Upgrading front lights

Hi,

I've got the 4 light grill and would like to improve the light performance over stock, what are my options? Can I just drop in a halogen bulb of some sort or is it complete unit replacement?

Thanks

Best upgrade is the £35 plug and play loom available from a seller on here, that uses a relay rather than having the full current for the lights passing through the dash switch. Then get some Osram nightbreaker bulbs and you'll be amazed at the improvement.

You will find that the bulbs are only getting about 10v if you are lucky as the current goes a long way before it get to the lights with the loom upgrade you will give you the full 12v and much brighter lights.
Make sure you get a kit with 2 relays and 2 fuses as some only have 1 fuse and if that blows you lose both front headlights!

Looks like this, as already mentioned there was someone on here selling them as well.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-Golf-Mk1-Mk2-Uprated-Headlight-Loom-Harness-Plug-and-Play-Brand-new-/221234547130?hash=item33829b49ba:g:jUcAAOxy8hNRj-zO

brand new hella lamp units will make the world of difference if yours are cheaper pattern and/or old units that are past their best. the chrome flakes off or goes flat, which reduces the reflected light output

Thank you all, I've purchased an upgraded quad loom and am picking up new H4 Hellas.  I'd like to replace the smaller campaign headlights, are these called driver lights rather than fog lights? and does anyone have a part number or link to any vendor carrying them?

 

you can either have the inners as fog lamps, or additional high beam lamps depending on how old the car is, and if the inner grille is genuine or aftermarket.

you can check how yours is wired to see which kit you need, or if you're going to get an uprated loom with inner spot lamp wiring on it you'll need to change them to spot lamps regardless.

just note there are several different fitments available, mk2 and late cab grilles are different to mk1 tintop so you need to make sure the ones you get are correct for your inner grille!

Thanks for all the responses.  I've picked up an uprated loom and bought some new headlights and bulbs, handy really as the passenger side headlight decided to deposit the lens on the road this morning, ho hum

You can get new Hella headlights and they will improve the light output, you will need to buy 2 new ones really.

check the part number in the link just be sure they fit your car.
http://www.classic-vw.co.uk/mk1-golf-hella-headlight-3753-p.asp
 

My lights after making a relayed loom.
Osram night brakers and new crystal headlights.



They've made a world of difference!

I installed led headlamps. They are the nuts. E marked and so road legal. Look like hid. Pretty much plug and play, just needed a mounting ring from a (say it quietly) Land Rover defender.

jaysson said

 


I installed led headlamps. They are the nuts. E marked and so road legal. Look like hid. Pretty much plug and play, just needed a mounting ring from a (say it quietly) Land Rover defender.

Really interested in this mod.. Can you shed some more light (!) on these.. :-) Link or partnumber.. Cheers

Hi!

Happy to shed light.

I had seen the JW Speaker LED headlamps on Land Rover Defenders - reasonably popular mod there as Defender lights are c**p too!

http://www.jwspeaker.com/products/categories/headlights/

After a bit of research I concluded that they'd definitely fit the Golf - the lamps are 7 inch H7 type.  I went to for the 8700 Evolution 2 - the latest version which is brighter than the the original 8700

I'd hoped to buy them in the US as they're a lot cheaper than the UK eg $500 for a pair. But US stockist can't sell the CE marked lights as JW Speaker won't supply them!

You can get other E-marked LED headlamps - they are popular in the 4x4 community.  Just make sure they're 7 inch and E-marked.  If they're not E-marked, they're not road legal.  Also, as they're LED and a sealed unit, you don't need headlamp washing systems or levelling.

I ordered the model:  0550201 which is left hand traffic (right hand drive), with a black bezel - you can get chrome bezels.  I bought mine from Mobilecentre in the UK.  They did me a deal - £500 posted.

One slight regret, I could have ordered the 0549721 model which includes the daytime running lamps and side lights.  I was overcome with tightness as it was an extra £80!

I thought they might be a plug and play swap.  However, they're not.  The mounting rings from my original Hellas could be removed, but wouldn't fit the lamps! You can buy JW Speaker mounting ring for £60 (should have done a deal on those too!)

So I bought a set of WIPAC lamp mounts for a Land Rover - £20 Wipac S6004.

Once I had the mounting rings I was home and dry - wiring IS plug and play - though if you're a tightwad like me you'll need to unplug the side light bulbs and then refix some side lights, or else rig up the connector for a headlight with sidelights - they come with a wiring diagram.

For my car because of preexisting damage to the slam panel, I had to faff about drilling some additional holes in the mounting rings, but I found they went in easily enough and were aimed correctly (I had a friendly garage check them out).

Overall very pleased - they're very bright and give fantastic vision on the road.  They also look really cool!

It a great safety mod (at least that's what I told Mrs P!)

If you want to know anything else, let me know.
 

jaysson said

Hi!

Happy to shed light.

/—-/

If you want to know anything else, let me know.
 

Cheers mate.. Really helpful this. I will definately dig into this… Looks kind of cool in the daylight too, and the way to get legal headlight that are really bright.

No worries. I've gone to a single light grill too.

Plus, you can still get the original 8700s - they're quite a bit cheaper.