Converting to HID/Xenon

[dopey]

Hi All,

Firstly let me just clarify that I am well aware of the laws in my state relating to this and I am also well aware of the other issues of Xenon/HID Conversions on reflector housing lights and so on. Please do not turn this thread into another "Don't do it!" lecture.

Now that that's out of the way...

I'm about to take delivery of my new Passat Highline Wagon. I really wanted the factory Xenon HID lights but unfortunately VW were unable to supply me with a car that included this along with the other options I wanted within a sufficient time frame so I sacrificed and went without the Xenons.

I've done this sort of conversion before on a previous car and got decent results after a lot of fiddling around, and from looking at the light pattern on the standard Halogen housings on the new Passat I think they would respond fairly well to HID bulbs without spraying too much stray light. So, I want to give it a go and if it doesn't work out that great I'll just take it out and sell the kit.

I want to get the best quality kit I can, no cheap chinese junk. I'm chasing OEM look and quality. Yes I do realise the factory VW HID lights use a projector bulb, but there are plenty of cars on the market that do use reflector housings for HID such as Volvos and their lights work just fine.

From browsing the internet it looks like a Philips 35w 4200k kit could be the go. I have noticed that they have a "CANBUS" version which apparently means that the kit will not upset the cars computer and will mean that there won't be any false warning lights coming up. Here's a link to the type of kit I am talking about.

Anything better than Philips out there?

Would that sort of kit alone be fine or will I still have to make adjustments to DRL's or other settings in VCDS? From browsing the American forums it looks like they are talking about having to make changes to the DRL settings however I don't think they are using the same kind of HID kit.

Any advice relating to converting properly on these cars much appreciated. Unfortunately purchasing the complete housings is a bit out of budget, so this is plan B.

Thanks,
Ryan

[maxim]

I'm in the same boat, wanted them, but can't wait 5 months for special order. So be very interested in the performance of these & ease of installation.

[tryingavw]

a cheaper and simpler option is to just get the philips crystal vision globes which are actually a vast improvement over halogens. i have fitted these to a mazda2 and polo and everyone thinks it is the full deal.

Try them first and you can always use those globes on the side lamps anyway if you still want to go with HID

Hi All,

Firstly let me just clarify that I am well aware of the laws in my state relating to this and I am also well aware of the other issues of Xenon/HID Conversions on reflector housing lights and so on. Please do not turn this thread into another "Don't do it!" lecture.

Now that that's out of the way...

I'm about to take delivery of my new Passat Highline Wagon. I really wanted the factory Xenon HID lights but unfortunately VW were unable to supply me with a car that included this along with the other options I wanted within a sufficient time frame so I sacrificed and went without the Xenons.

I've done this sort of conversion before on a previous car and got decent results after a lot of fiddling around, and from looking at the light pattern on the standard Halogen housings on the new Passat I think they would respond fairly well to HID bulbs without spraying too much stray light. So, I want to give it a go and if it doesn't work out that great I'll just take it out and sell the kit.

I want to get the best quality kit I can, no cheap chinese junk. I'm chasing OEM look and quality. Yes I do realise the factory VW HID lights use a projector bulb, but there are plenty of cars on the market that do use reflector housings for HID such as Volvos and their lights work just fine.

From browsing the internet it looks like a Philips 35w 4200k kit could be the go. I have noticed that they have a "CANBUS" version which apparently means that the kit will not upset the cars computer and will mean that there won't be any false warning lights coming up. Here's a link to the type of kit I am talking about.

Anything better than Philips out there?

Would that sort of kit alone be fine or will I still have to make adjustments to DRL's or other settings in VCDS? From browsing the American forums it looks like they are talking about having to make changes to the DRL settings however I don't think they are using the same kind of HID kit.

Any advice relating to converting properly on these cars much appreciated. Unfortunately purchasing the complete housings is a bit out of budget, so this is plan B.

