Ordered Some Non-LED Super White Bulbs For A3/S3 2010+ Number Plate Lights

[Paullie]

I ripped my hands to shreds yesterday getting one out to have a look at it. Never have I seen such an over engineered solution to a problem that doesn't exist in the first place. It makes a £3 bulb cost £18, and the only thing I can think of it is makes the wiring loom easier to install at factory as there are less major sized connectors on it. £36 for two indicator bulbs from BMW is a joke.

I want to do his mod, but there's an element of principle that leaves me thinking if I buy I accept and will perpetuate VAGs decision to think charging these kind of figures is ok. I'm sure I could do something more useful with £36. The ****** fogs which are big H11's are only £24 a pair [/rant mode off]!

Aww Warren, hope your fingies aren't scarred for life . I was able to remove them no probs, but you are 100% correct about over-engineering on the bulb itself. What a piece of nonsense! You know, I think I've made up my mind that I am NOT going to fuss about doing this mod after all, seeing the fitted results on the pics posted above. Those lenses still look pretty orange to me and the difference the bulbs make is certainly not worth the expense, ..to me anyway. If I can get some cheap ones, I may give them a go, ..but otherwise, my fried eggs will remain xx

Said it before and i will say it again........The idea of making your number plate even more visible goes against my principles Next thing you will be illuminating your tax disc's.

Hehe, ..Pad, it's all about the crisp white LED glow! It's not about keeping your reg a secret from Mr or Mz Fuzz, lol! xx

 

[warren_S5]

VW bulbs for front indicators are £19 each so even more than BMW, so I too am holding off for now.

Fitting some new 'whiter' fogs tonight. £48 for 2 bulbs! More robbery but I 'need' whiteness up front!

Paullie, it's my oversized hands that caused the issue! No finesse! Both hands a scraped to bits!!

 

[L80EWY]

Not very bright at all, look like a let down so far!

 

[slade777]

shame can you take a pic at night time?!

 

[Paullie]

Not very bright at all, look like a let down so far!

They look a lot whiter than the standard bulbs, ..that's why I bought them, I don't want them to be too bright (as a lot of the LED's are), just nice, white and not yellow. Mine arrived today, but I've still got to fit them. If they look as white as yours, I won't be disappointed. x

 

[durtytdi140]

Hi folks, this morning I ordered a pair of non-LED super white 37mm festoon bulbs from the US that will give the same pure white light effect of LED bulbs, but without the Bulb Out Error on the DIS. They weren't cheap, costing just under £30 including postage (the bulbs were only $12.99, but the postage was expensive at $32.50), but IMO it's well worth it to get rid of the dull yellow number plate bulbs and at the same time not to have to worry about resistors etc getting hot or the bulbs melting the light housings. Lots of VAG owners in the US have these in their cars, unfortunately I couldn't find any UK stockists of these. I'll post pics of my results when they arrive. Hopefully these are the perfect plug and play solution to the A3/S3 2010+ owners (and owners of any 8P 2003-2011 A3) who don't want to go to the lengths of installing chassis mount resistors in their boot lids to go with their LED bulbs. Paula xx

They are Polarg M28 bulbs

Polarg B1 Hybrid Superwhite T10x37 Bulbs - Mini-Bulbs - AutomotiveLightingUSA.com

They can also be bought on Ebay for a few pennies less, but the seller is away until 02/11/11.

M28 Polarg White Bulb Dome light 6411 6413 6451 6418 | eBay

This is a preview of what they'll look like.

ive just put some in mine and they look a million times better in white, and make sure they are canbus ones otherwise they wont work because they set off errors, few extra quid for canbus ones off ebay

 

[Paullie]

Even the Canbus LED bulbs don't work in 2010+ A3/S3's though Buddy, which is why I decided to look out for some of these non-LED super white Halogen bulbs instead as they will work with the Canbus system and no cause any errors. x

 

[L1ARR]

Any developments with these bulbs, am dying to see photos of these.

 

[grimp]

Id love to see them in the dark aswell, if i get mine today ill post pics

 

[Baffles]

Any luck Paullie? x

 

[Virdee]

Watching eagle eyed!.........

Surely the interior bulbs are not on the DIS error OBC?

