Darth_Furious
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2005
- TDI
- 2015 GSW, DSG
I know there are some posts about headlights out there and I wanted to make an easy to search thread about my experience in case anyone else wants to upgrade their lights.
I did the buyback for my 2010 JSW and got a 2015 GSW S. I'm happy with it, except the lights. I didn't want to pay for the SE package and then for the lighting package. After 3 months, here's what I learned:
I been reading forums and doing searches. I seen a ton of posts by DeAutoKey heavily promoting the H7RC: http://deautokey.com/product/mk7-gt...kit-full-set-including-adapters-and-resistors It was the least invasive option so I decided to try it. The ballast comes with the canbus built in so that's pretty nice.
Thoughts: The golf7 version cost 145 vs 125 for the normal version. It's $20 more for the mk7 headlight adapter. Not an issue, but for $20, I expected it to work better. You have to line up the bulb just right in the adapter. Then you try to put it in the OEM housing and turn to lock it in and have the pins touch to provide power to the adapter wires. The H7RC bulb doesn't stay exactly in the same spot as you put it in and it will not go in all the way for the pins to make contact with the housing. There will be no power for the ballast and it will give a bulb out error. I tried for an hour to get it in and it was the most frustrating thing ever. Unhappy with VW for the difficult design. Also unhappy with the adapter provided by DeAutoKey for $20. Take the bumper off and unscrew the halogen housing. Once it is removed, get some adhesive bonding tape to get the H7RC to stick to the adapter. Then you can push it in all the way and make contact for the power pins.
Once installed, the H7RC lights up the road like the stock housing but brighter. It does work as advertised. It was a strange color, even after the bulb burned in. I got a 5000K bulb and wished they had a 4300K. The light is greenish. It's like a 6000K bulb with a little yellow added in. It's kinda weird like when people get blue covers for their halogens bulbs. I recommend others get the 6000K bulb for a more natural color.
The weird 5000K color bothered me enough to get Ed's replicas: https://www.becautoparts.com/ I got them for $480. They may go lower for black friday coming up. I love the morimoto bulbs I used for years but I can't use them on reflector housings so the only option is to get HID projector retrofits so I can use morimoto H7 4300K bulbs. I got mine from the retrofit source: https://www.theretrofitsource.com/hid-systems-15/hid-systems-universal/h7-morimoto-elite.html They have excellent customer service and this is the 3rd set I purchased from them (for 3 different cars). They have high quality products and I recommend them highly. They also do black friday sales so you may want to wait a little before getting from them. The new bulbs are 4500K, but it looks the same as the 4300K in my other car.
Here is a picture of the install:
Ed's on right and DeAutoKey H7RC in OEM housing on left. Note the greenish color around the edge of the left. It has a strange tint I don't like.
Ed's replicas come aimed high and to the center. I looked for adjustment info everywhere but couldn't find it. I emailed Ed and he sent me this picture:
After adjusting it just right, the beam pattern is awesome! It is so much brighter than the stock halogen housing even with the H7RC HID. It spreads light across the floor everywhere.
I had to turn down the brightness on the camera to show what the Morimotos look like and they have a very nice color. It is a little yellow compared to the DRL but it is very nice from the driver seat
The not so good part of Ed's lights:
You can see the individual DRL LEDs in the U. Most pictures show it blown out so you can't see them. In real life you can definitely see them. Every time I roll up to a stop sign, I see it in the reflection through the car in front of me, especially if they have any chrome in the back.
The install was plug and play. No VCDS or coding at all. It just works for halogen plugs. If you have halogens, you have 2 options:
1. Keep the stock OEM housing and get the DeAutoKey H7RC. They work as advertised. They are a pain to install. They are brighter than the stock halogens and everything they claim on their website is true. No glare for oncoming drivers. They are HIDs that work well in reflectors. Strange color for 5000K. Not very happy about that. Kept bugging me.
2. Buy Ed's replicas. Don't get Helix, winpower, or the other ones. Get Ed's. They are $480 but worth it. I wish the DRLs looked nicer, like the stock LED DRL for the Golf but it cost a lot more (several thousands more). Then you can get awesome Morimotos (TRS is where I got mine)
3. Get the morimotos and put them in stock reflector housing. Do not do this. They will blind others. Is it worth the $480 to use the morimotos? after going through everything, my answer is yes. The morimotos H7 is way better than halogen, deautokey, and anyother bulb I used in the past. It's worth changing housings to allow these bulbs.
