alright i did search but still not understanding what will work and what will not or if there is even a difference.

first off i have a 97 prefacelift and im going to go with one pice headlights. i will be using the ecstuning headlight wiring harness to run the new one piece headlights.

ok the question looking for a set from a facelift a4 and found a cheap set from an s4 but it says they are xenon and im not sure if that means theyll work or not. also looking at depos but there are xenons and non xenons so thay do i do... i know a ton of people have done this upgrade but im a bit confused..

 

S4 headlights have factory HIDs. They'll work fine using those harnesses. If you get xenon Depos, they include the HIDs as well. If you get halogen Depos, you'll have to buy HIDs to install. All will work in your car and all should plug and play with the ECS harnesses.

 

Difference I found....Xenon bulb $90
Halogen Bulb-$20

the Xenon bulb has a strip of tungsten which i believe where the blue tint comes from

I had a headlight out when i bought the car, sure enough i have the Xenon Bulbs so i replaced the out lamp with a Xenon. Yeah more money but I figured what the hell

 

Ok I got you now. You don't have xenon bulbs. Xenon is synonymous with HID. Those bulbs you're talking about are halogens with a small xenon gas component. They're crap. Get real HIDs for visibility. Get whatever headlights you want and if they have standard bulbs, order an HID kit from Krauto Parts. Real HIDs have a power ballast that drives the required voltage to fire them and the varying colors are determined by the sodium content in the bulbs. For best visibility, stick with 4300, 5000, or 6000k. Higher than that is too blue and visibility drops off dramatically.

 

so im better off just buying the xenon pair of lights, because i talked to some one else and they told me that since i was prefacelift i could not run xenon...

can you point me towards best place from some clear corners (depo ecodes).

 

You're being guided by misinformed people. You can run HIDs in anything. But to simplify things, yes, get the S4 lights with integrated HIDs and the ECS harnesses, and run with it.

 

sweet! haha ill see if he still has them around.
coils, skidplate and muffler are going on this weekend so hopefully the headlights come after

 

Edit: he no longer has them...
If i order ecs harness, theses: Audi B5 A4 Quattro 1.8T > Lighting > Headlights > ES#261515 Headlight Housings - Pair - 1 Piece Projector - HXAUA4B5HL-1C

what else do i need bulbs.. and that it..?

 

Hey OP just like Devil said you can run HIDs in pretty much everything. Its much better to run them in a projector housing rather then reflective. I used to own 97 A4 preface and i hated reflective housings so i bought projectors and then installed HID kit in them with out any issues. If I were you I would not go with OEM HID kit as it gets VERY expensive to buy OEM bulbs and OEM ballasts $300+ just for the parts. Search ebay for DEPO Audi B5 A4 and you should be good. I also remember that when converting from preface to facelift on piece headlight there is little bit of trimming required of the fender or something. I would look into that as well before buying one piece.
If you need any help with HID components feel free to PM me.

Good luck


EDIT: 96-99.5 A4's will need wiring harness modifications & minor fender trimming. See part # A4EUROWIRINGKIT for our ECS wiring harness

 

k found a nice set of xenon ecodes come complete with everything, BUT they are running 8k or 10k bulbs ive heard these can be a pain for visibility would i be able to just swap in some 6k or does that require no internals?

Sorry but i know nothing on headlights

Small update the standard nightlights are 35w 8or 10k and the brights are the stock s4 brights.. is this an issue.