LED vs Standard Headlights DRL Question

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roywolfey
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LED vs Standard Headlights DRL Question

Post by roywolfey »

On a Polo with standard headlights, the DRLs are housed in the lower light pods.
The question is, if you spec the LED headlights, with the DRL within the headlamp units, does the DRL LED array in the lower light pods become redundant / unused :?:
SRGTD
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Re: LED vs Standard Headlights DRL Question

Post by SRGTD »

I think they might be. The inboard part of the lower light pods are the static cornering lights, and I think these may double up as the fog lights; description in the price list brochure is ‘Front fog lights with static cornering function’. If the inner lights are combined cornering lights / fog lights, this does suggest the outer part is redundant.
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iichel
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Re: LED vs Standard Headlights DRL Question

Post by iichel »

I've seen a few AW's drive around. The ones with LED headlights with the LED 'line' of DRL inside of it, they don't have the LED in the bottom part of the bumper as a DRL.
silverhairs
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Re: LED vs Standard Headlights DRL Question

Post by silverhairs »

The thing is, VW won't waste money fitting DRL's lower down in the bumper, when a Polo fitted with LED light with the DRL's built into the head lights, The Polo looks more up market with the LED lights with inbuilt DRL's than the silly square DRL's in the bumper. Unfortunately, I have the DRL's in the bumper :( I cannot see the point paying out near on £1000 for LED lights, when we very rarely go out in the dark, when it gets dark, we lock the front door :wink:
Bammers01
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Re: LED vs Standard Headlights DRL Question

Post by Bammers01 »

I specced the HiDs on my BlueGT. The DRL are now in the lights as are the cornering lights. I now have a spare lens in lower fog lights, can you add a bulb in or do something with them does anyone know?
Have to say the HiDS are amazing compared to the halogen bulbs!
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Re: LED vs Standard Headlights DRL Question

Post by RUM4MO »

HIDs in general, well at least proper factory fitted ones are very very good, I have had them in my last 2 cars, I had hoped to get them in my wife's 2002 9N Polo but VW's advance advertising lied about that being possible!! So that car got Philips Extreme upgraded versions of bulbs and that was okay. My wife's current 6C Polo is an SEL which I had never planned to buy as SE would be good enough for the kind of use we were putting that car to, but in the end when checking up on prices of options that we would want, and better headlights was one of them, I shifted my plan and bought an SEL and added just a few extras. Now, the LED headlights on that car are excellent - obviously I can't compare them with HIDs but I can roughly compare them to the headlighting performance of my car with HIDs and my previous car, so I am in a position to make this statement I suppose.

I have to say that my wife's previous Polo 9N was well loaded up but that was due to it being an import and factory prices for options are much cheaper when dealing with Pon who is/was the official importer of VWs into Holland at that time, than dealing with these greedy idiots who are the official importers of VWs into UK, who are now owned by VW in Germany!
silverhairs
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Re: LED vs Standard Headlights DRL Question

Post by silverhairs »

As I put in my post, if VW use the same loom whether it be fitted with LED lights and DRL in the headlight, or if you have normal halogen bulbs with the DRL in the bumper. If you have LED lights, and they have not connected the DRL in the bumper, what's stopping you putting bulbs yourself in the bumper and connecting them up? With a bit of luck when you use the indicators, not only will they light up in the headlights, but also in the bumper, at least that way other road users will know and see your turning left or right.
roywolfey
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Re: LED vs Standard Headlights DRL Question

Post by roywolfey »

In answer to my own question and to satisfy my own curiosity, if a car has the in headlamp DRLs a ‘dummy’ unit is fitted to where the standard DRL would be in the lower valance.
Aesthetically, this looks like the standard DRL, but as you can see from the pics, there is no electrical connectivity to this unit.
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john-k
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Re: LED vs Standard Headlights DRL Question

Post by john-k »

Ha! Looks like my dealer was misinformed or just plain fibbing there regarding the bumper LEDs. They told me it's disabled in the software but just seems a bit strange as @silverhairs mentioned that cost-cutting VW would not just install it to the car and then leave it disabled.

