jeffdemara
Ready to race!
- Location
- Vancouver, BC
I just wanted to share some info, and output shots of Ed's Golf R style projector headlights for the MK7.
Previous to buying, I couldn't actually find any detailed information or photos of what I was looking for with regards to the quality of projector these use, light output and beam pattern, ability to use D2S bulbs etc. It seemed like nobody had really posted any good quality output shots or comparisons.
Pleased to say, these are actually up to my standards! I've retrofitted 7+ sets of headlights myself for a few different vehicles, and I'm one that's pretty picky when it comes to what I install. For this reason I was a bit weary of buying these, expecting the output of the projectors they come with to be pretty lacking.
Pleasantly surprised! The "Hella Gen 2" projectors (cheap from China) these housings come with are definitely up there in terms of beam pattern and output, but hard to find any real info on. I actually bought a pair of brand new to the market G5-BRT projectors (which is an enhanced, non threaded shaft version of the G5-R, based off the Morimoto D2S series) expecting to have to open up the housings and swap to these projectors myself. Luckily I didn't have to!
I'm using D2S bulbs, specifically the Osram 66240 Nightbreaker Laser bulbs (4200K), paired with a set of 35w Hella Gen 2 ballasts. As long as you use straight D2S bulb adaptors to connect to the back of the bulbs when in the housing, there are no issues with clearance at all, contrary to what some people are saying.
I did a couple of lux reading comparisons between the projectors inside the Ed's housings, and the G5-BRT projectors I had purchased. Using the same bulb, same ballast, and same distance to measure my readings.
From the distance I was testing from with my lux meter, I found these results:
G5-BRT:
Hotspot: 760 lux
To the right of the hotspot: 680 lux
Ed's:
Hotspot: 860 lux
To the right of the hotspot: 800 lux
This is showing a 13% increase of intensity, which isn't THAT much, but I wasn't even expecting them to be on par with the very popular G5-R/G5-BRT series projectors that so many people are using for their retrofits (and I have always used as well). I did notice the hotspot on the G5-BRT projectors was better centred, while the hotspot from the projectors in Ed's headlights were slightly off to the right.
The cutoff line and width did appear slightly better on the G5-BRT projectors, but not enough to warrant me spending the time and effort opening up the housings to do a swap.
I do have to admit, I WAS expecting the inner high beam light to be a projector LED, like another housing I had looked into (but cannot remember which one now). The high beams on these housings utilize a H7 halogen bulb. That doesn't really bother me though, as the main outer lights are bi-xenon anyways, and the cutoff shield moves to project the light upward for high beam, and works very well!
For those of you who aren't familiar with the G5-R/G5-BRT, I'll leave links below to both. Basically the G5-R is the go-to for retrofits for performance and ease of install with the threaded shaft. The G5-BRT is basically the same thing, just came out, with a slightly blue coated lens (giving a slightly warmer output), and no threaded shaft to mount (must use nut and bolt method).
Hope this helps!
Ed's Headlights I'm reviewing here:
https://www.becautoparts.com/collec...eadlights-2018-r-style?variant=12741151391831
G5-R Projectors:
https://www.lightwerkz.net/index.php/components/hid-projectors/bixenon-q5r-projectors-1503.html
G5-BRT Projectors:
https://www.lightwerkz.net/index.php/components/hid-projectors/bixenon-g5r-projectors-brt.html
D2S Straight Adaptors:
https://www.lightwerkz.net/index.php/components/accessories/amp-d2s-ballast-adapter-straight.html
Note: I still have to adjust the levelness of the driver side headlight.
Previous to buying, I couldn't actually find any detailed information or photos of what I was looking for with regards to the quality of projector these use, light output and beam pattern, ability to use D2S bulbs etc. It seemed like nobody had really posted any good quality output shots or comparisons.
Pleased to say, these are actually up to my standards! I've retrofitted 7+ sets of headlights myself for a few different vehicles, and I'm one that's pretty picky when it comes to what I install. For this reason I was a bit weary of buying these, expecting the output of the projectors they come with to be pretty lacking.
Pleasantly surprised! The "Hella Gen 2" projectors (cheap from China) these housings come with are definitely up there in terms of beam pattern and output, but hard to find any real info on. I actually bought a pair of brand new to the market G5-BRT projectors (which is an enhanced, non threaded shaft version of the G5-R, based off the Morimoto D2S series) expecting to have to open up the housings and swap to these projectors myself. Luckily I didn't have to!
I'm using D2S bulbs, specifically the Osram 66240 Nightbreaker Laser bulbs (4200K), paired with a set of 35w Hella Gen 2 ballasts. As long as you use straight D2S bulb adaptors to connect to the back of the bulbs when in the housing, there are no issues with clearance at all, contrary to what some people are saying.
I did a couple of lux reading comparisons between the projectors inside the Ed's housings, and the G5-BRT projectors I had purchased. Using the same bulb, same ballast, and same distance to measure my readings.
From the distance I was testing from with my lux meter, I found these results:
G5-BRT:
Hotspot: 760 lux
To the right of the hotspot: 680 lux
Ed's:
Hotspot: 860 lux
To the right of the hotspot: 800 lux
This is showing a 13% increase of intensity, which isn't THAT much, but I wasn't even expecting them to be on par with the very popular G5-R/G5-BRT series projectors that so many people are using for their retrofits (and I have always used as well). I did notice the hotspot on the G5-BRT projectors was better centred, while the hotspot from the projectors in Ed's headlights were slightly off to the right.
The cutoff line and width did appear slightly better on the G5-BRT projectors, but not enough to warrant me spending the time and effort opening up the housings to do a swap.
I do have to admit, I WAS expecting the inner high beam light to be a projector LED, like another housing I had looked into (but cannot remember which one now). The high beams on these housings utilize a H7 halogen bulb. That doesn't really bother me though, as the main outer lights are bi-xenon anyways, and the cutoff shield moves to project the light upward for high beam, and works very well!
For those of you who aren't familiar with the G5-R/G5-BRT, I'll leave links below to both. Basically the G5-R is the go-to for retrofits for performance and ease of install with the threaded shaft. The G5-BRT is basically the same thing, just came out, with a slightly blue coated lens (giving a slightly warmer output), and no threaded shaft to mount (must use nut and bolt method).
Hope this helps!
Ed's Headlights I'm reviewing here:
https://www.becautoparts.com/collec...eadlights-2018-r-style?variant=12741151391831
G5-R Projectors:
https://www.lightwerkz.net/index.php/components/hid-projectors/bixenon-q5r-projectors-1503.html
G5-BRT Projectors:
https://www.lightwerkz.net/index.php/components/hid-projectors/bixenon-g5r-projectors-brt.html
D2S Straight Adaptors:
https://www.lightwerkz.net/index.php/components/accessories/amp-d2s-ballast-adapter-straight.html
Note: I still have to adjust the levelness of the driver side headlight.
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