Product Review: GoWesty 7" Round LED Headlight Conversion for Vanagon

[@rextilian]

Finally some confident night driving! Good work getting it together, I admire your perseverance.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Thanks, the lights make such an improvement when we have to drive at night. nate

[@mep1624]

Excellent review and install. Those headlights are a huge upgrade. Really like the red pin stripe. I had one of the White Golf GTIs with the red stripe and it looks awesome on your Westy! I appreciate your honest assessment of these parts.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Thanks! Yeah they are a great upgrade, already one of our favorites. Once I saw that grille on I knew I had to get that GTI stripe! Nate

[@DanTheManIOM]

How ? did you mask and paint it ??? How ?? I know what you are thinking, Dan get off your ass and get SOMETHING running, maybe the 6 year project known as the 85... then worry about headlights and red stripe....or just have a Red Stripe from Jamaica now with some Plantins (sp)....

[@crew0791]

@@ThatBaldwinLife what did you use for the red stripe?

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

It is 1/8" red pinstripe tape I picked up from eBay

[@crew0791]

@@ThatBaldwinLife Classy! Great work. Loving the van upgrade / maintenance videos.

[@stevebrainard6082]

The round headlights look awesome!!! Great job!

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Thanks!! 👍🏻

[@CaptainRorke]

Thank you for another helpful video. Two years ago, I installed the 7” Go Westy LED’s in a South African grill. The new set up has pros and cons. Pros - Brightens everything that is near. This is best for driving at slower speeds. Lower power usage. Reliable (so far anyway. Good reputation though) Cons - Very fractured pattern. Yours seems a little better than mine. I have spent multiple nights against brick walls and garage doors trying to optimize. Damn. I just can’t get them to be smooth as advertised. I get brighted often by oncoming traffic. Mine are set to the maximum legal level. Yes, I accounted for the Westy loaded sag. If I aim lower, I can’t see well into the distance. Everything is so bright up close that objects illuminated in the distance can not compete. This really really comes into play with the reflection off rain and snow. Awful. Regarding snow, these do not generate any heat like your old bulbs. Snow will build up. (By shear luck, I kept my halogen inners on the SA grill.) Last, the ultra white light is tolerable. But the old yellow light is a comfortable, classic experience that is generally appreciated by fuddyduddies who wrench on these 35 year old machines.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Great comment, and I agree completely with what you said. I am not in love with the sharp cutoff of the LED and do prefer the softer pattern of the halogen type lights. I was able to get them aimed enough to see down the road without getting flashed (yet). The snow build up is real and we will see how much of an issue that is for us long term. I have found my eye less fatigued from the whiter light mostly due to me not straining to see! :) I'm not too far behind you in wrenching years on these old VW's, this will be my 32nd year of doing this! Thanks for watching and appreciate the thoughtful comment. nate

[@vanspeeder]

Well, that was grade A quality work and production here. Nice work, Cheers.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Thanks! nate

[@Yvan77]

😍Your Westy looks much better this way. I know I'm biased because my Westy has a round LED light. But, I think it gives it a little more vintage look.🤘

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Thanks! We are getting used to the rounds and loving the way it looks now Nate

[@stephenrogers9664]

Another great video. That Red just looks really good. It really suits it.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Yeah it really made the whole front end pop. Thanks for watching!! nate

[@milesjulihn2772]

Great job, Nate. Reviews of this kit on Samba had similar criticism about the fit of the mount. You final result was impressive.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Thanks Miles. The install was a bit frustrating and took more effort than I was hoping for but we are happy with the results. nate

[@mozaic_channel]

Cool kit for stock wiring and relay!

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

It is a nice kit GoWesty put together Nate

[@kimhorton6109]

The guys who were installing the Subaru motor in my Vanagon put these LED lights in my Vanagon after I showed up to pick my van up. They are Killer after dark. I’d like to take some contact cleaner to the H/lL connector because the low beam failed the first nite out. I am NOT handy and it took several days to find the right bit to take the H/L ring loose and reconnect the light. Couldn’t be happier with the light output compared to conventional lights.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Glad you like them! They are a difference maker at night for sure. nate

[@Vanagons4Eva]

As an alternative the VanCafe rectangular headlight retrofit kit is excellent and provides fantastic lighting. Also it looks just like the original.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Yeah I cover why we chose to go with round headlights instead of the H4 version that all the vendors sell. Mainly if one were to get damage (a rock chip, etc) the entire assembly must be replaced. With the 7" rounds, I can pick up a replacement light anywhere on the road. They are all better than the stock ones though! nate

[@richardksmith]

Excellent video. Really appreciated your candid/honest comments about the lights at the end (and throughout). Have you also done a headlight relay? I have an '87' van with the square headlights and was despairing of the light quality. I live in a rural area, with no street lighting and the van was almost useless after dark. In desperation, and before switching to LED or round headlights, I installed a headlight relay. Even without changing the bulbs (the relay allows higher wattage bulbs), the difference was remarkable. For anyone in the same situation (square headlights), I recommend installing the headlight relay kit (several are available) and see if that makes a difference. Even if you later go on to install round/LED headlights you still gain the benefit of lower draw on your headlight switch and more power making it to the lights.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Yes we added headlight relays and it did make a difference but not much. In order to really see a difference, you need to run higher wattage bulbs which puts more strain on an already taxed system. LED's offer brighter lights with minimal power consumption. Best of both worlds. We really considered the H4 rectangular lights from GoWesty with higher wattage bulbs as it is a cheaper option but in the end felt it wouldn't meet our expectations. Nate

[@Italjohn]

Excellent video. Could you please put a link to the parts in the decription?

