Hello! I am a new member of this forum, and this is my first post.

I bought my first Audi last week- a used A6 Avant 1.9TDI 130, first registered in March 04 (one of the last of the C5 series, I believe). I bought this from the local Audi dealer- the reason being my wife is up the duff, and we will soon be needing a boot!

I like the car very much- it compares very well with my last four cars which were Mercedes C- and E-class saloons.

The problem I have is this...

The headlights are like having two candles on the front! On dipped main, I can't see a bloody thing! They are rubbish!

I have had a little search through this forum, and I got a small panic attack trying to understand how the lights can be upgraded. I absolutely cannot fit HID lights- not a chance. Wires frighten me. I break stuff with tools, and my mum told me not to 'mend' things when I was six, so I haven't a clue.

Please would you advise if it would be suitable for me to fit 'illegal' 100W halogen bulbs to replace the dipped beam (which are a legal 55W), or would this cause problems? If OK, where do I get the brightest bulbs on the planet?

If not, would the ordinary '50% brighter' 55W xenon/tungsten bulbs make much difference?

I am extremely grateful for any help you could offer.

CHEERS!!!

Mike.

 

Hey Mike....Welcome to the forum!! As a helpful tip, you can take advantage of the SEARCH feature of this site and type in your query to get a lot of results. Plus, there is a guy on here (southboroaudiguy) that has a link with enough information to choke a horse--good stuff. There are conversion kits that are aftermarket and they can be expensive and are DIY. You could also procure the XENON headlights from another AVANT and switch them out for yours. You can also buy high output bulbs that will fit nicely inside your OEM units. I would check out PIAA light bulbs. I am a big lighting buff and have used PIAA in all of my cars with excellent results. There are so many marketing scams (false advertising) when it comes to lighting. When southboroaudiguy helps you with the link, read up on the lighting section and learn how xenon works vs. traditional lighting. It is a great read and will help you make an educated decision on improving your lighting. Good Luck!!

 

Hi prbayha. Many thanks for your reply!

Actually, I really think the DIY conversion HID kit is out of my league. I am a doctor and can mend bodies easy enough, but there is no earthly chance of my installing one of those things!!!

My only option is simple replacement of the standard bulbs.

What I am interested to know is whether there is any good reason I shouldn't get myself a pair of higher-power bulbs? Like 100W ones, perhaps. I know they are a bit illegal, but I guess it would solve my problem quickly and cheaply.

The problem is, would they melt my headlights, or blow the electrics, etc.?

 

hey Mike T,

You could also try buying Sylvania Silverstar bulbs. They emit powerful white light and are as close to Xenon as you can get with a halogen bulb. They definitely are brighter than the standard halogen yellows.

Cheers.!!!

 

Mike...I run 100w PIAA foglights. I have no wiring/heat or electrical issues. 100w is the output of the light and they still draw the same current as the 55w bulbs which is 12v. The silverstars are a good choice. PIAA is higher end and the bulbs will cost you more, but they have a one-year warranty from time of purchase and are super duper easy to install. Pop your hood and remove the two metal side clips from the headlight bucket. Remove black bucket and set to the side. You will then see a small retainer clip which you will have to push down and away to spring the bulb. Carefully remove the wiring clip from the back of the OEM bulb. Swap out with your new bulb of choice being extra careful NOT to touch the glass. The oil from your fingers will heat up and prematurely destroy the bulb. Reverse instructions for installation. You should also refer to your owners manual for step by step instructions. I would assume you are running H1's for the low beam, H7's for the high beams and H3's for the fog lights. For a good set of H1's refer to PIAA's website: http://www.piaa.com/Bulbs/Bulbs-H1.html
After you install the new bulbs, use the case they came in to store your OEMS and save in a safe place. This way you can swap them out if you change cars etc.

 

Thank you all, above, for your kind advice. Most helpful! What a great forum!!!

How do you suppose the PIAA bulbs compare to the Siverstars? I can't get data on lumens output, etc., so I would greatly appreciate it if someone has any idea of how they compare.

The Silverstars are much cheaper than PIAA bulbs, on eBay, though I would happily pay extra for more light.

By the way, is eBay the best place to get these bulbs?

 

I have owned both PIAAs and Siverstars. I owned Saab 9000's at the time but its all the same. I "liked" the Silverstars more than the PIAAs because they seemed to be about the same brightness, but were a lot cheaper. Unfortunaly, the Silverstars burned out after about 6 months (with daytime running lights). I have purchased 3 pair and they all burned out in less than a year. Early bulb failure is very common with the Silverstar. Now the PIAAs, costing 3 times the price, looked the same for color, and have yet to burn out after 3 years. In the end, I have gone with HID upgrade hit. I found no halogen bulb can compare. Hope this helps.


Jeff in Minneapolis
00 A6 Avant Quat

 

I agree with Jeffla. The silverstars burn out very quickly. The quality of the filament and inner parts are not as good as quality as the PIAA's. I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for. I have never had a PIAA bulb burn out. Lumens and Kelvin are too different categories. Lumens is the light output and Kelvin is the color temperature. When you increase your kelvin you are decreasing your lumens. AUDI and most all other German Car manufacturers have OEM HID between 4300 and 6000 kelvin. HID stands for High Intensity Display and is commonly associated to Xenon bulbs. Xenon is the gas that ignites when the two electrodes fire. You will bulbs thats say HID which have filaments and say they are xenon charged. What a load of bull!! Your silverstars are rated at 4000k and 910-1700 lumens depending on what application you are using (9003, 9005, H1, H7 etc) The PIAA bulbs are pushing 4300, 4700 Kelvin which produces 1000, 2300 lumens. This is what I see online, so take with a grain of salt.