Hi folks,

Recently picked up a MK8 ST3 (3 door) and have a few questions:

1). I would like to upgrade the bulbs so they match the color of the DRL's. I'm sure many of you have done this......best option to go for please. I would also like to upgrade the lower lights to match.

2). My car does not have the B&O sound system, therefore does not have the sub. Should there be a spare wheel in its place from the factory?

IIRC, spare wheels are only included when specced, so should be there if it was ordered as an option, and wasn’t removed by the previous owner / dealership.

It should come with the compressor and the tyre gunk. No new car my family have ordered in the past 7+ years has come with a spare wheel unless it was ordered as an option.

 

1). I would like to upgrade the bulbs so they match the color of the DRL's. I'm sure many of you have done this......best option to go for please. I would also like to upgrade the lower lights to match.



2). My car does not have the B&O sound system, therefore does not have the sub. Should there be a spare wheel in its place from the factory?

1) Changing headlights from traditional bulbs to LEDs will be an MOT fail. However, there might be appropriate temperature bulbs in the traditional format.
2) Spare wheels were an optional extra, not standard, so it depends if it was specced.

 

1). I would like to upgrade the bulbs so they match the color of the DRL's. I'm sure many of you have done this......best option to go for please. I would also like to upgrade the lower lights to match.

I changed my headlight bulbs to Osram Night Breaker. This was mainly to improve night time performance (which it does) but they do give off a whiter light than standard.

 

Can l ask a couple of questions.
Which version of the night breaker did you fit?
Which type / model / spec do we require ?
Did you replace just dip or main beam as well?
Do the headlights have to be removed to replace the bulbs ?

 

As @Torque points out, the lights will fail its eventual MOT's if they are the wrong lux for the car. New rules apparently.

On the spare, the advice given so far is spot on, 'no speccy no getty' 😉

If you are going to get one make sure you get the 15" space saver... not the standard 14" Fiesta space saver which my dealership sold me, it will not clear the bigger brakes on our cars.

The correct specification is on the black 'plate' on your B pillar 👍

As well as the jack and tow-eye kit you'll also need the moulded 'doughnut' that brings the whole assembly up to floor height in the boot. Without it your boot will have a saggy bottom 😬

...which does of course beg the obvious question... if you've got no spare wheel or woofer, what is in there now?, and if the answer is nothing how come you haven't already got a saggy bottom? 🤔

 

As @Torque points out, the lights will fail its eventual MOT's if they are the wrong lux for the car. New rules apparently.

Changing to LEDs would be an MOT failure (if the examiner spots it), as would HIDs I think, but I don't believe there are any rules against changing to a standard halogen bulb with a higher light output (ie higher lux level). Has this changed?
The main drawback with bulbs like the Night Breaker is that because they burn brighter for the same wattage, then the filament tends to not last as long. So I always keep the old bulbs as handy spares!

Cheers,
MarkP

 

I gave up trying to replace the bulbs on my ST2.

 

Thanks guys!

 

Hi, I’ve just put 2 Phillips Racing Vision GT200 H7 in my 2019 St3 dipped beam and wow what a difference compared to the original ones .I had to remove the headlights which I just followed on YouTube fairly easy.

 

Yeah, the dipped beam bulbs are the ones higher up and toward the outside of the car, so access may be more difficult than main beam. I don't know, I only did main beam on mine, but you can definitely do the mains without removing the headlight.

 

Hi folks,

Recently picked up a MK8 ST3 (3 door) and have a few questions:

1). I would like to upgrade the bulbs so they match the color of the DRL's. I'm sure many of you have done this......best option to go for please. I would also like to upgrade the lower lights to match.

2). My car does not have the B&O sound system, therefore does not have the sub. Should there be a spare wheel in its place from the factory?

Hi @Pistolpete I bought the LED's to put in the fog lights and then my order was changed in December to the 8.5 model, which of course doesn't have fog lights. They cost just under £50 and I would be happy for you to have these for £40 Incl. Postage if you are interested. Let me know if you are interested👍🏻

Forgot to add I am fairly sure that the Spare wheel is a £150 extra???

 

Link to the auto express group test for anyone interested -

Bulb group test

 

Further to my post earlier in the thread l have now managed to adjust my dip beam up a fair bit from where it was originally set.
Its a revelation as l can actually see further than about 10 yards in the dark now.
l may still look at some brighter bulbs for dip beam though.
From the adjusters it was nearly as low as it could go.
l have had a couple of short night drives and l am not blinding anyone with it as no one has flashed me and it’s definitely not too high when following another vehicle from any distance.