Experience w/ clear headlight replacement plastic?

[AudiTLC]

my headlights work fine but the clear plastic covers have tons of ...micro cracks looking like crap.
would these work as replacements? anyone try these?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/175189350241

thanks

[Theiceman]

those look more like lens covers than replacement lenses.
Have you considered polishing your actual headlights ? depending how bad they ae you might be able to clean them up. some kits even come with a sealer as you actually polish off the original UV coating. Then you could put thee lenses over if you like. although im not sure how they would look.

[shreddykrueger]

Yes, these will essentially make your headlights new again. Just pull them from the car, heat with a heat gun around the perimeter on each lense and remove the old lense. Buy butyl headlight sealer from morimoto and line the headlight, heat up and press the new lense on. Probably take 1.5hr, just be super careful to not touch or get anything inside the new lenses

[Theiceman]

oh yes then if those are actual replacement lenses and not to cover that should work. Ive seen this done on Porsche lenses also and i was impressed with how they came out. id do a little research on the company and find out if people have used them though, its a fair bit of work to put crappy Chinese things in. You would definitely want something of quality.

[shreddykrueger]

I bought some $100 Chinese ones and they fit just like oem. I’d recommend on getting a clear tint to cover the lense as well then you’ll avoid ever having to do this again

[Theiceman]

I bought some $100 Chinese ones and they fit just like oem. I’d recommend on getting a clear tint to cover the lense as well then you’ll avoid ever having to do this again

and i imagine you could replace the tint periodically too.. do they have to take the light out to do that? or do they do it right in the car.

[shreddykrueger]

You can do it on the car, but it takes <5 min to remove the headlights so you might as well

[MyDimeIsUp]

If you're replacing the headlight cover, if you prefer, I'd also get the e-code side markers to get rid of the amber. I don't imagine it cost really anything more.

Also if you're not sure what I'm talking about, here are e-code headlight side markers vs North American (NA)

E-code (rest of world)



NA headlight side-marker:

[19birel]

I used the aftermarket lens replacements from eBay and they fit great. I put clear Lamin-X film on them to protect them as well.

As far as the amber delete goes, if you want to go that route you probably won't find the reflectors available for purchase. I just painted mine grey and they look awesome.

Pic with the new lens prior to installing the Lamin-X

[MyDimeIsUp]

I used the aftermarket lens replacements from eBay and they fit great. I put clear Lamin-X film on them to protect them as well.

As far as the amber delete goes, if you want to go that route you probably won't find the reflectors available for purchase. I just painted mine grey and they look awesome.

Pic with the new lens prior to installing the Lamin-X

I can't find any good comparisons. Do you or anyone have photos of the differences between NA lens/cutoffs vs. RoW?

[19birel]

I can't find any good comparisons. Do you or anyone have photos of the differences between NA lens/cutoffs vs. RoW?

These are NA-spec headlights, I painted the reflector grey and then coded out the LED with Carista.

[AudiTLC]

thanks for the feedback fellas
Disappointed the lenses aren't holding up but good to know i can replace relatively easy. I'll try this asap.

[Seal1968]

Micro-cracks you say? Are you sure the PO didn't spray some sort of UV or protectant coating on the lens? I have never seen a lens crack like you mentioned.

It might be worth using a 3M headlight restoration kit first...very easy project, quite a lot less work with very good results.

[MyDimeIsUp]

While having the headlight open is it possible to replace the LEDs for the DRL strip? In a sidewipe accident I got a brand new passenger-side headlight that is a crisp blue. My driverside is yellowish after 150k miles on it so it looks slightly off if you look closely.

[AudiTLC]

I'm the orig owner- no, the lenses are disintegrating- bunch of tiny cracks, you dont notice from 10' but up close you can see it. And they are getting moisture inside now too.
It's strange for sure. Never seen this type of thing before. mostly on the sides of both near the markers. I guess it could be something I used but I use the same wax/polish on all my cars and nothing like this. Also the taillights are just fine.

I have to totally replace the clear covers.

Micro-cracks you say? Are you sure the PO didn't spray some sort of UV or protectant coating on the lens? I have never seen a lens crack like you mentioned.

It might be worth using a 3M headlight restoration kit first...very easy project, quite a lot less work with very good results.

*edit added photo

[19birel]

While having the headlight open is it possible to replace the LEDs for the DRL strip? In a sidewipe accident I got a brand new passenger-side headlight that is a crisp blue. My driverside is yellowish after 150k miles on it so it looks slightly off if you look closely.

I have seen people install RGB color kits for the LED strips so it's possible, I haven't done the process though myself. Probably worth looking into though!

[Seal1968]

Wow...have not seen that type of delamination before. Must be from the sun you get in L.A.

[AudiTLC]

Update to replacing the clear covers-
so it was easy to do, actually.
I used a heat gun to soften the butyl seals, then a trim pry tool to take it apart- just be patient.

I have close up photos of the damage- i guess it's just sun damage breaking it down? don't know but it's really the only thing it could be.
it was really spreading all over the lenses,

Nice to have fresh lenses - makes a big difference!

[ps2cho]

If you don't cover those lens' with a film, they are going to turn yellow and be full of microfractures in a year. The chinese lens covers have very minimal UV protection and the plastic is softer than factory lens. Went through this on my prior Mercedes and ended up having to redo the job as they looked terrible after about 2 years. Please make sure to take my advise here...

[A4x]

If you don't cover those lens' with a film, they are going to turn yellow and be full of microfractures in a year. The chinese lens covers have very minimal UV protection and the plastic is softer than factory lens. Went through this on my prior Mercedes and ended up having to redo the job as they looked terrible after about 2 years. Please make sure to take my advise here...

I replaced my B8 A4 lenses with the eBay ones and didn't experience anything like this. They held up really well for the 4 years and 40k miles until I sold the car.

I have a set of brand new xenon headlights from Audi if anyone wants them, PM me. I purchased a protection plan when I got the car and they replaced the headlights under this plan due to rock chips on the headlight covers. I requested my old headlights back, bought the eBay covers, refreshed them, and put them back on the car.

[AudiTLC]

The microcracks on mine are OEM genuine Audi lenses.

[ps2cho]

The microcracks on mine are OEM genuine Audi lenses.

Yep, and I'm saying cheap chinese covers will have even worse UV properties. Unless you want to have to redo it again, or your car is in a garage, I recommend you spend $40 and apply a film.

[19birel]

Irrespective of the quality of the lenses I think applying the film is a great idea. It's a cheap and easy way of keeping them looking as fresh as possible for as long as possible, if you care enough to replace your lenses in the first place it's a no brainer.

That's just my 2 cents.