Glass Headlight lenses

I suppose this should be in the private tdi sale, but where do you get those ever so elusive glass replacement lenses. i have read and hear that all you do is put your old plasic in the oven they heat up and the plastic ones pop off. glue on the glass ones and walla you have great looking healights again. thoughts ideas appreciated

It is a real shame, that all the auto makers appear to be using plastic light covers rather than glass that does not turn yellow or get hazy.

IMO it is time to tell VW how we feel. Anyone got the address handy?

Looks like they have the lenses here...
http://www.parts4euro.com/DCShop/product_info.php?cPath=1_51_91&products_id=836
Here's an older thread
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=244896 I've got them but I need to get up the confidence to put them in.

Joe_Meehan said:

It is a real shame, that all the auto makers appear to be using plastic light covers rather than glass that does not turn yellow or get hazy.

IMO it is time to tell VW how we feel. Anyone got the address handy?

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You keep pressing this issue. It will never happen. Never. Plastic is cheaper, lighter and easier to mould. We will never see mass production of glass head lights again.

Its sad....everything is going that way these days. (correction...has gone that way)

We had a few old HP Deskjets at work...the original ones with metal parts throughout. Those suckers worked for years....like 10 or 15 years with very little problems.

As opposed to the newer ones we were getting in with plastic everywhere that would wear out within a few months. Some had broken parts right out of the box. We were always fixing them...I got to really dislike printers after a while.

At the least, it's nice to see that we can upgrade certain parts in our Vdubs to higher quality stuff.

anahata said:

http://www.parts4euro.com/DCShop/product_info.php?cPath=1_51_91&products_id=836

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I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. My wife HATES you.

NB_TDi said:

You keep pressing this issue. It will never happen. Never. Plastic is cheaper, lighter and easier to mould. We will never see mass production of glass head lights again.

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I assumed it was a difference in regulations -- that glass lenses were allowed in Europe but not in North America (?)

There's also the issue of weight. Automakers are always looking to cut unnecessary weight. One glass headlight unit weighs as much as a pair of plastic-lens units. I replaced my 2000 Golf's headlights with glass units from TM Tuning, and they were heavy.

Perhaps the wave of the future for lenses could be something like a polycarbonate with UV barrier? I mean the Smart cars have polycarbonate clear roofs without any sun hazing after quite a long time. Maybe that would be a way to go. Not to mention that it is stronger than plastic and more resistant to weathering from what I've seen. Also, extremely lightweight.

My original ones were clear without any hazing for quite a long time. OTOH, a headlight lens will take much more debris impact than a roof panel.

The only benefit glass lenses have over plastic is that they will not haze however it typically takes several years of UV light to cause plastic to haze, of which it can easily be polished out.

cwarndahl said:

I suppose this should be in the private tdi sale, but where do you get those ever so elusive glass replacement lenses. i have read and hear that all you do is put your old plasic in the oven they heat up and the plastic ones pop off. glue on the glass ones and walla you have great looking healights again. thoughts ideas appreciated

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My e-code Head lights came with Glass lenes on them. Tri a e-code headlight inporter.
FOG

thanks for the web site. just ordered them for 84.99 no tax no shipping. i tried the polish deal and also had some one else try i think mine are to far gone. plus living here in texas can kill plastic faster then most places. thanks for the info

frugality said:

I assumed it was a difference in regulations -- that glass lenses were allowed in Europe but not in North America (?) ...

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I had not thought of it. Does anyone know if there is a regulation issue?

A little off topic but not if you're going to replace the plastic with glass:

Can those who've already replaced their lenses get specific with how they did that and more importantly, what they used for adhesive when they put the glass lenses on?

I've been sitting with glass lenses in a box for 9 months because of fear! Don't want to get them apart and find out I don't know what to use to re-seal the new ones. I'd be pissed off if I had a leak after all of that work...

May still just get ecodes instead.

OlyTDI said:

May still just get ecodes instead.

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Back when I had my 2000 Golf, I didn't have the option of replacing the lenses (or wasn't aware of the option.) If I had to do it again, I'd go with the lenses.

Why? The TM Tuning housings have different bulb holders which are much more difficult to replace the bulbs in.

One option you might consider is seeing if someone's selling a set of used stock headlights cheap here or on the VWVortex or something. Post a 'WTB'. Do the glass mod on those, which means you won't be hosed if things go wrong.

I also didn't like the light pattern of the E-codes. They cut off too soon; you can't see as far ahead.

Glass lenses have their share of problems too. They can crack / chatter when they get a stone hit, and also get sandblasted over time. Once they get sandblasted you have to replace them, you can't sand / polish like a plastic lens.

-J

there are oem headlights on ebay that i purchased for 50 bucks plus 30 shipping
when i got them i was so suprised when they came. never expected them to be with glass lenses. it was not in thelisting at all. and that was what i was looking for.
i wanted oem look with glass lense. and i think that is a great price. for the set of headlights with glass lenses. O yeah and they come with fog lenses.