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996 Tail Lights


cs124
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So, I need new tail lights for my 996.2 coupe.

A few questions:

Are the tail lights model year or country specific? 

Any recommended vendors? And conversely, any that have a less than stellar reputation?

What causes the tail light lenses to crack? Mine show no signs of impact, but have star shaped cracks radiating out from a central point?

TIA

 

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The early (98/99) ones have amber indicator covers, the later ones have white with amber bulbs.  Presumably this change correlates with the amber / non amber headlight 'upgrade'.

There is no difference LHD to RHD taillights; they are wired differently for parking lights but thats in the loom - the units themselves are not handed like headlights are.

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13 hours ago, cs124 said:

So, I need new tail lights for my 996.2 coupe.

A few questions:

Are the tail lights model year or country specific? 

Any recommended vendors? And conversely, any that have a less than stellar reputation?

What causes the tail light lenses to crack? Mine show no signs of impact, but have star shaped cracks radiating out from a central point?

TIA

 

Heat time and sun, if you go for a decent drive the tail lights tend to heat up then add the bulb heat...

Also best to purchase in a pair if possible in terms of even wear (if you're pedantic - like me)

Lot of guys in the US go LED they aren't cheap and I don't particularly like the look. 

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I'd swap over to LED. No heat and they really do make the car look more modern.

Let me know if you go LED i might join you:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Porsche-Carrera-911-996-1999-2004-LED-lamp-tail-light-lamps-clear/282412406887?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

 

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  • 3 months later...
On 20/08/2018 at 12:49, dan_189 said:

Heat time and sun, if you go for a decent drive the tail lights tend to heat up then add the bulb heat...

Also best to purchase in a pair if possible in terms of even wear (if you're pedantic - like me)

Lot of guys in the US go LED they aren't cheap and I don't particularly like the look. 

Was just going to ask about tail lights. I have a 2000 996 C4 and it’s fitted with LED tail lights (Also headlights have LED park/indicators) I like the look of them but have known nothing else. I was about to ask if they are original but this thread confirms to me they aren’t. A bit disappointing wasn’t mentioned on PPI. Still all good though.

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14 minutes ago, AussieRick said:

Was just going to ask about tail lights. I have a 2000 996 C4 and it’s fitted with LED tail lights (Also headlights have LED park/indicators) I like the look of them but have known nothing else. I was about to ask if they are original but this thread confirms to me they aren’t. A bit disappointing wasn’t mentioned on PPI. Still all good though.

Thats dissapointing, who did the PPI? 

Were you on the rennlist Australia thread?

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1 hour ago, dan_189 said:

Thats dissapointing, who did the PPI? 

Were you on the rennlist Australia thread?

Yes was on rennlist. It’s great for some of the mechanical advice but was recommended to look here and I like the local content. Bought the car off Carsales so paid Redbook for PPI. They picked some things not standard that I now think were options but not the lights or whatever else I find. Overall have been happy with their appraisal. Mechanical no big surprises - yet......

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2 minutes ago, AussieRick said:

Yes was on rennlist. It’s great for some of the mechanical advice but was recommended to look here and I like the local content. Bought the car off Carsales so paid Redbook for PPI. They picked some things not standard that I now think were options but not the lights or whatever else I find. Overall have been happy with their appraisal. Mechanical no big surprises - yet......

I made the same recommendation! Definitely agree, so much technical content on rennlist but all the great social stuff happens on here!

Fair enough, hope you're enjoying the 996!

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38 minutes ago, dan_189 said:

I made the same recommendation! Definitely agree, so much technical content on rennlist but all the great social stuff happens on here!

Fair enough, hope you're enjoying the 996!

 

It’s been a dream for many years to own a 911 inspired Porsche. Almost bought an 80’s something 930 in 99 but divorce got in the way. I love the car. Drive her daily. Love her madly. Hope this post isn’t breaking any gender rules.

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  • 2 years later...

Look at similar car headlights on the car market because no one will send you a link. Moreover, you probably have your taste, and so on. But I can give you some advice about LED light, and it looks much brighter and more beautiful than usual. And as far as I remember, they are even cheaper than the usual ones. I recently bought myself even an LED lamp for camping, which I adore. However, it is better not to drive a Porsche out of town, then you have to wash the car, and this is so lazy to do, to be honest :) Well, I hope you were interested in my opinion, good luck in choosing headlights for your beautiful car :)

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What usually happens is cracking on the inner mounting of the tail lights.  It was a design flaw.  They can even fall out on the road.  These are the way to stop that happening if you see the the hairline cracks around the two bolts on each side.  https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/113426920981

 

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23 hours ago, Merv said:

What usually happens is cracking on the inner mounting of the tail lights.  It was a design flaw.  They can even fall out on the road.

 

When I purchased my 996.2 I also had purchased the factory X74 lowering kit from Carnewal at the time just before my car was delivered to Aus.

In the kit were two odd looking brackets - At the time I could not work out what they were for.

I quick email to Gert over at Carnewal confirmed that these were indeed some strengthening/support brackets for the rear tail light assemblies.

I fitted these as my X74 suspension kit was added - Porsche must have been aware of the issue (especially if the car has stiffer suspension fitted) as they were factory brackets that came with the X74 kit.

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On 22/07/2021 at 20:33, Merv said:

What usually happens is cracking on the inner mounting of the tail lights.  It was a design flaw.  They can even fall out on the road.  These are the way to stop that happening if you see the the hairline cracks around the two bolts on each side.  https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/113426920981

 

Just an FYI for everyone, there's now two versions of this product. A plastic version and a slightly more expensive metal version. The metal version is quoted as being "thinner, stronger and better looking". It looks the same to me from images, and you'll need to decide on whether the application really needs to be thinner and/or stronger than it already is.

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14 hours ago, st3ve said:

Is this mod only for the widebody lights? I have a narrow body 6.2 and my lights attach quite differently.

I believe so, yes. Not sure if there's another solution in the market for the narrow body cars.

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