 

[L80EWY]

I will take a photo when it's dark tonight, really disappointed with them tbh

 

[Farhan]

hmm i want them aslong as they are a slight whiteish light output but i dont want them bright like LEDs

 

[L80EWY]

They look whiter and brighter than they really are in photos. There pretty dull

 

[grimp]

I will take a photo when it's dark tonight, really disappointed with them tbh

got any pics mate ?

 

[sando]

got any photos of the car when its dark mate? making the decision whether to go for a blue to better match retrofit Xenons on the front headlights, as I am going to laminex as well

 

[L1ARR]

Where is Paullie and those Polarg Bulbs. We need photos, have the bulbs turned up yet? Is post slow due to Christmas :0)

 

[L80EWY]

Sorry about the wait!

Just off iPhone camera so not too good really they look different in real life..

 

[Paullie]

Sorry to hear you're disappointed with your new bulbs, Lewy . I finally got round to fitting mine this morning and I have to say that for me they are just perfect, pure white light, not yellow in the slightest and IMO they are plenty bright enough, lol. I don't have any night time shots yet guys, but I will remedy that tonight. xx

Side by side pic of OEM and only one Polarg bulb (OEM is VERY yellow in comparison!)

Polarg bulbs fitted

 

[slade777]

Thanks for the day time pics Paulie. Looks good and worth the money and shipping time. Would have considered ordering these but now set on getting an A1 Black Edition which comes with LED number plate lights from factory. why is the current A3 the poor cousin !!!

P.S Your top photo you havent swirled your number plate

 

[t8ups]

so are these white then? looking at the pictures they look awesome.

Lance, i got a pair of the OEM led's from audi, just working out the loom, but looking at it i dont think they will be a direct fit into the A3 as the unit looks too differant, the unit will work in a A7, A1, a5 coupe and sportback, not the cab as it has the same lamp unit as the A3.

 

[Cruiser89]

so are these white then? looking at the pictures they look awesome.

Lance, i got a pair of the OEM led's from audi, just working out the loom, but looking at it i dont think they will be a direct fit into the A3 as the unit looks too differant, the unit will work in a A7, A1, a5 coupe and sportback, not the cab as it has the same lamp unit as the A3.

I'm gonna try and get you some readings over the weekend pal!!

 

[Paullie]

Thanks for the day time pics Paulie. Looks good and worth the money and shipping time. Would have considered ordering these but now set on getting an A1 Black Edition which comes with LED number plate lights from factory. why is the current A3 the poor cousin !!!

P.S Your top photo you havent swirled your number plate

Thanks for pointing out about my plate, Lance. Photobucket is playing up for some reason, ..I did twirl the letters, but it's showing the original, so have deleted the pic for now. Nice one about you getting yourself an A1, Dude! They are awesome little cars!! xx

so are these white then? looking at the pictures they look awesome.

Lance, i got a pair of the OEM led's from audi, just working out the loom, but looking at it i dont think they will be a direct fit into the A3 as the unit looks too differant, the unit will work in a A7, A1, a5 coupe and sportback, not the cab as it has the same lamp unit as the A3.

Hey Buddy, thanks! They are pure white and obviously because they are non-LED's no pesky DIS errors! Would love you to come up with an LED solution though, just because I love LED's!!! Fingers crossed you can fix it for us. xx

 

[t8ups]

I am working on it, if i put the resistance up on the led to match what the car is asking for then the bulb wont last as long as it should, so just working out what the car is actully asking for in terms of voltage then i can knock a final piece up.

but it is on the cards still and i have not given up just yet.

thanks
Trups

 

[Paullie]

Here are some night time pics as promised yesterday, folks. Very impressed by these Polarg's I must say. I had LED plate lights in my last car and would have liked the same for the S3, but just don't have the bottle to fit the chassis mounted resistors (like SilkyS3 has in his car, ..wish I was half as handy with a set of tools as Silky is, lol!) so these are a brilliant compromise for me, pure white and plenty bright enough for the purpose, without drawing Mr Plod's attention to them needlessly, lol. xx

 

[Baffles]

Looks great! Have purchased..

May be a stupid question but can these be used for the interior?

 

[Paullie]

Looks great! Have purchased..

May be a stupid question but can these be used for the interior?

