Headlight Upgrade for Mk3 Jetta? (fog lights and auxillary)

[Rig]

I'm curious if anyone has pictures of their standard reflector type e-code's beams on a dark road? LEDs or halogens. Both would be appreciated. I'm just curious how they compare to the projectors. I think for the sake of this thread it would be cool to have the comparison.

I like the projectors but the highs are VERY concentrated beams. Think big flashlights. I still think this a healthier headlight style if you are planning to run super bright LEDs or HIDs as they seem much less likely to blind oncoming traffic. When I tried running LEDs in my old reflector housing I got flashed all the time even though they were on low and barely putting out any light for me. I have yet to be flashed with my current setup even though the light application is many times better.

I've stood about 30ft away from the car on the other side of the road and the projector lenses really do a nice job controlling the light, especially the lows. Again, I plan to post a good set of photos soon so you can see what I'm talking about.

I've spent some time driving while holding the stalk back for both highs and lows on at the same time. I checked headlights and there doesn't seem to be an excessive amount of heat build up. I think the fact that the LEDs have their own driver means heat is managed better. I think the reason I like having both on is that the highs are just so concentrated. They do a great job illuminating far away and in front, but not close and to the sides. The lows are much better at illuminating the "deer zone" which is my primary concern of having bright lights. I could see this not being as much of an issue in standard reflector style headlights.

The bottom line is I still don't feel safe with the brights driving on deer prone roads, but I do with both the lows and highs at once.

More pictures will come soon.

 

[Rig]

And before anyone asks the red jumper is to keep the low beams on with the high beams.

There is a jumper on the B4's you can put in the fusebox (same as the A3) that will allow both the high and low beams to stay on when you run the high beams. I don't recommend it for the A3 because they use the same bulb and it'll burn out the filaments. The B4 has separate assemblies for high and low beams.

Can you elabortate a bit on this mod? what guage wire, is there anything else I should keep in mind? Are there specific relays you can buy that do the same thing?


Also here are some more pictures on a totally dark highway. Headlights are about 90% aimed correctly I'm guessing. This was done without the spinners and just the four mounting points.

Spoiler: Headlight Pictures

LOWS with FOGS

HIGHS with FOGS

HIGHS with LOWs with FOGS

Hard to get good pictures of these, especially with my crappy phone camera. Now that they are properly aligned I think the brights are probably fiiiiine as they are, but I really don't see any downside to pairing them with the lows.

Overall, this was a massive improvement. (yes it was worth the money not to mention all the research and hassel of installing them). Especially when you compare it to how bad they were before.

 

[Abacus]

Can you elabortate a bit on this mod? what guage wire, is there anything else I should keep in mind? Are there specific relays you can buy that do the same thing?

Sure.

This fusebox should be the same as yours. Note the red wire in the center, it's what allows the high and low beams to be on at the same time. I just used a regular piece of wire and some male spade connectors filed down because the slots are narrower than normal. Every B4 I work on has had this done and none have had any issues down the road. It's been on my own B4's for over a decade.

 

[Rig]

...some male spade connectors filed down because the slots are narrower than normal.

Alright this was the info I needed, thanks! I just assumed it was a bare wire there. Makes way more sense (im not an electrician but am trying to learn more)

 

[Steve Addy]

There's a factory clip (bridge) that accomplishes the same thing, unfortunately I don't have the part number for that clip, nor do you see it very often. I also don't recall which model with CE2 electrics that it was used on, but it wouldn't have been a Mk2 or Mk3.

You can see it here in this photo.

Steve

 

[garciapiano]

Rig, which bulbs did you use for the headlights? My set of in.pros arrived…

 

[Rig]

@garciapiano

For highs I decided on the Hikari Titanovas from amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B1MJ4LFZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

I was simply going for the brightest possible bulb with the best longevity regardless of price. My decision was largely based on this review:

Best projector output goes to the Hikaris:

Apparently they are brighter than both the GTR Ultras and the Morimotos 2stroke which are both 200$ LEDs (although I haven't personally tested this). I've been very happy with the brightness level. Keep in mind you will need to modify the dust cap on the back of the light to keep the housing sealed up. I have yet to do this, but i highly suggest it. You need to find a rubber grommet.

They don't seem to fade too much either which is pointed out in the video even though the initial brightness is a bit dimmer than some others. There's no point in having a bright LED if it doesn't last.

