Hello everyone, 

 

I own a 2013 Octavia MK2 FL VRS with OEM AFS Xenon headlights, however, seeing what other projectors output online, I have decided that I should change the oem ones (they are somewhat blurry and hazy) with the ones from Hella EvoX-R. I have read some forums on vag groups that suggest it's a pretty difficult operation that can also result in AFS motor failure and other issues. Has anyone here done such retrofit on OEM xenon headlights? If yes, are there any steps, or tutorial to be taken into consideration, beforehand? 

 

Thank you in advance! 

The hardest part is splitting the headlights. The are permasealed so the old oven trick doesn't work too well, most people seem to cut them open which is the biggest reason I've not tried to open mine. There are plenty on drive2 that have split them to repaint etc.

 

I'm pretty sure the EvoX-R and any other E55 projector should just drop in although you may need to trim the bracket to clear the shutter motor if using bi-xenons. Never heard about AFS motor failures, as long as you're careful I'd expect them to be fine.

 

Finally, if you want to add the bi-xenon functionally, you'll need to run two new wires from the headlights to the BCM. The vRS uses the shutter pins to control the LED DRL so you'll need to move some pins and possibly replace the BCM. You'll also need VCP or ODIS-e to change the lighting configuration too

56 minutes ago, langers2k said:

The hardest part is splitting the headlights. The are permasealed so the old oven trick doesn't work too well, most people seem to cut them open which is the biggest reason I've not tried to open mine. There are plenty on drive2 that have split them to repaint etc.

 

I'm pretty sure the EvoX-R and any other E55 projector should just drop in although you may need to trim the bracket to clear the shutter motor if using bi-xenons. Never heard about AFS motor failures, as long as you're careful I'd expect them to be fine.

 

Finally, if you want to add the bi-xenon functionally, you'll need to run two new wires from the headlights to the BCM. The vRS uses the shutter pins to control the LED DRL so you'll need to move some pins and possibly replace the BCM. You'll also need VCP or ODIS-e to change the lighting configuration too

Oh, I see, I saw some videos right now splitting the headlight apart and got disappointed by this way of doing it. I didn't know it was permasealed. Too bad though, it would've been an amazing light output upgrade. Thanks for your reply!

There's at least one person on this forum that has retrofitted bi-xenon projectors into a mk2FL xenon headlamp. Can't remember who it is now but there was a video of him doing the high beam flash and it looks awesome.

Edited 12 June, 20205 yr by slow_nick

But surely the beam is determined by the shaping of the diffuser at the rear not the lens? So the low beam aperture would just add much more glare for oncoming traffic than useful beam throw? Doesn't sound like the right approach to me.

7 hours ago, Me-109 said:

But surely the beam is determined by the shaping of the diffuser at the rear not the lens? So the low beam aperture would just add much more glare for oncoming traffic than useful beam throw? Doesn't sound like the right approach to me.

 

Not quite sure what you're saying - there is no diffuser or aperture to adjust in a stock MK2 FL xenon.

 

The beam pattern is formed by a combination of both the reflector and lens of the projector. The cutoff is down to the shutter which is fixed in the stock MK2 FL xenons but moves in bi-xenon variants. Quick diagram showing how they work, in front of the lens you'll also have the clear plastic/polycarbonate outer to protect the internals.

 

 

The beam can be tweaked to give more width or throw depending on exactly how the reflector and lens have been designed.

 

Assuming quality projectors are fitted and adjusted, there should be no issues with glare

@langers2klangers2k Yes 'reflectors' is the word I was thinking of, not diffuser - I was having a senior moment. I know how they work, which typically rotates the shield around the bulb to flip between dipped and high. Since the Octy has separate lenses for dip and high beam fitting a bi-xenon into one of those fittings would result in the wrong light pattern from the source to the reflector and out. That's why I reckon you'll get glare.

4 minutes ago, Me-109 said:

@langers2klangers2k Yes 'reflectors' is the word I was thinking of, not diffuser - I was having a senior moment. I know how they work, which typically rotates the shield around the bulb to flip between dipped and high. Since the Octy has separate lenses for dip and high beam fitting a bi-xenon into one of those fittings would result in the wrong light pattern from the source to the reflector and out. That's why I reckon you'll get glare.

 

What you are saying here doesn't make sense to me. The projector is what creates the beam pattern. A bi-xenon projector creates dipped and main beam from a single light source. The headlamp has a clear lens so there's no reason why a correctly fitted bi-xenon projector in a mk2FL headlamp would not create the correct beam pattern.

8 hours ago, Me-109 said:

Since the Octy has separate lenses for dip and high beam fitting a bi-xenon into one of those fittings would result in the wrong light pattern from the source to the reflector and out. That's why I reckon you'll get glare.

 

I think you're misunderstanding what the OP wants to do.

- I agree that fitting a xenon bulb into a halogen projector would cause the the wrong light pattern.

- I agree that splitting a projector and putting it back together can cause the wrong light pattern as the alignment between the lens and reflector is very important.

 

Neither apply to the OP as they want to remove the entire projector and fit a pre-assembled replacement like this: http://www.morimotohid.com/projectors/bi-xenon-evox-r-2-projectors.html

 

The light pattern will be absolutely fine as it'll have been set and checked during manufacture. The EvoX-R is a direct replacement for the Hella E55 that's used in the Octavia and uses the same mounting holes. After fitting, the car would obviously need it's headlight alignment checking/adjusting.

 

The main reason I've not done this is that the EvoX-R only comes in LHD patterns so no good for the UK. As the OP is based in Romania, it's not a problem

@WCKD @langers2k

 

I had a real problem with the bi-xenon's in my Audi............you may have seen the posts

 

The actuator / solenoid wiring had come slightly loose from the very small pcb, probably due to the internal movement, making the high beam flap temperamental.

I did manage to mend it but had to do it a few times as it was very difficult working through the hole for the bulb, even after removing the silver / ally bulb holder.

 

It was the little blue plug that was lifting off the tiny pcb that was causing the issue, and this failed the mot on one occasion even though the lighting worked fine as only one bulb.

The extra difficulty was that the bumper has to be removed on the Audi to remove the headlight..............real pain in the backside, but a lovely car.

 

Personally, I wouldn't go for bi (or adaptive) xenons given the choice.

If I couldn't have mended it for the mot it would have been circa £1000 for a replacement headlight probably another grand for fitting..........

 

Edited 14 June, 20205 yr by Tilt