VXOC Astra-J/GTC - Best drl options j and gtc.

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There are some good and some bad options out there for the DRL bulbs
i will cover the best options here.

....The Standard DRL bulbs.....

As you will all know are yellow and Dull
and not really up to the job of being a DRL
what more can i say apart from they fit good and that is about it.
W21/5W (580).

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.....PROLARG/MTEC......

The first white looking bulb and cheapest option here
are the cheap Prolarg or MTEC DRL bulbs you find on ebay etc
they go by many names but all are around the Â£7.99 to Â£12.00 range.

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These are the cheapest option out there
and you do get a nice white light that are also error free
but the down side is they don't fit well at all
and they have been know to fall out of the DRL holder and in to headlight
and it is a bumper off and headlight out job to get the bulb back out
so if you do go for this option be warned
You get what you pay for.

......PIAA..........

By far the best option here is the PIAA DRL BULBS
There are two types the standard Blue PIAA DRL,S.

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And then the more expensive mirror PIAA DRL,S.

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the PIAA are a bit brighter than the cheep Prolarg DRL,s
and have a bit more wattage but this has no ill effects at all (580) T20 27/8W.
and they are more expensive starting at around Â£20 for the standard Blue PIAA DRL,s
and around Â£30 for the mirror PIAA DRL.s they also are error free.

The only real difference is that the mirror PIAA DRL bulb does not look as blue in the headlight
when you look at it as it has a mirrored finish so the blue bulb does not stand out as much.
The fit of the PIAA is perfect and they hold in the DRL holder as well as the standard bulb
and they will not fall out of the holder like the cheaper eBay DRL,S tend to do
They are well worth the extra money for this reason.

......Next LED DRL,s....

If you have an Astra GTC or VXR then you have the option of the LED DRLS
and they will be error free as the DRL on the GTC and VXR are not on the bulb check
so just put the LED in the holder and job done.

But they only work with out errors in the GTC and VXR.

The Astra J 5 door will get error codes from the LED DRL,S unless load resisters are added to cancel the errors
check the how to section for further info on this under Astra j LED DRL.

http://www.vxoc.org.uk/forum/Thread-HOW-...a-J-5-door

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They are by far the brightest option here brighter than the PIAA
they also fit very well in the bulb holder
and go for around Â£20 to Â£30 for a good set
but you must find a set that will dim down and not all LED bulbs will do this you need a W21/5W 5050 7443 LED
i recommend the LED DRL,s from HIDS DIRECT
for both the Astra GTC and VXR and the Astra j as they will Dim down for side light mode
and they are very very white with a slight tint of blue.

http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/r580-w21-5w...air-white/

...FACTORY.LED....

Then there is the factory LED DRL option
they come with AFL and LED DRL halogen headlights
if you go down this wrought then the LED DRL halogens headlights are needed
but you must also fit the factory LED ballasts to cancel errors
also if these are not fitted there is a real risk of fire
but as yet we dont have a how to on this and this will also be the most expensive option here

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All the above options are much brighter and whiter than the standard yellow factory DRL,S
and i prefer the LED DRL,s myself but the PIAA are also very good.

if you have any info or need any help with fitting DRL,S or any other bulb
then check the lighting how to section out for more info etc.

http://www.vxoc.org.uk/forum/Forum-Lighting-How-to-s

Or just post your question here in this thread
and it should get answered. Thumbs

tucpal Wrote:the first and cheapest option is the cheap prolarg DRL bulbs you find on ebay
for around Â£7.99

these are the cheapest option and you do get a nice white light
but the down side is they don't fit well at all
and have been know to fall out of the holder in to head light
so if you do go for this option be warned

I've fitted these to 62 plate and I've not had a problem they fit tight and haven't fallen out.

I did fit them in a 60 plate and the fitment was lose, I made the connection tight by using a screw driver to bend the connectors in in the housing, and that solved the problem.

I have the LED DRL in my GTC, and they look stunning, but they do make the main lights look a bit yellow. Not so bad at night, they just seem to all merge together!

Rusty2009 Wrote:I've fitted these to 62 plate and I've not had a problem they fit tight and haven't fallen out.

