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B5.5 headlights upgrade to LED or HID

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21K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  DeliveryValve  
#1 ·
I have an 04 Passat wagon 4-motion. The headlights are clear, but the low beam is brightness is not very good. I'm looking at upgrading to LED bulbs or 35 watt HID. Not sure how the upgrade will work with daylight lights, since my guess its 1/2 the power. Any info will help to figure what upgrade to get. I'm leaning towards the 35 watt HID. Do you have to get the relay kit to run off the battery, the current should be the same, expect for the short start up time.

Thanks,

Eric
 
#2 ·
Since you don't appear to be in Canada where DRLs are required, pull the 173 relay behind the driver knee bolster before you upgrade to LED or HID. You should not run them at reduced power, especially the HID.

I only have experieince with the HID, but I can say it is a night and day difference. You will have to adjust the beam aim.

LED seems to be hit or miss, but get a good set. Don't just hunt for the cheapest set on Amazon on Ebay.

I found this to be a very good resource. https://bestheadlightbulbs.com/
 
#4 ·
Hi Eric,
I have an '06 Passat with the projector headlights but came with halogen bulbs so I totally understand what you mean about low beam brightness not being very good and my headlamps were clear as well (not cloudy). I tried running Sylvania Silverstar Ultra bulbs which helped somewhat but had to change them out way too frequently, and the lamp design doesn't make these easy to replace. I decided to try running HID's as an experiment to see if the brightness and life expectancy was worth the cost. I purchased a set of Kensun 35-watt HID's at 4300k with premium ballasts again as more of experiment without paying for a premium brand name at that time not knowing how this would work out. Well I can tell you that it was definitely worth the cost, as the brightness improved as I had hoped and they are still performing well after 2 years in service. With that being said, I'm not sure how a more name brand would perform compared to these but either way I would do the upgrade again in a heartbeat. Also, I didn't need to use an optional harness as it was plug and play essentially. The only modification was to disable the DRL's using Ross-Tech VCDS.
 
#5 ·
I'll offer up first hand experience.
I upgraded my 1998 GLS standard halogens to a Depo conversion kit with projectors and then purchased a set of HID's from xenonhids.com

Hands down, one of the best upgrades I've ever done to my Passat.
I went with the HID's because LED's aren't as bright as HID's yet.

I have pictures and info in a post here but now I can't find that post anywhere on the forum. :confused:
 
#7 ·
HIDs are always the go for high brightness. You can also go with a 55W set for maximum brightness but they have a shorter life (for me they have been on the car for more than 6 months now and they still work perfectly).
Kelvins are another thing you should check. I'd recommend going with a 4300k for a OEM Xenon look, as the stock Passats with Bixenon headlight use 4300k xenons from the facory. For looks you may go with 6500k or even 8000k but know that as far away from the 4300k you go, you will have a dimmer output.
Also prepare to buy an adapter to fit the bulbs.
 
#8 ·
Before anything, take a mirror and look inside the back of the headlights for missing insulation on the wiring. I had to replace my son's wiring inside the his headlights and then installed an HID kit. We had already polished and Lamin-X'ed the lenses. The new HID is easily double the light output of the old bulbs.

If your wiring is bad and your lenses too, it may be easier to just buy new headlights and then upgrade to HID. We have HID in all 3 Passats now and it was the best upgrade out of many.
 
#9 ·
Thanks to all. Plan on ordering 35 watt HID kit. I'll post what the results are. I which VW/Audi would use E-spec lights.I replaced my headlights on my Audi 4000 with E spec lights that bought in Germany. That made a huge difference .
 
#12 ·
I feel you on the "Someday" part.

A long time ago, I saw info on here about using a BMW rubber cup for the HID as they were much longer and did not bulge from the igniter. They were almost like a CV boot and allowed the end to be zip-tied or sealed on the wiring harness.
 
#13 ·
Thanks AndreasPassat I think I will go with the lows for now. I have the projectors but lows will help tremendously for now. I am going with the ones you posted a link too. I obviously have to remove the bumper cover to do this so it will have to wait a few weeks.
 
#16 ·
Finally, here are some pics of the wiring through the dust boot cover on the back of the headlight housing.

Hole in dust boot cover. I said before I cut 3/8 diameter hole in there, it's actually somewhere between 1/2" & 5/8"

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Rubber grommet on XenonHID wire kit.

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Rubber grommet slipped into the dust boot cover. Weather proof. ;)

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#20 ·
FWIW, I have been running VVME HIDs for the last 9 years without a single failure. I think I spent less than $100
 
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