Keep in mind I have yet to fully adjust my headlights for optimum application. Also, there is some debate as to wether the "rib" on the titanova faces up or down in the housing.

For lows, I went with these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B883S3V3?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

reason being I can use the existing dust cover and they are very plug and play. They are also dim enough that they don't blind people. No flashes from oncoming traffic yet!

I am somewhat debating getting brighter bulbs for the lows however. They are a bit TOO dim maybe. I'm not confident though in a brighter bulb not blinding someone. Will wait till I can get them properly adjusted.

 

[Rig]

@garciapiano I think I found some dust covers that will fit over the Hikaris here: https://www.amazon.com/Auxbeam-Wate...&pd_rd_r=5548832c-dca9-40f1-a9f0-3a7c5cbe22d5

I'll let you know how the fit is on the 75mm. They are rubber so they should stretch a bit for a tight fit.

 

[ToddA1]

Those look like the rear shock dust covers for Jetta...

-Todd

 

[Rig]

@ToddA1 Haha, you're right!

I think you are on to something about auxillary lights. It's probably unrealistic to expect the kind of light I'm expecting from just a single pair of led bulbs.

This guy demonstrates the auxiliary switch-panel that auxbeam sells, as well as their higher end lightbar. I don't have a roof rack yet but it is on the agenda for the near future. I will definitely be getting this lightbar!!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0932QR2Q3/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A28LSN5QPAAAAL&th=1

At 5in x 2.5inches, these yellow fog lights should fit perfectly where I've drawn yellow boxes (ignore the red box). It's kind of a stealthy location and you almost wouldn't know they were there without looking closely.

The best thing about these led fog bars is that I can aim them exactly where I want them.

I may add two (or four!) more in the green box, or maybe a white light. Not sure. I like the yellow light a lot, and it would be neat to switch completely to yellow light if needed.


Eventually it would be desirable I think to move away from the factory fog lights and utilize that space better. The tow eye spots in the middle bug the heck out of me. Wasted space! Problem is I do want to maintain as much of streamlined stock look as possible... rather I don't want to just tack things onto the car without considering how the car looks as a whole.

 

[ToddA1]

I don't want to just tack things onto the car without considering how the car looks as a whole.

You thinking about getting a grill and some bumper dummies on the car, lol? Do you seriously need that much lighting…?

-Todd

 

[Rig]

Yes, MOAR LIGHT! I'm a bit of LED junkie. Got a several LED work lights and 2 expensive professional rechargeable headlamps. I'm a big fan.

I have the toe eye covers and the grille, they are just off in the picture because I was messing around with things (old picture as you can see i still have the stock headlights ).

Grille is Chinese plastic that is 90% destroyed anyway. Will order a new one.

But the toe eye covers are still off because they don't really fit. Maybe because they are e-codes, or maybe they just don't pair with the signals and the fogs (i didn't buy these as a set). I had to use silicone to glue them in last time and I'm not ready to do that again yet since I'm still messing with things. I am considering putting a little pod light there that I can screw into the tow threads.

Eventually I may purchase a new set of signals, fogs, and the cover so it all matches and fits (hopefully), or I might just scratch all of it and install some multi-functional LED bars there, but I've got much bigger problems this year (new long block lol?)

For now I'm just trying to get the lighting situation to the point where I feel totally safe on the road, which is probably a pretty simple fix. Probably either going to be 1. cross-wire highs and lows together 2. get brigher LEDs for the lows 3. Get auxillary lights



As far as lighting goes, I'm just thinking out loud. If someone else wants to go down the same path, maybe they will have a better understanding of what to do. I think I've made excellent progress so far on an issue I thought was unsolvable.


When it comes down to it, I'm 80% happy with the lighting I have from the in-pros.

HOWEVER, with these projectors, the highs are insanely focused. When I say two giant flashlights I'm not exaggerating. There is very little light on the sides of the road, but I can see probably a mile down the road with the beams. I guess they don't have deer in Germany.

With just highs, sides are still dark enough to the point where a deer could jump out and total the car. So that's the main thing I want to address. There are deer literally EVERYWHERE where I live, even in the middle of town. I almost hit a deer one time just outside of walmart, one of at least 5 near misses since I've lived here.