Just wish they'd just use LEDs for the cornering/fog lamps instead of regular halogens.
Bammers01
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Re: LED vs Standard Headlights DRL Question

Post by Bammers01 »

I’m beginning to wonder what I have in my bumper now next to my fog lights, maybe they’re not the drls, would the “cornering” lights be in there?
Because I specced the HiDS the drl and cornering lights are all in the headlight, only fogs in the bumper, but there is def an extra lens in there!?
SRGTD
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Re: LED vs Standard Headlights DRL Question

Post by SRGTD »

Bammers01 wrote: Mon Jul 23, 2018 9:43 pm I’m beginning to wonder what I have in my bumper now next to my fog lights, maybe they’re not the drls, would the “cornering” lights be in there?
Because I specced the HiDS the drl and cornering lights are all in the headlight, only fogs in the bumper, but there is def an extra lens in there!?
Bammers01; on the GTI+ with LED headlamps (or if you spec the optional LED headlamps on other models), the front fog lights double up as cornering lights - this can be seen at 1min 50sec in the video at the link below when one of the fog lights in the bumper illuminates as the car turns as slow speed;

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nHVZNlhKT ... fullscreen

I suspect that if the front fog lights are switched on, you loose the cornering light function because both of the front fog lights are illuminated.

You’ve referred to HID’s in your post and your signature shows your car as a BlueGT, so presumably your car’s not a new Polo but a 6c Polo Blue GT with optional xenon headlamps (pretty certain the 6r with optional xenon headlamps didn’t have front fog lights). The xenons in the 6c Blue GT had LED DRL’s in the headlamp unit, and if your cornering lights are also in your headlamps I doubt you have a second set of DRL’s or cornering lights in your front bumper; only front fog lights. Easy enough for you to check though; switch your lights on with the engine running while stationary and turn the wheel to activate the cornering light and get out of the car and have a look to see what’s illuminated in the front bumper.
Bammers01
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Re: LED vs Standard Headlights DRL Question

Post by Bammers01 »

Thanks for that, I believe that it was detailed the HiDS deleted the front fog lamps if specced but for some reason I ended up with both, when it arrived I saw them and I certainly wasn’t going to moan about it so kept quiet!!
Sorry, but new to the whole VW scene and get a bit confused between 6c etc etc. Mine is a 66 (Jan 17) plate BlueGT
The cornering lights are def in the headlight, I just have an extra lens next to the fog lights that don’t seem to do anything! I think I’ll need to climb underneath and see if there are any wires to it!
SRGTD
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Re: LED vs Standard Headlights DRL Question

Post by SRGTD »

Your car will be 6c, which is the facelift version of the previous generation Polo.

On the 6r Polo Blue GT (the pre-facelift version of the previous generation model), the front fog lights were deleted if the car had the optional xenon headlamps, but with the 6c Polo Blue GT facelift model, cars did have front fog lights in conjunction with optional xenons, so your car with front fogs is as it should be. In the 6c facelift Polo, the Blue GT model was the only car to have the option of xenon headlamps (carried over from the 6r model); upgraded headlamps on other 6c Polo models were LED - standard on the GTI, SEL and R-Line models and optional on Match/Match Edition and Beats models.

As advised in previous post, I suspect you will only have fog lights behind the lower lenses in your front bumper as your DRL’s and cornering lights are in your headlamp units. To double up lighting functionality and fit additional DRL’s or cornering lights in the lower bumper would be added unnecessary cost to VW.
Bammers01
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Re: LED vs Standard Headlights DRL Question

Post by Bammers01 »

I think you are totally correct, nothing seems to occur with the extra lenses, just the fog lamps work and an extra square lens next to them, just wondering if there was anything I could do with them!
SRGTD
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Re: LED vs Standard Headlights DRL Question

Post by SRGTD »

Bammers01 wrote: Wed Jul 25, 2018 6:35 am I think you are totally correct, nothing seems to occur with the extra lenses, just the fog lamps work and an extra square lens next to them, just wondering if there was anything I could do with them!
Not sure what you’re thinking of doing with them but if it was my car, I’d leave them as they are. I think the LED DRL’s that are in the headlamp units on the Blue GT look great and in my opinion, an additional set of DRL’s in the bumper would be overkill, as would additional cornering lights. There’s also the cost to consider too.
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