Brighter bulbs
Discussion
Has anyone fitted brighter non-standard bulbs to their S3?
I'd like to improve the illumination as there are a lot of unlit country roads where I live and the current ones seem a little dim.
My main concern would be overloading the existing wiring so any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Steve
I'd like to improve the illumination as there are a lot of unlit country roads where I live and the current ones seem a little dim.
My main concern would be overloading the existing wiring so any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Steve
I've seen Xenon conversions advertised,unfortunately I havent fitted them to the Mine. I have however retro fitted OEM items to my sons Golf and the difference really is amazing, the only drawback I can find with them is that they seem to have a very defined beam pattern with little scatter of light outside it which is very noticeable at night on unlit roads but the light advantage within the beam area more than compensates for this.Part of the OEM set up on the later VW models includes a system which self levels the headlamp using sensors on the front and rear axles (or near them) maybe thats why? or maybe its just because they would be very blinding to oncoming traffic, I'm not sure which, probably the latter.I think Xenons use about 2/3 of the current drawn by Incandescent lamps so the electrical system should be fine.
He previously had some uprated Halogen lamps fitted which he bought from Halfords which did give a brighter light than the originals I think they were about £12-£15ea may be worth a look there.
He previously had some uprated Halogen lamps fitted which he bought from Halfords which did give a brighter light than the originals I think they were about £12-£15ea may be worth a look there.
Edited by clarenceboddiger on Saturday 17th May 14:48
Hi Steve,
Xenon bulbs are the way to go. Take a look at:
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/203...
These are normally the same wattage as standard bulbs, so put no extra strain on the wiring loom. You can get higher wattage bulbs, but I believe they are illegal for road use.
Make sure you have got decent lenses too, they are clean, and the reflectors are not corroded or dirty. A quality lamp unit can make a lot of difference. I swear by Cibie Valeo H180s - used them on many cars for decades and never been disappointed.
Regards,
Graham
Xenon bulbs are the way to go. Take a look at:
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/203...
These are normally the same wattage as standard bulbs, so put no extra strain on the wiring loom. You can get higher wattage bulbs, but I believe they are illegal for road use.
Make sure you have got decent lenses too, they are clean, and the reflectors are not corroded or dirty. A quality lamp unit can make a lot of difference. I swear by Cibie Valeo H180s - used them on many cars for decades and never been disappointed.
Regards,
Graham
Hi Steve just to repeat my comments from the TVRCC forum
tried 100/80 watt bulbs in my headlights, very good dip beam, main beam not so sharp. But then I smelt hot insulation with the hood up and lights on
I've just fitted a pair of Wipac Quadoptic Latest Lens pattern & reflector - with a H4 Xenon + 50% Bulb and they seem much better. And its the same load as original and legal. So far so good. I purchased from Stafford Vehicle Components http://www.s-v-c.co.uk/lights_head.html good service reasonable prices
Norman
These were the ones I mentioned above from Halfords
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/203...
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/203...
Like many owners, I was concerned about dim headlights but I found that the car already had pretty good bulbs. Then I noticed that the wire used to feed the headlights was of quite a thin guage. So I rewired using relays, so that the original wiring energised the relay (one relay for dip, one for main beam) and new, heavier gauge wire fed the actual lights. Hey presto! Lights are so good it's almost like being in a normal car.
hurststeve said:
Like many owners, I was concerned about dim headlights but I found that the car already had pretty good bulbs. Then I noticed that the wire used to feed the headlights was of quite a thin guage. So I rewired using relays, so that the original wiring energised the relay (one relay for dip, one for main beam) and new, heavier gauge wire fed the actual lights. Hey presto! Lights are so good it's almost like being in a normal car.
Could not agree more. I fitted relays and it transformed the light output. (I fitted four relays one each for LH/RH/Main/Dip, each with a fused feed direct from the battery. That way if a fuse blows you only lose one light unit rather than getting total darkness!). If use the old headlamp feed to drive the relays then the dim dip module should be removed as it will feed 6V (or whatever) to the relays when on side lights, which they will not like. Obviously you will then not get dim dip any more.
Also its worth fitting new wire on the power feed from the relay to the headlight unit and fitting new earth connections from the lights to the chassis. The bonnet connectors are well worth refurbishing or replacing.
Definitely do not just fit 100W bulbs, they will melt the original wiring.
Hi Fred
No, removed the outer ring, released the headlight unit held by one self tapper and two adjusters. A bit of a fiddle but a squirt of WD40 helped. Headlight units were easy to disconnect but the secondary rim is fastened by three clamps to the headlight unit itself. Was able to unscrew two badly rusted screws without too much hastle BUT the last screw on each unit was rusted solid and I hade to very carefully drill out. Luckly I had screws the same diameter so all I had to do was to replace and cut to lenght. The outer and inner rims looked good but were very badly rusted inside. The ideal would be to fit new nests and rims, the job would have been very much quicker. Please note the new side lights didnt have connectors fitted so you need some spade connectors handy.
Not only were the screws rusted but the bent bit of tin rivited to the outer rim for the retaining screw was rustted almost through on both and I had to make new ons, see below
No, removed the outer ring, released the headlight unit held by one self tapper and two adjusters. A bit of a fiddle but a squirt of WD40 helped. Headlight units were easy to disconnect but the secondary rim is fastened by three clamps to the headlight unit itself. Was able to unscrew two badly rusted screws without too much hastle BUT the last screw on each unit was rusted solid and I hade to very carefully drill out. Luckly I had screws the same diameter so all I had to do was to replace and cut to lenght. The outer and inner rims looked good but were very badly rusted inside. The ideal would be to fit new nests and rims, the job would have been very much quicker. Please note the new side lights didnt have connectors fitted so you need some spade connectors handy.
Not only were the screws rusted but the bent bit of tin rivited to the outer rim for the retaining screw was rustted almost through on both and I had to make new ons, see below
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