Mystic Rado

It's not ideal cos the refectors are designed to work with halogen bulbs that put the light source in a certain place and orientation. If the HID kit does the same, you may get reasonable results, if it doesn't, you'll get a crap beam pattern and probably blind oncoming traffic as well. There are so many different kits out there, that you can't really tell what it'll be like. Also, I think the Corrado headlight design is more fussy than, say, a simple, round headlight like a Mark 2 Golf - the kit I had was rubbish in the 'rado but fine in the GTi. Projectors are definitely the better option and are much more likely to give a clean beam pattern and sharp cut-off. I fitted a self-made uprated loom and upgraded bulbs to my standard lights and I'm very happy with the results.

Yeah, you're right it is, you can see the standard, UK-type headlight plugs. The blue thing mates with the US-spec headlight plug to provide the trigger signal for the relays, so that's the bit you'd have to work around. I vaguely remember e-mailing the guy a while back, but I don't think he ever got back to me. Looking at his site though, he seems to know what he's doing and be very thorough.

On the US loom front, if you did want to get one of his looms - and they look much better made than anything I've seen recently commercially available over here - you'd need the Euro lights version as their stock headlights are different to ours and have different connectors. The connector in the pics is designed to plug and play with the headlight connector for the US-spec light, if you fitted it to a UK Corrado, you'd need to either hardwire it into the existing loom or - as suggested above - do some jiggery pokery with different connectors. If you have a look at some of the vehicle wiring sites, you can buy much neater, more weatherproof multi-pin connectors than either spades or bullets. I'd look at fitting some of those rather than bullets or spades. I don't know which of those is better.

I spent a lot of time trying to track down a suitable connector, but as far as I could see, it simply doesn't exist. I simply cut and soldered in the new loom. If you want to make it a reversible mod, then I think the way to do it would be to cut the original plug off, fit a new waterproof connector to the cut wires, then fit a matching connector to the new loom and connect. Finally fit the same connector to the cut-off plug, so if you really want to, you can simply unplug the new loom and plug the old one in. It would be a hassle to do, but would be reversible. Stick the old plugs and wiring in the glovebox. I'm not sure what the guy who was going to make looms was going to do. I think he ran into the same issues, but I'm not sure how he solved them. Or if he did...

Not Kev, but I know the answer :) You can buy them from VAG dealers, if you do a search, the part number's actually on here somewhere, you want the plugs themselves and also a couple of pre-terminated wires for each one, which are listed on the same post - sorry, don't have a note of it anywhere obvious, but it's definitely on the forum, er, found it: From VW: 2 x 357 941 165 (water proof plugs) 4 x 000 979 407 - 6mm preterminated leads Hope that helps. I used silicone sealant around the wires to keep it all watertight btw.

I hope so because I really wanted to fit HID's but if your saying they don't shed the light well then I definately don't want to fit them as I don't wan't to be one of those inconsiderate ******* that blind people coming the other way. Phat and Coxylaad have both fitted Xenons and post up pics of the cut off, both of which seem fine though :shrug: I think it's a bit random, depends on the kit you have and how well it works with your headlights. I just reached a point where I couldn't be arsed with messing around with them any more. It may be that taking the end cap off the HID bixenon bulbs I had and relying on the shield in the headlight to minimise the glare might work better and I might even try it some time, but to be honest, the lights are fine now as is, so I'm not sure I can be fussed. I'm more likely to spend the time fitting projectors into some spare headlights. Then again, I'd rather go mountain biking :-) Might be worth asking Coxylaad or Phat exactly which kit they used, at least then you have a good starting point.

Yeah, I'm using the Philips Rally, bear in mind you need an uprated loom or you risk frying your wiring, switchgear etc, you might need to uprate the fuses in the loom as well. On the HID front, it's not as simple as people like to thing. Reflector headlights are designed to work with a specific halogen bulb and a light source in an exact position generated by a filament. HIDs work completely differently, they strike an arc across gas to produce light often in a different plane to a halogen filament, so to work acceptably they have to be in the exact same spot and in the same orientation as the halogen bulb they replace. So that's kind of finnicky anyway. They're also producing a lot more light, so having a sharp cut-off is important. Most OE HIDs use projectors designed specifically for HID. Halogen projectors can also give okay results. I also reckon the Corrado headlight design isn't fantastic. The shield that sits in front of the bulb didn't seem to work well with the particular design of HID bi-xenon bulb I had, which were the HIDS4U.co.uk bi-xenon ones. Bottom line is that I had a crap beam pattern. It may be that some HID kits work better, I've never actually seen anyone post a Corrado HID beam shot on this forum though. So anyway, that's my take on it. The same kit worked much better in the round headlights on my Mark 2 GiT with a sharp cut-off btw. It may be with the right HID kit you can get acceptable results, but unless I'd seen an identical kit in action in a Corrado, I'd be wary. And then there's all the dubious legality bit as well...