With highs and lows on at the same it's better, but I'm a bit reluctant to cross-wire the relay. I'm just not sure what the results will be electronically. I guess if they do end up getting too hot, it's easy to just pull the wire and put the relay back in, as long as nothing gets damaged in the meantime.

Lows are definitely on the dim side. I purposely got low powered ones so I didn't blind oncoming traffic, however, for the purpose of filling in that blind spot they don't really do enough anyway. The lows are mostly just so I have some light when I'm not actively blinding people. It's still a far cry better than where I was at before the in-pros.

However, I feel like these lenses do such a nice job controlling the light on the lows, maybe I could get away with a higher powered light. I may swap in the Hikaris just temporarily and see what it looks like on the road. It would be relatively easy to do, but I have to take the headlights completely out. The clips are really hard to fit over the hikaris since there is so little wiggle room around the fan.

So I guess that's where the auxiliary lighting comes in.

My factory fogs, even with the LEDs are fairly inconsequential. They only point directly in front of the car rather than flooding more of the side of the road where I am wanting more light.

But I think the yellow light "fills in" nicely. I have a THEORY that since it's a different color, it might pair well with the super bright white highs. My eyes can move to the side and right up close if needed, or far away. So the small yellow auxillary fog light bars might be an excellent option in combination with the highs for "deer spotting" since I can actually aim them to the side where I need the light. They can easily be switched off if there's oncoming vehicles. I could even put all my fog lights on the same switch so I just have to press one button to turn them off.

 

[Zak99b5]

If you now have separate bulbs for high amd low beams, you can safely jumper them so lows stay on with highs.

They are independent if you had a dual-filament bulb that was for both high and low beam. Running both filaments in the same bulb was where things got too hot.

 

[Steve Addy]

If you now have separate bulbs for high amd low beams, you can safely jumper them so lows stay on with highs.

They are independent if you had a dual-filament bulb that was for both high and low beam. Running both filaments in the same bulb was where things got too hot.

Yes, I would agree, if they are separate then you can jumper and turn on both, but I would be building a separate wiring harness for headlights that powers directly from the battery and only uses the original wiring as relay trigger. You get better light and there's no possibility of a melt-down.

As for the LED bar, if you honestly think you need one I would mount below the primary bumper bar in the center. If you mount something in the left lower bumper grille space that blocks the SMIC and the opening for that is already very small IMO. I wouldn't mount the bar on the bumper face either just in case you bumped another car. If it's back and under the bumper protrusion it will likely be spared even if you do bump into someone.

My .02 on the matter...but I also agree with Todd....about whether this is all necessary? I believe I asked that question in a prior post in here? To what end are you doing all this?

Steve

 

[ToddA1]

would be building a separate wiring harness for headlights that powers directly from the battery and only uses the original wiring as relay trigger. You get better light and there's no possibility of a melt-down.

i wonder if that’s even needed with LED. These things are usually rated with input voltage as low as 9V.… if you’re not seeing that, you have other issues to address.

Different car, but I used LED headlight bulbs in my GTI. The rest of the car is mainly LED, with a couple incandescent in the front turns. I previously built a harness, from when I was running incandescents, but wondered if I I actually needed them. People started going… off relay this, relay that, etc,… one guy bragged about having 4 relays, for his 2 headlights, thinking it was helping him… it’s not. Anyhow, I was still unconvinced.

I showed pics of one headlIght plugged into factory wiring and the other in my built harness. No discernible difference.
I did a voltage drop test with the factory wiring and from my built harness… negligible.
I ran the load through my voltmeter and saw a whopping 4.08A draw with the headlights, interior lights, and marker lights. The car wasn’t running, meaning my amperage draw was higher than it would have been if it was running.

No response from the peanut gallery.

-Todd

 

[Steve Addy]

i wonder if that’s even needed with LED. These things are usually rated with input voltage as low as 9V.… if you’re not seeing that, you have other issues to address.

Different car, but I used LED headlight bulbs in my GTI. The rest of the car is mainly LED, with a couple incandescent in the front turns. I previously built a harness, from when I was running incandescents, but wondered if I I actually needed them. People started going… off relay this, relay that, etc,… one guy bragged about having 4 relays, for his 2 headlights, thinking it was helping him… it’s not. Anyhow, I was still unconvinced.

