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Category: Lights Price (no $ sign please): $995 Private or Vendor Listing: Private Listing Part fits (select ONLY those which apply): 356, 911, 912, 964 Location (Region): NorthWest Item Condition: Brand New
I have recently introduced LED headlamps for Porsches. There has been a great deal of discussion and enthusiasm at Pelican and the Early 911S Registry where I have been most active in the past. One of my customers is a Rennlist member who has installed them on his 964 and he reminded me that I should make the folks here aware of this new offering. There is a lot of information about these at my website:
Both the TruckLites and JW Speakers are great performers. I consider the Speakers as the premium brand for several reasons. I like their beam pattern the best by far as on low beams it starts almost immediately in front of the car vs. a gap for the TruckLites as with most other LED lamps. Also, JW Speaker is a known high-end brand and noted for the quality of their products. They're based in Wisconsin with great support, although it's not needed very often as their LEDs have a lifetime guarantee. And the Speakers have received consistent rave reviews, especially for this second generation. It's kind of like comparing Porsches to VW's, maybe not quite as wide a gap.
Here are a couple of pictures comparing the Speaker first generation low beam (and the low beam most LEDs put out) with their current second generation low beam:
And here two pictures comparing their first generation high beam with their current second generation high beam:
My sense is that they are ahead of everyone else by at least one generation.
Here's a graph of the JW Speaker beam pattern:
The low beam illuminates the road ahead – and the shoulders – to a width of 30 meters, almost 100 feet. Nice in areas where there are animals to watch out for at night. And the high beams project out 450 meters – that equals 1,476 feet or 492 yards. That’s well over a 1/4 mile, almost 5 football fields!
The DOT Speakers for the U.S. come in either chrome or black:
and sell for $1,295.00 with chrome trim rings (I use the high quality chrome plated brass rings, not the stamped steel ones). You can also choose to have black or primer trim rings for $150 extra.
The TruckLites come only in black and cost $995 with chrome rings, same add for black or primer rings.
Thanks for the opportunity to post some additional information. Lots more at my website.
I thought you might be interested in a picture of the JW Speakers installed on a '88 Coupe:
Owners remarks: Here is a quick iPhone photo of the Speakers installed on my 1988 coupe. I replaced the regular city light bulbs with led lights that matched the color temp of my Hella DRLs. No issues with installation. I did have to bend the upper H5 mounting tabs back for adjustment. The lights are off in the pictures (how it looks when the DRLs are on).
Thanks for the props TorqueChap. I can't believe I used to drive at night with sealed beam headlights on my SWB Porsches - downright dangerous. LED headlights are a tremendous advancement in safety. It's all too easy to out-drive our headlights in our 911's. I'm starting to think they are as fundamental a safety feature as seat belts.
John, I got two 1960s Chrysler convertibles. Hate driving at night. The headlights feel like 6V. Someone would be a fool not to upgrade on such a paramount safety feature.
If you would like to geek out on LED lighting like I do I found a link that you will find interesting. Jeep owners are enthusiastic LED users and the JKOwners Forum published an in-depth study of various high performance headlights, including TruckLites and JW Speakers:
Best Overall: J.W. Speaker - "JW Speakers are by far the best headlight I have ever seen."
They outshone the Truck-lite and pretty much all of the competitors. Better output and better clarity but you get a smack in the face of price that makes people pause. The price to me is not the issue, you see a LED is going to last as long as 50+ Halogen bulbs. So even if you are spending $20 a light for replacement bulbs you are still above the price of an LED headlight. So this is one of those buy and forget about it purchases. Don't get me wrong, the Truck-lite did very good and would be a nice entry into the LED market. The difference between the two is what you can achieve with solid optics vs. reflector design with a LED. The light from the J.W. Speaker just left it and everything else in in the dust. The J.W. 8700 Evolutions put out more light at distance and much, much more evenly.
JW Speakers are by far the best headlight I have ever seen. They are ridiculously well made and designed and are worth that kind of money. I understand the value over time of owning them, they last as long as 50+ halogen bulbs or 20 something HID's, that is a LONG time. No moving parts or bulb to break and a very low amp draw are even more selling points. I learned a while ago that rarely sometimes you do get what you pay for. I was seriously skeptical of the value of these lights and I am glad I was proven wrong.
Interestingly, the results in this sophisticated study are the same as the results in my much more primitive study: JW Speakers were the clear winners.
These have been built to be black: black housings, black trim rings and black faced JW Speaker LED headlamps.
The normal price is $1,445.00, $1,295.00 for the headlamps plus $150.00 extra for the powder coated trim rings and housings. I'm including the powder coating for free and offering these for:
11-30-2015, 02:57 PM
LED Headlights for '65-'94 911/912
