Crystal Headlights from TM Tuning

[anarchycamp]

I was going to get a set of second hand replacement headlights and highbeams for the Mk2 but came across these...

http://www.tmtuning.com/HOME/catalog/product_detail.php?default_product=954

http://www.tmtuning.com/HOME/medienarchiv/bilder/2460_g2-l-108.jpg
http://www.tmtuning.com/HOME/medienarchiv/bilder/2461_g2-l-109.jpg
http://www.tmtuning.com/HOME/medienarchiv/bilder/2462_g2-l-108-109.jpg


First Question....anyone bought these or anything similar and apart from the H4 bulb wire conversion harness, is there anything else to do or be wary of or is it just a plug and play type setup?

Second Question....has anyone bought anything from TM Tuning..they see, fairly reputable from what i have read.

Any other comments welcome ....i know i dont have a choice :D

[rayray086]

Yep, Tim has ordered stuff from TMTuning before. I've emailed them a few times and each reply has been quick, informative and helpful. They're a good bunch of people to deal with. I feel bad for not having bought anything yet j:

Only "downside" I suppose is that since they're a foreign company, shipping will be expensive and shipping time will be long.

[Tim]

yeah ive ordered from them a few times. theyre good trustworthy people. i did have a slight prob with my last order in that some things were missing from the box. i emailed them and they appologised for the inconvenience and are shipping out the extra bits at no extra expense to me. i feel bad about it cos they are gonna lose money ojn the deal.. but well.. i ordered what i ordered.

[syncro]

Won't they be for left hand drive?

[anarchycamp]

Won't they be for left hand drive?

Yeah good point...didnt think of that, not sure if they stock right hand drive, they do claim to be an "International Company" :rolleyes:

For my knowledge, what are the differences between a right/left hand setup for a set of lights like this?

[syncro]

, they do claim to be an "International Company" :rolleyes:


To a yank, that means they deal with Hawaii and Alaska.

Australia, that's next to Germany, right?

[anarchycamp]

To a yank, that means they deal with Hawaii and Alaska.

Australia, that's next to Germany, right?

:D

Point taken!

[rayray086]

To a yank, that means they deal with Hawaii and Alaska.

Australia, that's next to Germany, right?

Haha that seems so true.

TMTuning though is in Germany. Most likely the items are LHD-compatible but give them an email asking if those crystal headlights come in RHD too.

[tommymac]

yer good stuff ;)

[anarchycamp]

Haha that seems so true.

TMTuning though is in Germany. Most likely the items are LHD-compatible but give them an email asking if those crystal headlights come in RHD too.

Yep have sent them an email asking if they have them....am thinking I may as well throw in a set of the crystal foggys as well if all is good. Bloomin' need them if the weather in Sydney keeps this up!!! :o

[static1800]

are these guys good for shipping rates? im looking to get some crystal bumper lights, side blinkers and tail lights.

[anarchycamp]

are these guys good for shipping rates? im looking to get some crystal bumper lights, side blinkers and tail lights.

Looks like it was a flat rate of $49 US to Asia (assume we fit into that one..wasnt an aus option) with about 22 Business days delivery.

So not cheap...but not too bad if you are spending a bit anyway.

[anarchycamp]

This is the response from TM Tuning...

"We dont have any that are RHD specific, but I have seen customers in the UK use the same headlights before as I think on the Mk2's the only difference was the bracket that held the light not the light itself."

What would the difference be on the bracket? The fact that it dips the other way? If thats the case then I can't see it being too much of an issue...?

What do you think?

[syncro]

This is the response from TM Tuning...

"We dont have any that are RHD specific, but I have seen customers in the UK use the same headlights before as I think on the Mk2's the only difference was the bracket that held the light not the light itself."

What would the difference be on the bracket? The fact that it dips the other way? If thats the case then I can't see it being too much of an issue...?

What do you think?

I would stay right away from them. The bracket is different because US headlights are completely different. He probably doesn't know that the UK drives on the left.

[anarchycamp]

From what i can tell, they are in Europe(Germany?), not the US..which suggests there may be a bit more international (not alaska and hawaii) knowledge than we first thought!

[syncro]

From what i can tell, they are in Europe(Germany?), not the US..which suggests there may be a bit more international (not alaska and hawaii) knowledge than we first thought!

It doesn't matter as it doesn't look like they are any good for Australia. The web page gives a US phone number.