I showed pics of one headlIght plugged into factory wiring and the other in my built harness. No discernible difference.
I did a voltage drop test with the factory wiring and from my built harness… negligible.
I ran the load through my voltmeter and saw a whopping 4.08A draw with the headlights, interior lights, and marker lights. The car wasn’t running, meaning my amperage draw was higher than it would have been if it was running.

No response from the peanut gallery.

-Todd

Todd you could be right, never really thought about the current draw with LED's being less but it is. You do have a point and with the advent of LED front lights it might negate needing a separate harness all together.

As for the guy with 2 relays per lamp, yeah that's a big overboard. A person could actually do all the lamps with one relay if it's a 5 prong IIRC.

Steve

 

[ToddA1]

A person could actually do all the lamps with one relay if it's a 5 prong IIRC.

Most Bosch style SPST relays have 4 terminals (poles). I believe you’re thinking of a SPST dual 87 relay, which has 2 87 outputs (5 poles). The additional 87 only eliminates a splice. You still need 2 relays to isolate lows from highs.

There’s also a 5 pole SPDT with 87a. Pole 87a is NC and is unused in a headlight harness. You’d need to splice the 87 to get power to both lows or highs. This is the relay I typically buy since it can do everything the SPST does, and more.

Either relay works in a headlight harness, but the dual 87 is a little cleaner. My B4V came with a Eurowires harness and it uses 2 dual 87 relays.

I recently installed a remote starter in BIG-BLÜE. After completion, I looked at my drawing for headlight / rear fog disarm output, and realized 3 relays could have been consolidated to 1 dual 87 relay, in a single circuit… I didn’t put enough thought into it. Oh well, it’s not getting rewired…

As for the 4 relay guy, I think some people think relays increase voltage, as a step up transformer would. They may not understand relays only switch source voltage (or ground) which may be higher than what’s seen after coursing through the old (long) wiring. Properly sized wire, fuses and 2 relays would have done the same.

-Todd

 

[Steve Addy]

Most Bosch style SPST relays have 4 terminals (poles). I believe you’re thinking of a SPST dual 87 relay, which has 2 87 outputs (5 poles). The additional 87 only eliminates a splice. You still need 2 relays to isolate lows from highs.

There’s also a 5 pole SPDT with 87a. Pole 87a is NC and is unused in a headlight harness. You’d need to splice the 87 to get power to both lows or highs. This is the relay I typically buy since it can do everything the SPST does, and more.

Either relay works in a headlight harness, but the dual 87 is a little cleaner. My B4V came with a Eurowires harness and it uses 2 dual 87 relays.

I recently installed a remote starter in BIG-BLÜE. After completion, I looked at my drawing for headlight / rear fog disarm output, and realized 3 relays could have been consolidated to 1 dual 87 relay, in a single circuit… I didn’t put enough thought into it. Oh well, it’s not getting rewired…

As for the 4 relay guy, I think some people think relays increase voltage, as a step up transformer would. They may not understand relays only switch source voltage (or ground) which may be higher than what’s seen after coursing through the old (long) wiring. Properly sized wire, fuses and 2 relays would have done the same.

-Todd

The common one I use is the 5 pole with 87 / 87a. I worked through this before and I think you're right, my idea of using 87 for low and 87a for high beam doesn't work out because you'd have to rework the system. I think I went through this before and at a minimum you have to use two relays.

I always use the 5 pole SPDT, almost everything out there that uses a traditional relay uses this type and it's readily available as Bosch in the JY.

Steve

 

[ToddA1]

87a is NC. If you connected lights to 87a, they’d energize even if the car was off. The only way to open 87a would be to trigger the coil with the headlight switch.

-Todd

 

[Rig]

I do notice with the LED headlamps that they flicker when I start the car quite a bit. It's a minor annoyance, but I do wonder if I would get more light if they were independently powered somehow. Otherwise they seem to work perfectly fine while driving.

Would probably eliminate the flicker at startup at least.

 

[Rig]

As for the LED bar, if you honestly think you need one I would mount below the primary bumper bar in the center. If you mount something in the left lower bumper grille space that blocks the SMIC and the opening for that is already very small IMO. I wouldn't mount the bar on the bumper face either just in case you bumped another car. If it's back and under the bumper protrusion it will likely be spared even if you do bump into someone.