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Good call, totally forgot to do that. It is done now. Thanks! nate

[@firstname7330]

Looks straightforward. I don't know how you keep yourself from not cleaning all inside the front area. I wouldn't be able to leave it dirty.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

It is pretty easy, just take some fitting of the GW headlight brackets. Our van is meant to be used. It gets dirty almost every trip and if I spent time cleaning every area that was dirty, we wouldn’t have time to go out and enjoy it! 😁 Nate

[@firstname7330]

​@@ThatBaldwinLife Thanks for the response. Also, I can't remember if you mentioned it in the video, but did you consider the South African grill?

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

The South African grill was no longer available from any vendor when we bought this GW kit. There were some used ones but people wanted way too much for them. The new South Tacoma grill from SmallCar is a great option and one I would probably go with if I were to do it now. Nate

[@wilsondavenport6939]

I would be interested to understand why didn’t you just put in some led replacements with the rectangle lights?

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

The stock lights do not have good reflectors even for the stock halogen bulbs and are definitely not designed for the light patterns of the new LED bulbs. The H4 lights you can buy may be a better match for LED's but we covered why we did not choose that path in the video. We are very happy with the light output of the 7" round LED and we can get a replacement light anywhere on the road if needed. Thanks for watching! nate

[@dwarfboy9996]

I personally would have twisted both ends of the cut wires a bit before camping them together, but hey, as long as it worked, right?

[@itsastevething.]

What did you use for the red border stripe? Paint, pinstripe decal, ??

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

It is 1/8” wide pin stripe tape I found on eBay. Thanks Nate

[@katemary1466]

Hey Nate- I just watched and did the square to round upgrade from your tutorial! wicked helpful. I have a question though- how did you wire in the second set of lights? And in doing so did you need to tinker with the fuse panel wiring?

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Thanks! We actually had driving lights mounted on our front bumper being driven off of a relay and switch on the dash. We used a factory fog light switch just below the hazard switch. Porsche 914 fog light switches are the same part number I believe and easier to find. Nate

[@dayneprocter8522]

I love the Red stripe. Where did you find that?

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

It is 1/8” red vinyl tape used for pin striping. I got mine on eBay Nate

[@kevinjakey851]

Great video and commentary! I was also looking at the 3d printed SA grill offering, but I'm concerned about the strength and durability. Not to mention UV resistance... Quick question for you: in your opinion, given the size of the driving lights that you mounted, do you think the bra that is made for the SA grill would work either with a home built recessed light fixture solution or in the location that you mounted them? Thanks!

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Thanks! I am still on the hunt for an affordable OEM round headlight grille but this one does work. No 3D printed grilles for me. I believe the driving lights are bigger on this kit than the SA kit but the bra might fit? I haven't seen one in person before. nate

[@g.cooney6599]

Excellent review and How To! If you have an amp clamp I would be curious how many amps the new LED lights draw. I bet they lighten the load on the alternator! (pun intended!) Another great Baldwin Life video! Thank You, G.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

I was curious about that too but don't have an amp meter I can use. Between the headlamps and high powered bulbs in the off road lights I had, this is a pretty big load reduction on the system for sure. Thanks for watching! nate

[@paulbaldwin9906]

huge difference! let there be light!

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Yeah it is night and day difference 🤣

[@johndoe-lr9if]

What a night and day difference!!! Nancy might actually drive at night now? Not sure how you drove with those old lights either..

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Yes Nancy does feel much safer driving at night and did a long stint on our trip we just returned from. nate

[@chancesareshewears]

I drove from east to west and west to north and north to south and every which direction in all terrain and weather, and the original lights are fine

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Glad your stock lights are working out for you! We did not feel the same way and decided to upgrade. Haven't regretted it one time since! nate

[@Hathasolar1]

Love the sexy money shot and music

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

😂 Thanks! nate

[@SKSK-rz7br]

I personally think it spoils the look ... I prefer stock ... You could have always upgraded the wiring (many kids available here in the UK) , failing that bought a new replica set of square lights (also readily available) ... Each to their own but I like original look

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Yeah I covered all that in the video. I liked the look of the square headlights and changing to rounds isn’t what I originally wanted. I have the high powered relay kit as well as brighter bulbs and it wasn’t enough. Putting in H4 lenses would be better but they are not as bright as LED and if you crack a housing or lens in the future you better hope they are still available. The rounds have really grown on me and when we turn them on at night, we love them. Thanks for the feedback and for watching!! Nate

[@TheDraconiuslives]

Now...what's your plan with those rectangles. Hint hint cough cough. ;)

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Not sure what I will do with the old headlights and grille yet. Keep them around to remind me how bad they were :) nate

[@chancesareshewears]

Just switch out the bulbs.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

We added relays as well as upgraded bulbs. The reflectors and patterns on the US spec headlights is not great and bulbs can only make so much difference. nate

[@cliffsamaniego74]

I'm on the "California Vanagons" FB group. This guy is 3D printing South African grills. Here's his message in the group (I have no affiliation, nor can vouch for his products): "Now taking orders for South African grills. Fits 1980 to 1991. You must get on our list! It's our one run a year that we do. They sell out every time we print them. So we want to print enough for everyone that wants one. www.vanagon3dprinting.com/" Given you now have the set up for round headlights, his 3D printing grills might work for you. By the way, thanks for all the "how to" videos. Cliff from instagram.com/vwwestysyncro/

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Yeah I saw that on theSamba as well. Not sure how I feel about a 3D printed grille. We 3D print at work as well as injection mold and they are not in the same league for finish and durability. Especially at $500. I am going to keep an eye out for an OEM round grille and swap mine out sometime nate