Review: Rothaus Exterior LED Kit

[NY65912]

Last year I did Englbert's (Rothaus) LED instrumentation upgrade and that made a world of difference!

So as the 911 quietly awaits a warm day to stretch it's legs I decided to order his Exterior LED kit. http://carmagic.us/external.html

I had pondered whether or not to even bother doing the LED thing. After all I do not do much night driving with the 911 and I was unsure if the LED'd would be too bright in a ricer sort of way.

But I am all for new technology. So I thought about which kit to purchase.

Personally, I do not like the look of LED boards, too modern for me. So as I had such good luck with Englebert's gauge kit I thought I would give his a try.

First the LED kit was shipped right away, a few days for delivery. Everything was neatly and well packed. The bulbs for each position were packed in their own ziploc bag with a note indication position on the car. The included instructions were clear and I proceeded.

In addition to swapping out the bulbs I used contact cleaner on all sockets and cleaned and polished all lenses. All exterior bulbs swapped, boom done.

The install of the LED turn indicators in the tach presented a little more of a challenge.

One must piggy back on to a ground and then swap out the bl/Wh iwre to each indicator socket. I pulled the tach, a PITA by itself and also the speedo. I was able to use the ground lug on the speedo and ran the provided wire to the spade connectors on the indicator bulb holders. Boom done.

I then changed the provided flasher for LEDs. Boom done.

My first impression was, that was easy. Second impression was. WOW these are really bright, but in a good way, the car still posses' a bulb look but with a brightness that is modern. The signals are crisp and highly visible.

I am VERY happy that I went with Rothaus' LED kit. Well done Englebert!

I will post photos as soon as can.

[75 911s]

Thanks for the review Mike. I was happy with his gauge kit as well.

[John W.]

Mike,
Thanks for the info. This is good to know. I've been wanting to convert to LEDs for my instrument lights. Would you recommend these over some of the overs I've been reading about on this site. I don't need the absolute best just decent ones.
Thanks and have a happy holiday,

[fireguyfire]

Where could a guy buy these kits?


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[matthewb0051]

Originally Posted by fireguyfire

Where could a guy buy these kits?


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Get them from Englbert. see link in first post.

I've had my interior set for a year or two and simply love them! It takes the guess work out of driving at night.

[NY65912]

Carmagic, LED Lights for Classic Porsches. I absolutely would recommend these!

[RSBob]

[fireguyfire]

Heres a question for you guys that already have the interior set; would you recommend the bright white or vintage white set?

[Missed Approach]

Love the Vintage white- perfect match! (1986 coupe)

[fireguyfire]

That does look sharp!

[Techno Duck]

I have the vintage white on my '88; suits the car perfectly and makes the gauges visible at night. A well worth while upgrade.

[DaveMcKenz]

The bright white is more pure white, the vintage white looks slightly amber. I have the bright white and it looks great. Pictures are difficult, maybe because cameras try to correct the whites.
If you are consistent throughout the car, either one will look fine.
BTW I have this product, and it is very well put together.
Good luck,
Dave

[75 911s]

My bright whites. BTW. Good to know the other kit has the turn signal tach lights in it.

[universeman]

I have Englbert's LED gauge lights in vintage white, they are an excellent product.

I do like the idea of using single-spot LEDs externally, although I used Spoke's boards for turn signals and brake/tail. My thinking is - the brake lights on our cars are a small surface area so more light is better. And the turn signals are just cool - white DRL or headlight, but turns amber when signaling.

[NY65912]

These were taken in daylight. The photos do not do justice to the LEDs. However, I am very pleased.


Right Turn

Backup Lights

Brake Lights

[Brian Cameron]

Resurrecting old thread with a question: Carmagic exterior light kit lists two different option, BA7 and T5. What’s the difference / which one is the right fit for a 79 SC?

TIA

[Tippy]

OP never posted pics....

[rothaus]

Originally Posted by Brian Cameron

Resurrecting old thread with a question: Carmagic exterior light kit lists two different option, BA7 and T5. What’s the difference / which one is the right fit for a 79 SC?

TIA

The earlier car's 73 and earlier have most likely BA7s bulbs. The impact bumper cars should have the mini wedge T5 bulbs.

However, please check what's in you specific car.

BA7s



T5


Cheers
Engelbert

[Brian Cameron]

Excellent, thanks for the clarification. Now just need to get authorization from the chief financial officer... it’s her car.

BTW was there an issue with cruise and brake light with these? Any resolution if so?

Ran into similar issue on the 993 with the Bergvill FX LED brake lights, they needed the greater load that the incandescents provide when not lit, or cruise deactivates, believing that there is a brake light issue. Tore came up with a relay/resistor circuit to resolve this.

[Canada Kev]

It's cool to get really bright bulb replacement LED upgrades. In addition to the brightness, they react quicker than incandescent filament bulbs. The brake reaction time at 30 miles per hour between LEDs and incandescent bulbs can lead to a stopping distance delta of about five feet. That could be the difference between someone wearing your rear bumper in their grill and only a crap your drawers experience.

Brian, I have Spoke's tail and signal light LED boards. Let me know if you'd like to take a look at them to see what they look like and I'll swing by some evening this week. They are obviously different than these bulb replacement type upgrades, but still something to think about.