Protuninglab HIDs?

I am looking into a new set of headlights to improve over my stock US spec lights. I am not wanting to spend a gigantic amount of money so I was leading towards E-Codes. I was browsing when I cam upon this site:

http://www.protuninglab.com/199920041.html

Has anyone ever purchased anything from them? Prices look reasonable from what I can tell. Obviously these will not be as high quality as the OEM HIDs but how much lower are they?

I think those are just your typical ebay projector headlights with a drop in HID kit.

I don't think they are really HID headlamps, just cheap Chinese halogen projectors.
They won't perform like a true HID projector, but it probably will be better than stock.

You could save yourself about $100 by ebaying the headlights and buying a drop in HID kit yourself.

You may even be happy with them without the HID kit. I put some in my niece's Jetta last year and it was a big improvement over her stock lights. I'd try that 1st. If it's not enought light, you can always get an inexpensive HID kit to add later. Whether or not they work worth a darn and don't blind oncoming drivers is a crap shoot.

Here's an ebay listing, you'll probably see the same lights that Protuninglabs has:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=2003%20jetta%20projector%20headlights&_dmpt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&_fln=1&_ssov=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m1539&_mPrRngCbx=1&_udlo=100&_udhi=

Interesting. I definitely need to upgrade. To be honest I am sort of confused about the whole headlights thing (which is odd because I went as far as to replace my lenses last summer).

So there are stock headlights which I have. I am trying to get away from the "yellow/white" light beam and more towards the "blue" end of the spectrum. My budget is 200-300 for a set. I imagine some of these are the same things, but:

What is the difference between US stock and Euro stock?
What are E-Code headlights?
What are Projector headlights?
What are HID headlights?

projectors refer to the little lense inside. looks like a 2" fisheye lense inside.

projectors can be designed for halogen or hid. not typically both. it has to do with the shape of the bowl behind the fisheye.

HID send out a much brighter, and wider beam, and it has a tendency to shine up the side of walls, into oncoming drivers face, and sometimes even illuminates trees and roof lines. Its is particularly bad in a reflector housing.

In my opinion an HID in a projector (even a halogen projector) is better than a reflector and will likely not be too terribly annoying and glaring to oncoming traffic.

for those in europe who have headlight testing as part of their inspection, they may fail, but here in the US it is pretty acceptable for the most part, and as long as the lights are adjusted right, they shouldnt cause other drivers problems.


If the projector is designed for an HID bulb the beam will be sharp, and will cause almost no glare to oncoming traffic. You've probably seen cadilacs, audis etc coming at you with bluish rainbowish headlights, that were barely a hindrance at all to other drivers. THAT is the goal.

freakwithracket said:

What is the difference between US stock and Euro stock?

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Slightly different beam pattern with more light higher on the right side.

freakwithracket said:

What are E-Code headlights?

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Euro stock - different beam pattern. They usually throw more more light higher on the right side.

freakwithracket said:

What are Projector headlights?

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The main advantage of projector headlights is to provide a controlled beam with an even light dispersal throughout the width of the beam.
Projectors also allow manufacturers to make more compact headlights for styling purposes.

There are 3 main types of projectors:
1. Halogen projectors - designed for halogen bulbs, as the name implies.
3. HID (xenon) Projectors - designed for HID bulbs
3. HID Bi-Xenon Projectors - have a built in high beam function

There's a night and day difference between Halogen and HID projectors. The geometry of the 2 is entirely different. If you put an HID into a halogen projector, chances are there won't be much improvement and you risk blinding oncoming traffic.


Halogen Projector from a New Beetle

freakwithracket said:

What are HID headlights?

Click to expand...

HID headlights are those specifically designed for HIDs (only). The best are based on an HID specific projector. Many are retrofitting their headlights with aftermarket HID projectors, such as the FX-R bi-xenon or Mini bi-xenon.

HIDs don't use a filament to generate light. An HID bulb contains an arc chamber (capsule) that creates light via plasma. As the name implies, the arc chamber is filled with Xenon gas and metal halid salts. On startup, approx. 25,000 volts is passed through the arc chamber, vaporizing the metal halid salts and generating plasma. Once the plasma is established, the voltage ramps down to approx 85v AC. The voltages are supplied by a ballast, which is contained in a small, usually metal box.

An HID "bulb" typically outputs 3x the light of a halogen bulb. HIDs can be made in varying colors, but the best and brightest HIDs range from 4100K to 5000K color temperature. (yellowish-white to bright white). The blue and purple hids are higher color temperatures. The higher the color temperature, the lower the light output of HIDs.

