So I need some real feedback. I have recently posted my son and my first product on the for sale section here. I own my 3rd 914 which I rescued from a lot in Georgia several years ago. I am in the process of restomodding it. Given it was a dead car it was perfect for me to modify. My first realization was it needed much better lighting. Which sent us down the road of 3 d printing parts. If I could get some feed back regarding our front turn signals i would appreciate it...I only got one response which I feel was more focused on professional pictures and presentation. Again I dont have the resources to make a big glossy website. This is an honest venture and we aim to make several parts for the 914 in the future. Check it out and please give me usable criticism.

Good luck with your venture.

I went to both the member vendor page and the classifieds and don't see a post from you. Double check that your post went to the page and you may want to give it a bump so it goes to the front of the posts every once in awhile in accordance with the rules. I really would like to see your product...good luck.

Ditto.

It's in the parts section:
www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=360874

Yep thats it. Thank you.
Would this be better off in vendor section?

914 owners are not really the type to pay $290 for a pair of bulbs.

I paid $15 for a pair of leds that are a bit brighter than stock. Needs met.

Thank you sir Andy....I probably missed it with my poor eye sight...

This part goes far beyond placing a led bulb in the 50 year old factory socket. It adds 2 additional bulbs. So your running light is separate from the 2 turn signal bulbs. It can also be configured to run the euro setup. One runner in white and 2 amber turn signal bulbs.
That said am I asking too much for this part?

W3DParts needs you. Any members in southwest washington or Portland Oregon area? I am looking for someone with a running 914 to model our parts on. There is no commitment to buy parts or need modify your car. I can install and unistall our parts easily. Benefit for you is free exposure of your car. Discounts for parts? Free install? My car is a long way from being running or being a looker. If you are interested. You can get in touch on this site or Text call me 9712194630!


Walter
https://w3dparts.com

As an retired engineer that has done automotive product development for 27 years I'll offer my honest appraisal:

1) Need to duplicate or improve on OEM fit and finish. Current design that places the LED housing inside the OEM housing doesn't meet that criteria.

a) From a design perspective, it raises the turn signal lens too high above the sheet metal and doesn't look integrated (my personal opinion / observation based on the photos posted in FS/WTB).

b) From an engineering perspective - the lens needs to be sealed to the housing to avoid water intrusion and condensation. Current design, as I understand it, is that the new LED housing is sealed to the old OEM housing but there is no seal between the new housing and the lens?

c) Simply removing the OEM bulb holder from the die cast housing and routing the new LED wires though that hole and under the new plastic LED housing is going to lead to the possibility of water and moisture being captured between the old OEM housing and the new LED plastic housing. That will not be good for the old housing and/or not good to have that moisture trapped behind the new LED housing.

2) Weight. 914's are all about being light weight. Adding additional parts (and therefore weight) is not desirable. Even if light weight themselves - like the plastic LED housing - it's still an unnecessary weight addition.

a) If your new LED housing were to replace the heavier zinc die cast housing that would be a real benefit and would reduce overall weight.

3) Durability. Will the new housings withstand the elements and vibration? Can they withstand UV exposure? How are the LED's mounted to all of this? Vibration in vehicles has a way of fatiguing parts to the point of stress cracking, solder joints crack or corrode, etc. How is a customer to know that your parts will survive for more than a year or two? LED's have become notorious for not meeting advertised life expectancy before LED's begin burning out. This has been the case for both OEM and aftermarket LED light solutions - how will you address this?

4) What is your competitive advantage vs. all the other LED solutions for 914's currently in the market place? This can also be called a Unique Selling Proposition. What is it that makes your solution unique vs. the competitors? I'm not going to try to answer this but you should be able to.

5) Pricing. Not only are you competing against LED options, you are also competing against traditional bulbs. There are currently several other LED options for 914s. As mention in the previous post, these range from simple auto parts store LED bulb substitution (~$15) to complete LED board replacements (~ $150/pair) which already have been proven on other vehicles. On the high end, Auto Atlanta offers a plastic housing, dual European bulb housing and lens replacement for ~ $370.

6) Reductive Design Principles. Generally speaking, engineering design is about achieving function with the minimal number of parts, reducing weight of parts, reducing the number of interfaces, reducing fastener counts or moving from screw in fasteners to clips and snap on parts, reducing assembly labor, etc. The aim being reduction of manufacturing costs and ultimately consumer cost.

a) Unless I'm misunderstanding the new LED light & housing, more parts and more interfaces are being created.

b) Labor is necessary to make the conversion. This in and of itself isn't a complete show stopper but the end result of the conversion needs to justify why someone would be expected to expend the labor (and cost) to do the conversion. You have to overcome inertia. It's easier to accept the OEM design and do nothing vs. doing a conversion. You have to over come that inertia to no do it.

Having said all that -- I still applaud you for trying to bring new options to market as I sit here on my

I appreciate the response. The old inner housing isn't needed. Our part can be used without it. But the stock seal would need to be used under our part. We initially offered the turn signal to fit in the inner housing to make install easy. Our initial design was not intended to use the outer lens. We redesigned it to allow the lens to fit and include an o ring to go between the lens and our part. It raises the stock lens slightly. The leds seal in our part with poly press in seals. They don't leak. In our instructions we encourage rtv in the passage of the stock inner making it water tight. What we are offering is a big improvement in brightness and performance in the light....as well as a easy euro spec conversion. We aren't trying to make it look stock. As far as weight savings go the stock inner weighs less than a pound. But it can be removed and a backer washer and nut used in its place. Any more input would be great and my offer to model parts on a 914 stands.

