Update on HID Xenon for 911

[spiff]

Well, I've been trying to fiddle with getting HID's installed on my car for a few months as first documented here:


Since then I've been trying to use Beetle repro headlights because they are cheaper and easier to get.

Updates on progress are that I was able to fit the ballast and wiring inside the driver side headlight bucket and did the standard relay wiring at the fuse box by the battery. I'm running power from the battery through a 20 amp fuse, then directly to the existing wires running to the headlight. I was going to run dedicated new 12 gauge wiring, but the ballast wiring is only 14 gauge. I'm still running the power through the 8 amp factory fuses (one per side) and for the hour that they were on, nothing even got warm. So this means No cutting or drilling was required to get the ballasts to fit or to install new wiring. I ended up having to use a 2nd bracket to mount the ballast and it's a very tight fit, but it does work.


So tonight I finally got the wiring done and installed one headlight. I still have to do some fine tuning and aiming. Here's some pics....





To sum up, the system comprises:
- Beetle headlights (repro)
- Bosch bi-xenon projector units
- Hella gen 3 ballasts with integrated ingnitors
- 4300k Xenon bulbts
- Custom adaptor to mount the projector to the Beetle housing
- Custom adaptor to mount the ballast to the 1st adpator.


I can actually get the 2 adaptor plates made up with reasonable cost in stainless steel, but it would have to be in some minimum order quantity.

Is anyone else interested in doing this and/or purcahsing the adaptor plates? I'd have to get a more specific price, but the quaninty would have to be at least 10 sets to make it worth while...
Would anyone be interested in buying the entire kit? (everything listed above)

Your comments and feedback are most appreciated. Thanks.

[spiff]

morning bump. Any comments or feedback?

[Spede]

Wow! Very cool... I give you an "A+" for ingenuity.

[Emission]

My honest $.02 worth...

The light output looks good, and your approach seems solid, but the headlight unit itself looks horrible on the front of a beautiful 911.

No offense, but there is a bit of aesthetic design that has to go into the headlight, and your prototype is missing it. Were you going to add frosting to the lens, or a cover of some sort?

[jester911]

I agree with emission. If you had a more euro H1 or H4 type lens with out having that eyeball effect it would be much more attractive. Light out put is good though.

[spiff]

Thanks guys. This is exactly why I request input - to get knowledgable and helpful feedback. My wife pointed out that it doesn't look the greatest as well. I'll try adding some frosted film on the inside of the lense in a pattern similar to the 993 lights to see what it looks like. I guess being an engineer makes me more excited about everything fit in the bucket without cutting than how it aesthetically looks.

[ischmitz]

Excuse my ignorance but from the pictures it looks like you only did the drivers' side so far. Even the shot in the dark suggests that you have one side with HID and one side with conventional light.

I agree with what others said. The looks could improve but I like the idea. Can you use the 993 version of the glass or something similar?

Cheers,
Ingo

[randywebb]

Do you have comparisons with H1s or H4s re performance?