5000K bulbs

Chat about your 2018+ AW/BZ model Polos here!
monkeyhanger
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 2643
Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2018 9:58 pm
Drives: Audi A4 Avant Quattro 40 TDI, Polo GTI+
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Re: 5000K bulbs

Post by monkeyhanger »

Andy Beats wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 11:26 am
monkeyhanger wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 9:38 am Coincidence you got a new headlight housing under warranty after using them?
My new headlight was for condensation/misting, therefore nothing to do with the short-term fitting of 80W bulbs.
The 2 could be related for a number of reasons:

1. Higher wattage bulb puts out more heat. The insides of the casing get hotter than designed, warmer air gets thinner inside to maintain same interior air pressure (temp is related to pressure at a fixed volume ) I.e. most of it gets out. The casing then cools down, drawing in damp air to maintain atmospheric pressure which then condensates inside the housing.

2. Hotter operating tempuratures, casing slightly ruptures, letting in damp air more easily, again condensing when the casing cools down.

3. Constantly swapping out bulbs, a seal hasn't been replaced quite right and a higher amount of damp air than normal has gotten in.

Am I right in thinking you didn't have a misting issue before you started swapping out bulbs?
Last edited by monkeyhanger on Mon Mar 25, 2019 2:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Andy Beats
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 2012
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2018 1:12 pm
Drives: Nissan Leaf 40KW (and Polo United)
Location: aberdeen

Re: 5000K bulbs

Post by Andy Beats »

monkeyhanger wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 11:50 am The 2 could be related for a number of reasons:

1. Higher wattage bulb puts out more heat. The insides of the casing get hotter than designed, warmer air gets thinner inside to maintain same interior air pressure (temp is related to pressure at a fixed volume ) I.e. most of it gets out. The casing then cools down, drawing in damp air to maintain atmospheric pressure which then condensates inside the housing.

2. Hotter operating tempuratures, casing slightly ruptures, letting in damp air more easily, again condensing when the casing cools down.

3. Constantly swapping out bulbs, a seal hasn't been replaced quite right and a higher amount of damp air than normal has gotten in.

Am I right in thinking you didn't have a mister unit before you started swapping out bulbs?
The misting could be related to the act of replacing the bulbs, yes.
But I don't accepted it had anything to do with the bulbs being 80W.
The misting has come back in the new unit, albeit to a lesser degree, and that's never had the 80W bulbs in it.
There's also been members here reporting misting of their lights when no bulbs have been replaced.
Scotty_boy vw
Bronze Member
Posts: 133
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 11:46 am
Drives: 2015 6C 1ltr TSI/2018 1ltr TSI AW
Location: Dundee

Re: 5000K bulbs

Post by Scotty_boy vw »

Fitted the Philips Diamond Vision bulbs to the car and got to say they look fantastic and will be staying in there.

Thanks Andy Beats

Ps I had Condensation in both Headlights when I first got the car and I think most of the new Polo’s have this problem but it does eventually go away.

Scott
fazzy
Bronze Member
Posts: 157
Joined: Sat Feb 16, 2019 10:50 am
Drives: GTi++/TT/TDi/190E
Location: Vdbp.

Re: 5000K bulbs

Post by fazzy »

alexperkins wrote: Sat Mar 23, 2019 2:22 pm I echo that. The loom isn’t rated for 80W bulbs and you risk overloading it compared to using 55w bulbs
Excuse me... where is that information from, that the loom isn't rated for 80W bulbs?
Andy Beats
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 2012
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2018 1:12 pm
Drives: Nissan Leaf 40KW (and Polo United)
Location: aberdeen

Re: 5000K bulbs

Post by Andy Beats »

fazzy wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 9:26 am Excuse me... where is that information from, that the loom isn't rated for 80W bulbs?
It's guesswork/scaremongering from cautious members.
I've yet to see anyone come up with any hard facts.
fazzy
Bronze Member
Posts: 157
Joined: Sat Feb 16, 2019 10:50 am
Drives: GTi++/TT/TDi/190E
Location: Vdbp.

Re: 5000K bulbs

Post by fazzy »

Andy Beats wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 9:33 am
fazzy wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 9:26 am Excuse me... where is that information from, that the loom isn't rated for 80W bulbs?
It's guesswork/scaremongering from cautious members.
I've yet to see anyone come up with any hard facts.
Guesswork seems to be very common around here.... :)
In the past, as far as VW's are concerned, I have had a Golf Mk1, Jetta Mk2, Golf Mk3 and a Corrado, all before xenon and led technology. I won't mention all other cars including my 1992 MB 190E which I use till today quite regularly. In all cases I have been using bulbs with more wattage then specified by law. Usually it was the 100W/80W H4.
Yes... 55W is specified by law and no manufacturer will install anything other than that in their cars. After-market higher wattage bulbs are usually described as not road-legal... because of the law. Not because of the wiring...
You can legally use those stronger bulbs when rallying, circuit driving and other off-legal-road activities.
Personally, I wouldn't worry about the wiring loom. There is however something else I would keep in mind. 80W, 100W, 130W or whatever bulbs will generate more heat. Now... Unknown is the ability of heat dissipation of these headlight units and the consequence could be, I repeat: COULD BE... a cracked lens, cracked headlight especially when one drives with the lights on and suddenly it starts raining... I would worry about that more than the loom.
Andy Beats
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 2012
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2018 1:12 pm
Drives: Nissan Leaf 40KW (and Polo United)
Location: aberdeen