My .02 on the matter...but I also agree with Todd....about whether this is all necessary? I believe I asked that question in a prior post in here? To what end are you doing all this?

I rambled on in my post, so you probably didn't read it. But the main reason is that the highs don't illuminate the side of the road where deer are. The lows do to an extent, but I purposely got dim bulbs so I don't blind anyone.

The highs are spots, and the lows are floods. The alternative to getting auxiliary lights I guess would be to get brighter lows and jumper them so they are on with the highs.

That's a good point about airflow. I think these are small enough that they won't be blocking airflow too much. Could be wrong. I can mount them a bit forward so they aren't directly blocking the SMIC. I do plan to eventually mount a FMIC. Cool thing about these pods is that I can move them around.

 

[Steve Addy]

87a is NC. If you connected lights to 87a, they’d energize even if the car was off. The only way to open 87a would be to trigger the coil with the headlight switch.

-Todd

Yes...that's the problem, you would need switched power to headlights to use 87a and that just defeats the purpose of separating it out to begin with.

That was the conclusion I came to when I built my B3V headlight harness.

Steve

 

[ToddA1]

I rambled on in my post, so you probably didn't read it.

I definitely didn’t read all of that, lol.

But the main reason is that the highs don't illuminate the side of the road where deer are. The lows do to an extent, but I purposely got dim bulbs so I don't blind anyone.

So get auxiliary lights that will. If the lows do “to an extent“, getting brighter bulbs aren’t going to change the optics of the new lights. Only the lit areas will be brighter. If properly aimed, you shouldn’t be blinding anyone.

Back in the day, I had an old Celica with Hella or Bosch fogs. The fogs outperformed my stock headlights… I could night drive with just the fogs.

Different lights, but my B4 e-codes look nothing like your beam pattern. My lows flood the pavement with no hotspots… I have a definitive beam cutoff. I’m running the high jumper, so I’m getting a long range spot with the low beam flood. I’m running halogens, so my color is warmer than yours.

My old Rabbit with H4 (halogen) e-codes also flood the road. When I went LED, I did notice hotspots appear. I rarely do night driving, so it doesn’t really bother me.

When the weather breaks, I think I’ll be doing a bi-xenon retrofit… I’ve been sitting on these parts for years. Been thinking about what I’ll do with the high beams, but that’s for a different thread…

-Todd

 

[garciapiano]

Attempted to install the in.pros today. These NOS units look sparkling clean, but I was met with a multitude of issues, one of which was that the pinouts were completely wrong on the adaptor harness I bought. Typical. After repinning the whole harness, it now turns the lights on correctly.

My adjusters all work (buttery smoothly might I add), but when test fitting the housings into the radiator support, the up/down adjuster locates straight into the box section of the upper fender rail, meaning the knob is almost completely inaccessible in situ. From the looks of it you’d have to cut out a section of the frame to have access to this knob or use a tiny ratchet wrench, which is bonkers bad design. Will need to figure out a solution for this.

Given these are aftermarket lights, I figured there would be some fitment issues but this seems wrong. Does anyone know whether euro models have different fender “boxes”?

After trying and failing to get these mounted to my liking using e-code brackets on the NA support, I’ve decided to buy a euro radiator support to mount these in a more proper way… whoever decided that hacky e-code brackets and cutting the rad support was an acceptable way to mount headlights was someone with more patience than I.
If anyone wants some E-code brackets, I have a brand new set I’ll sell for a good price.

In.Pro projector headlight

• garciapiano
• Jan 22, 2023

Test fit on North American bumper

couple of other notes here - I had a feeling this was true but the higher power LEDs with integrated fans do not look like they will fit into these housings unless you left the rear caps off or somehow made different ones. You have about an inch of clearance behind the bulb itself, which seems like not enough space to fit most of the fan-equipped bulbs, but I haven’t test fit any. I have a hard time believing that a fan does much in such an enclosed space anyway. EDIT: looks like this was addressed earlier in the thread and I didn’t see it.

finally I’m just really impressed with these housings in general but it does look like the beam pattern of the high beam is very different than what is typical of most OEM high beams. Like two concentrated flash lights on either side of the road… leaving everything else to imagination. So I’ll want to do the hack to make both the lows and highs fire at the same time as well.

