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I bought and installed the Suncoast kit not long after purchasing my '07 C2S a couple years ago. My biggest gripe was the disco ball effect it created in the passenger foot well created by the defuser with the LED's installed. It looked pretty bad so I was looking for other ideas.
I came across another thread where someone swapped out their interior (along with the frunk and engine compartment) lighting using these Philips LED's. Since the Philips already have a diffuser on the bulb itself, it doesn't produce that weird disco ball effect when going through the diffuser on the bulb housing.
I'd give these Philips a try. Since you already know how to pop open those light housings now, installing the Philips LED's should be straight forward and give you a better looking result.
Originally Posted by G.I.G.
Yes. I was initially concerned that with the 6000k rating of the Philips they would look blue, but that’s not the case. They produce a clean, bright white light with no blue or purple tint that I can observe. I did notice some purple in the foot wells with that Suncoast kit, however.
From what I’ve read and observed, 5000k, 5500k, and 6000k can all look very similar depending on the manufacturer.
Circling back to close the loop on this topic.
I did purchase the Philips diffused LED's and installed them in the footwell receptacles. (Purpose being to eliminate some of the uneven "disco *****" affect that the Suncoast 194 LED's gave off.)
Bottom line for me - I did not like the Philips LED's. They utilize a white translucent diffuser which takes some of the optical edge away, but the amount of actual light output of them is significantly less than the LED's included with the Suncoast package. I liked the look of the ones from Suncoast much better - really brightened up the interior better.
As a comparison FYI, the photo below shows three bulbs - the OEM incandescent; the Suncoast Canbus 194 LED; and the Philips LED.
Footwell bulb / LED's. Stock incandescent; Suncoast kit Canbus 194 LED; and a Philips X-Treme Ultinon 6000k diffused LED. Interesting to see that the 997 OEM footwell lens has a VW logo molded on it...
USPMotor Sports has a LED kit that has the perfect set of bulbs for 997. Not blue, no disco ball, etc. I have studied hundreds of various LED bulbs and these guys found flat bulbs for the footwell That I have never seen before . All the other kits are made up from garden variety bulbs. Just my opinion.
USPMotor Sports has a LED kit that has the perfect set of bulbs for 997. Not blue, no disco ball, etc. I have studied hundreds of various LED bulbs and these guys found flat bulbs for the footwell That I have never seen before . All the other kits are made up from garden variety bulbs. Just my opinion.
Looking at their website, it appears that the flat-style LED wedge mount bulbs are no longer sold by them...
The wedge-mount LED's are the ones that go into the footwell units, the glovebox unit, the lower courtesy / safety light in each lower door area, and the two map lights (in the dome light cluster). Those 194 LED's are similar to the ones sold by Suncoast. USP Motorsports calls them T10 5smd LED's.
For Ironman88 and others. The USPMotorsports bulbs are perfect. What is not perfect is their website. If you put in model year for 997.1 you will go to the listing that shows the kit. This is in stock and actually on sale and you want this.. I called them and asked about .2 cars and they at the time (last summer) said they had not actually tried the kit in a 997.2 car. Hence the listing for 997.1 cars. If you type in 997.2 car years, you will only go to the individual bulb listings. That is not the place. The real answer is for the interior lights the cars ,997.1 and .2 are identical. It is not really a screw-up on their part as they are just being cautious in their listing. These guys have gone to a lot of effort to put together the lighting kits and the video is very helpful in that it will tell you where and how to pry the light fixtures out so you don't break any tabs.
The SKU for the kit you want is 1794. Their mfg # is RFB 997 INT. After I installed the kit in my 2011 997.2 I notified them that the kit does indeed work in the .2 cars but that has not made it in their website. The video is great and the lights are ideal. Just a customer. One of the few areas where .1 and .2 are the same.
For Ironman88 and others. The USPMotorsports bulbs are perfect. What is not perfect is their website. If you put in model year for 997.1 you will go to the listing that shows the kit. This is in stock and actually on sale and you want this.. I called them and asked about .2 cars and they at the time (last summer) said they had not actually tried the kit in a 997.2 car. Hence the listing for 997.1 cars. If you type in 997.2 car years, you will only go to the individual bulb listings. That is not the place. The real answer is for the interior lights the cars ,997.1 and .2 are identical. It is not really a screw-up on their part as they are just being cautious in their listing. These guys have gone to a lot of effort to put together the lighting kits and the video is very helpful in that it will tell you where and how to pry the light fixtures out so you don't break any tabs.
The SKU for the kit you want is 1794. Their mfg # is RFB 997 INT. After I installed the kit in my 2011 997.2 I notified them that the kit does indeed work in the .2 cars but that has not made it in their website. The video is great and the lights are ideal. Just a customer. One of the few areas where .1 and .2 are the same.
Thanks for this follow up info Floyd540.
I sifted through their website and found just the flat 194's that I can use in the footwell units. ($13 for the pair.)
I also picked up a pair of the rear license plate LED's from them for $27. (The price from Suncoast for those is $79.) Those were listed tied to the 997.1 also (and not the 997.2). I verified however that they are the same bulbs for both generations.
Based on the feedback and advice from Floyd540, I purchased the footwell lights from USP Motorsports. (They can be purchased individually.)
They do fit much better into the footwell light enclosures. The illumination from them is more even as compared with the LED's from Suncoast. Photos below...
LED unit from Suncoast. The small yellow elements produce un-defused illumination - like little laser beams. That's what creates the "disco-ball" affect through the lens onto the floor below... The Suncoast LED does not stay securely in the connection. USP Motorsports provided flat LED on left. Suncoast LED on right. Illumination elements on the flat bulb do not create the "disco ball" affect on the floor. Flat LED mounts much more securely in the lens connector. Finished look is much better I think...
Glad it worked out for you , 'cause I am never right or helpful. I think these guys at UPSMotorsports have done a great job of putting together the world's best kit of bulbs for these cars and at a good price for the quality. I have a new set of Lloyd's floormats, black with the silver thread logo and the porsche logo looks like it is backlit with the fancy-dancy side looking footwell LED lights.
LED optics, as a rule, cannot be repaired, and if the headlight was damaged in an accident or simply got a defective copy, and the warranty period has already expired, you will have to fork out a rather impressive amount.
LED optics, as a rule, cannot be repaired, and if the headlight was damaged in an accident or simply got a defective copy, and the warranty period has already expired, you will have to fork out a rather impressive amount. But this is perhaps the only drawback of this optics, otherwise it is beautiful. Let's say I have LED lamps and headlights everywhere in my Porsche, and for many years yet. From my personal experience I can say that their life guarantee is about 3-4 years, which is a lot. Especially when you consider the fact how well and brightly they shine, even in comparison with xenon.
Hey Floyd, based on your input I purchased the LED kit from USP Motorsports. Absolutely perfect! Not one single issue. I now have actual light when I open the doors at night.
LED optics, as a rule, cannot be repaired, and if the headlight was damaged in an accident or simply got a defective copy, and the warranty period has already expired, you will have to fork out a rather impressive amount. But this is perhaps the only drawback of this optics, otherwise it is beautiful. Let's say I have
and headlights everywhere in my Porsche, and for many years yet. From my personal experience I can say that their life guarantee is about 3-4 years, which is a lot. Especially when you consider the fact how well and brightly they shine, even in comparison with xenon.