I've always wanted driving lights on my 914, and I recently decided to do it. I bought used OEM fogs and grilles off of Ebay to start with. The grilles were a disaster - 3+ hours of polishing and the still were in poor condition. The OEM fogs weren't too much better - I had to do a complete restoration, including wiring, painting, reflector repair, and extensive cleaning of the hardware. I ended up buying a set of new fog lamp grilles from Pelican Parts for $107 each - OUCH! Well, at least they are beautiful and came in original Porsche packaging.
As I learned more, I realized the fog pattern and intensity of the OEM's wasn't what I wanted. The "factory" driving lights that Automobile Atlanta sells sounded great - until you saw the $300 price tag! They listed an alternative - "Autopal" driving lights for $50, that were said to be a good fit for the 914. They come with an H3 55W bulb, and have a driving light beam pattern. I ordered some and started waiting....
After a screw-up in the parts shipped, I got my lights. Turns out they're not from Autopal (which is an mfg. in India), they're from Neolite (another mfg. in India). The model number is 809, there is a web page at http://www.neoliteppi.com/ . They're not Hella's, but they quality is good enough, the price is right, and they are real driving lights and can be upgraded to 100W H3 bulbs if desired.
The installation took quite a bit of time. First, due to some changes in the way my front valence is attached to the body, I can't simply remove the valence to gain access to the fog/driving lamps - I've got to remove the bumper. Secondly, fabricating the brackets for the Neolite's took more time than I expected. Like all lights, they need a very solid mount.. The simple L-brackets I made were too weak and the lights would vibrate easily. Material much thicker would be too hard for me to work with given the limited tools I have. I was able to make a secure bracket by "doubling up" and making a second L-bracket for each side. Combined with some very large washers, it made for a secure mount.
I also decided to use some new bulbs from PIAA ( http://www.piaa.com/ ). PIAA claims that their super white platinum bulbs have much higher light output per watt input than standard H4 and H3 bulbs: 55/60W = 100/110W (H4), 55W = 85W (H3). Since I didn't want to modify the stock wiring, and these input wattages are the same as OEM ('75/'76 914's had 55W H3 fog lamps), I thought I'd try them.
The results are shown in the pictures below. I really like them so far, in limited use. The PIAA bulbs are very white, none of that "Riceboy blue" kind of look, just raw output. I mounted the Neolites as far up in the grille openings as I could to help in aiming them. However, after reading reports on the Internet, I'm backing off on my recommendation of these bulbs. Actual measurements of light output do not support the enhanced ratings that PIAA claims, and others report very short bulb life compared to standard H4's.
Specifications
Diameter: 114 mm nominal (I found they weren't very round, and varied from 114 to 117
mm)
Beam: Driving Lamp
Bulb: H3 12V 55W (Pelican Parts list members have upgraded to 100W H3's without
problems)
Lens: Clear/Rainbow/Yellow
Reflector: Clear/Golden/Blue
Neolite 809's
Side View
Rear view. Spade is ground, pin is +12V. The case is ungrounded.
Handheld fit to fog grille. There is a 2-3 mm gap all round, it looks very good.
OEM fogs mounted on my car. You can see that the OEM's are actually bigger than the opening.
Before the conversion - OEM Fogs
My old H4's with the OEM fogs.
Headlight beam pattern with the old H4's.
OEM Fog pattern. Amazingly flat, too bad it's not brighter!. Notice how much more yellow it is than the PIAA's above.
OEM Fog on the left, new Neolite with PIAA bulb on the right. WOW! Now that's a driving light!
Both new Neolite driving lights, installed. Personally, I think the smaller lamp diameter looks better than the OEM fogs.
This picture and the others that follow are after I did careful aiming of the lamps. Above is the low beam pattern.
Neolite driving light-only pattern. Very round and concentrated beams.
Low beams and driving lights combined. The driving lights extend and widen the low beam pattern.
High beam pattern, driving lights off. Higher (longer throw), brighter, and more concentrated than low beam pattern.
High beams with driving lights. The driving lights fill the void near the car when the high beams are on.
Head-on view with high beam and driving lights on. That's a lot of light for a little car!