 

[Rig]

Nice to see you got em so we can compare notes! I love the look of these lights to be honest and I think the light output is well worth the effort to get them to fit properly, however I don't think getting the eurpean radiator support is "necessary" to make them work, although I suppose it would be cleaner and get better fitment. If you decide to go that route let me know how it goes. I just don't know how the euro support will interface with the rest of the front end - radiator, side fenders, etc... The thought crossed my mind, but I decided against it because it seemed like more of a hassle than modifying my existing support. Seemed like a can of worms with the possibility of trying to adapt all the NA stuff to fit, or adapt the support. It was an unknown I wasn't willing to risk dollars on.

one of which was that the pinouts were completely wrong on the adaptor harness I bought.

Yeah, this happened to me too. Forgot to warn you. Also, the pins in the adapters are REALLY weak and bend easily when trying to connect. I hate spending money on crap.

My adjusters all work (buttery smoothly might I add), but when test fitting the housings into the radiator support, the up/down adjuster locates straight into the box section of the upper fender rail, meaning the knob is almost completely inaccessible in situ. From the looks of it you’d have to cut out a section of the frame to have access to this knob or use a tiny ratchet wrench, which is bonkers bad design. Will need to figure out a solution for this.

So, I was able to reach all the adjuster knobs with a large #3 philips screwdriver. These knobs are designed to be adjusted with that I think. The shaft of the screwdriver fits perfectly into that gray plastic channel. If that's your main reason for getting the euro support maybe I solved your problem!

However, I have yet to see any difference turning these in my lights. Nothing seems broken so maybe the adjust is just very very incremental. Let me know what you find out.

I did hack out the passenger side radiator support but only a few inches. I don't think it was that big of a deal. I had to relocate some of the mounting holes to get the lights even, although you might not have to do that. I sustained some frame damage a few years ago in a wreck. The adapter brackets themselves can also be bent and moved around to some degree (what a money grab). You can also use screws and washers to adjust the position of the lights.

couple of other notes here - I had a feeling this was true but the higher power LEDs with integrated fans do not look like they will fit into these housings unless you left the rear caps off or somehow made different ones. You have about an inch of clearance behind the bulb itself, which seems like not enough space to fit most of the fan-equipped bulbs, but I haven’t test fit any. I have a hard time believing that a fan does much in such an enclosed space anyway. EDIT: looks like this was addressed earlier in the thread and I didn’t see it.

I think the bulbs with fans and drivers are well worth it based on the research I've done. I'll let you know if the dust caps I ordered fit. I plan to punch a few small holes in the dust caps (or put somekind of permeable dust filter on them) so the fans can hopefully do their work. Mostly I'm concerned about mud and heavier debris getting in there.

finally I’m just really impressed with these housings in general but it does look like the beam pattern of the high beam is very different than what is typical of most OEM high beams. Like two concentrated flash lights on either side of the road… leaving everything else to imagination. So I’ll want to do the hack to make both the lows and highs fire at the same time as well.

Yup, just like I've been saying all along haha.

They are very unique lights, very retro european I guess. But I am wondering if these were in fact designed so that the highs and low are on simultaneously while on high. I've seen other cars like this and it would make sense I think because the lows are floods and the highs are definitely spots. I know that flood and spot on at same time is a common feature in headlamps for "high mode" . You have a dedicated lens for floods and for highs since it takes different architecture to create that light pattern.

I just found these premium LEDs as well:

DDM Tuning

DDM Tuning

Here's a review on them: https://www.bulbfacts.com/led-kits/reviews/ddm-tuning-saberled-prox-55w-accu-v2-led-review.html

Bulb Facts also has a ton of other useful info to know when selecting LEDs.

 

[Rig]

If you now have separate bulbs for high amd low beams, you can safely jumper them so lows stay on with highs.

Is it possible to put the jumper on a switch? Just an option I had considered. But not sure if there's really a time I would have my highs on and not want the lows as well.

Another option I had considered is using amber or those yellow LEDs in my lows. Why? I think the yellow or amber light is so much easier on the eyes in bad weather. Thankfully, this would be a fairly easy mod to try out, just switch bulbs. But would I want yellow all the time? probably not. The ideal would be to swith the lows to white while the highs are on. (Yes, I'm crazy) But sometimes my out of the box thinking does lead to worthwhile results. Hard to know sometimes until you try.

