MKIV headlight housing upgrades

I do a lot of rural night driving with my Jetta; around 200-300 miles/week. I've noticed that the headlights brightness and beam pattern is poor compared to my other vehicles.
I have tried several different bulbs; currently running some sylvania ultrastars. They are better than the wal-mart cheap lights, but not by a lot. I've also done the lens restoration/polishing and the lenses are in good shape.
I've never run HID's or LED drop-in bulbs in this car; I do have a good deal of experience with them in other vehicles and, while bright, I've been plagued by reliability and functionality issues on every single set. I do not want to fight with them on this car. I run auxiliary lighting on every other vehicle that I own, but the jetta's lines don't lend to extra lights, and I would prefer to avoid installing anything like that.
So, I'm considering upgrading the reflector housings to something better/newer/more modern. I'm happy to spend some extra money on a higher quality product, but it is hard to sort through the maze of cheap Chinese junk on ebay and Amazon. I can't find a set of reviews that I trust anywhere; so I'm looking for some input from you guys. Let me know if you have a set of aftermarket headlight housings and what you do or don't like about them.

Here is what I'm leaning toward; I'm familiar with other Anzo products and I have been happy with them:
http://www.amazon.com/AnzoUSA-12136...utomotive&vehicleId=12&vehicleType=automotive

Maybe these:
http://www.amazon.com/Smoked-1999-2..._UL160_SR160,160_&refRID=0FK6WTPV7Z2K3G166TR2

Or these:
http://www.amazon.com/Spyder-Auto-P..._UL160_SR160,160_&refRID=0FK6WTPV7Z2K3G166TR2

I'd suggest E-codes made by Hella (or other OE supplier) or check out Jeff's (freakwithracket) offerings.

The NA design for the Jetta IV headlight reflectors is pretty poor, the European versions provide better illum with a sharper cutoff.

I've been pretty satisfied with an earlier version of the Philips 9007XVB2 X-tremeVision bulbs. Granted I do live in the city where lighting is not as much of an issue, but they've offered the best illumination in my Hella Jetta lamps. They lasted me 3.5 years (my DRLs are disabled and I don't drive nearly as much as you do, about 10k miles annually).

Also, make sure your lights are properly aimed. Otherwise, do as Steve said and go with e-codes or Jeff's lights (I'd probably do the latter when my lights give out).

hskrdu said:

I'd suggest E-codes made by Hella (or other OE supplier) or check out Jeff's (freakwithracket) offerings.

The NA design for the Jetta IV headlight reflectors is pretty poor, the European versions provide better illum with a sharper cutoff.

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I would agree with the "pretty poor" assessment

Here's a link to the E code MKIV hellas:
https://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Jetta_IV--TDI/Lighting/Headlights/ES5326/

I had looked at those, and am not averse to spending the extra $$ on a good quality set of reflector housings. However, based on some research, I have found a good number of people who say that the single bulb system (even good quality Hellas) can't compare to a decent 2 bulb system. That is why I was looking at the projector style twin bulb housings.

Has anybody owned/compared both styles in the same vehicle? Are the Hellas worth the $350 price tag? Are they brighter than the $250 twin bulb Anzo's?

I tried one of the three you put in your initial post, then settled on these, only because at the time, I got them for less than $100.

I then opened them up, replaced the crap-tastic projectors in there with a pair of Morimoto bixenon projectors ("almost" a direct swap)...and holy night-into-day, batman!

Too bad you didn't post a few days ago; I was in Portland for a few days and am looking to sell them now (bought a different cheap housing and put FX-R projectors in those).

sewerzuk said:

I had looked at those, and am not averse to spending the extra $$ on a good quality set of reflector housings. However, based on some research, I have found a good number of people who say that the single bulb system (even good quality Hellas) can't compare to a decent 2 bulb system. That is why I was looking at the projector style twin bulb housings.

Has anybody owned/compared both styles in the same vehicle? Are the Hellas worth the $350 price tag? Are they brighter than the $250 twin bulb Anzo's?

Click to expand...

