GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: oryx3dr on 16 September 2021, 14:16
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Sorry if this has been asked before. Currently running standard D3S bulbs in my 2017 GTI and I'm really struggling with them. I noticed this last winter that they seem to be really dim and they don't project very far into the distance, making it almost impossible to see anything.
I've tried increasing the level of the bulb but that didn't help either so I'm going to try some new bulbs, currently looking at Osram Nightbreaker Laser's or Philips Xtreme Vision Gen2's. Does anyone have any experience with either of these? If so can you advise if they're a worthwhile upgrade over the standard fit bulbs.
Cheers
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Hi A few years ago I had a Mk 7 2.0 GT TDI and I thought the lights were awful , they were H7 bulbs. I fitted Philips X-treme Vision (+ 130%) bulbs and they were a worthwhile upgrade, I left a positive review on Amazon then. They gave me a longer beam and gave a much brighter/whiter light which gave me a clearer view of my field of vision. I have also fitted Osram Night Breaker Laser bulbs to my daughter’s Focus ST line and they too improved her lights massively. Both were good. I know Philips bulbs are now advertised as +150% so they should be better again. I found each of these gave a massive improvement over the original bulbs but the Philips didn’t fail whereas one of the night breakers did and I had to replace it. Hope this helps.
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My headlights (2014 GTI) are also pretty shocking, I guess they're the original bulbs so well over due for a change, but they literally aren't any brighter than the halogens on my last car.
I'm going to try "OSRAM XENARC NIGHT BREAKER LASER D3S" as they seem to be well reviewed.
If I beat you to it, I'll let you know how I get on.
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Soon after buying my car I bought some 'OSRAM XENARC NIGHT BREAKER LASER D3S'. I hoped they would make a big difference over the previous ones but is wasn't huge. They were certainly better though. Have to bare in mind I have no idea what bulbs the last owner had in (2014 GTi). Can't comment on the bulbs used in the 2017 version tho, might be different
Didn't feel like it was worth the effort of half taking the front bumper off and more than 2 hours of stress :grin:, first time I'd done it though. Plus the price of £140 for them seems excessive if you ask me. Shame I didn't have the competitor bulbs to compare
I also feel like the self-levelling lights on my GTi point lower than I'd pick myself and lower than my last car. But that had extra bright Phillips halogen bulbs and wasn't levelling so guess I can't compare
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I agree with Lordie that the Night Breaker D3S bulbs don't make much difference. I swapped mine a couple of years ago and I initially felt they were better but you soon get used to them and wish for something better.
You can fit them without removing the bumper. There are some walkthroughs on uTube.
You can easily raise the beam level with the allen key adjusters behind the lights.
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You can fit them without removing the bumper. There are some walkthroughs on uTube.
You can easily raise the beam level with the allen key adjusters behind the lights.
If you have tried any others and can compare then, then please do let me know :grin:. Might change mine again one day if I can find some better ones than the Osram's
I did follow the video on YouTube, not sure if there was a different way though. I didn't fully remove the bumper but had to pull each side partly off to access a screw on either side somewhere between the front wheels and headlights
Can you adjust them with an allen key? If they're self levelling won't they just stay the same?
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Can you adjust them with an allen key? If they're self levelling won't they just stay the same?
Yeah I believe you need to level them with VCDS as they're self levelling no? I could be wrong.
I've ordered the Osram's anyway, any kind of improvement would be great tbh!
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Can you adjust them with an allen key? If they're self levelling won't they just stay the same?
Yeah I believe you need to level them with VCDS as they're self levelling no? I could be wrong.
I've ordered the Osram's anyway, any kind of improvement would be great tbh!
I thought the same but the manual adjustment works for me.
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On a side note to this, the headlights themselves can degrade over time too.
I recently bought a set of Volvo xenon headlights to strip for the projectors to retro fit into another set of lights. If you didn't know, the bulb sits in a reflective chamber (much like a reflector headlight) with the projector lens in front. In the case of the Volvo, where the bulb sat closest to the reflector, some of the reflective coating had burned away. This would obviously have a detrimental affect on the light output.
With the Mk7 getting on a bit now, it's likely that something similar may be going on. The trouble is, there is no way of knowing without striping the headlight down.
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On a side note to this, the headlights themselves can degrade over time too.
I recently bought a set of Volvo xenon headlights to strip for the projectors to retro fit into another set of lights. If you didn't know, the bulb sits in a reflective chamber (much like a reflector headlight) with the projector lens in front. In the case of the Volvo, where the bulb sat closest to the reflector, some of the reflective coating had burned away. This would obviously have a detrimental affect on the light output.
With the Mk7 getting on a bit now, it's likely that something similar may be going on. The trouble is, there is no way of knowing without striping the headlight down.
Going to have a go at fitting myself so I will do a bit of poking around and see what I'm dealing with. I just seem to remember one day after a year of owning the car thinking to myself "these headlights are really not projecting very far or very bright".
So my guess is that the bulbs maybe just hit a wall but then, from what I've heard xenon bulbs outlast the car itself? I dunno, worth a go but I'm not holding out for any amazing results.
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My 2014 GTI headlights are fine now I have raised them to the correct level. From the factory they were dangerously low with the abrupt cut off only about 10ft in front of the car.
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My 2014 GTI headlights are fine now I have raised them to the correct level. From the factory they were dangerously low with the abrupt cut off only about 10ft in front of the car.
I had noticed that exact same issue with my car too. The lights albeit well lit focused/aimed too close to the front of the car. On dark roads it barely lit up any range
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My 2014 GTI headlights are fine now I have raised them to the correct level. From the factory they were dangerously low with the abrupt cut off only about 10ft in front of the car.
Also going to get that done, going to take it to an MOT test and ask for them to raise as high as possible within the law.
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Managed to change them over today, despite it being a bit of a ballache to do I eventually got there. I would say that they look MUCH brighter but honestly that could be placebo, I didn't take a solid mental note of what the old ones where like.
But from what I can tell they project much further into the road than the stock bulbs.