ever took apart a Porsche headlight, it was a bit of an experience getting it out for sure, re-assemble is easier. The 2nd one will be a snap.

A tiny amount of little particles escape down into the lens area. when I pulled out the high beams. Ugggghh, did not anticipate that/ I wish there was a way to suck those out of there. The high beam plug-in is super awkward to get at and I needed a needle nose pliers to reach into there and twist it out and back in. The low beam is easy in and easy out.

Lastly, On Amazon they have these PHILIPS Xenon X-TremeVision Gen2 +150% D2S HID Xenon Bulbs Set of Two 85122XV2C1, which looks like a good option. Any one try those? Any opinions?

alexb76

I have upgraded my Halogen bulbs to higher end Phillips that made a big difference on my VW, not sure if changing Xenon bulb is advisable due to requiring enough wattage and high voltage to drive them. But someone who might have done it should chime in.

BLU997

Because we're all north of an, ahem, certain age, probably, lights matter. Remember the good old days? Candles ran a close second to headlamps.
New vehicle lighting systems are absolutely amazing, low power, blastingly bright, reliable, self levelling, steerable etc. etc.
However, as lights have improved, so have road signs, the new reflective road signs now, are super efficient and I find the back glare is so overpowering, it actually deteriorates a driver's night focus.