I can't speak to the Anzo's, sorry. I'm a big Hella fan, but I'm also a lifelong VW owner, so that's also where my experience resides. I think the light output of the Jetta e-codes is night and day compared to stock (not so with the Golf, where the original versions are decent). Check out the photos in Jeff's thread. HID output is pretty amazing.

Nuje said:

I tried one of the three you put in your initial post, then settled on these, only because at the time, I got them for less than $100.

I then opened them up, replaced the crap-tastic projectors in there with a pair of Morimoto bixenon projectors ("almost" a direct swap)...and holy night-into-day, batman!

Too bad you didn't post a few days ago; I was in Portland for a few days and am looking to sell them now (bought a different cheap housing and put FX-R projectors in those).

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You hard mounted the projector to the housing?

How do you aim it?

hskrdu said:

I can't speak to the Anzo's, sorry. I'm a big Hella fan, but I'm also a lifelong VW owner, so that's also where my experience resides. I think the light output of the Jetta e-codes is night and day compared to stock (not so with the Golf, where the original versions are decent). Check out the photos in Jeff's thread. HID output is pretty amazing.

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I'm familiar with the intensityquality/color/etc. of HID lighting; I've owned about a dozen systems in various vehicles over the years. It seemed like I was always chasing the next best bulb or ballast, fighting with failed electromagnets, burned out bulbs, and failed ballasts. The problem with this is that no replacements are available at local stores! I can't just pull into a local parts store and swap out a bulb to make sure I have good lighting for the 100 mile drive home.
At the moment, HID lighting is not an option I am considering. I will do some more research into the E-code Hellas.

Wankel7 said:

You hard mounted the projector to the housing?
How do you aim it?

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I cut some threads into the mounting holes of the FX-R, put some long screws through them with the heads out the back of the housing. It provides pretty good U/D/L/R adjustability (provided I appropriately counter-loosen against what I'm tightening)


Would I recommend this to anyone? Hell no. But it was a fun little project.
I've driven over 10K km on them so far and love 'em!

Ok, well it sounds like you have a good grip on what you want. I would say, if nothing else, just to check out Jeff's thread- not b/c you haven't seen HID output, but b/c it has some good info on the housings and various options.

Otherwise, for me, it's Hella for the win. There are now some housings that are excellent copies (Made in Eastern Europe, not China, Hella markings removed) but the internals don't look as good- I haven't used them. I also prefer glass lenses, covered in heavy duty Lamin-X or Xpel.

Remember to switch to e-codes and use all the functions, you'll need a euro switch, fog light wiring harness, and different bulbs than those in your NA headlights. LOTS of threads and how-to's available for that.

sewerzuk said:

I'm familiar with the intensityquality/color/etc. of HID lighting; I've owned about a dozen systems in various vehicles over the years. It seemed like I was always chasing the next best bulb or ballast, fighting with failed electromagnets, burned out bulbs, and failed ballasts. The problem with this is that no replacements are available at local stores! I can't just pull into a local parts store and swap out a bulb to make sure I have good lighting for the 100 mile drive home.
At the moment, HID lighting is not an option I am considering. I will do some more research into the E-code Hellas.

Click to expand...

I did some more digging; read some more threads and reviews on the e-code headlights, found some reviews on different housings, and settled on using the twin bulb e-code reflectors. I decided to give Jeff (freakwithracket) a call to get his advice on my setup; it turned out that he had a set of these:
https://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Jetta_IV--TDI/Lighting/Headlights/ES9564/

They were used, but he had replaced the covers with new ones, changed the turn signal lenses to amber, and set up the projector for HID. High beams use the standard H7 Halogen. In a pinch, I could remove the HID bulb and replace it with a standard H7 halogen. I was sold!

So I ordered the lights from Jeff, a euro switch and grill-mount fog lights from Amazon (figured this was the time to wire those in), and a set of the correct pins for the headlight connector so I could make up my own wiring harness. I already have dozens of 12v automotive relays. I plan to set it up as follows:

-HID projectors are always on whenever the parking brake is not set or headlight switch is on
-H7 halogens are on whenever the high beams are activated
-headlight mounted fog lights turn on with one "click" of the headlight switch
-grille mounted fog lights turn on with two "clicks" of the headlight switch

I plan to run all of the bulbs with relays; should be a significant improvement from stock. I'll be sure to post photos when I'm finished.