I did fit them in a 60 plate and the fitment was lose, I made the connection tight by using a screw driver to bend the connectors in in the housing, and that solved the problem.

was the 60 plate mine by any chance mate lol.... is that why i get the warning on the dash lol Wink

Lewis6317 Wrote:was the 60 plate mine by any chance mate lol.... is that why i get the warning on the dash lol

Yes it was yours mate, I think they have changed something from the pre-facelift to the facelift as I don't get any errors yet almost everyone with pre-facelift gets errors.

I would recommend the mtec ones from hids direct, have used them in all 3 of my astra js, bright white, cheap, no errors, spot on!

Good thread. Here's the difference between the OEM DRL to the blue PIAA one:

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Also, I think even those make the headlights look yellowish, not just LED DRLs (don't know if you can see in this picture):

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as well as the PIAA DRL i upgraded the head lights to phillips extreme vision h7 bulbs
they match the PIAA very nicely and are much brighter and whiter than the standard bulbs.

Here are a few pictures of my light set up

PIAA DRL in DRL mode.

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PIAA DRL in side light mode.

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PIAA DRL AND PHILLIPS extreme vision H7 main lights

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Would highly recommend the PIAA's...I've fitted the blue ones and to be honest you cant really see the blue unless you are looking for it...one of lads at work has fitted the cheaper bulbs into a 62plate corsa and at the side of mine they are not as white or any where near as bright...mine have been fitted for nearly 6months with no issues...one tip I would give to anyone changing the DRL bulbs is buy some 45 deg long nose pliers from Ebay for about Â£4.00, job done in 5mins flat compared to half hour a side, a lot of swearing and scraped knuckles

I have updated and added more info etc to the above post on the DRL,S.
just to bring it a bit more up to date. Smile

To share some pictures

Before I fitted factory LED DRL headlamps I tried with China LEDs.
Link:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/7443-7440...7781abd522

LED vs. Halogen
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SideLight
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(19:th-Feb-2016, 07:23:48)Jerry Wrote: [ -> ]To share some pictures

Before I fitted factory LED DRL headlamps I tried with China LEDs.
Link:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/7443-7440...7781abd522

LED vs. Halogen

SideLight

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Did they dim when you turned on the sidelights?

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Yes, but in my opinion not enough.
With main beam they are still to bright. I think.
Smile

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You can estimate yourself.
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(19:th-Feb-2016, 07:23:48)Jerry Wrote: [ -> ]To share some pictures

Before I fitted factory LED DRL headlamps I tried with China LEDs.
Link:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/7443-7440...7781abd522

LED vs. Halogen

SideLight

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So did you fit the factory headlight units with LED as standard? Did you not get any errors, and did you have to install the factory ballasts?

(19:th-Feb-2016, 08:12:14)Jerry Wrote: [ -> ]Yes, but in my opinion not enough.
With main beam they are still to bright. I think.

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You can estimate yourself.

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Brighter than the headlight!

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(19:th-Feb-2016, 08:30:51)Nemo Wrote: [ -> ]
(19:th-Feb-2016, 07:23:48)Jerry Wrote: [ -> ]To share some pictures

Before I fitted factory LED DRL headlamps I tried with China LEDs.
Link:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/7443-7440...7781abd522

LED vs. Halogen

SideLight

Poslano z uporabo Tapatalk

So did you fit the factory headlight units with LED as standard? Did you not get any errors, and did you have to install the factory ballasts?

The ballast is built-in the headlamp no problems with that.
Currently I added load resistors but searching for better solution.

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At least you've got the factory headlights though

I bought some cheap drl bulbs off eBay and fitted them but now I get the error message about checking bulbs ? If I buy the PIAA ones will that solve the problem , also will they fit a 60 plate Astra j properly because the cheap ones were a poor fit ? Thanks in advance

should do no problems

For almost a year I use bulbs 5x Led Cree. On the left and on the right Cree light bulb with a blue filter similar to PIAA.
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I have fitted some LED bulbs in my astra J as posted on another forum and are working error free without load resistors but don't dim down in sidelight mode. Even so, looking promising with no errors, hopefully some dimmable ones will be found soon.

