Legal Fitting of Xenon Headlights to a GTI Pirelli

[arcadelt]

Hi All

I am currently in the market for a GTI Pirelli. I have looked at two cars, which are quite different due to their past ownership. One was fully optioned from the factory, while the other only has the rear parking sensors that all Australia Pirellis seem to have been fitted with. While I like the idea of a fully optioned car, that car also has some significant scratching that will entail getting three major panels resprayed, plus some other mechanical issues that will need fixing; however, I know the cost of doing those things to factor into the price negotiations. The alternative is to buy the other car, which is immaculate, and then option it up. The RNS-510 is easy, but what I don't know is how much effort would be involved in legally fitting Xenons, including washers and auto levelling. I'm sure the parts are available, perhaps even second hand, but is the job a real PITA, and therefore beyond being practical outside of the factory?

If there is anyone who has done this, or looked into doing this before, and would you care to share your experience?

Cheers

[Guest001]

Look north of $3000

[arcadelt]

Look north of $3000

Thanks Hillbilly. Any idea of the complexity of the job?

[Guest001]

Thanks Hillbilly. Any idea of the complexity of the job?

No but there are threads on it done on other models would be cheaper to buy some of the upgraded Philips bulbs

[tigger73]

To do it properly/legally is a reasonable size job and as Hillbilly says expect to pay twice as much as to option them from the factory. I believe the front bumpers are different part #'s, otherwise you'll need to cut holes in the standard bumper for the washers.

The cheap option is just to buy some upgraded aftermarket Halogen bulbs (Phillips X-treme vision or similar).

Personally I'd be going with the car that has been looked after as it more than likely has been serviced at the correct intervals also.

[Lucas_R]

The washers are really not needed in our climate - i disabled the ones in my old Golf R because they annoyed me (made my clean car dirty with soapy spray).

I would just purchase a set of the xenon lights and fit them without the worry of washers/levellers. The chance of ever being pulled over for your headlights is so slim that it would be worth the risk.

Whats far more illegal and dangerous (to other drivers) are the people who put xenon bulbs into standard projector headlights and blind everyone coming in the opposite direction - expecially bad are the 4wd's and utes that do this as they are higher up off the ground and the blinding effect is even worse than a normal car.

Im with Tigger - id be buying the car that's in better cond with fewer options rather than the car that's optioned up but in poor condition.

[arcadelt]

The washers are really not needed in our climate - i disabled the ones in my old Golf R because they annoyed me (made my clean car dirty with soapy spray).

I would just purchase a set of the xenon lights and fit them without the worry of washers/levellers. The chance of ever being pulled over for your headlights is so slim that it would be worth the risk.

Whats far more illegal and dangerous (to other drivers) are the people who put xenon bulbs into standard projector headlights and blind everyone coming in the opposite direction - expecially bad are the 4wd's and utes that do this as they are higher up off the ground and the blinding effect is even worse than a normal car.

Thanks Lucas_R, but more than anything I want the car to be proper and legal, so not doing a full conversion would be out of the question. I drive between Canberra and Cooma a lot, and the number of people who use their lights illegally (not only by incorrectly fitting HIDs) is going to cause an accident, if it hasn't already done so. I can't be critical of others and then do the wrong thing myself. BTW, this is not a comment directed entirely at locals, because much of the traffic, especially in winter, is people coming from out of town going to the snow - and I fully agree with your point about HIDs in 4WDs and utes in the reflector mount.

Im with Tigger - id be buying the car that's in better cond with fewer options rather than the car that's optioned up but in poor condition.

The optioned car is not in poor condition, just poorer; but based on the weight of opinion, I am starting to sway in that direction.

[benough]

Hey there.

It all depends on how handy you consider yourself to be. Swapping the headlamp is super easy. Just take note of the alignment when removing the old ones.

As for the auto levelling, you essentially need to run the loom through the firewall, down the trim under the sill of the doors and out the wheel well. Again, if you generally consider yourself handy, you'll be fine.

Hunt around wreckers for headlamps. Brand new ones are exorbitant. I got a set of RHD ones, all motors, and ballasts included, with the leveling arms, no loom for $800 AUD.

Also, kudos for wanting to go down the legal route. Not many of us do!

[arcadelt]

Hey there.

It all depends on how handy you consider yourself to be. Swapping the headlamp is super easy. Just take note of the alignment when removing the old ones.

As for the auto levelling, you essentially need to run the loom through the firewall, down the trim under the sill of the doors and out the wheel well. Again, if you generally consider yourself handy, you'll be fine.

Hunt around wreckers for headlamps. Brand new ones are exorbitant. I got a set of RHD ones, all motors, and ballasts included, with the leveling arms, no loom for $800 AUD.

Thanks benough, I'm handy enough I think, but this would be a longer-term project that I would spend some time planning. What about the washers? Would I need a new bumper or to cut holes as tigger73 has suggested, or are the blanks in the non-Xenon golf bumpers removable?

Also, kudos for wanting to go down the legal route. Not many of us do!

I wish more would - would make it a lot less annoying and much safer on the roads.

[Fatherless One]

Plus if you have an illegal setup and have an accident, should the insurance assessor discover them you may void your insurance, that would be very bad.

[benough]

The blanks are removable from what I know but don't bother fitting them. You need a bigger washer tank and a second pump, it's silly.

In reality, they just dirty your clean car.

[benough]

Plus if you have an illegal setup and have an accident, should the insurance assessor discover them you may void your insurance, that would be very bad.

Have there been any reported cases of this though? Where an OEM retrofit has been installed without washers and they've denied a whole claim?

[arcadelt]

You need a bigger washer tank and a second pump

Hmmm, hadn't thought about the water supply. Thanks for that extra detail.

[tigger73]

My understanding of the reason for putting in a washer system is that in countries where they salt the roads you can end up with a salt coating on the headlight lens which can diffuse the light (up into eyes of oncoming traffic).

As others have said to be legal you have to have it fitted but the reason for having it fitted really doesn't apply here as we don't use salt.

So really the only thing that is important (if you're going to load up your car) is the auto-levellers.

[arcadelt]

My understanding of the reason for putting in a washer system is that in countries where they salt the roads you can end up with a salt coating on the headlight lens which can diffuse the light (up into eyes of oncoming traffic).

As others have said to be legal you have to have it fitted but the reason for having it fitted really doesn't apply here as we don't use salt.

So really the only thing that is important (if you're going to load up your car) is the auto-levellers.

My understanding is that washers are required to counter the light dispersion effect caused by any dirt, not just salt, and in this country we have plenty of dust and insects that can cause that. To quote from an Osram blog:

So why do headlamps need a washer system at all? Most people think it is so that dirt cannot dim the light. This is only partly true, and in fact, this wouldn’t be a particularly crucial concern with xenon lights, which have such a very high light output. The main reason for the requirement is that dirt can impair the optical features of the headlamp and cause glare. Incidentally, headlamps which are only slightly soiled cause a stronger glare, and of course the brighter the headlamp, the stronger the glare.

Personally, I think trying to determine what's mechanically important is really an academic exercise, because the law is the law, and no matter what we personally think or feel about its validity, we should comply (BTW, not ruling out proper challenges to the legal system by saying this). In the end, I'm still trying to make a choice between two cars, and from what I have read so far, I'd have to factor between $800 to >$3000 into the equation, plus the time and effort involved, in favour of the car with factory Xenons. That said, your original advice of "going with the car that has been looked after" is sage, and currently factoring high in my considerations.