DS3 to D1S Headlight Bulb Conversion

[PenttisHSR]

Just pulled the trigger on this UK plug and play conversion kit to swap out ballasts and D3S Bulbs to D1S.
My 7 years old OE Bulbs will have dimmed some by now, so figured new bulbs would be better in any case.
Anybody tried it in US?

Any thoughts?

D1S runs much higher voltage. D3S are eco-friendly.

info here......... http://emtuning.co.uk/em-tuning-d3s-vag-ballast-boost-kit/

[Dobbler]

Hmm.... in for comments.

[PenttisHSR]

Kit arrived.

Converts D3S to D1S, [42v to 84v] also uses 50W Ballast (to replace std 35W) which drives Bulb at 50W so ~30% more Lumens.
So the 35W 6000k Bulb runs hotter ~5000k colour and shortened lifespan.
Top quality Bulb to take the heat. Osram CBI.
[HID bulbs have no wattage rating (even though I know it says on most bulbs), the ballast and igniter combo regulates that wattage, so the same bulbs can be used for a 1w ballast or a 100w ballast].

Will fit next week.

[Oloung1]

in for before/after pics

[jlaudio]

wow good spot on that kit, i just emailed them to see if they will ship to the USA. 35w to 55w is a big step up and this should put a lot more light down the road. quite a few people here have inquired about upgrading to 55w and no one has been able to accomplish it cleanly.

[Dobbler]

Melted housings? I'll let someone else prove this it before putting my ecodes at risk.

[juniorcruzer]

My old A6 could have used this upgrade. the stock lenses are so snowed, they gave terrible output....Now my S4 is much better, but I get flashed a lot....wondering if they may need an adjustment down.

Jon

[PenttisHSR]

Well I got home early today and I had time to convert one headlight, it's easy and didn't take long.
Can you tell which side I fitted?...............

http://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/594/Dipped1.JPG
http://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/594/Main.JPG
http://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/594/Main_2_.JPG

[Dobbler]

Clearly the left side. Now leave them on an hour and let's us know if anything melted 🤣

[meph137]

Interested in this. I find the light output on my s4 xenons a bit lacking


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PenttisHSR]

Now leave them on an hour and let's us know if anything melted ��

These are 50W and not 55W MORIMOTO XB55 Ballasts - That 5W makes all the difference!

[PenttisHSR]

Clearly the left side. Now leave them on an hour and let's us know if anything melted ��

Well, just got back from Europe, lights were on continuously for 3 1/2 hours, the time it took me to drive from the Channel Tunnel Exit to my home.
No problems, all seems to be well.
Tried dipped and main beams up against my garage door again and everything looks fine.

[svander]

Looks like it’s around £306 shipped to U.S. so about $420 usd... not so sure the minimal improvement is worth it.

[Dobbler]

Looks like it’s around £306 shipped to U.S. so about $420 usd... not so sure the minimal improvement is worth it.

Pricey.

[USAF_Danny]

Looks like it’s around £306 shipped to U.S. so about $420 usd... not so sure the minimal improvement is worth it.

You could put a $40 light bar in your grill for more output. This is too pricey for my taste but hey, it's not about what I like lol.

[PenttisHSR]

Looks like it’s around £306 shipped to U.S. so about $420 usd... not so sure the minimal improvement is worth it.

So, I've had this conversion for a month now and all is OK so far.
84V D1S at 50W replacing 42V D3S at 35W in stock Euro headlights (no splitting required).
I have had a couple of night time 2 hours each way journeys to North Wales in wet conditions.
I think it's a worthwhile improvement, very much better than my 7 years old OE D3S Bulbs.
Much brighter and clearer, more cats eyes lit up, further reaching and wider spread of light
Much more confidence and almost as good as my old B5 which had main beam HID conversions (so 4 HID Bulbs lit instead of only 2 on my B8) without the delay in main beam powering-up.
Other than bolting something onto the front of your car, I'm not sure what you could do better without splitting the headlights and replacing the projectors for better ones.

[Dobbler]

So, I've had this conversion for a month now and all is OK so far.
84V D1S at 50W replacing 42V D3S at 35W in stock Euro headlights (no splitting required).
I have had a couple of night time 2 hours each way journeys to North Wales in wet conditions.
I think it's a worthwhile improvement, very much better than my 7 years old OE D3S Bulbs.
Much brighter and clearer, more cats eyes lit up, further reaching and wider spread of light
Much more confidence and almost as good as my old B5 which had main beam HID conversions (so 4 HID Bulbs lit instead of only 2 on my B8) without the delay in main beam powering-up.
Other than bolting something onto the front of your car, I'm not sure what you could do better without splitting the headlights and replacing the projectors for better ones.


7 year old D3S isn't much of a fair comparison. Those bulbs likely needed to be replaced.

[SteveYem]

Maybe a dumb question, but- is all of the wiring upstream in the headlight power circuit sized adequately to handle the 50W power?

[PenttisHSR]

7 year old D3S isn't much of a fair comparison. Those bulbs likely needed to be replaced.

Yes, that's why I specifically mentioned that they were old.
Obviously I wasn't going to buy a new D3S just for comparison purposes.
New HID Bulbs are brighter than old ones for sure, but as I was going to replace both bulbs anyway because of this, I was halfway there already.
Ballasts also have a limited life, so replacing them for future reliability also helped to sway me.
I am just very happy that there is a big improvement in my lights.

[PenttisHSR]

Maybe a dumb question, but- is all of the wiring upstream in the headlight power circuit sized adequately to handle the 50W power?
The Morimoto Ballasts provide the output power.
The 12v input to the Ballasts (from the car) is the same for the 35W and 55W (50W actual) according to the morimoto spec.
There is a Startup current of MAX 5amps which then drops once the bulb is lit.
AFAIK there is no real difference between the OE Ballast and the morimoto.

[aguagenti1]

Hmm, Interesting. I agree that the price is a little high but looks like a nice difference. I just got the "right headlight dipped" (stupidest notification I've ever seen) and I'm going to replace both bulbs. My apologies for the slight detour of the original post, but can anyone paste a link to bulb replacement on a 2012 s4? I tried google and all I could find was for a4's. Much appreciated!