Headlights - Discussion and Questions

[Alex31]

2k could give you lightforce HID's x 6 which would light up Sydney from Melbourne.

Are we talking about golfs or have I gone on a hilux forum?

[nat225]

The high beam in mk6 H15 bulb is weak. Plus there is no other option besides the only one from Osram itself.

Dunno what high beam bulbs they use in the mk7... but if they are drl / high beam combo, it is likely to be H15.

The mk5 and prefacelift Tiguan use H7 in both low and high beam; and H7 halogen is designed to give more luminance (1700 lumens) compared to other halogen bulbs (1300-1500 lumens). H7 osram rally gives more than 2000lumens.

HID gives 3500 lumens i think.

[Diesel_vert]

The high beam in mk6 H15 bulb is weak. Plus there is no other option besides the only one from Osram itself.

Dunno what high beam bulbs they use in the mk7... but if they are drl / high beam combo, it is likely to be H15.

The mk5 and prefacelift Tiguan use H7 in both low and high beam; and H7 halogen is designed to give more luminance (1700 lumens) compared to other halogen bulbs (1300-1500 lumens). H7 osram rally gives more than 2000lumens.

HID gives 3500 lumens i think.

The Golf Mk6 & Mk7 both use a H7 bulb for the dipped beam and a H15 bulb for the main beam.


H15 halogen bulbs have a dual filament; 1350 lumen (55W) for the main beam and 260 lumen (15W) for the DRL.

H7 halogen bulbs have a luminous flux of 1500.

The Osram Rallye [#64217] bulb uses the filament from a typical H9 bulb (2100 lumen) attached to a base of a H7 bulb, thus giving it a luminous flux of 2100.


D*R (reflector) gas-discharge bulbs have a luminous flux of 2800.

D*S (projector) gas-discharge bulbs have a luminous flux of 3200. The Golf Mk6 uses a D1S bulb & the Golf Mk7 uses a D3S bulb.


Unlike the older D1 and D2 bulbs, the newer D3 and D4 bulbs are mercury-free.

All luminous flux figures have a tolerance of +/-10%.

Have the headlights been improved on the Mk7? They are woeful on my GTD. They have a shadow between high and low beam, as well as just generally weak and poor performance.

Are your lights aligned correctly and the manual level switch set on 0?

I would also double-check. Else, consider getting them re-aligned.

Otherwise... get some Philips Visionplus main beams

No can do for the Golf Mk6 & Mk7, but there are plenty of options for the dipped beam.

[Mountainman]

There are plenty of cars around that have halogen lights that are far superior to those on the Golf 7. The standard set up on my brother's 16 year old Camry for example. Or any Commodore or Falcon from the past 20 years. It's hard to understand how VW could get it so wrong. From memory the lights of my Mk1 Golf (I replaced the standard bulbs with H4's) from 35 years ago were better than the ones on my Mk7. In fact every car I've owned since has had better lights. High beam is worse than low beam.

[REGS12]

Thanks everyone for backing up my opinion of the headlights.
Where will it go from here? Does VW ever note what is said on these forums or do we just grizzle among ourselves.
I believe there is a roadworthiness issue here, but I'm not sure where to take it. Any suggestions?

[Diesel_vert]

Thanks everyone for backing up my opinion of the headlights.
Where will it go from here? Does VW ever note what is said on these forums or do we just grizzle among ourselves.
I believe there is a roadworthiness issue here, but I'm not sure where to take it. Any suggestions?

Have the headlamps in your car been checked for any alignment issues by a workshop?

Have you tried alternative bulbs?

[Mitch89]

I believe there is a roadworthiness issue here, but I'm not sure where to take it. Any suggestions?

They aren't the best headlights on the market, but I'd hardly call them a roadworthiness issue.

[Baz 55]

OK, must be the odd one out here. y Mk7 90TSI lights are fine. Not super bright but I wouldn't complain about them. My wifes car has those fish eye bulbs (are they xenon?) They are about the same.

[Lucas_R]

The high beam in mk6 H15 bulb is weak. Plus there is no other option besides the only one from Osram itself.

Just bumping this thread with a DRL/High beam (H15) bulb option for the MK6/Mk7 Golf with regular headlights.

I found this French company selling a range of different bulbs for the MK6 (and other VW's), and they have the H15 DRL/High Beam (15/55w) replacement bulb in a 5000k output.

I have ordered a set for my MK6 GTI so ill report back on how they look/fit/perform in a week or two once they arrive from France.

Link to H15 bulb: Pack daytime (DRL) and Hi-beam H15 Xenon effect bulbs for Volkswagen Golf 6

Link to all MK6 bulbs: LEDs for Volkswagen Golf 6 (GTD / GTI / TDI / TSI)

Link to all Mk7 bulbs: LEDs for Volkswagen Golf 7

Shipping was 9.90 euro and you take the tax off the price for international purchases. The cost for the headlight bulbs and shipping was 51 euros (about $75-80 AUD).

[veew]

Cheers for the link, it has all the bulbs in the one place

BTW Lucas_R, what bulbs did you choose when you ordered?

[veew]

I ended up ordering Nightbreaker Unlimited for my H7/H11s and received them in the mail today! I'll get around to putting up some photos before and after. Was tempted to go for Phillips Diamond Vision but decided against it because they're not legal and don't theoretically have a significantly improved light output, they are reported to look more xenon like than the NBUs.

Have you received your kit yet Lucas_R?

Ok so I've fitted the NBUs. They are slightly whiter than standard and appears to be brighter but unfortunately the photos don't show it that well. Whilst driving around the block to get these photos I definitely noticed the fog lamps lighting up corners better when turning into the street. I haven't had a chance to drive in the hills yet to see how much of a difference they make with little street lighting but I suspect it will provide more of an improvement in those conditions.

So the following will be a series of standard, half (standard passenger side/NBU driver side) and full NBUs unless stated otherwise.








standard:

NBU:

[REGS12]

Thank goodness that Mk 7 is a definite improvement---------still ordinary though.

[veew]

I've had a chance to take the car for a spin in the hills at night, it was definitely more confidence inspiring than the last few times with the standard lights.
I didn't take any photos of what they were like before but FWIW this is a shot with the NBUs. I couldn't find a spot to park on the side of the road where the road extended right out in front of me for a considerable distance.





I came around one of the corners to see this little critter.

[Dutch77]

How was installation veew?

Are the hills shots on normal or high beam? May consider this option depending on how I feel the halogens perform.

[tigger73]

How was installation veew?

Are the hills shots on normal or high beam? May consider this option depending on how I feel the halogens perform.

Ahhhh looking at upgrades even before you've taken delivery

I told you that you wouldn't be able to keep it stock.

Though those bulbs definitely look to be an improvement over the standard halogens.

The only benefit of a yellower light is that it generally performs better on fog.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk