Anyone upgraded their headlights?
Discussion
This is something that I have been considering too as the Corrado ones are pretty dim when driving country roads at night. I was told that my lamps had probably lost some of their reflective qualities, so brighter bulbs would help but not as much as new lamps. How much are the Hella lights?
>> Edited by EmmaP on Wednesday 25th January 22:22
>> Edited by EmmaP on Wednesday 25th January 22:22
EmmaP said:
This is something that I have been considering too as the Corrado ones are pretty dim when driving country roads at night. I was told that my lamps had probably lost some of their reflective qualities, so brighter bulbs would help but not as much as new lamps. How much are the Hella lights?
>> Edited by EmmaP on Wednesday 25th January 22:22
They're like laser beams compared to a Chimaera!
It depends where you get the Hellas from, & who's gonna fit em. I could have helped a couple of years ago as I worked for a Hella dealer.
Dont know if anyone else does them these days, but BRM Motorsport (sadly no longer trading, one of the 80/90's VW master tuners for those too young to remember!) used to do 'High Power looms' which basically consisted off heavyduty wiring and relays to enable you to run higher wattage bulbs, had one on the Scirocco, worked a treat
Em, Corrados have utterly appauling lights, they are renowned for it, upgraded the bulbs on mine & not much diference, so had a decent new lighting loom made by the guys at designadubs & the difference was amasing (still with standard wattage bulbs- not 100w jobbies) id honestly say on main before was about the same as dip after!
Only cost a coupel of quid.
A MUST do on a Corrado.
Only cost a coupel of quid.
A MUST do on a Corrado.
iguana said:
Em, Corrados have utterly appauling lights, they are renowned for it, upgraded the bulbs on mine & not much diference, so had a decent new lighting loom made by the guys at designadubs & the difference was amasing (still with standard wattage bulbs- not 100w jobbies) id honestly say on main before was about the same as dip after!
Only cost a coupel of quid.
A MUST do on a Corrado.
Thanks Alex! I'll look into it. The chap I bought it off had rally lights on it before he sold it to me. Driving back from Matlock on the A6 on Tuesday (I usually go the back roads) made me realise that I need to sort them sooner rather than later. I think I met a chap from Designadubs at Brunters.
On a Mk3 upgrading to anything more powerful makes a real difference.
I used Halford Super Duper bulbs (50% brighter so say) and they made a real difference.
They are offering these bulbs on a 2 for one, so remember that on a GTi/VR6 you have twin chamber lights, so you'll need to buy two lots.
I think it was one of the better upgrades I purchased...
I used Halford Super Duper bulbs (50% brighter so say) and they made a real difference.
They are offering these bulbs on a 2 for one, so remember that on a GTi/VR6 you have twin chamber lights, so you'll need to buy two lots.
I think it was one of the better upgrades I purchased...
There's a guy who lives local to me that makes upgraded hi-power looms for MK2 golfs and Corrados (and possibly MK3's?)
had one fitted to my last MK2 - best £30 I ever spent, transformed the lights. He's currently selling these on Ebay under the name 'Dizzie' - Can't access Ebay at work so can't post a link, but if you search for upgraded looms for a Mk2 you'll find them pretty easily.
had one fitted to my last MK2 - best £30 I ever spent, transformed the lights. He's currently selling these on Ebay under the name 'Dizzie' - Can't access Ebay at work so can't post a link, but if you search for upgraded looms for a Mk2 you'll find them pretty easily.
neil_cardiff said:
On a Mk3 upgrading to anything more powerful makes a real difference.
I used Halford Super Duper bulbs (50% brighter so say) and they made a real difference.
They are offering these bulbs on a 2 for one, so remember that on a GTi/VR6 you have twin chamber lights, so you'll need to buy two lots.
I think it was one of the better upgrades I purchased...
Are these the ones with a Blue 'Xenon like' tint?
May be useful on my VR MK 3
ApexArt said:
On a Mk3 upgrading to anything more powerful makes a real difference.
