Best choice for D1S lamps

R063rt0

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 7, 2018
Messages
2
I'm way out of touch with these and would like to know which ones I should be looking at for a 2008 Audi TTS Mk2?
I think it still has the original factory fit lamps as they look so dim next to a friend's A1 with halogen reflector headlights.
Thanks
 

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
Welcome to the board! Get these D1S bulbs. HID bulbs like yours do deteriorate (get dimmer and dimmer) with runtime, but if you're talking about them being very dim compared to halogens you might have problems that go beyond just old bulbs. Lens condition is an easy one to check: if your headlamp lenses are at all cloudy, foggy, hazed, yellowed, crazed, or notably pitted, there is no bulb that will overcome that damage and you're in the market for new headlamps.

Harder to check is the condition of the reflectors. They're not visible behind the projector lens, so you can't really check them without disassembling the headlamp (which in most cases would ruin it). Here's what happens: the reflector, because it is small in a projector lamp, is physically close to the bulb. That means the reflector runs relatively hot, and eventually its shiny coating oxidizes or even flakes off. When that happens, you get a correct-shape beam pattern on the wall but there's very little light in it. This, too, would call for new headlamps.

Whether your lamps are new or old, their aiming is crucial to your ability to see. Make sure it's checked and adjusted correctly as per the details at the link.
 

R063rt0

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 7, 2018
Messages
2
Welcome to the board! Get these D1S bulbs. HID bulbs like yours do deteriorate (get dimmer and dimmer) with runtime, but if you're talking about them being very dim compared to halogens you might have problems that go beyond just old bulbs. Lens condition is an easy one to check: if your headlamp lenses are at all cloudy, foggy, hazed, yellowed, crazed, or notably pitted, there is no bulb that will overcome that damage and you're in the market for new headlamps.

Harder to check is the condition of the reflectors. They're not visible behind the projector lens, so you can't really check them without disassembling the headlamp (which in most cases would ruin it). Here's what happens: the reflector, because it is small in a projector lamp, is physically close to the bulb. That means the reflector runs relatively hot, and eventually its shiny coating oxidizes or even flakes off. When that happens, you get a correct-shape beam pattern on the wall but there's very little light in it. This, too, would call for new headlamps.

Whether your lamps are new or old, their aiming is crucial to your ability to see. Make sure it's checked and adjusted correctly as per the details at the link.
Hi and thanks for the reply and information.
Sorry for the delay in my reply but I ended up looking after my brother after his second stint in hospital in as many months.
I will check everything you have suggested.
Thanks again
 
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