best headlight upgrade route/build thread

[croak2012]

listen up! Vdub in da house! ( love that advert)

I think my car styling is looking really nice atm but the front of the car is looking a little old with the yellow
halogens and scratched acrylic lenses... so... question to all you guys is this:

What the &^%&% can I do because yesterday I started trawling through the forums and yt and decided to try
baking soda and vinegar...  haha I must say if I needed to get an old car through the mot it would be great for that but... no good
for styling your pride and joy!

I  know I have a few option but I have not had the chance to see some cars with projector headlights up close with headlights in mind.

so ..

option 1:    Do I get a headlight restoration kit/buy new standard headlights  and put some osram cool blue intense/similar.
                 this option seems viable with all these new high end halogen bulbs ( osram nightbreaker laser just out)@

option2:    buy some depo projectors (can't find hella ones anywhere) and use halogens\hid kit without auto adjust, etc


option3:   wait for a good second hand pair of original r32 xenons with balasts and find someone who can sort out 12 pin adapter , modules, wheel sensors. etc.
               so I can have auto adjust and maybe bi xenon?

 
finally - what is with the black painted inside of these lights? does that really look better ?  to some of the photos i see on google  don't convince me  !
but as I said I have not seen much in person- maybe i should have a look on autotrader and go see some cars nearby.

[mvb12]

depends on your pockets.

I can't stand fake items so would say go down the R32 Xenon route.

if pockets cant reach that far then Depo are a good compromise.

The difference with the inner headlight colouring is IMO to differentiate between GTI and non GTI

[mvb12]

Just had a look at your build thread......

9/10 if you have washer jets in the bumper you normally would have Xenons maybe it did and they been removed......

[dronners]

if you have washers already i'd go for OEM xenons. on a dark road at night nothing compares

[slix]

Yeah just buy some depo projectors (I chose the ones with the black insert slats in as I think they look better) and a set ok 5/6K hids and that's it. Closest you will get to oem as possible and about a third of the price of going down the whole genuine light route.

[lukemk5gti]

Just had a look at your build thread......

9/10 if you have washer jets in the bumper you normally would have Xenons maybe it did and they been removed......

Didn't the winter pack come with headlight washers?

In theory if you went standard lights and winter pack then that's fairly common no?

[xs2man]

I restored my headlights (on a couple of passats) with wet & dry sandpaper and polish.  I first tried the toothpaste method and all that, and they worked to a degree, but just get some 800, 1500, 2500 grit w&d sandpaper, making sure to keep the lights wet when doing it, starting on the roughest, and finishing with the lightest.  Then polish the living heck out of them.  Then seal them right up, preferably with some UV sealant if you can, but if not, then just regular car sealant will do.

After this, they MAY need done every 12-18 months or so, but it's cheap to do, and not too difficult.

For reference, mine went from this:



To this:



Assuming that's what your problem is of course.

On the other hand, can't beat OEM xenons...

[croak2012]

Just had a look at your build thread......

9/10 if you have washer jets in the bumper you normally would have Xenons maybe it did and they been removed......

Didn't the winter pack come with headlight washers?

In theory if you went standard lights and winter pack then that's fairly common no?

thanks guys, I have the "winterpack" so headlight washers are installed :) if i had xenons installed does this mean I have some "dormant" technology available for oems haha

I also hate fake and worry about blinding people if I don't have the auto adjust sensors... but ... it does sound expensive! must be about 700 pounds at least to install second hand xenons fully!  are depo projectors close to oem quality? do you guys have a link to a decent set of oem ?  I bought some osram intense blue halogens and will see what they look like tonight and think about the polishing option...

i think i basically want to know if the the triple cost of installing genuine xenons  is worth it over depo projectors with hid kit? unless there are other options i don't know about...

[r5gtt]

Nothing imho compares to oem xenons as even the depo ones aren't really as bright as ut if your pockets don't stretch that deep then second best like I did 

[croak2012]

Nothing imho compares to oem xenons as even the depo ones aren't really as bright as ut if your pockets don't stretch that deep then second best like I did 

  1.do the projectors give the front a better look ? 2.   is there a high quality or genuine HID KIT that is best to buy with this? 3.would i need VCDS changes?

[lukemk5gti]

Nothing imho compares to oem xenons as even the depo ones aren't really as bright as ut if your pockets don't stretch that deep then second best like I did 

+1 OEM xenons all the way...

[Charlie23]

I just fitted OEM xenons to mine and they are 100x better and look alot nicer also.

I managed to get a set at a bargain price all complete, then bought the adaptors from Ebay.

If you wanted to go that route i wouldnt have any problems helping you out with fiting them, but you do need to get them coded 

Or i have a set of Standard edition 30 lights in very very good condition for a resonable price 

[r5gtt]

Nothing imho compares to oem xenons as even the depo ones aren't really as bright as but if your pockets don't stretch that deep then second best like I did 

  1.do the projectors give the front a better look ? 2.   is there a high quality or genuine HID KIT that is best to buy with this? 3.would i need VCDS changes?

1.Yes 2. no 3. yes  there's a set going for cheap in the sale section BUT it has no ballasts ignitors bulbs so will cost you a fair bit to get those ballasts @£60-70 each and then the rest unless you find broken ones with everything on ebay selling for peanuts as I'd have done

[croak2012]

I just fitted OEM xenons to mine and they are 100x better and look alot nicer also.

I managed to get a set at a bargain price all complete, then bought the adaptors from Ebay.

If you wanted to go that route i wouldnt have any problems helping you out with fiting them, but you do need to get them coded 

Or i have a set of Standard edition 30 lights in very very good condition for a resonable price 

cheers charlie - I think all the comments have convinced me about OEM  so I'm going to give my current lights a quick sand and polish and some rustoleum krystal clear coat(homebase) with osram cool blue intense bulvbs and keep an eye on ebay and here(for one with igniters and balasts). I'll definitely take you up on your offer when I find a pair !

Thanks everyone for the help!

[r5gtt]

As I said mate, get the ballasts and you'll have no problem finding lights