lighting conversion

[Guest]

Any thoughts...
I had an Ice Shark lighting conversion on order when Dan sadly passed away, as i know other 944/968 drivers did. i don't want to disrespect Dan in any way, but does anyone know of anyone else who is, or could, put this kit together.
Could it be copied from one of the kits out there? (Mr Sims???)
Matt

 

[Fen]

I don't think it is disrespectful to look for an alternative now. It is long enough since Dan's sad passing and while I would not insult him by suggesting the IceShark kit was his "legacy" it is a great product by all accounts and someone should fill the gap by offering a similar item based on what Dan developed. I didn't have one so I am not even sure what was involved, but someone who did buy a kit may be able to help even if they don't want to get involved in making them up.

 

[dlknight]

There is a thread similar to this on rennlist where Dan was a regular poster. I think maybe one of the american folks is attempting to obtain the spares from Dan's relative's. Will see if I can find the thread.

Cheers

Dave K.

 

[Guest]

I know that John Sims had a kit fitted, and that coupled with new lenses it made a huge difference.

I don't want to be presumptious, but maybe John would agree to having his 'copied', if someone arranged for the work to be carried out.

Perhaps a group buy might make it worthwhile?

yours, in the dark

Matt

 

[eitnurg]

We discussed this a few weeks ago. I have done a bit of research and the answer seems quite simple.

A wiring loom by Painless-Performance is available from resellers such as Summit Racing quite cheaply (note the part no PRF 30815 for H4's). It seems good quality and also uses the same waterproof Hella relays that Dan used - which I couldn't track down in the UK.

Another item in Dan's kit was an adjustable voltage regulator to up the voltage from the alternator - these can be got here.

At the moment I have these in my sweaty hands just waiting for a bit of clement weather so I can start fiddling with the car. An excellent US$ rate and a credit card does wonders.

Obviously Cibie 7" lamps and high wattage bulbs to complete the process are easily available in the UK.

Hope this helps.

 

[Guest]

thanks for that, it seems to make sense.

would you let us know how you get on when you get weather

Matt

 

[944turboS]

I am also interested to hear the results & would certainly buy if a group purchase were organised.

 

[sawood12]

Anyone done any sums to establish what is needed and how much it costs? I've been looking at a Hids 4 U kit which is fairly well received on the 993's which just consists of an uprated bulb and the necessary upgraded harnesses and other gubbins but it's only £250. I realise the Ice Shark kit is a much better fix technically, but there is a cost/benefit balance to be considered.

If my memory serves me right the IceShark kit consisted of the Cebe lights, uprated electical harness, uprated alternator voltage regulator and an extra earthing strap. I have been struggling this winter with the std lights as I drive alot on unlit roads and have had to use my front fog lights constatntly so I would be interested in a cost effective upgrade.

 

[Guest]

Hi Maurice,

what's the likely cost of an HID conversion, were it possible.

Matt

 

[944turboS]

I've been looking at a Hids 4 U kit which is fairly well received on the 993's which just consists of an uprated bulb and the necessary upgraded harnesses and other gubbins but it's only £250.

 

[Guest]

£250 would be great, but would it fit?

 

[pae]

I found this one in the UK (for H4 lamps) but it's a bit more money []. Is that a bad deal, or is it because they are H4 (don't know what the 993 uses) ?

http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/home.php?cat=620

EDIT - answered my own question. I guess this is the outfit the 993's are purchasing from... http://www.hids4u.co.uk/product_details.asp?id=44

Phil

 

[944turboS]

I think this is the kit sawood found
http://www.hids4u.co.uk/product_details.asp?id=45

 

[pae]

Looks like we posted at the same time, although slightly different kits.

Phil

 

[944turboS]

I also like the look of their Bixenon upgrade from the regular H4 halogen as a cheaper alternative for £130.

http://www.hids4u.co.uk/product_details.asp?id=214

 

[Fen]

Bi-xenon is not a great idea: xenon bulbs take a few seconds to sort themselves out when they switch on, and apparently it does them no good to be switched on and off quickly, therefore they would need a bit of settling down when main beam is turned on and flashing would be really bad. The hearse has factory xenons, but they only fit dip beam units (though they are awesome). I imagine it is not possible to fit only dip beam xenon in an H4 application (as the H4 has 2 filaments), but equally the 944 has separate driving lights (usually, unless they have been removed [&:]) so if there is a single filament bulb that fits an H4 holder, or better if there is a 7" halogen light unit that takes a single filament bulb that could be fitted I think the gain going xenon would more than offset the loss of a main beam filament in the pop-ups. Some things to consider that I picked up reading an article about xenons generally a few weeks ago:

• Only Philips and Osram make xenon bulbs for car manufacturers, so all OE xenons use one of those brands. Cheap kits tend to use cheaper bulbs.
• OE xenons run at 4600 kelvin (I think it's kelvin). Don't be fooled into going for anything higher as they have to coat the bulb glass to get the colour temperature much above 5500 and that means they lose brightness. 4600 is chosen to be closest to daylight anyway and that is what our eyes are designed to work at.
• Because of the above Philips and Osram don't make bulbs higher than 5000-odd kelvin. All the 6000, 8000 etc. bulbs are inferior far eastern makes that don't work so well nor run so bright.
• The optics play a huge part in the performance and the best solution would be to get the lamp unit from something like the hearse complete and mount it behind a clear glass cover to seal it from road muck.
• HID bulbs in a lens designed for halogen don't have the beam cut-off accuracy of proper HID optics and are the ones that you probably find annoying coming the other way.
• I *think* retrofit HID doesn't legally require dynamic headlight levelling, but again the lack of it contributes to annoying other drivers with overbright lights dazzling them.

 

[Guest]

All this HID stuff is all well and good, but doesn't it still assume that you have a good enough power source to the existing lights? In which case, a modified harness is still needed.

 

[Fen]

I think the point is it needs much less power than halogen lights.

 

[sawood12]

I've not looked into the detail's of the kit but accepting that the shape of the std 944 headlight reflector means you are not getting the optimal throw of the HID light i'm sure it's a damn sight better than the std 944 headlight. I wouldn't be too upset about loosing the sidelight feature of the main headlights as I would like to mod my lights so the pods stay down on sidelights anyway. Again i've not looked into the detail but i'm sure the kit must take into account the flipping from dipped headlights to main beam thing. Anyway it must be worth a look.

Of course a nice side effect of the IceShark kit is that due to the uprated earthing and voltage regulator the electric windows work at the right speed and i'm sure solves alot of the electrical gremlins our cars suffer from time to time.

 

[chrisdenton]

Matt

Jon Mitchell has done several lighting upgrades I believe. Give him a call 01202 462951.