Headlight Bulb replacement

[Michael_EF]

Hey guys. Couldn't find a definitive answer to this question from searching. My drivers side headlight (bulb) is dead. What aftermarket brand would you guys recommend that would be similar to OEM quality? Are there specific specs to look out for? Do you guys recommend I switch out my passenger side too even though it's still working well??

[KLX]

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-morimoto...iABEgJjBPD_BwE
Yes I suggest changing them both...

[Tangerined]

I agree, Morimoto is probably best bet for aftermarket but at 70usd a bulb + shipping, and you're looking for OEM, you might as well get the OEM Philips ones from Amazon.ca

https://www.amazon.ca/Philips-Standa.../dp/B008BRJ712

*Nevermind, didn't see it was a pair for those Morimotos.

[Michael_EF]

Does anyone have any experience with both? How do the marimoto's compare with the Philips? And how do the two compare with OEM? What Kelvin are the OEM AUDI ones and what Kelvin do you guys recommend I go with?

Thanks in advance guys!!

[mike@hidconcept]

Does anyone have any experience with both? How do the marimoto's compare with the Philips? And how do the two compare with OEM? What Kelvin are the OEM AUDI ones and what Kelvin do you guys recommend I go with?

Thanks in advance guys!!

Not only as an official sponsor of forum but also as a B8 owner, one thing I can tell you is that there is no bulb that beats quality of Philips or Osram for durability, reliability, and longevity.
Stock is 4300K that is standard white. If you explain what you are looking to get whether it is whiter/bluer color or better visibility, we can help you pick the right bulbs.

[03redgti]

I'd personally go with Osram bulbs..either the CBB or the new night breaker laser d3s bulbs. The oem phillips aren't that great.. these are currently the best bulbs you can buy atm.
https://www.hidconcept.com/products/...ulbs-pack-of-2
or these if you want more of a white/blue look
https://www.hidconcept.com/products/...ulbs-pack-of-2

[KAMP]

Does anyone have any experience with both? How do the marimoto's compare with the Philips? And how do the two compare with OEM? What Kelvin are the OEM AUDI ones and what Kelvin do you guys recommend I go with?

Thanks in advance guys!!

Morimotos are great and great for the price. As far as Phillips or Osram go, I wouldn’t get them from places like Amazon or eBay.. if you go that route, get them from a reputable seller/company. Too many fakes out there.

[hilmar2k]

DeAutoKey bulbs have a lifetime warranty. Since you know they don't last a lifetime, that's a pretty good deal.

http://deautokey.com/product/new-d1s...en-audi-models

[Tangerined]

Does anyone have any experience with both? How do the marimoto's compare with the Philips? And how do the two compare with OEM? What Kelvin are the OEM AUDI ones and what Kelvin do you guys recommend I go with?

Thanks in advance guys!!

Check out this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO2O-2PavSs. Mind you, the Philips in the video are the Xtreme visions which are brighter than standard Philips.

The philips are OEM, they're the same as the bulbs I replaced that came from the factory as far as I could tell.

[Michael_EF]

Not only as an official sponsor of forum but also as a B8 owner, one thing I can tell you is that there is no bulb that beats quality of Philips or Osram for durability, reliability, and longevity.
Stock is 4300K that is standard white. If you explain what you are looking to get whether it is whiter/bluer color or better visibility, we can help you pick the right bulbs.

Thanks for your response! Look wise, id say more of a white than blue and something more visible than OEM.

[AerotusX]

I recently replaced with Osram Cool Blue on our RDX and they are awesome. It's much brighter, whiter, and projects farther than my S4 OEM. But the Morimoto at 1/3 the price is very tempting. Does anyone have long-term experience with Morimoto?

[mike@hidconcept]

Thanks for your response! Look wise, id say more of a white than blue and something more visible than OEM.

Unfortunately, you might need to call us as there is no one straight answer to that. In fact, this is what most people want to have.
Check out our youtube videos for comparison to get an idea and give us a call. 1-888-579-5917
https://www.youtube.com/user/hidconceptcom

[henri12]

I'm very pleased with my Osram bulbs. Long lasting and bright. Worth the cost.