[joshyd-mk2gti]

i think their office is in america, but all there stock is in germany.

i bought some headlights from america last year and theres a LHD->RHD latch on the back. i guess it tilts the globe slightly or something. ive never been flashed by cars coming the other way, and they shine out to the left well enough, so it seems to work.

[anarchycamp]

Thanks for feedback guys....looks like it might be ok with an element of risk....will bounce a couple of email off them and see how i go.

Cheers

[rayray086]

Thanks for feedback guys....looks like it might be ok with an element of risk....will bounce a couple of email off them and see how i go.

Cheers

Perhaps try other shops. There are many UK aftermarket sites out there. Here are a few I found from the latest PVW to hit Australia:
www.volkspares.co.uk
www.venommotorsport.com
www.rimstyle.com
www.volksbits.com --> has a wide range of Mk2 crystal headlights advertised, RHD and E4 marked (?).

That's only half of the magazine, but should be more than enough for your search :thumbup:

[anarchycamp]

Awesome...thanks for that rayray!!! :D

[rayray086]

Haha no worries mate; I'm not liable for the possibility of a slimmer wallet though ;)

Edit: I put up one of the links wrongly - www.volksbits.com is the right one!

[syncro]

I'd go the E code pommy ones. Everything should be OK with them.

[anarchycamp]

Haha no worries mate; I'm not liable for the possibility of a slimmer wallet though ;)

Edit: I put up one of the links wrongly - www.volksbits.com is the right one!


Blimey!!!...volksbits is pure porn....what have you done? j:

[syncro]

This is not really applicacable here, but worth reading.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html

[rayray086]

This is not really applicacable here, but worth reading.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html

Interesting read, doesn't seem like retrofitting will be a good idea.... Best, safest and possibly the safest way is to get headlights that were made for HID lighting aye?

[KI11Z]

despite all the good remarks about tmt i had a bulls**t experience with them . . . needless to say i will not be buying from them again . . . and before you ask, what didnt go wrong? the shipping or the parts? try both . . . :?

[philwalter]

Hi, guys. New member from NZ, and 1st post.

Just thought I'd let you know that I've bought a few things off TMT including the crystal lights talked about here, and have nothing but great things to say about them. They've allways been helpfull and parts have arrived in good time.

...anyway here is a pic of the TMT crystals on my MKII if its any help to anyone.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2007/07/golf_03-1.jpg

Cheers

Phil

[Sam O'Neill]

be careful buying these sorts of things. i bought similar lights (cross hairs) for my mk1 and they used a different light bulb (that i could never find!) from the convential H4's the original lights had. also i had to modify that black surround so they would fit the existing holes where the original lights were.

in my experience, all these after market cosmetic parts just aren't worth it. they require so much modification and stuffing about you may as well put the money into going faster or something. but different folks, different strokes so good luck:)

[Peter Jones]

I've been holding back on posting this, but did you guys know that the flange on the globe's body can be changed? I had the horrible "light-bulbs" on my GLD and I wanted to put halogens in to it but of course the flange was different. I removed the flanges and swapped then soldered the old one onto the halogen globe. I had to make sure that the alignment was exactly the same but they work a treat and saved me some $$s


Yep used to do that for my beetle 15 years ago because p45t halogens were impossible to get. At the time KMart were selling (possibly illegaln:) 100/140w p43t s for an absolute song. It's pretty easy to sweat off the old base and solder on a new one if you're careful. Just got to watch the alignment.

These days Narva make the p45t s in any wattage, Repco stock them but you might have to order in the higher wattages.

Pete

[syncro]

I've been using P45t globes since 1972. Always been easy to get in Sydney.

[brackie]

You could have just bought P45t halogens instead.


Yeah, Phill... But I already had the halogens sitting gathering dust on the shelf ;) They came out of a car I sent to the crusher (a Pug....I think). Anyway, I get a buzz out of modifying things rather than going out and buying new.

Your info about which globes were fitted to which cars is very useful. I'm trying to think of a way that we can archive items like that so that they're easily searchable. Watch this space!

[dubstar]

Like Phil, I too have ordered quite a few things from TMTuning, including crystal X-hair headlights. The headlights are good quality, bolt straight to my RHD UK GTI and can be adjusted as required for Warrant of Fitness tests, etc.

They are based in Germany and all emails/calls go straight to Germany (I believe the US ph number makes it easier for them to tap that market).

The shipping was quite cheap (for the amount of stuff ordered) and only took 3 weeks.

They are a good company and considerably cheaper then the UK equivalents.