Just finished!
Turned out really good; I took the time to run all of the wiring in the factory locations, either inside of the wire looms/gutters or zip tied to them. I went out for a 30 mile drive and am very pleased with the results; visibility at night is significantly improved.
I want to try to adjust the projector shield in the passenger side light; the cutoff isn't nearly as crisp as the driver side. I might fine tune the aiming a little bit more as well.
For those of you who have done the twin bulb swap before, I'm wondering: Did you modify your wiring to keep the low beams on at all times? I haven't done that yet; so when I turn the high beams on the projectors turn off. I'd like them to remain on all the time. I plan to simply install another relay activated with the high beams that supplies power to the low beams; maybe a capacitor across the coil to prevent "flutter" when switching between high and low. Easy project, I'm just wondering if anybody else has done this.

Judging by the bottom pic, it looks vastly improved over stock lighting.

I have a Golf, so my housings are different, but I wired it so that high-low are on at the same time. The original e-code threads are mostly dedicated to OE VW style wiring, which IIRC, only allows high or low at one time.

sewerzuk said:

Just finished!
Turned out really good; I took the time to run all of the wiring in the factory locations, either inside of the wire looms/gutters or zip tied to them. I went out for a 30 mile drive and am very pleased with the results; visibility at night is significantly improved.
I want to try to adjust the projector shield in the passenger side light; the cutoff isn't nearly as crisp as the driver side. I might fine tune the aiming a little bit more as well.
For those of you who have done the twin bulb swap before, I'm wondering: Did you modify your wiring to keep the low beams on at all times? I haven't done that yet; so when I turn the high beams on the projectors turn off. I'd like them to remain on all the time. I plan to simply install another relay activated with the high beams that supplies power to the low beams; maybe a capacitor across the coil to prevent "flutter" when switching between high and low. Easy project, I'm just wondering if anybody else has done this.

Click to expand...

Sweet. Where do i click to buy this kit? my $120.00 pair of PIAAS are NO WHERE NEAR that bright in my NA headlights.how much and where to get my friend?

helps if i read. $280.00 for the kit doesnt sound too bad. although for me thats a ton of chrome. would definitely do some blacking out.

Ryuyasha5004 said:

helps if i read. $280.00 for the kit doesnt sound too bad. although for me thats a ton of chrome. would definitely do some blacking out.

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$280 only buys the headlight housings; to duplicate what I did, you'll need to purchase the housings, a eruo headlight switch, some H& HID bulbs and ballasts, and a fog light wiring harness (or make your own).
I'm guessing that just the housings alone would give you a good improvement over stock...

sewerzuk said:

$280 only buys the headlight housings; to duplicate what I did, you'll need to purchase the housings, a eruo headlight switch, some H& HID bulbs and ballasts, and a fog light wiring harness (or make your own).
I'm guessing that just the housings alone would give you a good improvement over stock...

Click to expand...

Ecs quoted me for $360.00 for headlights. Bulbs ballasts. Fog harness. Rrhostst for leveling motors. Leveling motors. And the euro switch

I know this is an older thread, But I watched your video on how you did this. As I want to add fog lights in the bumper and also in the headlights. My question is where did the white wire come from that you used to hook up to the euroswitch? and where did you place it in the euroswitch?

Asbury030 said:

I know this is an older thread, But I watched your video on how you did this. As I want to add fog lights in the bumper and also in the headlights. My question is where did the white wire come from that you used to hook up to the euroswitch? and where did you place it in the euroswitch?

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You supply the trigger wire and run it from the switch to the headlights/foglights (or rear fog light). The routing usually goes through the fire wall at the grommet above the brake pedal, and then under the air filter box and under the battery tray. You'll find other wires under a cover near the rain plenum that follow this route.

Usually front fog lights are run off euroswitch pin 8 (circuit NL) (one pull). Rear fog (single bulb) is usually run off euroswitch pin 9 (circiut NSL) (two pulls).If you don't have a rear fog, you can use these for different front fogs.

A search will reveal the long fog light thread for details (OEM style).