[gsxr_wrx]

I recently purchased the Osram Bulbs from Amazon.
My passenger bulb was out and replaced with Osram. Drivers side is still OEM Phillips and it seems to match.

[S4'ed]

I just purchased the Osram "Night Breaker Laser" (66340XNL) 4350K D3S bulbs...I will repost with my impressions when installed.

A few months ago, I installed the Philips "Extreme Vision Plus" (42403XV2C1) 4800K D3S bulbs in my Q3, and those seem somewhat brighter than the original OEM standard Phillips bulbs.

[6SpeedS4]

Ive had the new Night Breakers installed for several months now. Slight difference in low beam, a bit wider IMO but the high beam difference is significant. Also upgraded my fogs to a Phillips LED and used the Carista app to allow the fogs to stay on with the high beams, plenty of light on the road now!

[brinboston]

I ordered from HID concept as well, went with the Phillips whitevision. They sometimes have coupons, I got mine for about 90 a bulb

I did a lot of reading and was leaning Philips, but wanted something a little whiter than extreme vision (which is pretty close to stock 4300k)

[03redgti]

I recently purchased the Osram Bulbs from Amazon.
My passenger bulb was out and replaced with Osram. Drivers side is still OEM Phillips and it seems to match.

amazon is known for selling fake osram bulbs..be careful

- - - Updated - - -

I just purchased the Osram "Night Breaker Laser" (66340XNL) 4350K D3S bulbs...I will repost with my impressions when installed.

A few months ago, I installed the Philips "Extreme Vision Plus" (42403XV2C1) 4800K D3S bulbs in my Q3, and those seem somewhat brighter than the original OEM standard Phillips bulbs.

lmk how they are!

[mike@hidconcept]

This page may be helpful.

[hilmar2k]

Still confused as to why anyone would buy bulbs that don't have a lifetime warranty, when really good quality bulbs exist that are similarly priced and do have a lifetime warranty. Suckers are expensive, why buy them more than once?

[deAutoLED.com]

hilmar2k - thanks for keeping us in mind, being 5500k they are higher on the color temp scale, we feel lumen ratings really won't matter as it varies how you see the light, it is 3000-3500 lumen rating tested.

LISTING:
http://deautokey.com/product/new-d1s...en-audi-models

Here is customer feedback:

[QUOTE=formgen;109603769]

I am very sorry I do not have a good picture of the Morimotos my phone into the toliet and lost all my data i'm an idiot for not backing up my pictures learned my lesson the hard way so I looked on google and tried to find the picture which closely represented the Morimotos 6500k bulbs and I couldn't justify taking putting the morimotos back in. I'm sure we all know that replacing the headlight bulbs on the MK7 with the lighting package is a nightmare, you need lift the car up to take off the bumper and grill just to access the bolts that hold it in.
So on with the review just a couple weeks ago I posted about not being able to see the lines at night when it was raining and was contacted by DeAutoLed to try their 5500k HID's so they sent me out a set of bulbs at a discounted rate to compare the two.

Morimotos that I found online that closely represented what they looked like at night.

Morimoto 6500k



DeAutoLed 5500k

As you can see the 5500k have more of a pure white in color and it definitely brighter than the Morimotos just driving around on the back roads.


So all in all I am very happy with these bulbs. If a blueish color is what you're looking for then go with the Morimoto's but if you're looking for more visibility and a nice pure white color then DeAutoLed is the way to go.

Ok so I saw that DeAutokey had new bulbs and I immediately wanted them. Don't get me wrong the oem cc adaptive headlights are great. I just wanted them to be a bit whiter (more like the new led headlights color on other cars acura,mb,bmw,mazda, etc.)

I opted for the 5500k and am very happy with the outcome. I just put them in 5 min ago so I haven't seen them at night but from looking at oem and this it looks great.

Here is a picture of the DeAutokey 5500k on the left and oem color on the right. The color matches the drl led better too. The garage wall is gray so the color may be off but it looks pure white with a hint of blue.

Found this YouTube video (not mine do at your own risk/will) props to the guy who made it.

https://youtu.be/rst7XCk6Ids

So I went around looking through forums and such and many recommend the Sylvania osram bulbs if you were replacing oem bulbs. So I got them to compare to the deautokey ones.