Here's a couple of shots I swiped of the internet to give you an idea:

Halogen on left, HID in halogen projector on right



HID in a true HID Projector


If you want more information, a good source is: www.HIDPlanet.com
Spend some time reading there and you can learn all you ever wanted to know about HIDs and retrofitting.

I see, good info guys, much appreciated. Looks like HID with Halogen projectors could be a terrible idea for people driving the opposite way. So how does the wiring play into this? I know there is additional wiring that needs to be done to get fog lights working if the car does not already have fogs (mine does not), and I know that a euro switch is needed for fogs. Is additional wiring needed for ecodes or HIDs other than the fog wiring? I would imagine that the motors in these need additional wiring, does this wiring go into the cabin to that the lights can be adjusted while driving? If so, where exactly does that switch sit? I am going to start reading that and hopefully learn more from there as well.

Edit: I just emailed the website in question. They said "The head lights are plug-and-play and can be installed directly into your vehicle. They do not come with motors. The lights are fitted with aftermarket HID bulbs."

Someone confirm what I am thinking and what Kafer said above, that they are HID bulbs inside of Halogen projectors.

My niece's Jetta didn't have foglights until I replaced her lights.

I got her a Euroswitch and one of these harness kits:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2000-2004-V...Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item5d32312666

The kit was worth it for the instructions and the proper connector pins.

You'll have to run one (1) wire, which is the trigger for the relay, through the firewall and into the connector that plugs into the euroswitch.
The main power for the relay is tapped at the battery.

If money is a problem, you don't have to opt for a euroswitch, you could just use an inexpensive SPST switch for the trigger. That would save you the cost of a euroswitch.


If you go HID, it's probably a good idea to get or build a relay harness to power them. Some HID ballasts only draw slightly more current (max) than standard halogens, while some draw 2x-3X the current of halogens. VW's headlight wiring doesn't leave much headroom - better to play it safe and use a relay harness to power HIDs.

I have a set of H.I.D. headlights on my car and love them. I ordered mine from www.ddmtuning.com and have been very happy with them. There you have the option of a 35w or 55w ballast.

Is it possible to get a a set of stock-looking headlights with some form of HID setup? I'd love the performance upgrade of the HIDs and potentially even the LED "lashes" without the "ricer" look of all the angel eye ones I seem to find online

As I am thinking about this, I have decided that I do not want to go into the $500 range. I want better lighting but I need to keep the cost of this car down. Modifications are addicting and I wonder sometimes if I am turning it into a money pit So when people retrofit headlights what exactly do they do? Where is the starting point? As in, which headlights do they start out with and what is needed? I am wondering if the cheapest and easiest way to do this would be to buy a set of projector housings with halogen projectors, replace the halogen projectors with HID projectors, and drop in a HID kit? BTW, does the headlight lens have anything to do with the scattering effect?

I'm even wondering is buying a set of halogen projectors and installing say, a very bright Silverstar ZXE bulbs inside of a halogen projector would produce a similar effect that I am looking for: brighter more controlled light. It may not be as bright as a HID, but the difference may not be worth $300 extra either...I'm imagining the third image down but with a much whiter light from the ZXE bulbs. I may even rewire them directly to the battery to get more power.

http://www.fordrangerforum.com/gene...etween-hid-projectors-halogen-projectors.html

Can anyone recommend a quality set of HALOGEN projector headlights. I cannot afford HID projectors at the moment, so my plan is to go with halogen projectors and a very bright bulb. I was looking at a set of DEPO E-Codes on ebay. I read mixed things about the Xelix/Depo lights though.

You might want to check out this thread http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=323152 . Many of us have gone this route. I am very pleased with the result of the ecode jetta headlights with fogs. I even bought a set of ecode headlights with fogs on German eBay and had them shipped here for my 2000 golf. These were Taiwan made but work every bit as good as the seemingly real McCoy ecodes that I bought for my jetta.

Thanks for the suggestion. I did end up going this route in the end. I debated heavily about which lights to get, but the cost-benefit ration on these were too good to pass up. I also discovered that my current lights are only getting 11V of power, so I am going to make a harness to attach to my battery to get them the highest voltage. I debated some FK Halogen Projector lights, but I would be looking at 230 + quality bulbs +new harness to make it worth my time. At $300+ is would not be worth my time.