Thanks,
Ryan

[dopey]

Thanks for the input, but the crystal vision are a coated globe which is something I want to avoid. I'm not particularly interested in achieving a HID look but rather want the improved light output. If I do have to resort to using a different globe I will go with the philips +80% ones which are not coated and do deliver much stronger light. I have used those previously as well.

[brad]

Google Delonixradar. They do philips branded kits.

A mate also bought a full philips kit for his 9-3 SAAB (you actually buy the bulbs seperate to the ballast) from Autobarn for about $500 IIRC.

You shouldn't need a canbus kit if you can get into the computer with VCDS.

I recently ordered a $200 kit with 4200k bulbs from hidlighting.com.au. No idea how it is as I'm still waiting for it (they didn't have 4200k bulbs in stock as all the cool kids get 6000k+)

[dopey]

I ended up buying the new release Philips 4200k Slimline "CANBUS" kit, H7 size globes. Hopefully it all fits and works, will report back with my findings once it arrives.

[PHA]

I was appalled at the lights on my 103TDI (nearly hit 3 roos the first night I had it out).
After much research I ended up replacing the outer globes with high performance halogens and got a 55w CANBUS HID kit for the inners from Delonix, see Buy HID Kit, car H.I.D lights, Driving Lights and Xenon Conversion kits. It was 2 years ago now and I can't remember if they were Philips of a generic brand but they certainly light up the countryside and no problems with them.

No adjustment to the vehicle control circuits was required. The only down side is that you can't just "flash" the high beams and they take 5 - 10 sec to warm up on the first use. After that they're fine.

Delonix were great to deal with too.

[li21]

Im a Jetta MKV owner and the lights are terrible.
I understand the legalities with using aftermarket kits, but screw it!

Factory lights are just too poor and tinted bulbs don't throw enough light on the road.

Thinking of Delonix canbus kit now..

Anyone recommend any other good vendors to get a comparison?

cheers

[brad]

does the Jetta have projectors or reflector housings?

I did HIDs in projectors & I'm really happy. Wouldn't do it with reflectors - too much light spill.

Would it be worth your while to go back to basics & ensure you are getting full voltage at the lights?

[li21]

does the Jetta have projectors or reflector housings?

I did HIDs in projectors & I'm really happy. Wouldn't do it with reflectors - too much light spill.

Would it be worth your while to go back to basics & ensure you are getting full voltage at the lights?

Actually I'm not sure if its projector or reflector..
I'm guessing projector has a rounded "ball" like end.. where as reflector has the pointy end where the bulb would slide into it with VW logo on it.. then mine would be reflector..

My lights don't seem to be dimming or losing voltage (ive seen that before in my last cars) .. its just the performance is very so so ...

Does anyone know if we need HID bulb holders/adaptors to fit in the housing or do we need to cut away on the plastic caps ?

[brad]

You have reflectors.

I'd look at some high performance halogens.

[li21]

You have reflectors.

I'd look at some high performance halogens.

ahh yes, definitely reflectors..

Half the cars on the road today seem to have HID kits in reflectors , or at least I'm guessing they are reflectors in older civics, lancers and skylines.. Yets i've not had any problems with oncoming glare ..

But I guess this is getting away from the topic of this thread..

[brad]

It's more about where the light will be placed. Halogens appear to have a shield on them to direct the light to the appropriate part of the reflector whereas xenons don't, therefore you get light scatter & inefficient lighting.

Basically, it's "untidy" - as untidy as having halogens in projector housings, which I've never thought to be particularly good lights. I can understand bipassing the headlight washers; I can understand using the manual adjuster in the car to fine tune the height but xenons in an incorrectly designed reflector housing don't do it for me (and yes, I have experienced glare issues - had a ripper last night on the M5).

You do realise that you can buy xenons designed for reflectors? They have a shield/shutter incorporated in them. There's a few UK lighting firms that sell them. They usually have an R at the end of the partno. try autobulbsdirect or convert2xenon in the UK.