My garage wall is gray and camera doesn't truly get the color but you can tell the difference.



This is at startup car is off.


Here is after 2min and the car is on bulbs now fully warmed up


You can see the osram on the left is more yellow than the deautokey on the right. As far as brightness goes they are equal if not deautokey is a tad brighter. This is their 5500k color. In person the color is pure white with a hint of blue. Way better than oem imo


Don't mind the dirty headlight

So overall I'm very happy with the deautokey set that I bought. And it costs less than the Sylvania osram. Another reason I like them is every other bulb so far has been great and deautokey is an active member on here and backs their product.

Hope this helps

[hilmar2k]

hilmar2k - thanks for keeping us in mind....

And as soon as you ship my D3S's I'll post back here with a review.

[hilmar2k]

Is there a reason all the how to videos on YouTube show people removing the headlight to change the bulb? I haven't changed mine yet, but it sure doesn't look like you would need to remove the entire headlight to change the bulb.

[YSPAIK]

Is there a reason all the how to videos on YouTube show people removing the headlight to change the bulb? I haven't changed mine yet, but it sure doesn't look like you would need to remove the entire headlight to change the bulb.

You don’t need to. Driver is easy. You will want to remove the intake box to make it easier on the passenger side

[hilmar2k]

You don’t need to. Driver is easy. You will want to remove the intake box to make it easier on the passenger side

Yeah, that's what I figured. Just can't figure out why all the videos show removing the headlight. A couple even include removing the bumper.

[YSPAIK]

Yeah, that's what I figured. Just can't figure out why all the videos show removing the headlight. A couple even include removing the bumper.

I watched the videos too. When I went and looked at my car, def didn’t need to. Maybe people have difficulty locking them back into place? If you need to look inside the housing to see how they lock back in, just use your phone camera to look in. Easier than getting your head in there

[S4'ed]

It is actually easier to remove the entire headlight unit first, then change the bulb with the headlight on a table. I just did this to install the Osram Night Breaker bulbs.

Seems easier than removing the air filter box, and the power steering reservoir on the driver-side (if you have hydraulic PS).

1) Remove the 4 torx-30 screws that hold the center plastic cover (covers the top of the radiator), then remove the cover by lifting the rear edge, then pushing the 3 grey plastic buttons at the front edge, then pull the cover rearward. This is a good opportunity to now clean the "snow screen" of the intake air scoop.
2) Unplug the connector on each headlight (Push connector IN, then push the locking tab, then PULL the connector rearward)
3) Loosen 3 turns (do not remove) the two torx-30 screws at the rear bottom of the headlight unit. You will need an extension for your ratchet wrench.
4) Remove the 2 torx-30 screws on the top edge of the headlight, one near the headlight center, and one near the inside edge (towards the grill)
5) Pull the headlight straight forward, out, a little finagling to get the inner lens edge to clear the plastic bumper cover.
6) Now is also a good opportunity to remove the black plastic "anti-tamper" plug that is pressed into the vertical aiming adjustment screw (white plastic, near the outer edge of the headlight housing top.) The Left/Right white adjustment screw does not have a plug in it.

[BucDan]

If only it were this easy to change out the DRLs.

[hilmar2k]

I am probably swapping the bulbs out tonight, and will be doing it without removing the headlight assembly. I just can't see why it would be hard to do without removing them. Then it will be on to the fogs.....

[YSPAIK]

He has a b8.5 so no reservoir. The airbox is so easy to remove...

[hilmar2k]

He has a b8.5 so no reservoir. The airbox is so easy to remove...

That's a good point. I didn't think about that for B8's.

The annoying part is that the bulbs actually showed up earlier than I expected. I just had the aribox out to do the plugs on Sunday. I would have waited had I known the bulbs were going to arrive yesterday. My airbox is a bit more of a pain to deal with because of the silicone intake tube. That is way more rigid than the stock tube and I end up battling with it getting the airbox back in. Still easier than removing the headlights.

