Best D3 headlights ?

[mattylondon]

Ditto to what Ray said, let us know how they are.

Did you select a colour temp, or went with the standard 6000K?

[ainarssems]

I asked for 4300k or 5000k whichever they can ship first. I have since received e-mail stating that they have production issue and it will take at least a month to ship desired colour but they have 6000k in stock ready to ship today. I have had 6000k HID's and seen 6000k LEDs , they are too blue and too dark for me so it's either wait or cancel and order somewhere else for me.

[mattylondon]

I agree that 6000k are too blue, hopefully you can wait. I was going to replace my fogs with a hid kit I've laying around, but haven't done this yet, and as I see they have 3000k in stock ($3 extra) I'll measure the depth of my fogs at the weekend and see if those LED will fit as they seem pretty good.

[tc4332]

This is very interesting. I am still pondering about my projector fogs.

I am preparing to put HIDs in my dip headlights, having lost two halogen bulbs in a week.
I have two 100w halogens for the main beams that will be fitted at the same time.

After my near disaster with melting LEDs in my boot light I have finally managed to locate (with Scotts help) a source for good LEDs for all my interior lights. The same gentleman is also assisting with my headlight mods.

[ainarssems]

Well, couple of days after I said I did not want 6000k and that I will wait until The 4300k or 5000k are available, I get e-mail that they have despatched 6000k for me and that they will let me know when 4300k and 5000k are available( so that I can buy again?? , or second set free of charge I don't know)

Fast forward couple of weeks and they are here, way too blue for me but as experiment I have put 1 in the car to compare. For the picture dipped beam have been disconnected so its just sidelights and full beam on. In the picture below on the left side MTEC 100W 4350k halogen and on the right side 6000k 3600lm LED they sent me. As you can see there is a lot more light on the LED side, have not tested actual visibility on unlit road yet.

Just need to work out with the seller why the hell was I sent 6000k version if I specifically said I do not want 6000 and see if they will send out required colour free of charge or at reduced cost. I could just break the coloured glass tube on the lamp to reduce blueness and improve light outpu but that would compromise IP68 rating.

[tc4332]

Hi All,
I drove to Wellinborough on Saturday, silly o'clock start, landed at 08:30.
Blimey, that wind was cold but that died down and the sun came out, nearly spring!!
My best mate, well best lighting mate, fitted HIDs to my dip headlights. He was trying some new type bulbs on mine but the base was too thick and the clip could not fit correctly so he went back to the ones he had been using on previous mods. At the same time he put LEDs in the side lights but with the old filament bulb in a parallel holder. The old bulb acts as the load to stop bulb failure indications.
The light output is rather good. I drove home Saturday afternoon with the dipped beam on all the way, after 2.5 hours they were settling down. I'll take a photo at the weekend after another long drive to bed them in.
An advance warning, if you do it this way be careful where you place the ballasts . If you turn the dipped headlights on when engine is running you can receive an erronous big flashing light warning with ABS and pads worn lights. Bit like Blackpool halucinations. Very scary until you find out the reason. It is due to some kind of interference from the ballast units. Very well documented on the A4 forums. Quick fix is move the ballasts, or earth the ballast case. We moved the ballasts a couple of inches and it seems to have settled down. If it occurs again then I will earth the ballast cases. My lighting Guy knew straight away what it was but had never had it on an A8 before,luckily he had A4 experience.

[ainarssems]

I already have put HID's for dipped beam some 5 years ago or so, was just looking to improve full beam then if successful maybe also switch dipped from HID to LED.

[tc4332]

Hi Ainar,
When you fitted your HIDs did you have any problems with interference like I am having?
The warning lights clear when I restart the car.
BUT today the wife gained an Emmission Warning Light
I'll worry about it at the weekend, to blinking cold tonight!!

Ray

[ainarssems]

Originally Posted by tc4332

Hi Ainar,
When you fitted your HIDs did you have any problems with interference like I am having?
The warning lights clear when I restart the car.
BUT today the wife gained an Emmission Warning Light
I'll worry about it at the weekend, to blinking cold tonight!!

Ray

Mine is D2 with less electronics so it might be less sensitive. I did have 2 issues but influenced by HID's but it was just amplifying other underlying issues.

1. My radio had poor reception before fitting HID's and switching on HID's it was down to 2 stations because of interference. But the problem was dry joints in aerial splitter/amplifier in the first place and after re-soldering them there is no more noticeable interference to radio.

2. When car battery was getting weak(OK when driving every day but non starter if left for more than 4 days) switching HID's on shortly after start would freeze up all instrument cluster. If car was left to idle for couple of minutes to get some charge back in the battery before switching lights on or if I revved engine 2k+ rpm while switching on lights it would be OK. It was temporarily sorted by putting extra capacitors in parallel with HID ballasts. After fitting new battery it was all fine also without capacitors.

[tc4332]

Thanks Ainar,
If SWMBO lets me have the car sometime over the weekend I will earth the ballast cases. I'll keep the capacitor mod in mind.
The emission light went out last night while she was returning from ASDA so I'll just watch it for now.