where to obtain good aftermarket headlights?

[slolatino]

I am looking into some aftermarket headlights...

somethign similar to this set up or the ones with the LED strips but there are too many different brands
and i'm not sure which ones are reliable lol. I don't think the ebay ones are good as they have asian writing on them o:

Also, what is needed to have those cool blue fog lights? :) My light switch doesn't have the "Auto" function..is it still possible for me
to run my fog lights on without having the main headlights on?

Thanks and sorry for all the questions :P

[jsandor91]

Those are OEM bi xenon .
The fogs are likely 6000k hid fogs



Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

[seal66]

If you need OEM bi-xenons let me know. I have a set for sale.

[Brillo]

blue fog lights are obnoxious and worthless. There is no worse light for inclement weather conditions than blue light. They cause intense glare. Be smart and get cool looking yellow ones instead.

[wildcat333]

U mad Brillo

[turbowop]

Brillo speaks the truth. Blue is dumb. Yellow is actually functional.

[Brillo]

Not mad, but perhaps a little too emphatic. I must admit to a significant pet peeve regarding blue lighting, especially those who put 5000+ degree kelvin (blue) HID systems in halogen headlight housings or HID bulbs in fog lamps and use them as running lights day and night. They are very blinding to oncoming traffic. I worked as a scientist in automotive lighting early in my career. Good luck with your lights.

[datwagn]

OEM bi-xenons or nothing

[jsandor91]

fly's leds + 6000k fogs = sex
imo
3k is alot more functional however.

[eyesolution]

Retrofit projectors. Lot of work bit it'll be at a fraction of the cost of OEM bi xenons. I'm in the middle of that ordered my parts from retrofit source. Good thing for me their facility is here in atlanta!

[AudiTFSI3o3]

pandora has unobtanium..

[QuattroJosh]

I need to get some yellow fogs and some interior LED's, love the yellow fogs.

[JPT]

Not mad, but perhaps a little too emphatic. I must admit to a significant pet peeve regarding blue lighting, especially those who put 5000+ degree kelvin (blue) HID systems in halogen headlight housings or HID bulbs in fog lamps and use them as running lights day and night. They are very blinding to oncoming traffic. I worked as a scientist in automotive lighting early in my career. Good luck with your lights.

Just FYI. 5000k bulbs are not very blue (they are white). I have them. 6000k is where it really start to turn blue.

[11move]

Not mad, but perhaps a little too emphatic. I must admit to a significant pet peeve regarding blue lighting, especially those who put 5000+ degree kelvin (blue) HID systems in halogen headlight housings or HID bulbs in fog lamps and use them as running lights day and night. They are very blinding to oncoming traffic. I worked as a scientist in automotive lighting early in my career. Good luck with your lights.

It sounds more to be a pet peeve rather than fact.

I agree putting any sort of light source without a cutoff is dumb, but stating something along the lines of 5000K + color temperature will blind people in the oncoming traffic is not true. What is true in that statement is that if the lights are not properly installed like you stated in halogen housing without cutoff's then you are blinding people. Temperature color has nothing to do with it. Where color comes into play is the light usability and efficiency. The most efficient light color is going to be in the range of 2000k-2200k although it is yellow it has the most light output. Believe it or not 5000k - 6500k is daylight color something you see every sunny day. So it is more of a pet peeve to you rather than a scientific fact.

Here are my 6000K HID fog lights and 4300K headlights for comparison.

[fly300kts]

OP, there is something wrong in your post:

where to obtain good aftermarket headlights?

As far as headlights, Good and Aftermarket don't go well together

Phil

[aluthman]

I would like to get a set of OEM bi-xenons someday, but for now, the cost is prohibitive. I ended up painting and doing the CC mod to a set of stock halogens to hold me over. I think they look damn good for the amount of $ I have in them.


^old picture from before the STs. I have moar low now.

[B72011]

Is the CC mod as easy on the B7 as it is on the B6's? The piece just kind of slides out--or more involved?