[hilmar2k]

So install without removing the headlight assembly is a piece of cake (at least on a B8.5). If not for my silicone intake tube, whole job would have taken 10 minutes. The deAuto bulbs are nice. Haven't gotten them out on the road yet, but they are better match to the DRLs. I also installed the dual color deAuto fogs, and those are an even bigger upgrade. Way better than the yellowish stock fogs. They match the new headlights and the DRLs perfectly.I had already updated the front blinkers to LED previously (also deAuto) Not sure why the car doesn't come from the factory like this. Much more modern look now. Hat tip to deAuto for offering a quality bulb with a lifetime warranty at a reasonable price.

[YSPAIK]

So install without removing the headlight assembly is a piece of cake (at least on a B8.5). If not for my silicone intake tube, whole job would have taken 10 minutes. The deAuto bulbs are nice. Haven't gotten them out on the road yet, but they are better match to the DRLs. I also installed the dual color deAuto fogs, and those are an even bigger upgrade. Way better than the yellowish stock fogs. They match the new headlights and the DRLs perfectly.I had already updated the front blinkers to LED previously (also deAuto) Not sure why the car doesn't come from the factory like this. Much more modern look now. Hat tip to deAuto for offering a quality bulb with a lifetime warranty at a reasonable price.

awesome. Get a pic of the lights next time you are out!

[TC_S4]

So install without removing the headlight assembly is a piece of cake (at least on a B8.5). If not for my silicone intake tube, whole job would have taken 10 minutes. The deAuto bulbs are nice. Haven't gotten them out on the road yet, but they are better match to the DRLs. I also installed the dual color deAuto fogs, and those are an even bigger upgrade. Way better than the yellowish stock fogs. They match the new headlights and the DRLs perfectly.I had already updated the front blinkers to LED previously (also deAuto) Not sure why the car doesn't come from the factory like this. Much more modern look now. Hat tip to deAuto for offering a quality bulb with a lifetime warranty at a reasonable price.

I swap my headlight bulbs without removing the headlights nor the bumper. Just need to remove the airbox. As for the silicone tube, at first I had hard time putting back, but found a trick, now it literally take me couple seconds to put back the silicone tube. You need to put the box in place first, plug the tube to the box and the other end pull away from the throttle body, down and in to the throttle body.

I also swap dual color fog lights, no need to access back of the wheel or remove bumper, I am not a technician that works per hour😅. Just used an Allen key, pop the fog grill, removed the fog holders and change the bulbs. As easy as it sounds, less than 1/2 hour to swap headlights and fogs lights.

[hilmar2k]

Here are some pics of the deAuto 5500k headlights and their dual color fogs. The fogs are stupid bright.

Headlights only.jpg

Headlight with fogs.jpg

Headlights with yellow fogs.jpg

[AerotusX]

Here are some pics of the deAuto 5500k headlights and their dual color fogs. The fogs are stupid bright.

Headlights only.jpg

Wow, those are super bright. Do you feel it might be too bright though? Cuz you can't see your DRL anymore. The fogs are awesome tho.

[hilmar2k]

Wow, those are super bright. Do you feel it might be too bright though? Cuz you can see your DRL anymore. The fogs are awesome tho.

They aren't that much brighter than stock. I think the pic exaggerates it. Let me see if I can get a pic at a different angle.

[YSPAIK]

Looks great. Makes me want to get the dual color fogs. I have white led fogs, but the ability to go yellow is cool

[achilleas101]

Is there something new about the HIDs and ballasts on the B8/8.5 S4 that people are not changing out the ballast with the bulb?

On my b6 a4, if your bulb died, your ballast was also on its last legs so it was recommended to swap that out at the same time. Or the ballast would die soon after a new bulb was installed (something about the new bulb drawing more power and that was over taxing the old ballast to finally kill it)

[03redgti]

Is there something new about the HIDs and ballasts on the B8/8.5 S4 that people are not changing out the ballast with the bulb?

On my b6 a4, if your bulb died, your ballast was also on its last legs so it was recommended to swap that out at the same time. Or the ballast would die soon after a new bulb was installed (something about the new bulb drawing more power and that was over taxing the old ballast to finally kill it)

Honestly haven't heard of any ballast issues with our cars, only bulbs. Ballasts don't really go bad they either work or don't. The only reason people replace them is to upgrade to a 55w ballast but our stock projector bowl's are plastic and will eventually burn with 55w ballasts so its not recommended.