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(22:nd-Mar-2016, 08:57:59)bannan Wrote: [ -> ]I have fitted some LED bulbs in my astra J as posted on another forum and are working error free without load resistors but don't dim down in sidelight mode. Even so, looking promising with no errors, hopefully some dimmable ones will be found soon.

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They aren't MOT passable if they don't dim when you put them into sidelight mode

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I know. That's the problem unfortunately. Hoping to find some others that do dim but don't flag up a check bulb message. I played about with the pins and managed to get them to dim but can't remember if it brought up a message.

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Courtesy of info gained from this thread, just put these in our car... W21/5W T20 DRL bulbs WHITE Polarg M13 £5.95 inc free delivery for two on eBay

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Nice and white in the day, gone are dull yellow, and at night they could probably work as headlights lol.

are these the right chrome ones? [Image: Screenshot_20160629-111026_zpsqxf9d5bf.png~original]

(13:th-Apr-2016, 23:01:41)stigeye Wrote: [ -> ]Courtesy of info gained from this thread, just put these in our car... W21/5W T20 DRL bulbs WHITE Polarg M13 £5.95 inc free delivery for two on eBay

Nice and white in the day, gone are dull yellow, and at night they could probably work as headlights lol.

Hey dude by any chance you know which ones you got for this? And how was the reliability?
Cheers connah

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Hi buddy.... would these fit a 13 plate q.4 turbo Sri? I'm picking it up Friday!!

I got some LED DRL bulbs from Hids direct and they work great and dull down for sidelights and when headlights are on!

(8:th-Oct-2017, 15:47:00)mark_b_uk Wrote: [ -> ]I got some LED DRL bulbs from Hids direct and they work great and dull down for sidelights and when headlights are on!

Just been reading some of the reviews for HID Direct and a lot of them say terrible company to deal with.

Recently bought these:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=...2022372933

Can’t fault them

I have a 2016 GTC the DRL are yellow in colour and as stated a bit pathetic, so if I am reading it right I'm able to just straight swap for LED bulbs no drilling no resistors etc. Is this the case sorry for the noobish question.

Simon

A year ago I installed Osram LED W21 / 5W LEDriving 6000K. 6-year warranty and zero problems so far.

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(13:th-Jul-2018, 10:04:48)janpat1970 Wrote: [ -> ]A year ago I installed Osram LED W21 / 5W LEDriving 6000K. 6-year warranty and zero problems so far.

Just ordered these hope they look as good as yours!

(17:th-Jul-2018, 17:26:21)simsgtc Wrote: [ -> ]
(13:th-Jul-2018, 10:04:48)janpat1970 Wrote: [ -> ]A year ago I installed Osram LED W21 / 5W LEDriving 6000K. 6-year warranty and zero problems so far.

Just ordered these hope they look as good as yours!

Do you get any error messages with these LED? I have tried others before and get constant messages. I have a Vauxhall Astra J

(17:th-Jul-2018, 17:26:21)simsgtc Wrote: [ -> ]
(13:th-Jul-2018, 10:04:48)janpat1970 Wrote: [ -> ]A year ago I installed Osram LED W21 / 5W LEDriving 6000K. 6-year warranty and zero problems so far.

Just ordered these hope they look as good as yours!

any link? Can only find ones with the 2 level brightness not 3

(2:nd-Aug-2018, 11:31:07)F3NTN Wrote: [ -> ]
(17:th-Jul-2018, 17:26:21)simsgtc Wrote: [ -> ]
(13:th-Jul-2018, 10:04:48)janpat1970 Wrote: [ -> ]A year ago I installed Osram LED W21 / 5W LEDriving 6000K. 6-year warranty and zero problems so far.

Just ordered these hope they look as good as yours!

any link? Can only find ones with the 2 level brightness not 3

I’ve found these on Amazon, but they have a “d” at the end of the code instead of “q”.
Just be aware that there are a lot of Osram fakes around.

Osram 7905CW 02B Premium Retrofit LED Light, Set of 2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LXZJEG1/r...yBb8C5A964
I’ve just bought these from Lush Lighting City.
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