billreid1

First off, I am a new D3 S8 owner... recently purchased probably one of the top 5% condition D3 S8's in the country and other than the oil leaks and rough cold start... it is MINT. 100% stock which I prefer.

Back to topic...
Can I use adaptive headlights on non-adaptive applications... not using the feature? My 08 D3 S8 is non-adaptive. I ordered a non-adaptive off ebay and got adaptive. Frustrating... but just trying to make lemonade out of lemons if I can. Thank You for your time.

billreid1

Anybody? Please? Thanks.

dvs_dave

Plug them in, code them in using VCDS and see how you get on.

billreid1

To be clear - this has not been discussed here before? Are you saying "give it a go" and "good luck"? Seeking to learn here. I am open to assistance, please(?), to help me code and see if it works. It requires me to make a commitment to the ebay Seller which I'm willing to do but seems like I need to have BOTH adaptive headlight "upgrades" to code correctly, no? I am quite certain - plug it in and "It's Yours" afterwards. My S8 was originally optioned with non-adaptive "BG" headlights. They are not as prevalent in the resale world as adaptive "BT"... at least from what I see through ebay. Would be happy to share results here for a future searchable record.
I do have VCDS... but have very limited experience with it.
Very much appreciate your time...
Bill

MP4.2+6.0

No frankly, it probably hasn't. I would tone it down a bit to be honest--attitude is coming through for a board that is very laid back in general. World does not revolve around those wanting help=--other way around actually. You are asking an obscure question on a car out of production for 15 years and sold in lower volume than many quasi exotics. 95% percent+ of people on this board were probably not even here when your car was first sold. Maybe 98-99%. Yes, turnover is that high, from being here from early on. Meantime though, this is THE place basically for D3 knowledge, at least in North America.

If you want a better shot at an answer, start searching thru archives. Rather than today's fourth or 5th owner of a 15-20 year old car, you will likely have better luck looking back to when car was sold new or near new and people were doing mods or upgrades, probably in the opposite direction from your idea. But same info would still be relevant, just in reverse. A guess it should of course fit (assuming pre or post facelift, W12 or S8 differences, etc.). But, it is also likely to generate errors and auto light leveling (which even base HID should have) may not work. With recoding via VCDS you may get closer. Again, search, find any old headlight mods from "back in the day", most likely the other direction of an "upgrade" to adaptive, and go from there. You may also find info on old posts where someone was trying to convert a 4.2 look to a W12 or S8 look. I vaguely recall a few like that for W12--which was first Audi with "fishmouth" grill. I recall headlights were/are also different but not much more. Watch pre- vs post facelift too (thru 2007, and then 2008-2010) where other changes may come into play. Majority of S8's are 2007, first year they were sold, but those are pre-facelift. Again, not remembering on headlight assemblies. The fog lights and the tail lights did change.

dvs_dave

Basically yes, assuming the connectors fit. Unless you can find historic posts with more specific info, then this is your best bet. It won’t break anything, or invalidate your ability to return them. Obviously don’t actually install the lights, just move the connectors over to try them. You would need to code them. Worst case, they don’t work at all, medium, they work just without the adaptive function, best case they work with adaptive functions.

Coding info here. Not using VCDS, but the module and coding info is the same.

billreid1

Thank You Sir!