Back in June 2023, at LPR's Autocross #5 at Salinas Airport an interesting thing happened.
As I went into full brake at the finish of my first run, the drivers side headlight shot out of the car. I'm sure it gave the timing station quite a start as it bounced across the tarmac.
The lights on this car were already starting to show a lot of crazing, but they were not chipped or deeply scratched. This kind of incident makes your gut sink when it happens. A replacement headlight is $2,500 and then of course you need 2 so they match...
I had come across Lightwerkz via one of the Porsche Facebook groups I follow. I reached out to them and they responded the same day. I waited until the end of the 2023 season to get them removed and packed up for shipment.
The lights were sent to Lightwerkz for lens and bulb replacement. The lens replacement job is $800 for both headlights. I had two new lamps installed for $200 since they were likely original to the car and 10 years old.
Shipping from the UPS store with insurance, box, etc., was $300. Lightwerkz shipped them sent back via UPS 3-day for $147.
Here's what the newly re-lensed headlights look like.
Lightwerkz did a fantastic job packaging and sending them back. I should note that they used some pool noodle foam to pack them; I should have done that for their outbound trip but instead I used a roll of bubble wrap we had here at the house.
Here is some closeups of some additional repair work Lightwerkz did on these lights. The tabs were likely damaged during the disengagement during AutoX or it may have been with an early owner of the car. In any case Lightwerkz made some repairs to make sure the tabs and ballast were sealed and secured.
I’m pleased with the vendor, their work and expense. Next, I’ll look into some PPF for the lights to keep them protected.
As to root cause of why it wasn’t secured? I have to take responsibility. I had taken a rock hit to the radiator at a track day last year. Had the radiator replaced by a vendor. Later I installed some grill guards to protect the radiators. While I had the bumper off I realized that the car was missing the body clips that hold the bumper to the car and that non-standard screws had been used in a few places fastening the liners to the bumper. I replaced all that with OEM parts. Anyway, I had the bumper off last and must not have cranked that headlight tightening screw down hard enough. Now, I’ll add that to my tech list for events.