I used Halford Super Duper bulbs (50% brighter so say) and they made a real difference.
They are offering these bulbs on a 2 for one, so remember that on a GTi/VR6 you have twin chamber lights, so you'll need to buy two lots.
I think it was one of the better upgrades I purchased...
Are these the ones with a Blue 'Xenon like' tint?
May be useful on my VR MK 3
No these are the Super Brilliant ones in the Gold coloured packaging - I kept clear of the blue tinted ones as I felt it could stray into the 'chav' look I'm trying desperatly to stay away from on my GTi.
neil_cardiff said:
On a Mk3 upgrading to anything more powerful makes a real difference.
I used Halford Super Duper bulbs (50% brighter so say) and they made a real difference.
They are offering these bulbs on a 2 for one, so remember that on a GTi/VR6 you have twin chamber lights, so you'll need to buy two lots.
I think it was one of the better upgrades I purchased...
Are these the ones with a Blue 'Xenon like' tint?
May be useful on my VR MK 3
No these are the Super Brilliant ones in the Gold coloured packaging - I kept clear of the blue tinted ones as I felt it could stray into the 'chav' look I'm trying desperatly to stay away from on my GTi.
Ah, cheers, may have a look next time i'm in Halfords ( Mine's a 'standard look' anyhow , fine by me!)
I use uprated bulbs (100/80) and have a DIY uprated loom. It is VERY easy. I think that www.matey-matey.com has instructions. Use the existing loom to turn a pair of relays on and off, and run the new bulbs with a very thick bit of wire (via the relays) straight to the battery.
It will cost about £10 for the bits, about £6/bulb, and you're away. Really, with a set-up like this, you will cook the roadkill before you hit it ...
Oli.
It will cost about £10 for the bits, about £6/bulb, and you're away. Really, with a set-up like this, you will cook the roadkill before you hit it ...
Oli.
zcacogp said:
I use uprated bulbs (100/80) and have a DIY uprated loom. It is VERY easy. I think that www.matey-matey.com has instructions. Use the existing loom to turn a pair of relays on and off, and run the new bulbs with a very thick bit of wire (via the relays) straight to the battery.
It will cost about £10 for the bits, about £6/bulb, and you're away. Really, with a set-up like this, you will cook the roadkill before you hit it ...
Oli.
Looms are definately the way to go, if you can't find Dizzie Trimsport (www.trimsport.co.uk ) sell them, I have one on my Corrado. Be very careful about uprating bulbs as if they draw significantly more current it is a) illegal to fit them (based on current drawn- not luminosity which is a little wierd)and b) liable to burn out the original wiring leaving you with a small fire and the need for a new loom. This is especially true on the Corrado, the pisspoor switch design and poor routing which causes the voltage drop in the first place can not take much load, hence why the switches usually burn out or disintergrate within a few years anyway, the main current path must be bypassed by using a loom.
Xenons are a great improvement but make sure that the headlight design can accomodate the brighter beam, non ellipsoids will have too wide a beam and dazzle oncoming cars. Technically speaking you are not supposed to fit Xenons to cars without headlight washers and autoleveling systems, but I have never been given a clear answer if this applies to new cars or old cars as well.
bogie said:
yep - mucked around with all the top end bulbs then gave in and finally fitted aftermarket HID Xenons - no comparison..they are leagues ahead of any fancy bulb..now have dips, mains and driving lamps and its like driving in daylight
That's the way to do it! I've done the same on my A8, and there is no comparison. The only down side is that the ballast resistors take a few seconds to warm up, so flicking main beam on and off when cars go past means they sometimes aren't producing full brightness. But when they reach full power you can see for miles down the road!. I got mine from www.HIDs4u.co.uk - great service and really friendly, plus they have an excellent electrician (Max Pitts) who can sort out any wiring problems.
I'm changing the A8 for an old A4 Avant so I've ordered these to replace the boring old headlights and get better lighting :-
and I'm hoping the HIDs will fit these as well.
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