This was the LED that sparked the idea: https://www.amazon.com/LASFIT-Headlight-Switchback-Yellow-Adjustable/dp/B0885TLBJG

But there is also this one available: https://deautokey.com/product/dual-...n-a-clean-white-hyper-3000k-yellow-at-anytime

This one actually has a 3 color option as well (includes 4300k halogen mimic)

Here is a video of it in action (no, i would never get the strobe option, just silly even I have my limits)

 

[Zak99b5]

The "three color" option is actually just both the yellow and white at the same time.

The issue with these switchback bulbs is the yellow and white LEDs are not in the same spots (duh), so the focus of the light source changes as you change colors. You can clearly see this in the video how the pattern shifts pretty dramatically as he changes colors. You'll either have one color aimed fine and the other way off, or some compromise where neither is aimed very well.

I too really like the selective yellow headlights for good visibility. Alas, I got pulled over by a trooper who told me that they were not legal for headlight use (he implied even in fogs, yellow forward lights were a "grey area"). This is of course in New York; your state may differ. The bulbs I was running were halogens in my MkIV GTi. I do have yellow LEDs in the fog lights of my Expedition.

Since you have projectors, why not try a DDM HID kit? You'd definitely want to do the jumper mod for highs and lows together. Actually, you seem reluctant to do so anyway, and I'm not sure why. With separate high and low beam housings and bulbs, it's perfectly fine, and the way the factory wires it.

 

[Zak99b5]

Here's a pic comparing my Depo replica OE HID headlights with halogens vs. DDM HIDs in my MkIV Jetta:

Notice how much wider the useable light is with HIDs:

The snow on the windshield is a little distracting and makes it seem like there might be some glare, but that is all the old and very scratched windshield plus snow. I know it's not the ideal set up, but its worlds better than the stock lights as well as the projectors with halogens. I also did the "Golf Mod" to get highs and lows on together, since in the new housings have separate high and low bulbs, like the Golf does from the factory.

 

[Rig]

The issue with these switchback bulbs is the yellow and white LEDs are not in the same spots (duh), so the focus of the light source changes as you change colors. You can clearly see this in the video how the pattern shifts pretty dramatically as he changes colors. You'll either have one color aimed fine and the other way off, or some compromise where neither is aimed very well.

I too really like the selective yellow headlights for good visibility. Alas, I got pulled over by a trooper who told me that they were not legal for headlight use (he implied even in fogs, yellow forward lights were a "grey area"). This is of course in New York; your state may differ. The bulbs I was running were halogens in my MkIV GTi. I do have yellow LEDs in the fog lights of my Expedition.

Interesting. I hadn't noticed that before, but you're right about the light being in a different spot. I guess I don't mind if the yellow is a bit lower though.

In rural New Mexico police don't care about headlights that I can tell. Trucks are rolling coal left and right on pedestrians and cyclists which I think is a much bigger issue. But time will tell I suppose. If I can keep it somewhat discreet I doubt I'll get any attention. Auxiliary light bars might be a bit much if they catch me driving on the highway with them, but I know they won't care about the yellow lights.

Since you have projectors, why not try a DDM HID kit? You'd definitely want to do the jumper mod for highs and lows together. Actually, you seem reluctant to do so anyway, and I'm not sure why. With separate high and low beam housings and bulbs, it's perfectly fine, and the way the factory wires it.

I've decided to jumper the headlights together based on input. I think it will help my situation a lot. But what are the advantages of HIDs to your mind? I noticed Todd likes them too. Just seems like LEDs have so many advantages over them and in the last year it seems the technology has surpassed HIDs in terms of brightness.

 

[Zak99b5]

I like HIDs because the LEDs are almost all 6000K or bluer, which is terrible for rainy nights. HIDs are easy to find in 4300K, since it's their native color temp. That and a DDM kit is like $34 bucks. I installed a DDM kit on my old 1999 Audi A4 (in Depo projectors) like 7-8 years ago. My son owns it now, and the headlights are still working fine.

The LED bulbs I've tried are hit or miss. In reflectors I never had a good cutoff and had to adjust all the way down--even then there was far too much glare. In the projectors I had installed on my GMT900 Suburban I got good results with 5000K LEDs, but LEDs in the projectors now on my Jetta were bad with lots of blotches and dark patches. And I've always done research on the LEDs before buying. They were highly rated bulbs.