All front lights (roughly) the same colour at last!

GainfulShrimp · Oct 8, 2010

On a related note... if anyone fancies going the LED route for their HB4/9006 fog lights, then these little beauties might be an option:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2x-Car-Bulbs-...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3360663535

Yes - that's 102 SMD LEDs per bulb you see there... :blink:

Just a shame you'd need to wire in your own resistors, too. Takes the prize for this week's top Frankenbulb/LED effort from fleabay's Far Eastern contingent though... I wonder whether those things would actually fit in the fog light housing without touching the glass!? :lol:

KWEV · Oct 9, 2010

An alternative DRL bulb guys , they work perfectly , although you do have to swap the spade connectors over on the drivers side drl bulb holder , thanks for that 'gainfulshrimp'

- lovely white bright light and twice as bright as the Mtec's, which don't last long at all.....iv'e tried them.

linky - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190439849957&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Now looks as fast as she goes.......................

GainfulShrimp · Oct 10, 2010

KWEV said:
An alternative DRL bulb guys , they work perfectly , although you do have to swap the spade connectors over on the drivers side drl bulb holder , thanks for that 'gainfulshrimp' - lovely white bright light and twice as bright as the Mtec's

They look very similar to the ones I've got - just with fewer but brighter LEDs - any chance of some pics of them in action please?

FR_Flavoured · Nov 17, 2010

Well I fitted a set of Osram Night Breaker H7's the other night and I'm not impressed!

After fitting the new Osram bulb on one side, I switched the lights on to test (with the original bulb in the other side still, for comparison)....

I had to double check I didnt put my own original bulb back in by mistake, as there was no real difference between my yellow candle burners

, and the Osram Night breakers - the Osram had a very similar yellowy tint, Im really quite disappointed! lol

So much for 10% brighter and whiter!? ...not.

Also, here's a comparison between the standard sidelight (left) and super bright WHITE 501's that I also fitted:
(sorry the pic looks grainy, was taken using the mobile phone camera).

GainfulShrimp · Nov 18, 2010

In my FR, I replaced my H7 dipped beams with Philips Xtreme Power (very similar to the Osram Nightbreakers according to reviews) and noticed a definite improvement in light range/coverage on the road. The colour was the same or negligible difference, I agree, but they seemed to light up the road ahead better somehow. If you're looking for white colour with good output, I think HIDs are the only option sadly (and I understand aftermarket HID kits might start failing MOTs next year)...

Al · Nov 18, 2010

FR_Flavoured said:
Also, here's a comparison between the standard sidelight (left) and super bright WHITE 501's that I also fitted:
(sorry the pic looks grainy, was taken using the mobile phone camera).

That looks quite good!

Dude said:
Changed my DRL’s & sides lights yesterday, in between having my wheels off and sealing them.

The DRL’s were a right pain to get out, my fingers were like E.T when I’d finished - Went for MTEC’s in the end.
They are a little blue from some angles, although strangely enough they go quite well with the colour of my car.

The sides lights are now LED can bus friendly and compliment the Xenon’s quite well.

Think I’m going to disable the cornering fogs through vagcom, rather than going through the hassle of changing them.

Sorry no pics, it’s like a monsoon out there.

Any joy with pictures yet?

chrisjgill · Nov 21, 2010

I'm having trouble sourcing the DRLs that Gainful has. I have emailed the seller but he doesn't have a record of that item no anymore. Shame as the pics of the led's look good!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

predo · Nov 22, 2010

FR_Flavoured said:
Well I fitted a set of Osram Night Breaker H7's the other night and I'm not impressed!

After fitting the new Osram bulb on one side, I switched the lights on to test (with the original bulb in the other side still, for comparison)....

I had to double check I didnt put my own original bulb back in by mistake, as there was no real difference between my yellow candle burners , and the Osram Night breakers - the Osram had a very similar yellowy tint, Im really quite disappointed! lol So much for 10% brighter and whiter!? ...not.

Also, here's a comparison between the standard sidelight (left) and super bright WHITE 501's that I also fitted:
(sorry the pic looks grainy, was taken using the mobile phone camera).

which sidelights did you fit?

FR_Flavoured · Nov 22, 2010

predo said:
which sidelights did you fit?

Hi Predo, I fitted these...
(if you shop around, you might find them cheaper - or at least what LOOKED identical to the items on this site)...

http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/501-LED-Canbus-Super-Bright.html

GainfulShrimp · Nov 22, 2010

KWEV said:
An alternative DRL bulb guys , they work perfectly , although you do have to swap the spade connectors over on the drivers side drl bulb holder , thanks for that 'gainfulshrimp' - lovely white bright light and twice as bright as the Mtec's, which don't last long at all.....iv'e tried them.

linky - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190439849957&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Now looks as fast as she goes.......................

chrisjgill said:
I'm having trouble sourcing the DRLs that Gainful has. I have emailed the seller but he doesn't have a record of that item no anymore. Shame as the pics of the led's look good!

Did you try KWEV's alternative suggestion as above? There are other options too although you might find you get more results if you search for '1156' instead of '382' bulb type (same thing).

Also, here's another source for one that looks identical to the ones I've got:

http://www.dhgate.com/wholesale-dc-...40smd/p-ff8080812b1a0c15012b1d7c358877e0.html

That postage looks a bit steep though... :blink:

FR_Flavoured · Nov 23, 2010

...re: my link to the 501 sidelights above, to confirm, at night time they do strangely look alot more blue than at dust. So, if you dont mind that look, then great.