Hi there . I don't see any reason why they can't be used on the interior lights, but I think LED bulbs can be used inside the car without throwing up any bulb out DIS errors. It would certainly be cheaper to buy LED's, I believe. I haven't done my interior bulbs yet, but hopefully someone who has can give you a pointer or two xx

 

[warren_S5]

Does anyone know if these would work?

Philips Blue Vision LED C5W Festoon 6000K (Single Bulb) | Car Bulbs Direct

Can't find any Polarg CW5 bulbs on the bay, and these are listed for A3, but assume they'll only work inside the car in the overhead in MY 12 cars.

 

[Paullie]

They won't work Warren as they are LED's. They'd need chassis mounted resistors wired in line with them to get them to work. SilkyS3 has done this mod on his MY10 S3. xx

EDIT They should work in the interior light without any DIS errors, but they are very pricey for a single bulb xx

 

[warren_S5]

At last!

Polarg B1 Hybrid Superwhite T10x37 Bulbs

$24 (£15) later they are on order, thanks for finding these guys!

 

[Paullie]

I found these on Ebay, they are around the same price as the Polarg's, but much cheaper shipping. The pics make them look a bit on the blue side when lit up though, unlike the Polarg's which are pure white with no hint of blue, despite the colour of the glass. Don't know if they'd be worth a try? xx

Audi A3 - License Plate Xenon Blue Glass Bulb Bulbs Set | eBay

 

[Paullie]

At last!

Polarg B1 Hybrid Superwhite T10x37 Bulbs

$24 (£15) later they are on order, thanks for finding these guys!

No probs Buddy, ..nice one! xx

 

[Paullie]

Warren, have you sorted out some white fog bulbs yet? I have a pair of brand new Cree projector lensed H11 LED bulbs (they are supposed to be the only LED bulbs which are as effective at cutting through fog as Halogens, because of the beam pattern the projector lens casts. I also have a set of resistor packs with H11 connectors, so they don't require any wiring in, just plugging in, in order to fit them. I even have some little metal Meccano brackets you could mount them on, behind your fogs. You're welcome to them if you fancy giving them a go. I didn't know where to mount the brackets, so bought white Halogen fog bulbs instead. PM me your details and I'll post them off to you. They're just lying around doing nothing, so you'd be doing me a favour. xx

 

[Virdee]

Warren will they deliver to the UK?

 

[warren_S5]

That's so kind of you to offer, but I've ordered some Philips Crystal Diamond vision h11 bulbs from the bay yesterday morning, and will be gifting off my Osram night breaker plus bulbs! (fifty quid wasted!). You're so generous, but on this occasion I'm going to allow you to extend the offer to another forum member. However if you have second thoughts about your engine cover, MTMs or RS3 grille

Again thank you so much, you're a star!

 

[Paullie]

Warren will they deliver to the UK?

Yes, they do Buddy. $39.13 including delivery to UK. xx

 

[Paullie]

That's so kind of you to offer, but I've ordered some Philips Crystal Diamond vision h11 bulbs from the bay yesterday morning, and will be gifting off my Osram night breaker plus bulbs! (fifty quid wasted!). You're so generous, but on this occasion I'm going to allow you to extend the offer to another forum member. However if you have second thoughts about your engine cover, MTMs or RS3 grille

Again thank you so much, you're a star!

Hehe, no probs Warren! You'll love the Philips bulbs, they are beautiful xx

Right then guys, if anyone else wants these fog LED's, specifically for facelift S3's, please let me know. I also have a set of yellow plasma H11's I imported from the US going for free and also some yellow fog light tint film. Let me know if you fancy any of the above, lol. xx

 

[Virdee]

Bad influence you guys!

Ordered number plate bulbs and a fair few 5w wedge bulbs for ILP

Thanks Paullie/warren for the heads up!

 

[warren_S5]

Warren will they deliver to the UK?

Seems so, and much cheaper than I expected. Will see if there is any import duties to pay, but on an item costing less than $15????? Can't be much.

 

[poli84]

Thanks Paulie.
These look great and I have just ordered a set!

I changed my Fog Lights to a Xenon match Halogen too.
LEDs would have been great but happy with the finished product.
You can see the small blue from the tip of the globe.
Would have ordered your recommendations if I had of seen them prior.