Turbo S Front Bumper Duct Install
I've never really liked the fog light unit on the 993 which I think lets the look of the front end down. This is made worse by the fact that after upgrading the dipped beams to HID I'm less likely to ever need the front fog lights (especially as its not a daily driver so mainly summer use) and when they are on the colour looks very yellow compared to the HIDs and LED sidelight bulbs.
There is an OEM option that I do really like which is the Turbo S ducts which have an additional air intake for the Air Conditioning Condenser and Oil Cooler in place of the fog lights.
I was really impressed by the improvement in light quality the change from a halogen to LED bulb made in the sidelights (supplied as part of the HID kit documented previously) so decided to take this one stage further.
Gert Carnewal offers an upgraded LED unit for the Turbo S ducts in place of the standard Halogen units. This has the advantage of being made to measure ie custom LED enclosure and OEM connection. I ordered one of these upgraded units to try.
The units some primed ready for paint and the custom LED light housings can be removed (simply pulled off) to make painting easier.
However I did not like the fact that the yellow LEDs could be seen through the front lens so I decided to try some film over the lens to take the yellow contrast away whilst not adversely affecting light quality.
The units as they arrived primed for paint. I have removed one of the light housings for the pics.....
Parts for paint nb the primer was not needed as the units are ready primed I just gave them a key with wet n dry.
Ready for paint
Whilst waiting for the various layers of paint and laquer to dry I tackled the light lenses
I used some proven film from Ebay. There are various options but I thought I would try this stuff first and if I did not like it I could use more traditional smoked film. The advantage of this kit is that it retains a brighter light output than normal film.
Its very easy to use, you just cut to a rough shape and remove the backing to reveal the tacky back. You can put it in place, stretch it, refit it etc... and fix it in place by using a heat gun to cure the glue. It is removable if required with no residue.
One done prior to curing with heat from a hair dryer
The finished ducts
and with the LED units back in place
Before fitting a reminder of what it was like before.....
with HID dipped beam and LED sidelight bulbs
with the yellow looking fog lights on
The retaining clip for the sidelight can be reused with the custom plug and play LED unit
The only "snag" I hit was the the replacement duct did not have the retaining hole of the original. You can use a bolt and washer to retain but it was easy enough to drill a small hole and retain using the original screws
and the finished look (not the best lighting in an underground car park)....
and side lights on.........
and a good colour match to the HIDs
After fitting I realised (Doh!) that as well as allowing extra air flow these would also allow water to enter through the additional vents so I ensured that all electrical connections were fully waterproofed and refitted...
I'm very pleased with these and the sidelights are now bright enough to be used as daylight running lights. They retain the OEM appearance but bring the cars lighting fully up to modern specifications.
Fitted I think the lens film works really well, it hides the yellow LEDs, looks in keeping with the front end and does not affect light output, quality or colour.