I did the buyback for my 2010 JSW and got a 2015 GSW S. I'm happy with it, except the lights. I didn't want to pay for the SE package and then for the lighting package. After 3 months, here's what I learned:
I been reading forums and doing searches. I seen a ton of posts by DeAutoKey heavily promoting the H7RC: http://deautokey.com/product/mk7-gt...kit-full-set-including-adapters-and-resistors It was the least invasive option so I decided to try it. The ballast comes with the canbus built in so that's pretty nice.
Thoughts: The golf7 version cost 145 vs 125 for the normal version. It's $20 more for the mk7 headlight adapter. Not an issue, but for $20, I expected it to work better. You have to line up the bulb just right in the adapter. Then you try to put it in the OEM housing and turn to lock it in and have the pins touch to provide power to the adapter wires. The H7RC bulb doesn't stay exactly in the same spot as you put it in and it will not go in all the way for the pins to make contact with the housing. There will be no power for the ballast and it will give a bulb out error. I tried for an hour to get it in and it was the most frustrating thing ever. Unhappy with VW for the difficult design. Also unhappy with the adapter provided by DeAutoKey for $20. Take the bumper off and unscrew the halogen housing. Once it is removed, get some adhesive bonding tape to get the H7RC to stick to the adapter. Then you can push it in all the way and make contact for the power pins.
Once installed, the H7RC lights up the road like the stock housing but brighter. It does work as advertised. It was a strange color, even after the bulb burned in. I got a 5000K bulb and wished they had a 4300K. The light is greenish. It's like a 6000K bulb with a little yellow added in. It's kinda weird like when people get blue covers for their halogens bulbs. I recommend others get the 6000K bulb for a more natural color.
The weird 5000K color bothered me enough to get Ed's replicas: https://www.becautoparts.com/ I got them for $480. They may go lower for black friday coming up. I love the morimoto bulbs I used for years but I can't use them on reflector housings so the only option is to get HID projector retrofits so I can use morimoto H7 4300K bulbs. I got mine from the retrofit source: https://www.theretrofitsource.com/hid-systems-15/hid-systems-universal/h7-morimoto-elite.html They have excellent customer service and this is the 3rd set I purchased from them (for 3 different cars). They have high quality products and I recommend them highly. They also do black friday sales so you may want to wait a little before getting from them. The new bulbs are 4500K, but it looks the same as the 4300K in my other car.
Here is a picture of the install:
Ed's on right and DeAutoKey H7RC in OEM housing on left. Note the greenish color around the edge of the left. It has a strange tint I don't like.
Ed's replicas come aimed high and to the center. I looked for adjustment info everywhere but couldn't find it. I emailed Ed and he sent me this picture:
After adjusting it just right, the beam pattern is awesome! It is so much brighter than the stock halogen housing even with the H7RC HID. It spreads light across the floor everywhere.
I had to turn down the brightness on the camera to show what the Morimotos look like and they have a very nice color. It is a little yellow compared to the DRL but it is very nice from the driver seat
The not so good part of Ed's lights:
You can see the individual DRL LEDs in the U. Most pictures show it blown out so you can't see them. In real life you can definitely see them. Every time I roll up to a stop sign, I see it in the reflection through the car in front of me, especially if they have any chrome in the back.
The install was plug and play. No VCDS or coding at all. It just works for halogen plugs. If you have halogens, you have 2 options:
1. Keep the stock OEM housing and get the DeAutoKey H7RC. They work as advertised. They are a pain to install. They are brighter than the stock halogens and everything they claim on their website is true. No glare for oncoming drivers. They are HIDs that work well in reflectors. Strange color for 5000K. Not very happy about that. Kept bugging me.
2. Buy Ed's replicas. Don't get Helix, winpower, or the other ones. Get Ed's. They are $480 but worth it. I wish the DRLs looked nicer, like the stock LED DRL for the Golf but it cost a lot more (several thousands more). Then you can get awesome Morimotos (TRS is where I got mine)
3. Get the morimotos and put them in stock reflector housing. Do not do this. They will blind others. Is it worth the $480 to use the morimotos? after going through everything, my answer is yes. The morimotos H7 is way better than halogen, deautokey, and anyother bulb I used in the past. It's worth changing housings to allow these bulbs.
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