Low Beam Headlight Bulb?

Tweak3D said:

I've been running these for over a year and they are perfect and as good as you are going to get in the stock housings. They get my approval for sure. Tired of replacing expensive bulbs every 6 months.

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Agreed They are a good alternative!! and located in my backyard!!

Does anyone know if it's possible to upgrade headlight assemblies to the tech package Golf with projectors? Seems like they should fit? Love my 2012 TDI but the lights suck. Tried HID bulb kits in reflector set-up, but kept getting bulb error msg and they just weren't reliable enough for daily use. Willing to try upgraded bulbs as per last posts, but would prefer projector beams. Can't believe VW won't provide upgrade for a price?

At least one person posted that the HID for the Golf isn't really better. So, I'm trying to be content with the stock lights, but wondering when I should try aftermarket bulbs? I think the stock bulbs last a long time, so I don't want to wait until they're burnt-out to try something else, but if something else isn't substantially better... The stock lights really aren't so bad; they're far, far better than the lights on the car it replaced, and probably only seem weak in my eyes because my previous car had like one of the best HID projectors out there -- the TSX. (People would occasionally flash me -- they were bright, even with the sharp cutoff.)

If you must have HID projectors, there's at least one thread about it on the forum, so I guess you can do it if you really want, but it's really expensive and you'd need VCDS to reprogram. It's not nearly worth this cost to me.

Replacing bulbs is a lot less hassle than an HID retrofit, so it seems like kind of a no-brainer to try a bulb replacement first before doing anything too drastic.

But I guess my quandary is wondering if it's worth doing anything; people have said that the stock bulbs are Silverstars? They're supposed to be among the better 55w bulbs. Sticking with 55w, I think I'd like to try the Philips Xtreme Power bulbs. Anyone try those? [Re-reading beginning of thread.] One person said it was a huge improvement and another says not much.

I just installed Philips Xtreme bulbs yesterday and I would say they are slightly brighter than stock bulbs. Barely noticeable difference

Have any of you tried any of ORSAM/Sylvania's products? The stock h7 bulbs in the mk 6 are Silver Stars and, ORSAM/Sylvania makes some really good upgrades. Their ZXE's are as close to bright and HID color I have seen, and their Ultra's are their brightest bulbs.

http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-Silv...d=1359802644&sr=1-3-catcorr&keywords=ultra+h7

http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-Silv...ie=UTF8&qid=1359802739&sr=1-1&keywords=zxe+h7

The problem is, if you read the reviews on these Sylvanias, these higher-performing bulbs don't seem to last long. Plus, if they have more blue coloring (like the ZXEs), they output less light.

As for the Philips having "slightly brighter" light, I suppose I'd be OK with that. I'm not sure I need a lot more output. I suspect that the SS Ultras would be similar.

For an HID look, I wonder how the ZXEs compare in output? I wouldn't want dimmer than stock just for the "look". Tempting, though.

I don't think you're going to get a lot more output unless you go to non-street legal bulbs like the 65w ones or some sort of retrofit.

Vidgamer said:

The problem is, if you read the reviews on these Sylvanias, these higher-performing bulbs don't seem to last long. Plus, if they have more blue coloring (like the ZXEs), they output less light.

As for the Philips having "slightly brighter" light, I suppose I'd be OK with that. I'm not sure I need a lot more output. I suspect that the SS Ultras would be similar.

For an HID look, I wonder how the ZXEs compare in output? I wouldn't want dimmer than stock just for the "look". Tempting, though.

I don't think you're going to get a lot more output unless you go to non-street legal bulbs like the 65w ones or some sort of retrofit.

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According to ORSAM's page the ZXE's are rated brighter with more road coverage then standard bulb's that comes from the factory in low beams of a mk6 Golf. The stock bulb's I pulled out of my car had a ORSAM part number on it. ZXE's are also suppose to use a xenon halogen gas mix, which might explain why they are both bright and white. I'm giving them a try so I'll compare them to the stock bulbs, and the ORSAM ultra's I currently have installed.

http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/products/automotive/Pages/silverstar-zxe.aspx

I have ran Silver Star Ultras in most of my other vehicles. I was lucky to get 1 year out of them due to being over driven. If you plan on doing a lot of night driving, I would do it in a heart beat anytime, but getting yor lights properly aimed, with a new set of OEM spec bulbs or even the Silvania Xtra Vison Bulbs, last longer, in my books work just as well. Now about those darn H15 in the high beams, I am hoping for a retrofit soon for those...

Black11TDI said:

I have ran Silver Star Ultras in most of my other vehicles. I was lucky to get 1 year out of them due to being over driven. If you plan on doing a lot of night driving, I would do it in a heart beat anytime, but getting yor lights properly aimed, with a new set of OEM spec bulbs or even the Silvania Xtra Vison Bulbs, last longer, in my books work just as well. Now about those darn H15 in the high beams, I am hoping for a retrofit soon for those...

