CamsPorsche

Hi Rennlisters,

Has anyone used these front LED's on their 997.1?

Was it plug and play and how nice/reliable are they?

For the price they seem quite nice with the white light strip so I'm considering ordering a set.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/180904456965...ht_1520wt_1058

997_Toronto

I have them on my eBay Wish List and agree they look good. Let me know if you're going to order them, maybe we can negotiate a better pricing. I've seen the same lights from other vendors for close to double but at the end of the day, it's all China or Taiwan products.

PhilD

I have the same ones, paid $300 for them on ebay. As far as I am aware they are all from the same manufacturer. Plug and play, no issues. Did the diode in switch hack so the fog lights (bottom row of white LEDs) come on as DRLs.

997_Toronto

Do you recall the vendor you ordered them from? Seems like the price has gone up to about $375.
How simple / difficult was the DRL hack? I dislike having my headlights on as DRL.

CamsPorsche

This is the very reason why I think I'm going to upgrade to these LEDs instead.

I too am curious to know how hard the hack is...

CamsPorsche

I was looking to order relatively soon...let me know if you are keen.

PhilD

It was pretty easy. Unfortunately I didn't take photos. Remove the headlight switch, unplug the switch, cut the cable tie on the plastic connector cover, shorten the leads on the diode slightly, drop it in, and put the connector cover back on with a cable tie, plug the switch back in and you are done. 10-15 minutes, and most of that is just figuring out the way to do it.

These are the instructions I followed:

https://rennlist.com/forums/9458453-post23.html

PhilD

This is who I got them from, no connection/affiliation/etc.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2005-2009-Po...s/301056072990

StormRune

I had these on my 2006 C4. They are easy to change out using the credit-card-like card to unlatch the fog light as described in the owners manual. The rest is plug and play. The card should be in a slot in your leather owners manual. If not, you can use doubled up credit cards, just be careful not to scratch the paint with the raised numbers.

My only initial surprise was that the light bar in the center wasn't brighter when I looked at it right after installation in the day. At night it was bright enough though. Now that I have factory ones on the new 2009 I see that they aren't very bright in the day either. The fog light and turn signal parts are plenty bright all of the time.

Make sure you don't knock off the flattened rubber hose that lets the lights breath to prevent water vapor build-up when installing the new lights. I knocked one of them off the old fog lights when I pulled them out. When returning the car to stock before selling I noticed it was missing and I had to get a new one (to be fair to the buyer). I saw it on the driveway at some point but didn't know what it was at the time and it ended up getting thrown away.

If you have trouble getting the existing for light to snap out, I found that wiggling it by pressing in on the outer side (wheel well side) while pressing the latch card in made it pop out easily. The latch itself has two stops, one to initially unlatch it and a second that catches slightly after the inside edge pops out about an inch or so. Just use the card again to release it the rest of the way. Finally, I suggest laying a blanket or some cushion on the ground below the area you are working just in case you fumble the lights while plugging them in.

semicycler

+1 for these same ones on eBay and the DRL hack with a $2 diode from Radio Shack

PhilD

Yes, the strip in the middle is not very visible during the day, but quite noticeable at night. I don't bother running the front fogs at night, just the headlights and the running light (white center strip). The LEDs are very white and do match the lower color temp of the HIDs, but it is not a big deal.

I leave the light switch in the Home position, so the fog lights (lower (brighter) LEDs) are on as DRLs during the day. If for some reason I don't want them on, I just flip the switch to Off. They still come on as normal fogs when the lights are on by pulling the switch out one stop for front fogs.