Re: 5000K bulbs

Post by Andy Beats »

fazzy wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 9:59 am Guesswork seems to be very common around here.... :)
In the past, as far as VW's are concerned, I have had a Golf Mk1, Jetta Mk2, Golf Mk3 and a Corrado, all before xenon and led technology. I won't mention all other cars including my 1992 MB 190E which I use till today quite regularly. In all cases I have been using bulbs with more wattage then specified by law. Usually it was the 100W/80W H4.
Yes... 55W is specified by law and no manufacturer will install anything other than that in their cars. After-market higher wattage bulbs are usually described as not road-legal... because of the law. Not because of the wiring...
You can legally use those stronger bulbs when rallying, circuit driving and other off-legal-road activities.
Personally, I wouldn't worry about the wiring loom. There is however something else I would keep in mind. 80W, 100W, 130W or whatever bulbs will generate more heat. Now... Unknown is the ability of heat dissipation of these headlight units and the consequence could be, I repeat: COULD BE... a cracked lens, cracked headlight especially when one drives with the lights on and suddenly it starts raining... I would worry about that more than the loom.
I must admit, it seems unlikely to me that going from 55W to 80W would melt the wiring.
That would mean VW's wiring is very marginal. :?
I might put them back in.
I'm happy enough with the 55W diamond vision, but the 80W ones were brighter and whiter again.

I must sort out the main beam adjustment next as a priority, it's dangerous.
Just two very bright spots on the ground not very far in front of me.
Driving down some country lanes last night, my speed was being hampered by simply not being able to see.
monkeyhanger
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 2643
Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2018 9:58 pm
Drives: Audi A4 Avant Quattro 40 TDI, Polo GTI+
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Re: 5000K bulbs

Post by monkeyhanger »

In these times of cost-cutting and "just enough" engineering, I wouldn't count on using significantly more copper than they need to in their wiring looms, so you can use a bulb with 50% more consumption than the legal limits.

Your risk...chances of being pulled over for having those bulbs in place is pretty low, given lack of police presence on the road these days.
User avatar
l3rady
Bronze Member
Posts: 197
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2016 4:46 pm
Drives: Polo GTI+ 2019
Location: London

Re: 5000K bulbs

Post by l3rady »

Seeing if the wiring loom can take 80W bulbs can be done with a few calculations and a check of the gauge wire used to the bulbs.

55W Bulb on a 12Vdc line will pull 4.58Amps, given an acceptable loss of 3% on the cable and a rough estimate of 2M cable length then a suitable gauge of copper wire would be 17 AWG 1.5mm2

Change to an 80W Bulb and you would have to change to 15 AWG but can still get away with 1.5mm2 as it would be rated up to 11A max.

Given that I would expect VW to have used the correct gauge wire for 55W max bulbs of 1.5mm2 then I would assume that 80W, electrically, would be fine to run.

However, saying that my calculations are based on assumptions and I'm no expert in cabling, so take the above with a pinch of salt. Always do your own calculations and plug in the correct numbers based on your own car. Other things to look out for are the rated current for the lighting circuit, running DRLs, main beam and full beam all at the same time may take you over the rated current and end up blowing fuses.
DKPOLOGT
Bronze Member
Posts: 132
Joined: Tue Sep 22, 2015 11:21 am
Drives: Blue GT

Re: 5000K bulbs

Post by DKPOLOGT »

I went for this solution

Image


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Andy Beats
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 2012
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2018 1:12 pm
Drives: Nissan Leaf 40KW (and Polo United)
Location: aberdeen

Re: 5000K bulbs

Post by Andy Beats »

Nice, but they're way too expensive for me to bother with.
Not that I can't spend it, I just won't.
Andy Beats
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 2012
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2018 1:12 pm
Drives: Nissan Leaf 40KW (and Polo United)
Location: aberdeen

Re: 5000K bulbs

Post by Andy Beats »

Tonight's job is adjusting main beam.
I'll try and remember to take photos of the adjuster required.
The one for dip height was easy to find, I've a feeling the one for main will be trickier.
User avatar
alexperkins
Site Admin
Posts: 14866
Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:29 pm
Drives: 91 Golf GTI, 01 TT 225, 54 T5 174
Location: Poole, Dorset, UK.
Contact:

Re: 5000K bulbs

Post by alexperkins »

The philips LED H7s (and others in the range) are superb bulbs. Excellent beam pattern
monkeyhanger
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 2643
Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2018 9:58 pm
Drives: Audi A4 Avant Quattro 40 TDI, Polo GTI+
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Re: 5000K bulbs

Post by monkeyhanger »

Are the Pholips street legal? I assume they are, they do look great too - I'd pay £115 for a set if I had halogen as standard.

For the 80W non-legal bulbs - if you have a smash with those in, and an assessor discovers them, you will forfeit all coverage. They're not an insurance declarable mod, they're flat out illegal.
User avatar
alexperkins
Site Admin
Posts: 14866
Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:29 pm
Drives: 91 Golf GTI, 01 TT 225, 54 T5 174
Location: Poole, Dorset, UK.
Contact:

Re: 5000K bulbs

Post by alexperkins »

Technically no, as the headlight has to be designed for LED bulbs, so an MOT failure

That said, they provide a beam pattern much better than that of a xenon retrofit and close to halogen

Its a bit grey really
Post Reply