[fly300kts]

My DIY

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...ar-Corner)-Mod

Phil

[dscriven47]

You can retrofit your existing halogen housings to be projectors as a previous poster mentioned. I plan to retrofit an extra pair of headlamps I have, and when I do it I will be going through a company called The Retrofit Source (TRS). www.theretrofitsource.com
This is the kit that was recommended to me by a sales associate http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pro...roducts_id=141

Here is an example of B7 A4 halogen headlamps that have been retrofitted using components from TRS:
http://www.lightwerkz.net/news/2012/...on-conversion/
They look REALLY GOOD I think, And VERY OEM.
If you decide to do a retrofit make sure you read all the information on TRS.com and probably some other places as well. There are some good youtube videos out there that show people retrofitting headlights if you can find them, it's generally a similar procedure for most cars, however some people I've seen do it really unconventionally. Make sure you know what you are doing before you start. Retrofitting involves cutting and modifying the existing halogen housing, it is possible to ruin a pair of headlamps.

Also, as far as having the fog lights on independent of the main headlights, you actually have to do some wire splicing and stuff like that
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...t-with-Fog-Mod

Goodluck in your endeavors!

[11move]

You can retrofit your existing halogen housings to be projectors as a previous poster mentioned. I plan to retrofit an extra pair of headlamps I have, and when I do it I will be going through a company called The Retrofit Source (TRS). www.theretrofitsource.com
This is the kit that was recommended to me by a sales associate http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pro...roducts_id=141

Here is an example of B7 A4 halogen headlamps that have been retrofitted using components from TRS:
http://www.lightwerkz.net/news/2012/...on-conversion/
They look REALLY GOOD I think, And VERY OEM.
If you decide to do a retrofit make sure you read all the information on TRS.com and probably some other places as well. There are some good youtube videos out there that show people retrofitting headlights if you can find them, it's generally a similar procedure for most cars, however some people I've seen do it really unconventionally. Make sure you know what you are doing before you start. Retrofitting involves cutting and modifying the existing halogen housing, it is possible to ruin a pair of headlamps.

Also, as far as having the fog lights on independent of the main headlights, you actually have to do some wire splicing and stuff like that
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...t-with-Fog-Mod

Goodluck in your endeavors!

Did anyone try re-coding their country from USA to Canada? Not sure if it is Module 9 or 17 but I know one runs the fogs independently if programmed. One is to change the miles to km's measurement. Try it before you splice into anything

[wildcat333]

As far as headlights, Good and Aftermarket don't go well together

Phil

Haha, I was waiting for someone to point out the obvious.



Also,
who thinks rongeur needs these lights to complete his OEM+ look????!?

[Shultz]

Fly is the way to go, and some aftermarket bulbs!

[Brillo]

11move
You are partially correct. Above 5000 to 6000 deg K HID lights start to get very heavy in the blue to ultra violet part of the spectrum, and the useable light output diminishes. This is important for several reasons. Unlike sunlight and halogen lights, HID lights do not put out a continuous spectrum of light - it is very spiky at several frequencies, some of the intense spikes are in the blue, violet, ultra violet part of the spectrum. It gets worse as bulb temperature increases. (interestingly, the glass used for HID bulbs is specially formulated to filter out most of the ultra violet light. Otherwise, one would get a nasty sunburn from close-up exposure.) This is useless light because the human eye does not process blue and blue/violet light very well. This is because, due to its shorter wavelength, it is refracted more by the cornea and lens and focuses in front of the retina (rather than on it) and therefore adversely affects depth of field, an important factor in night driving. Blue light is also responsible for intensifying glare, again due to its shorter wavelength and higher refractivity - that's what glare is. Some folks were driving glasses at night. They have yellow tinted lenses to filter out blue light and improve depth of field. This is also why virtually all sport lenses for shooting sports, skiing, etc. are yellow or amber - to filter out the blue light and improve depth of field. You mention sunlight - people wear sunglasses to filter out the blue part of the sunlight spectrum which eases eye strain. Of lesser importance is the fact that HID lighting is poorer than sunlight and halogen lighting regarding color rendering (the ability to reproduce true colors), and again this attribute of light is diminished as the temperature of the light increases.

The other point i was making is that some folks put HID bulbs in their fog light housings. These are typically not aimed at all, have no cutoff and therefore can be very blinding to oncoming traffic. Purpose built HID headlights and fogs are very efficient when done correctly and i never intended to disparage them. However, for fog lights halogen bulbs may be superior as HIDs don't have a very high amber/yellow spectral output. These are being developed at present.

My not-so-subtle response to the OP was to forget blue lights.