Hi folks
Just a quick report back on my recent experiments with some Cree LED H4 replacement bulbs.
I've been fed up with the lack of lighting on my 944 for a long time, even my Golf IV has better. I had Osram Nightbreakers, but were still underwhelmed and my next move would have been to fit better wiring and relays. There has been chat recently about HID replacements and I think it was Steve (with the red/white 924T) who said LEDs were the way to go. This got me googling and I found a Rennlist post full of chat from 928 owners about the joys of Cree H4 bulb replacements. There were some stunning 'before and after' pics showing really strong white light and some warnings about cheaper counterfeit bulbs on Ebay without genuine Cree chips.
Chief benefits discussed seemed to be great output, instant on/off and much reduced current draw - which meant I wouldn't need to upgrade my cabling. It all looked like a straight swap ....if they would fit a 944 light pod.
I contacted Steve Woodypeck, who seemed to be UK based and active on RennList and he turns out to be joint RO for TIPEC central region and a sponsor of Rennlist Porsche forum over in the USA. This gave me confidence to avoid the perils of the cheapest Ebay listings with long postal delay from China and buy direct from him - he apparently has sold many upgrades from his business. http://www.woodypeck.com
Cree bulb technology is a constantly developing one and Steve sent me some of the latest black bulbs with integrated circuits. These turned out to be about 10mm to long - being obstructed by the frame bar behind (see pics below). Steve immediately sent me out previous generation silver ones, they are shorter but have the same output and fitted nicely. The return service (he still hasn't received the black units back yet) and fast email responses, proved to me over and over that the small price difference between a gamble on Ebay and choosing to buy from Steve had been a good call. He is a great man to deal with
Fitting was simple enough. I had to snip the rings off the retaining wire spring clips so that they would engage properly - the body of the bulb got in the way otherwise and I have hacked the rubber boot to fit. I'm not sure if its wise to have the boot in place at all as the bulb may get too hot. Apparently the bulb has safety circuitry which will reduce output if it overheats - if that happens then the boots will go. These silver bulbs have a small three pin plug at the end which still just touches the frame bar at the back of the light pod, but I don't think it will be a problem.
I haven't really bothered to count lumens as the Chinese sellers seem to deliberately overstate and confuse but stayed up late last night until it was properly dark for a subjective test. THEY ARE BRILLIANT! Strong white light, fantastic on main beam and I need to adjust upwards the normal headlamp beam as it is a little low. Certainly they did not dazzle the few cars coming in the other direction, which is a good thing, but I would like a little less cut off. I can recommend them without hesitation, as I can Steve as a good source of guaranteed bulbs of the right standard.
Now some self explanatory pics:
