F
Flintymutt
WC June 21st i think i was told.
T6.1 LED Lights
- Thread starter markab
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- halogen headlights led t6.1
T
toeknee
I have the H7 which is standard on T6.1 Coast. They are absolutely fine for night driving. Even on unlit country lanes (like where I live and I used all winter). I’m sure the LEDs are superior and they look cool. But you won’t ‘need’ them. It’s a very expensive upgrade on the Coast.
markab
As far as I can gather the only changes understood my dealer so far are reduction in alternator size and £75 price increase on LED headlight option. Comes into effect on June 21st.
Perfectos
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Lifetime VIP Member
I have Factory Led‘s on MY18 beach.
I regularly travel in semi rural areas.
Winter travel in the U.K. often means poor light conditions From mid afternoon.
The best way to describe LED headlights on the Cali is WOW.
LED gives a clear crisp true light, right to the edge of the vision field,
spread pattern on dipped enables you to clearly see the side of the road / footpath/ hedge etc with greater clarity vs filament bulbs,
in rural situations this can help you avoid wildlife and potholes etc & IMO is a safety aid.
main beam is very good, clear and true white light.
I had H4’s on a previous van, I was not happy with the quality of light emitted, I used to call it Candle light!
Driving at night was draining as it required more concentration due to the fact that you cannot see ahead of you as clearly As with LEDs.
changing the H4’s Bulbs for massively upgraded bulbs (relatively cheap) did improve the output, but not to my ultimate satisfaction.
not Experienced H7’s on a Cali, but they can only be an improvement on H4’s.
I did not spec LEDs on my Van (Demonstrator), however given the opportunity of hindsight it would be one of the first things I specced on a new Van (through gritted teeth at the option cost).
as has already been said you “won’t need them” but there’s an awful lot of options you don‘t “need“ but are nice to have and may well improve the experience & safety for you and others.
When you go onto water you don’t necessarily need a buoyancy aid, but it’s nice to have for security, particularly if you ever need to use it.
IMO if you don’t drive in winter or at night, you won’t need headlights at all!
on the occasion (even limited occasions), when you do need Headlights you may as well have the best available, if your budget will stretch.
If LED headlights prevent you from having an accident (through better road vision) they will have been a cost effective purchase / upgrade.
No one, who drives, wishes they had worse forward vision when required!
An example: winter last year, early evening, poor failing light I am certain I avoided a potential accident with a Deer on a renowned dual direction local road, where deer roam freely, simply because I could clearly see the Animal, from a considerable distance, in trees moving toward the road, it saw my headlights exposing its position & consequently froze until I passed safely Whilst eying the substantial beast in the woods.
in reality a lot of the decision making process is budget driven and your personal preference (cost vs perceived benefit).
I bet those without LEDs would not refuse them if they were free, VW know that !
Would someone discount a Second hand Cali with LEDs?
not sure the same can de said with H4 (given an option of two vehicles with / without), particularly if the prospective Buyer had experienced H4’s vs LEDs, the latter are increasingly fitted to vehicles & are becoming the standard.
( to confirm, I’m not a fan of speccing for resale, I’m a fan of speccing the van for the initial buyers needs).
IMO: LED headlights are a step forward (unlike some “upgrades“ in vehicle tech) The cost is prohibitive (as an option )for some which is a shame as I see them as a driving aid upgrade.
I wish you well with your prospective purchase and look forward to seeing the spec you settle on.
I regularly travel in semi rural areas.
Winter travel in the U.K. often means poor light conditions From mid afternoon.
The best way to describe LED headlights on the Cali is WOW.
LED gives a clear crisp true light, right to the edge of the vision field,
spread pattern on dipped enables you to clearly see the side of the road / footpath/ hedge etc with greater clarity vs filament bulbs,
in rural situations this can help you avoid wildlife and potholes etc & IMO is a safety aid.
main beam is very good, clear and true white light.
I had H4’s on a previous van, I was not happy with the quality of light emitted, I used to call it Candle light!
Driving at night was draining as it required more concentration due to the fact that you cannot see ahead of you as clearly As with LEDs.
changing the H4’s Bulbs for massively upgraded bulbs (relatively cheap) did improve the output, but not to my ultimate satisfaction.
not Experienced H7’s on a Cali, but they can only be an improvement on H4’s.
I did not spec LEDs on my Van (Demonstrator), however given the opportunity of hindsight it would be one of the first things I specced on a new Van (through gritted teeth at the option cost).
as has already been said you “won’t need them” but there’s an awful lot of options you don‘t “need“ but are nice to have and may well improve the experience & safety for you and others.
When you go onto water you don’t necessarily need a buoyancy aid, but it’s nice to have for security, particularly if you ever need to use it.
IMO if you don’t drive in winter or at night, you won’t need headlights at all!
on the occasion (even limited occasions), when you do need Headlights you may as well have the best available, if your budget will stretch.
If LED headlights prevent you from having an accident (through better road vision) they will have been a cost effective purchase / upgrade.
No one, who drives, wishes they had worse forward vision when required!