The ones in my Mk 2 have lasted for ever, or at least two to three years of regular driving - 100/80 H4s and 100 H3s. I don't get flashed and I've never been pulled for them, they've also been through MoTs not problema, both on the Golf and the Corrado. They seem to last fine and Philips make good bulbs. I was concerned about annoying oncoming traffic when I first fitted them, but with just 80 on dip, it doesn't seem to be an issue as long as your alignment is right. They're still putting out less lumens than factory-fitted HIDs and at least they're not at eyeline level, like those bloody Landrover Discoverys. I was a lot less happy when I briefly had an HID kit fitted. That gave an appalling beam pattern in the Corrado and while it was a lot better in the round headights on the Golf, with a really clean cut-off, the main beam performance sucked and I felt like I was driving around with a big sign saying 'nick me' on my windscreen. I'd take a loomed and high-wattage bulbed Corrado over an HID kit every time :-) I do have some proper HID projectors and ballasts sitting waiting to be housed in a spare set of headlight housings, but I've never got round to doing anything with them, partly because I can see where I'm going anyway and I kind of like the stock look.

The PIAA H4s appear to cost 66 quid plus VAT each, that's about £150 for two. You could probably buy some Angel Eyes for not that much more. Plus if you do buy InPros or similar, they use H7s, so the H4s will be useless to you. Autoexpress tested PIAA bulbs and said this: 'If you’d spent the better part of £50 on these, you’d be disappointed. Despite claims of producing 110/100W instead of the standard 60/55W, we saw little sign of it in the tunnel. And to make matters worse, one of the samples created too much glare.' H4 bulb test. They did another test last month and the Philips X-treme 80 plus won - here. If you haven't stuck some new standard or uprated bulbs in already, give it a try, the Halfords ones sound like a good buy at the moment and at BOGOF you could buy six of them or the Philips X-treme for the price of a single PIAA. Honest mate, I'm running Philips 100/80 Rally bulbs with an uprated loom and they are ace - like these. Anyway, good luck sorting it out, bad lights are crap.

Yep, I'm running much the same set-up as David, and the same on my Mark 2 GiT - more than enough light to see exactly where you're going on dip and massive illumination on mains. Rallyrado, if you're running a decent uprated loom and still have poor lights, I'd check that the reflectors are still reflective - they die with age - and, if you've not already swapped the bulbs, do it. Halogen bulbs deteriorate with age too, so if you've never changed the bulbs, they could be ancient, like five years old or something. Those PIAA bulbs are stupidly expensive, either go for the Philips +80 things, or if you're sure your loom is up to it, buy some Philips Rally high wattage ones on the web.

The fogs and high beam spot are both H3 in standard Corrado headlights, the dip/main one is H4, so you'll need four H3s and a pair of H4s. Relaying them makes a massive difference btw, with the uprated bulbs, you won't believe how much better things are :-)

The lights are adjustable up and down and side to side - I can't remember which adjuster is which, but if you're looking at the back of the headlight housing, there's one at the bottom corner at the high beam end of the casing and one on the top corner of the dip beam (H4) end. They're both adjustable with a fat crosshead screwdriver, from above, with the headlights in place, sorry, can't remember which way they turn, but it should be fairly easy to work it out. I found an explanation of the procedure for aiming here, it's a US site, but I think the procedure is applicable over here too in principle. Also, if you look on this page about half way down, there's a link to a downloadable pdf which is quite thorough. Basically it's a question of finding somewhere flat with a wall or garage door you can use for alignment and adjusting them so they're within certain tolerances.

HIDs draw a lot of power on initial start-up, then consume less than halogens while running. One thing to be aware of is that if your original loom is very tired, you may not have enough ooomph to fire the HIDs up reliably in which case you might have to fit an uprated loom anyway. With mine, I found that they would come on with the engine running, but with the ignition off, the voltage drop between lights and battery was enough that only one would actually fire up.

Cheers fellas, will pop it out tomorrow and take a look.

Aye oop guys, I have a problem with the fuse on the heater blower circuit blowing, so I don't have any blower at all. The fuse is, 25A or 30A, forgotten which, so it's pretty clear that there's more than just a poxy little air blower on the circuit. I've noticed that the auxiliary water pump doesn't seem to run on now, so I'm guessing that's not entirely coincidental. Does anyone know what other electrical bits are on the same circuit and if there's anything common I should look out for bar the obvious chafed wiring etc. If I put a new fuse in, it blows instantly btw. Ta for any input :D

If you do a search, it's been covered quite a lot. My personal experience was that an HID aftermarket kit worked really badly with the standard Corrado headlight. Generally the InPro-type aftermarket lights with projectors already fitted seem to work much better than reflector-types like the standard 'rado lights. If what you want is better light with standard headlights, you're better off fitting an uprated wiring loom plus some of the top-end 80% plus bulb from Philips or Osram ime anyway...

