Confused about headlight upgrades

[TomJ]

I have done several searches and read about people upgrading to H4s so excuse this seemingly redundant post.

I have an 89 Carrera

Looking at the lights offered by pelican for an H4 upgrade I see:

the Euro style H4 lights with the new trim ring.

I also see some lights that are billed as H4s that look like they just replace the units already on the car and don't come with the trim ring because they are supposed to have the "original" look.

Someone told me that these are only for older porsches with a different light but on pelican it looks like they would work for my car.

Any help is appreciated.
Tom

[Zeke]

Can't H5 cars just install a higher wattage lamp?

Just asking. I like my H5's AFA looks.

[TomJ]

It may be ignorance but I never knew my solution could be a higher wattage bulb. Do I have to worry about blinding other cars if I go up in wattage?

I have had this car for more than 10 years and my only complaint is that the headlights suck.
Tom

[NathanR]

TomJ and Milt,

I've read a lot of posts on this topic because I'm thinking about doing it myself. I have an 87 with H5s. Here's what I've read:
-the H5 Lens is the problem. Higher wattage bulbs would help some, theoretically, but the distribution pattern in the lens is not great.
-the H5 Lens is made of plastic (I took mine apart this past weekend and verify that) and at some point, higher wattage would make the fixture melt. I don't know how much is too much
- The H4 has a slightly different trim ring, which is why, if you want it to color match your paint like your current trim rings, you need to get the kit with the primered rings not the chrome. If you want chrome, go for it.
- it looks like there are a couple web sites that you can order custom mixed paint in a rattle can to match your paint code to paint the trim rings
- definitely install a headlight relay.

I'm pretty close to pulling the trigger on this project. My left headlight lens is broken (bullet hole) and I'm getting sick of that. The main beam on that side also doesn't work, and I've not yet figured out why -- its not a burnt out bulb, I checked.

Cheers,
Nathan

My first DE is in T-5 days...

[tcar]

Bullet hole!!!!!!!!!!!

?????????????????

OH.

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by TomJ

I have done several searches and read about people upgrading to H4s so excuse this seemingly redundant post.

I have an 89 Carrera

Looking at the lights offered by pelican for an H4 upgrade I see:

the Euro style H4 lights with the new trim ring.

I also see some lights that are billed as H4s that look like they just replace the units already on the car and don't come with the trim ring because they are supposed to have the "original" look.

Someone told me that these are only for older porsches with a different light but on pelican it looks like they would work for my car.

Any help is appreciated.
Tom

The RoW 911 H4 and H1 set ups w/ the thin trim rings are non-sealed units and were/are not legal for road use in the US per US DoT. They are quite desireable because of the beam pattern, drive back to back w/ US sealed beams and you will see the difference. They are not up to the standard set by current Zenon high intensity units.


These are RoW non sealed H4s w/ thin painted trm rings, oem had black plastic under the trim rings after market will have chrome


On left aftermarket Bosch RoW H4, on right US type 7" H4 assembly


'89s used a later variant, the H5, they sort of look like the RoW H4 but are a USDoT legal sealed beam unit. They incorporate a bubble at the lens focus, the H5 bulb resides in the bubble. The bubbles limits the heat capacity of the unit

H4 & H1 bulbs can be easily upgraded to higher wattages, if you use a headlight relay kit, There are H5 upgrades but they are far more limited that for H4

[javadog]

Originally Posted by TomJ

I also see some lights that are billed as H4s that look like they just replace the units already on the car and don't come with the trim ring because they are supposed to have the "original" look.

Someone told me that these are only for older porsches with a different light but on pelican it looks like they would work for my car.

The lights that are offered as drop in replacements for an earlier (up through 1986) 911 require the exterior trim parts that were used through those years and commonly reffered to as "sugar scoops." After 1986, a 911 did not come with these parts, as they are not used with an H5 light. If you wanted to go this route, you'd have to find a set of these trim pieces.

My suggestion would be to buy a set of the ROW H4 lights. They are the better option.

JR

[TomJ]

Thank you for all the responses. Now I understand about the different lights. I didn't know about the sugar scoop trim pieces. I'm going to with the standard euro style h4s.
Tom

[steve911]

Tom--
Check the connectors on the back of your H5s. I seem to recall that the euro style H4s have a different connector than the H5s (ie you just can't plug the H4s in).
As I said, I'm not positive about this.

[tcar]

True.

You have to get a different connector to use anything but H5 lights.

You can get a pair at an auto parts store and splice it in. Make sure everything is hooked up correctly thought.

High, Low and Ground.

[ZOA NOM]

I got great results by cleaning the inside of my H5's, adding a relay setup, and installing Hella 450 driving lights in my fog holes. WAY more light than I ever need. Search my username and headlight relays.

[KTL]

Here's how I did it.

H5 Headlight Change to H4

I started out with the lens cleaning and that worked well. But the change in the lens/headlight assembly did make a much bigger difference. The light pattern is much more defined and I like the clear look of the Euro H4 lens as well.

[TomJ]

Thank you for the additional info. I knew some extra work would be involved, the links provided will make the job lot easier.
Tom