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I have looked all over the place for an aftermarket option for the H15's. Best thing I found were XTEC's bulb covers. gives the bulb an 8000k appearance which looks nice, but they certainly are't brighter and make you high beams less effective. That said they give your DRL a better look, and the light is still very noticable during the day. The covers slip over the original bulb so you know you will get OEM longevity out of them.

http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/xtec-h15-bulb-super-white-upgrade-kit-pair/

v1k1ng01 said:

According to ORSAM's page the ZXE's are rated brighter with more road coverage then standard bulb's that comes from the factory in low beams of a mk6 Golf. The stock bulb's I pulled out of my car had a ORSAM part number on it. ZXE's are also suppose to use a xenon halogen gas mix, which might explain why they are both bright and white. I'm giving them a try so I'll compare them to the stock bulbs, and the ORSAM ultra's I currently have installed.
http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/products/automotive/Pages/silverstar-zxe.aspx

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I didn't see where there was a comparison or even a lumins figure on that page. With a general search, I didn't find much, but on other cars, it does seem like an improvement. Anyway, the white color is due more to the heavy blue coating more than anything else. I think most of these high-end bulbs are going to be similar otherwise (using a xenon mix). The thing really holding me back is the reported short life. If they only last a year or less, that's a lot of inconvenience -- either you're going to try to replace one in the dark (if you carry a replacement), or risk getting pulled over, etc.

Vidgamer said:

I didn't see where there was a comparison or even a lumins figure on that page. With a general search, I didn't find much, but on other cars, it does seem like an improvement. Anyway, the white color is due more to the heavy blue coating more than anything else. I think most of these high-end bulbs are going to be similar otherwise (using a xenon mix). The thing really holding me back is the reported short life. If they only last a year or less, that's a lot of inconvenience -- either you're going to try to replace one in the dark (if you carry a replacement), or risk getting pulled over, etc.

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I actually picked up a pair of both the ZXE and Ultra's to try out. On the ZXE's they have a silver tip and the glass itself has a very slight blue tint as opposed to a dark thick color coating. The Ultra's on the other hand have clear glass and gold tips. I compared them to a set of platinum white (5000K) Ziza's and while they weren't as white as the Ziza's, they were both much brighter. The ZXE's at night look to be 4200k and are by far brighter then stock, but not near HID's. The Ultra's on the other hand are 4000K and seem to be almost as bright as HID. I found an interesting comparison between ZXE's and Philips Crystal Vision Ultra's here.

Going thru the thread and was considering the Osram Rallye H7+ : 65w, 2100 lumen, 3200K, 300 - 400 hours http://store.candlepower.com/osraulhiouh7.html

or
NARVA - Range Power 50 H7 (Pair)
http://www.amazon.com/NARVA-Range-P...TF8&colid=2J5RBRY8LWX47&coliid=I17V08GMR4FZXJ -
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html

Thoughts/Feedback?

I know I'm going to get flamed for this... has anyone installed the cheezy HID kits from fleabay? Experiences?

LED buld replacements

I just saw an ad this morning from Newegg. This has LED replacement bulbs that are a one for one replacements for most common size Halogen headlight bulbs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...5-_-EMC-081615-Index-_-index-_-9SIA4YY31A2060


Has anyone heard of them and maybe has tried them?

Help/advice please.

2011 JSW TDI DSG: Driver's (left) side low beam is out. Warning message is shown on the dash. Bulb is good. Fuse is good. Per the suggestion above, I disconnected the battery and shorted cables for one minute. The fault remains.

From your vast and expert experience, what is the certainty that the headlight enclosure has an internal wiring fault and that if I order one and replace it all will be illuminated?

Thanks.

pwillikers said:

Help/advice please.

2011 JSW TDI DSG: Driver's (left) side low beam is out. Warning message is shown on the dash. Bulb is good. Fuse is good. Per the suggestion above, I disconnected the battery and shorted cables for one minute. The fault remains.

From your vast and expert experience, what is the certainty that the headlight enclosure has an internal wiring fault and that if I order one and replace it all will be illuminated?

Thanks.

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It is FIXED. Fixed it by cleaning the electrical contacts on the plastic bulb carrier and on the mating contacts inside the headlamp enclosure (what I could reach anyway). Simple fix.

I did the same fix but it did not last. I ended up replacing it. The new carrier is updated. It is much shorter and easier to install.

aerox said:

I did the same fix but it did not last. I ended up replacing it. The new carrier is updated. It is much shorter and easier to install.

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Was it just the carrier that was updated? Just to be clear we're talking about the same thing, the "carrier" is the small plastic bulb carrier/socket into which the bulb plugs and which installs into the rear of the headlamp enclosure with a 1/4 turn. Did you have to replace the entire headlamp assembly or just the carrier?

If I swap the bulb/carrier left to right, the fault follows the swap. With a new bulb in the old carrier, it exhibits the same behavior. This obviously points to only the carrier and not the headlamp enclosure as defective.

I removed and inspected it. It was slightly melted where one of the two bulb spade connector plugs in. I trimmed the melted plastic away, compressed the female connectors inside the carrier for a better contact, reinstalled the bulb/carrier and it now seems to work. We'll see for how long...

I don't see just the carrier available for purchase separately from the headlamp assembly. Is it? In fact, I don't see it all in the parts diagram.



Thanks for the information.

Yes. Just the carrier. It is available from the dealer. It is significantly shorter than the original. I think it's number 4 on the parts diagram. I'll try to find the part number.

#4 would be in the logical choice but it doesn't look at all like mine. Hence your point that it was updated.