An example: winter last year, early evening, poor failing light I am certain I avoided a potential accident with a Deer on a renowned dual direction local road, where deer roam freely, simply because I could clearly see the Animal, from a considerable distance, in trees moving toward the road, it saw my headlights exposing its position & consequently froze until I passed safely Whilst eying the substantial beast in the woods.
in reality a lot of the decision making process is budget driven and your personal preference (cost vs perceived benefit).
I bet those without LEDs would not refuse them if they were free, VW know that !
Would someone discount a Second hand Cali with LEDs?
not sure the same can de said with H4 (given an option of two vehicles with / without), particularly if the prospective Buyer had experienced H4’s vs LEDs, the latter are increasingly fitted to vehicles & are becoming the standard.
( to confirm, I’m not a fan of speccing for resale, I’m a fan of speccing the van for the initial buyers needs).
IMO: LED headlights are a step forward (unlike some “upgrades“ in vehicle tech) The cost is prohibitive (as an option )for some which is a shame as I see them as a driving aid upgrade.
I wish you well with your prospective purchase and look forward to seeing the spec you settle on.
66tim99
Super Poster
Lifetime VIP Member
Smaller alternator is a downgrade then, and LED's standard on Oceans, so nothing positive...except I understand some of the WeConnect functions will become operational again such as the aux heater?
K
kocotte
To my knowledge, now the non-LED lights, at least in the Coast version are what was previously the upgraded double H7 version.
I've used several Californias Coast with the standard lights before and it was always greatly disappointing, when travelling at dusk or in the night. Both highways and outside the city.
Already comparing to rather high quality, and upgraded bulbs, but non-LED installation on my Mondeo from 2014 it was rather poor.
Now the LED-lights in Marco Polo and in T6.1 are just on the opposite spectrum, you basically don't need the high beam ever, they readjust immediately, the light is clean and reliable, and the range is ~2x better comparing to the cars with standard installations.
In fact using the high beam is barely ever an option in Europe, as you're either blinding the other drivers, or pedestrians, or inhabitants in their houses. And using high beam at the highway, even though common, actually should be punishable, and the barriers often have holes or are not high enough to protect drivers on the other side of the road - so to sum up, if you do travel a lot, and driving in the night is often the case, the security that LED lights bring is significant.
If it's just a casual night drive, or mostly city and you rather travel small distances, at slow pace, You'll be fine with the default lights.
BTW. they also look super cool
And as long as I believe that there is some kind of daily lights in T6.1, not having daily LED lights is actually completely unreasonable those days.
I've used several Californias Coast with the standard lights before and it was always greatly disappointing, when travelling at dusk or in the night. Both highways and outside the city.
Already comparing to rather high quality, and upgraded bulbs, but non-LED installation on my Mondeo from 2014 it was rather poor.
Now the LED-lights in Marco Polo and in T6.1 are just on the opposite spectrum, you basically don't need the high beam ever, they readjust immediately, the light is clean and reliable, and the range is ~2x better comparing to the cars with standard installations.
In fact using the high beam is barely ever an option in Europe, as you're either blinding the other drivers, or pedestrians, or inhabitants in their houses. And using high beam at the highway, even though common, actually should be punishable, and the barriers often have holes or are not high enough to protect drivers on the other side of the road - so to sum up, if you do travel a lot, and driving in the night is often the case, the security that LED lights bring is significant.
If it's just a casual night drive, or mostly city and you rather travel small distances, at slow pace, You'll be fine with the default lights.
BTW. they also look super cool
And as long as I believe that there is some kind of daily lights in T6.1, not having daily LED lights is actually completely unreasonable those days.
K
kocotte
Ahh, one thing that I find disappointing comparing to MarcoPolo is that the LED lights in Mercedes are also used to lighten up the turns, yet in T6.1 this is still done with the old-school, 'fog' lights. Mercedes implementation is both better in terms of light strength and much more precise, as they actually follow the steering wheel and and change the angle accordingly, they also spread less light outside the turn, then it's not needed, and can blind someone. In California, it's just simple 'turn on/off', low, weak fog-beam.
P.S. I'm not sure which (H4/H7) installations those T6's I'd driven had installed.
P.S. I'm not sure which (H4/H7) installations those T6's I'd driven had installed.
66tim99
Super Poster
Lifetime VIP Member
Did you find out what the MY22 changes were in the end Kevin?
F
Flintymutt
No but I’ve just spotted the California brochure has been updated as of 8th June. Time to play spot the difference.
andyinluton
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I’ve had a quick read of the June 2021 brochure, the only differences I have spotted are no sliding window available on the sliding door of a coast and actually says 80litre tank not available on a 4motion.
Other than that all the same as previous brochure.
I haven’t checked for price changes.
66tim99
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andyinluton
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Had missed that, have started a new thread just on my2022 changes.
brooodie
Where did you all find this brochure? The brochure page is broken for me (javascript errors):
www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk
Have reported to VW Chat, but I couldn't find an alternative place to download from.
Download a Brochure | VW Vans
Explore our brochures of the models you are interested in and learn more about their dimensions, specifications and interior design. Download a brochure now.
www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk
Have reported to VW Chat, but I couldn't find an alternative place to download from.
66tim99
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brooodie
The page is broken (tried 2 different browsers and mobile), it just gives javascript errors when clicking on 'click to add model'. Does it work for you?
andyinluton
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worked for me on the Mac a minute ago
66tim99
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