Here is our new side marker. Will be in same polycarbonate carbon fiber. Available in smoked or amber. Can be used as a running light or added to turn signal. Fits and covers stock hole with no mods. Will be offering it for 60$ a pair.

Here it is front view.

As mentioned in your original post/add, I think at this price point, customers will want a nice professional smooth finished, not the classic layered 3D prototype finish. Maybe that's just me...

Marketing is a big aspect and nice pictures on a shiny painted car would help.

I personally think it is too thick and stick out too much from the body in this attached picture. Too bold, missing finesse.

Now on the side markers... sorry to say. Many people remove the side markers that were an after thought for the US regulation market. The car was designed without it (EU spec) and I personally think it looks better without. So if one would work toward a replacement part for the side marker, a flush and discreet design might a better direction to take.

My $0.02, since you asked for feedback/comment.

Good luck in your venture and thank you for offering new options!

I'll give you some feedback, but I don't think you're going to like it. I am a mechanical and industrial designer, I've brought one of my automotive designs to the market with success (the Viceroy Steering wheel) and am navigating further design projects (fender flares) That to say, I'm not just some schmuck on the internet.

The aesthetic design of both the turn signals and the side markers are not good. Now, sure, there will be a few who DO like them, in the same way that there are a few who really like barbed wire tattoos, or skull and cross-bones chrome-plated license plate frames from Pep-Boys. If you want to target that market you're welcome to, but generally the Porsche crowd (even the frugal and sometimes outcast 914 crowd) aim a bit higher.

The restomod game has a very narrow, winding, and tricky path especially if you're aiming to bring a modern twist. The guys that do it well have been training and practicing their craft for years and years and years. Most fail. Even some who went to college and studied design at the top design schools in the world fail at restomods.

That's not to say that you have to have a decade of industrial design schooling to make anything, but in my opinion, without a decade or two of deep design study, it's hard to see what's good and what's bad in your own designs. I've often said that design is a muscle, a person can learn to do it well, but it takes a lot of practice and exercise. Critically looking at a product and breaking down the features, how surfaces interact with each other, and on and on. So don't loose hope. I'd say go back to the drawing board, seek input on designs before you go too far with them.

I've already given feedback on the turn signals. As far as the side markers go,.....the phrase, "You can't polish a turd" applies here. The original side marker, IMHO, is a turd. That's why so many people delete them. The absence of the side marker makes the whole car look cleaner.

There are folks that like them....they probably aren't going to change. The people that like them, but would like a more integrated looking lens, are probably not going to dig yours because you really haven't reduced the "bulkiness"....just changed the shape. On top of that, because you've changed the shape, it appears that you now have to weld up part of the existing hole. Lots of folks don't want to do that. They are really just looking for more of a flush design that lies flat with the sheet metal...I think.

For those that are going to have to weld anyway to use your design, I think most are just gonna go for the delete. Unlike the previous poster, I am just an idiot on the internet with no design background....so take it with a grain of salt. I still dig the turn signals, with some slight mods!

The side marker is not just a light, it's also a US mandated reflector.

People want something less wart-like than factory. You make something like that that looks nice on the car and you might have a winner.

^^^^^^this

These are prototypes. This is the carbon fiber version with amber lights. I realize big companies have shiny cars to model parts. My 914 is in restoration. I haven't seen another 914 where I live in a decade. It's half the thickness of the original.

Please try to convince me to buy your products.

What are the benefits besides not looking original ?

BR

Benno

Led conversion. Brighter than stock by a lot. Looks good and low maintenance. If you like the stock look and lighting then you don't need me. But if you are looking to customize and modernize your car then we may be able to help you.

Another view.

[quote name='Montreal914' date='Aug 25 2022, 10:27 AM' post='3024746']
As mentioned in your original post/add, I think at this price point, customers will want a nice professional smooth finished, not the classic layered 3D prototype finish. Maybe that's just me...

Marketing is a big aspect and nice pictures on a shiny painted car would help.

I personally think it is too thick and stick out too much from the body in this attached picture. Too bold, missing finesse.

Now on the side markers... sorry to say. Many people remove the side markers that were an after thought for the US regulation market. The car was designed without it (EU spec) and I personally think it looks better without. So if one would work toward a replacement part for the side marker, a flush and discreet design might a better direction to take.

My $0.02, since you asked for feedback/comment.
Good luck in your venture and thank you for offering new options!

What finish would I put on that would appeal to everyone? It's a part that can be finished by the customer.
Sidemarkers. I can make them about 1/4 inch thinner if you drill new holes in your fender. The whole thing is 5/8 of an inch thick at the thickest portion.

Here is the stock lens.vs our sidemarker. When you account for the stock base it is nearly 1/2 inch thicker.

That side marker is moving in the wrong direction. There is no reason you can’t get a perfectly flush fit given the through-hole on the factory fender.

Also, over molding on trailer lights is a bad design plan too.

Maybe your original goal of creating a bespoke look just for your car is the way to go?

So there are 4 holes to cover up from the factory. No way a flush fit can do that. This one could significantly thinner if everyone doesn't mind putting new holes in their fender. To mount an led there has to be a housing.