HID conversion on mk4 gti

[glenng78]

ok i got a set of helix hid replica headlights, 2.5" valeo D1S projectors, and a euro switch. is there a way to convert the D1S projector to fit D2S bulbs? it seems like the D2s bulbs are a lot cheaper and readily available than the D1S

[marksae]

Bumping an old thread.

I have a set of D2S Audi S4 projectors that I plan on putting in a set of Helix headlight housings. Does the headlight housing back cover need to be modified to clear the D2S bulb wire? Anyone have any pictures of their setup from the back side of the headlight housing?

TIA!

[KB4]

if you want to go cheap, i've heard good things about these

Go to mydepots(dot)com

they're not legal though, the HID projectors you speak of ($1,000 ones) are actual projectors since they cut a clean line across the horizon. These would just install in place of you're existing bulbs. They would literally just "spray" HID light all over the place, which is what makes them annoying to passing cars on the road.
H7 are stock bulbs
H3 are most likely you're stock foglights (if you have any)

hope this helps.


Modified by KB4 at 10:01 PM 5-10-2009

[marksae]

Alright, I'm in the middle of converting my Helix headlights to use Valeo D2S projectors. It appears the back cover needs to be modified in order to get the D2S wire to the headlight bulb. Anyone got a picture of this setup? How did you get it to seal?

[pilotlars]

Glenn, i'm coming late on this but i wanted to clarify a few things for you: "E-Code" or "ECE" is a type of lighting standard that the rest of the world uses. The US uses SAE/DOT which allows much more light to be scattered upwards, into the eyes of on-coming traffic. SAE lights are NOT legal for use in Europe, since they blind traffic and don't actually put enough light on the road. Hella, Depo and Valeo are all OEM makers for lights in Europe. I would trust any of them. Stay away from no-name brand projector lights or halos or that crap. the exception are the Hellas you found, which are expensive but well worth it. "Projector" lights are DE units, Hella invented them. They have a very defined cut-off. Normal E-Code lights have a cut-off as well, just a little fuzzier. I would NEVER recommend using an HID kit with an SAE headlamp, way too much blinding. H7 and H1 HID "drop-in" kits have worked well for me in ALL cases for E-Code headlights. Halogen headlamps and HID headlamps have different types of reflectors, regardless of whether it's an FF (clear-glass) headlamp or a DE (eye-ball, or glass-egg, as you called it) headlight. Basically the filament of a halogen bulb and the arc in the HID capsule have different shapes and each reflector is specifically designed for ONLY that type of light-emitter. That having been said: the H7 and H1 HID kits work better than most because those capsules can be placed in almost the perfect position in the Halogen reflector. High beams are great for up-grading to HID kits since blinding is no issue, just a huge amount of light for safety! Low beams are tricky, you don't want to blind everyone, so a dedicated HID/Xenon headlamp is the best (and also the only LEGAL option). Hella makes a Golf 4 Xenon light, it's been an option on the European Golf since 1998 or 99. Your next best option is a DEPO or HELLA DE (projector) headlamp with 1 or 2 HID drop-in kits. I have even tried the standard E-Code Golf FF (clear/OEM) low beam with an H7 HID kit and it worked almost perfectly. Oh... the colour temp of HID kits is mis-leading. 4300K is the brightest, it's a WHITE/blue light, OEM for BMW, Audi.. etc. 6000K is more blue, 8000K is quite blue. anything over that is purple/violet. This is more blinding as the human eye has trouble dealing with blue lights, they appear out of focus and are scattered the most by moisture. Hence red tail lights and rear-fog lights. Also, the light intensity drops off severly as the colour temp goes up. So a 4300K is much, much brighter than a 12,000K light. Oh, there are 3000K HIDs, they are YELLOW.
Here are the Hella DE Halos, they are also available in black:

These are from Hella and can be Xenon or Halogen:

I hope that helps a bit, I hope you've been able to get some good lights, please email me at pilotlars@yahoo.com if you have any questions about anything. thanks, lars

[pilotlars]

I just found the other pics I was looking for...
These are the OEM Hella xenons:

These are the Hella Halos lit up:

They are pretty in blue too, probably from FK or Depo:

And finally the mk5-style lamps for the mk4:

[whatnxt]

After doing a retro with FX35 bi-xenon HIDs into my E-codes with fog lights, I found that the fogs were so over powered by the HIDs that using them together was useless. I run the fog lights as DRLs now.

A better set-up if you want fogs is to get the Hella Micro DEs. Much better than the GTI or E-code fogs and add to the HIDs.

[pilotlars]

good point, btw... the stock xenon headlamps on golfs and jettas don't even have a foglight option, there's no room in the lamps for them.

[PernellGTI]

Hey does anyone know anything about using a can bus hid kit instead of a regular one on a gti mk4? The reason I ask is because someone just told me that the computer will go into a fail safe mode when it sees 35W output on the headlights instead of 55W and this will cause the ECU to regulate power output and ultimately kill the ballast.

I have to say Im damn confused now, My friend has a cheap xentec kit running on a jetta 02 with FK headlights and for 2 years of knowing him and his car I don't think he ever had a problem.

I want to buy an HID kit but the guy at the shop told me I need a can bus unit for my Volkswagen, anyone here can throw some info? Thanks!

[dennisgli]

Hey does anyone know anything about using a can bus hid kit instead of a regular one on a gti mk4? The reason I ask is because someone just told me that the computer will go into a fail safe mode when it sees 35W output on the headlights instead of 55W and this will cause the ECU to regulate power output and ultimately kill the ballast.

Who told you that? Do you have any reason to think that they know what they are talking about???

I want to buy an HID kit but the guy at the shop told me I need a can bus unit for my Volkswagen, anyone here can throw some info?

Sounds like the second person that you talked to who doesn't know what they are talking about.

Try listening to Daniel Stern and reading Thinking of converting to HID?

[PernellGTI]

Who told you that? Do you have any reason to think that they know what they are talking about???



Sounds like the second person that you talked to who doesn't know what they are talking about.

Try listening to Daniel Stern and reading Thinking of converting to HID?

Excellent info in the link you provided.... Well I actually went to autozone and bought a set of two hella h7 bulbs at 55w I gave up on the cheap HID idea, I installed my bulbs on new FK headlights and it looks good, not like my buddy's jetta with HID's but the light pattern on the floor and wall looks damn sharp compared to his.

Thanks for the info, I haven't invested any money in the cosmetic aspect of my car, everything went to the engine, trans and susp. I really wanted to do HID's but I guess that will be when I can buy something top notch.

[Pheno.menon]

I'm about to get the helix euro replica lights with a Morimoto h7 hid kit.

If I want to convert the helix projector to a valeo projector later on, what do I need for this (links would be very helpful, even if they are ebay links!)? I am new to HID's so bear with me.

Is there any special work involved and if so, is there a DIY out there on it?

Thanks!