Poor headlights

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2003 11:44 am

My 90 continues to suffer from poor headlights, even after cleaning & checking the contacts.
As an alternative to powering them through relays and/or using uprated bulbs, I see that Vagparts have H1/H7 HID replacements for <UKP300, with H4 'coming soon'.
Apart from the cost, can anyone think of reason why HID H4s couldn't/shouldn't go into the standard reflector? These are not the 'projector' style headlamps, just the common or garden variety.
Are there any legal restrictions on their use? E.g. only on vehicles fitted with manual/automatic beam height adjusters?

The US rennlist 20v crowd seem very keen on upgrading to Euro spec lights - makes me wonder what the original US spec lights are like!

Ian.

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2003 11:47 am

20v.org shows before and after beams on the US/Euro lights. If you thinks the Euro ones are bad, you should see theirs !!!!

I recall someone saying they replaced the lenses on a 90 and it made a significant improvement in lighting. My CQ20V seemed OK with standard lights and 30% brighter bulbs from Halfords.

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2003 12:09 pm

The reflectors also become 'tarnished' over time. I have one good light and one with a tarnished reflector. It's not rusty or anything, but you can clearly see just by looking at the headlights, that one is 'duller' than the other.

I'm considering the bulbs as mentioned by cq20v, but I'm also going to look at replacing the tarnished reflector, maybe even both.

The Audi 90's in the US have 90 style indicators, but an 80 style headlight assembly, with the 80 indicator being a daytime running light... or something like that Sad

Hence they only have a two bulb setup, whereas the Euro 90 has the 4 bulbs Very Happy

Cheers

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2003 5:06 pm

I have quite poor night vision, so I tried 'Ring' Ultra xenon bulbs. They are visibly brighter and produce no extra heat. It says on the box that they are aproved for use with plastic lenses as well. Also light up road signs really well. Don't get the blue ones though...They really dazzle and annoy on-coming traffic Evil or Very Mad

. I think they have given me about 10 metres extra visibility, and a more defined spread pattern. £16 from local moronist..I mean motorist shop. Very Happy

Si.

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2003 7:12 pm

I changed the lenses on a mates car and it was like fitting new lights. The old lenses were badly pitted and scratched after ~180k miles. Recommended although not cheap.

As for the HID kits, these are being designed to work with the standard reflector. That's if Martyn can get them working with no issues.

Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2003 2:25 am

I concur with Simon regarding these new-fangled headlight bulbs. I just repleced the H4 and H1 lamps in my headlights (80Q V6/S2 type) with some 'Koba' brand bulbs I picked up on e-bay. I'm pretty impressed with the results.

James

Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2003 11:32 am

Thank you all.

I guess I'll wait to see if Vagparts have any luck with the H4's then.

Meanwhile, pass the carrots....

The bulbs at present are Philips 'Vision Plus', which gave a marginal improvement, and one lense is relatively new.

I've also been using lense covers from ECP in the summer - reduces the stone chips. Then remove them for the winter (trouble is, the cover breaks 25% of the time).

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2003 12:23 pm

Ian,
I replaced the offside lens on my Coupe recently and it made a big difference to the brightness... that was a 2nd hand one from VW/Audi Breakers in Swindon!
Dread to think what the US ones are like!
Barney

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2003 4:11 pm

Hi,
I've noticed some clips around the headlamp glass. Does this mean the reflectors come out?. Or are they sealed?.

Si.

UltraUser Joined: Jan 21, 2003 Posts: 4228

The clips hold the glass to the rest of the headlight. Evil or Very Mad

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2003 7:35 pm

I think you can remove the reflectors but it is tricky and they often break