The weird booming reverberation you get with the sun roof open but the windows closed - that's assuming your self-destructing sun roof actually opens in the first place. The headlights, obviously and the related self-destruct headlight switch issue. The VR6 cooling system as time gets on and the heat of the engine toasts the plastic bits. The shonky rubber mount for the auxiliary cooling pump. The annoying perishing roof strips that accomplish, erm, what exactly? The throw on the standard gear shift - like rowing a canoe across the Channel. The way you have to drive with your windows down at all times so you can listen to the VR6 exhaust note bouncing back off the dry stone walls in the Peak District :) I guess if all that really, really gets to you, then you probably should have bought a Toyota instead :wink:

I got a couple of new ones off eBay for about 40 quid each, I think they might have been reconditioned in reality, but effectively new. Just had a look and if you're quick, here's one for you...

yeah bought one off him too. However, last eve i went outside to find the headlights on. The relays look to have got a bit of water in them and now i either have sidelights using switch but no headlights Or no switch and headlights on. A bit of a mess with the relays does make them go out. Anyone know where i can get replacement relays from? You should be able to get them from pretty much any vehicle electrical supplier or car accessory place, just take one of the old ones with you, make sure the numbers by the terminals match and they have the same rating - probably 30A. I'm going to case mine in a plastic box, but as a quick and easy solution, just poly bag the relays to make them less prone to getting soaked.

What people are saying about the relative light output is 100 per-cent right. I run a Mark 2 GTi as well as my VR6 and trust me, the lights as standard are no better. It's all about voltage drop between battery and lights, they both have the same issues and the same answer, which is to run an uprated loom. If you do that and swap the bulbs out either for either uprated ones like the Philips 80% brighter ones or the Hella alternatives or illegal high watt rally bulbs, it'll make a massive difference. If you do the latter you also need to uprate the fuses to suit and beware scorched reflectors. I've done that to both the Golf and the 'rado and it makes a huge difference. The lights on both are now crazy bright - about the same level - and more than up to hammering along Peak District twisties at night. One other thing, personally I wouldn't put some cheap HID conversion kit in the standard Corrado headlights. I tried it and the light pattern was absolutely bloody awful. The same kit actually worked pretty well in the Golf with round headlights, but clearly didn't like the design of the 'rado lights. They were also pants on main beam and the mix of HID light and halogen spots was weird and quite nasty to drive with. I'd simply go with the uprated loom and uprated bulbs solution, headlight bulbs age and lose efficiency, if you haven't changed yours, they could be well past it and been in there for five years or something. As far as aesthetics go. It sounds awful. If you want rounded lights, InPros give you a bit of that and are more likely to work with an HID kit if you want to go that way. HIDs generally are designed to work with projectors rather than reflector headlights, so while a halogen projector won't be perfect with an HID kit, it's likely to be a lot better than with reflectors. That's my take on it anyway after mucho wallying around with headlights :? I actually have some Bosch HID projectors / HID ballasts and bulbs, brand new ones, sitting under the stairs. I was going to retrofit them into the 'rado lights, but to be honest, the uprated halogens are so good, that I don't really see the point, though I might do it one day anyway just to see if I can :D

My take is that normally I simply don't bother. I used to ride motorcycles a lot and quite aggressively in traffic and it makes you more aware of the sheer randomness of some people's driving, there's no guarantee that the numpty in the outside lane isn't going to swing left into you without looking or indicating. Seen it happen, don't want to be there when it does. For the sake of getting home a few minutes later, I'd rather let them get on with it. When I was biking I was up the inside, the middle, filtering at 60mph plus etc, but in the car, I don't see the point. Leave 'em to the tail-gating, headlight-flashing loonies is what I say :? I must be getting old...

It's likely a relay, particularly if both dips are on the same circuit, but don't write off the possibility that the two dips have failed simultaneously and you just need new bulbs. It's happened to me before now. Not saying it is that mind, but don't dismiss the possibility just because it's both bulbs and the high beams work - it's usual for either the dip or high beam filament in an H4 to fail leaving the light working fine on the other setting.

Ah interesting. I've seen these, but do they really make that much of a difference? I think so. The standard gear shift did my head in, just so much travel in every direction. Fitted one of the Dieselgeek modified ones and it's just so much nicer front and back and side to side, really neat, short, tight movements. I've got a quick shift on my Mark 2 as well, so that probably made the standard rado shift feel worse, in comparison. I think it's a great mod and one you appreciate whenever you drive the car. Steer clear of the B&M ones though, they seem to get a really bad press on here, modified standard seems to be the way to go.

Quickshift.

Picked up my VR from the garage with new rear beam bushes, wishbones plus bushes and ball joints - well yesterday it was now - plus properly bled brakes after fitting Mk 4 rear calipers and had a big smile on my face ever since. The slight fuzziness at the edge of the steering is gone, feels more direct, more precise and just more, er, 'right'. Latest step in an evolution from soggy to sweet - 1. Replaced knackered Konis and Eibachs with H&Rs, plus new drop links. 2. Neuspeed rear anti-roll bar. 3. New bushes as above. Before my Mark 2 GTi always felt sharper, but harsher, now the 'rado's just as precise but a lot less harsh - OE bushes v poly bushes. Now it's all dusty though and needs a wash, bloody summer eh :)