I posted about this a few weeks ago. many people misunderstood what I was asking about.

I want to convert my fog lights to HID - NOT AN "HID COLOR" FILAMENT BULB - but a true conversion to High Intensity Discharge. This would include the ballast and all.

I am not interested in any filament bulb because none of those even come close to the real thing.

Has anyone done a TRUE conversion to High Intensity Discharge?

Can anyone recommend a shop in SoCal that might be able to help me on this?

thanks!

 

Your best bet would be to get a xenon/HID kit and have it fitted.. Look out for the voltage issues; the difference might make the 'check lights' message show up.

 

I would not do this for a number of reasons:

1. Ballast would be exposed and water, dust etc. could damage it in no time.

2. Extra draw on startup will far exceed the tiny wiring going to the H3's you have in there now = wiring faults, blown fuses and potential costly repairs to your factory harness. Think thousands not hundreds to repair.

3. In SoCal the extra glaring, blinding light wont go unnoticed by local law enforcement.

4. Fitment, the H3 is short stubby bulb and your sticking a long hacked HID bulb into it and sometimes the capsule will rub on the glass housing = breaking after a few hours. Seen this happen on both H1 and H3 fog housings.

A few bulbs's come very close to the color but of course, not the intensity and lumens of an HID kit. Hoen comes to mind, tons of 997 guys have went that route (google Hoen H3).


But ignoring all of the above, I recommend xenon factory, not local but decent kits. always a group buy going on some forum you might be able to get on. as for local? No idea, autobacs on Beach blvd perhaps? Thats Westminster I think.

 

I have put HID xenon kits( CATZ ) for fogs in all of my cars and never had one problem. Most of it is plug and play. Nothing major and complicated about them. I plan on doing the same when my car arrives. Not a fan of HID(look) bulbs. Generally you have to get up to 75Watts to get them bright enough and then you stand the chance of burning your wires/housing.

I know with Lexus and BMW the output in K is about 4300. Euro's are usually 6000K - which would match the OEM porsche HID's? When I look they look a little more blue than Lexus/BMW but not sure if they hit the 6000K range of blue.

The current draw of them is pretty small 35Watts perhaps - just the voltage is high. Amperage pull is about the same as stock. I don't think you will throw out any errors.

 

You will get a bulb our warning as the computers looking for 55w bulb not 35w bulb. Resistor fixes it though. Now thats assuming the 997 has such a feature in the fogs?

All US cars use DOT marked bulbs that are either 4.100k or 4.300k. Any color shift is from the optics of the projector moving up and down (or left and right now on some cars during driving which makes them look blue or purple from certain angles.

H1 or H3 is a different animal, check the bulb length in the housing to be sure. 9006, H11 etc. have plenty of space, its a much longer bulb.

 

Thanks for the info - wasn't sure but I thought DOT approved HID stayed in the 4100-4300K range but it seems like you know it pretty well.

I checked the H3 bulbs from CATZ and they are very short in comparison.

They are a little pricey but they always are top notch with ballasts, wiring and housings.

I will have to research the 35-55 watt on the OEM H3 bulb. I have never thrown a warning light up from my HID's. BMW is pretty picky about the output as well and I have never had a warning light up.

 

Just pull a fog bulb then start the car, see if it throws a warning at you. Quickest way to check.

 

Will do when the car gets here I got two months to figure it out

 

EUROREV can do it... the are a board sponser ============>

 

There are a few HID brands that sells ballasts with resistors built in. I have one for my motorcycle which checks the voltage levels at startup. I had to get those versions because if the systems didn't detect the proper voltage levels then it'd shut down the headlights. I ended up going with the Xtec HID kit which has worked VERY well for me for the past year and a half. I also did put HIDs in my foglights on my old M5 and IMHO it looked killer. I tried checking the fogs in my 997TT and it's VERY tight in there so I'm not sure if there'd even be room for the ballast units. The M5 front bumper was almost completely enclosed so there was plenty of room without water issues. I'd be concerned about the ballast units in the 997TT bumper because it seems to be a bit open underneath. What I found to be ironic was that unlike my M5, I find myself rarely using the fogs in the 997TT.

 

I am always stunned by the lack of negative response on these topics, xenon fogs defeat their own purpose! it's very showy but it lacks any usability, if you like blinding traffic and driving all day long with your fogs on is your thing you MUST get Xenon fogs, really you do. Your fancy lighting system will be useless in fog and it will add some weight to your performance toy. It could blind others and yourself, but I gotta admit it "looks" better then stock.

 

Roller - its all about show don't cha know? We could use the extra weight in the front - I am sure some will give me a hard time when I put 20's on the TT when it comes in and lowering it. Oh well...

Atomic - I still see you over at the M5 boards I am still there but getting rid of the M5 as well. Ordered an June 27th build 997 TT

Name is ALPINE_M5 there

I can't wait to get my car and see how the housing for the fogs will be find a way to keep the ballasts dry(heard they were pretty weatherproof anyways). But I still would like to put HID fogs in. Of course that is if I don't try to find a way to make the GT3 front nose fit the TT. I heard it was about 40 hours of labor to make it work. Not ready for that kind of project on a new car. Was hoping it was an easy swap. Kinda like how I was hoping the swap to HID's in the fogs for the TT would be easy but it could prove a challenge.

 

Waste of $$$...
Hoen-USA bulbs match pretty damn well if you ask me...

Had them on my Range and now on my 5 series

 

I'd wait and see what the GT2 nose looks like - might be a whole lot easier to swap out for.

 

Ive had Xenon fogs in my S4 since I bought it. I used a 6000K kit I had laying around. Fitted the bulbs and mounted the ballast high up in the bumper. Been working perfectly since. MAD light output as well. Don't really need to use the low beams either.