So they are not technically bright WHITE, as per the marketing material, but certainly alot cleaner light than original 501 bulbs.

GainfulShrimp · Nov 24, 2010

All the 6000K bulbs or LEDs have a slight cool/blue tinge to them. It's less obvious at dusk and during the magic hour because of the quality of the ambient light at that time of day.

5000K is probably the best colour temp for looking most 'pure' white but hardly any LEDs are available in that colour. Here's an example of a supposedly 'warm white' LED 501 module, but you'd need to use a separate resistor (such as the xtec kit) with these or they won't work:

http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/501194t10-mini-light-tower-leds-warm-white-p-2266.html

chrisjgill · Nov 24, 2010

GainfulShrimp said:
Did you try KWEV's alternative suggestion as above? There are other options too although you might find you get more results if you search for '1156' instead of '382' bulb type (same thing).

Also, here's another source for one that looks identical to the ones I've got:

http://www.dhgate.com/wholesale-dc-...40smd/p-ff8080812b1a0c15012b1d7c358877e0.html

That postage looks a bit steep though...

Cheers gainful. I will look into those. How easy to swap connector over for these to work?

For now I've ordered 501 sidelights plus resistor kit. May reinstall oem drl's as most of my driving is early morning/evening so auto lights are on!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

GainfulShrimp · Nov 24, 2010

chrisjgill said:
How easy to swap connector over for these to work?

Very easy.

If you remove the bulb holder, the wires are attached to the back of it with little spade connectors... just unplug them, swap the wires and reattach.

chrisjgill · Nov 25, 2010

Cheers Gainful. My resistors and 501 sidelights arrived today. Fitted them real easy but noticed that they dont slot into place as they are not wide enough. So for now they are just sat poking through the holder. Not sure if this will effect the angle they are pointing?

Next to the foglights and DRLs

GainfulShrimp · Nov 25, 2010

chrisjgill said:
Cheers Gainful. My resistors and 501 sidelights arrived today. Fitted them real easy but noticed that they dont slot into place as they are not wide enough. So for now they are just sat poking through the holder. Not sure if this will effect the angle they are pointing?

Next to the foglights and DRLs

My sidelights did the same - the stock bulb holders have extra little tabs to clip into the reflector, which are missing on the resistor kit holder. I just kinda bent the wires round so as I put the rubber cover on the back, it pushed the resistor/sidelight wires forwards so they would stay put. I guess you could use blutak and a dab of silicone sealant to fix in place more securely if you had the patience and could see what you were doing in there? Or maybe wrap several layers of insulating tape around the bulb holder to bulk them up a bit so they wedge into the hole in the reflector..?
Alternatively, for a 'proper' solution, you could find the part number for the stock sidelight bulb holder and order a couple, then replace the resistor kit ones. Might require soldering but I'd be less scared about cutting wires and resoldering them on a tenner's worth of third-party resistor kit on the kitchen table, rather than doing the same on the car's own wiring in a difficult-to-reach location.

The DRLs are easy - assuming you find some canbus friendly 302/1156 LEDs that is - swapping the spade connectors to reverse the polarity if you need to is a cinch.

I found the foglight housings were a right pain to remove to enable the bulbs to be changed. On my (MY11 facelift) car you need to twist them to remove from the bumper (rather than remove 2 or three torx screws as described in a guide on here somewhere). I'm hoping that the MTEC foglights last a while so I don't have to do it often!

Good luck and don't forget to post pics of the finished article!

Sad Nation · Nov 28, 2010

GainfulShrimp said:
I found the foglight housings were a right pain to remove to enable the bulbs to be changed. On my (MY11 facelift) car you need to twist them to remove from the bumper (rather than remove 2 or three torx screws as described in a guide on here somewhere). I'm hoping that the MTEC foglights last a while so I don't have to do it often!

Hi Gainful

I have tried doing my fogs today and it is a complete nightmare. The grill is bad enough as you have to be very careful you don't scratch your paint getting them off.

Then when you get to the fog lamp themselves, they do not want to move! If you look at the drivers side lamps, you have to twist them anti clockwise to get them off?

Any advice would be appreciated!

GainfulShrimp · Nov 28, 2010

Can't remember the direction now I'm afraid but you can work it out from the little little tabs and corresponding gaps in the plastic. You need to twist so that the tabs can pass through the gaps in the surrounding bumper plastic. Hope that makes sense?

crigisback · Dec 13, 2010

FR_Flavoured said:
Hi Predo, I fitted these...
(if you shop around, you might find them cheaper - or at least what LOOKED identical to the items on this site)...

http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/501-LED-Canbus-Super-Bright.html

are these 501 sidelights a direct replacement?

ie no wiring resistors in or anything else fiddly?

Nath. · Dec 14, 2010

Just to let people know, these LED sidelights that I have clicky will probably work fine for a short time but I have found that after about a year of use the built in resistors can burn out and then you start to get warning lights up. In my case the LED's are now working fine but I have had to use plug in resistors to stop the warning light popping up all the time. Plug in resistors were cheaper than a new pair of LED's

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All front lights (roughly) the same colour at last!

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