Every VW owner is familiar with this moment: when you walk away from your car after dark and look back casually, you will find there is no difference between your car and other ones around it. They have almost the same silhouette and lights. You can hardly separate yours from the several identical models parked nearby. Of course, not everyone cares about the similarity. But if you selected a Volkswagen because of its design heritage and badge cachet, you will feel more and more depressed over time.
In fact, the installation is simpler, and the emblem is cheaper than most people think. You can buy a VW light-up emblem to replace perfectly for the factory roundel badge. And it will make any Volkswagen stand out at night. You can take care because this upgrade will not change the car’s bodywork, paint, or mechanical systems. What’s more, we guess you may even have a doubt: why didn’t the factory upgrade it at first?
The VW Roundel: Built for Illumination
Actually, not every car badge is suitable for backlighting design. Some logos are too complex, too colorful, or too small in size. So they cannot benefit a lot from the emblem upgrade. The Volkswagen round car logo is totally different. When you light it up, it might be one of the most satisfying logos in the mainstream automotive world.
The logo is almost ideal: there are two clean capital letters in a circular outer ring. The color is high-contrast chrome and black. When that emblem lights up, you can see a soft and even LED effect which is more high-end and fantastic than a factory badge. The light can come out from the round emblem smoothly without hot spots. You can also see the illuminated logo clearly and fully because of the V-over-W letter-form design. Many other badges usually have multiple color zones, heraldic details, and fine engraving. So it is easy to understand why VW owners are crazier about upgrading the badge than other vehicle owners.
What Has Changed in the Market
To be honest, the first generation of light-up emblem kits that appeared on the enthusiast market was mixed in quality. Early products have some common problems. First, you may see obvious LED light spots. It means you can see single bulbs through the diffusion layer. Second, some emblems cannot stand bad weather and may stop working in the first wet winter. Third, the emblem might be loose. This might cause gaps around the edge of badge, so moisture will get into it over time. Because of these problems, people changed their bad impression of LED emblems after a long time.
The products of the latest generation are totally different. Serious suppliers have applied proper optical diffusion engineering to eliminate light spots. Moreover, they set IP65 or higher weatherproofing as standard level. Also, they measure the specific sizes for different models. In this way, the new emblem can fit well with the factory mounting points with no gaps. The VW light up emblems today are suitable for many Volkswagen models. For example, Golf, Polo, Tiguan, T-Roc, Passat and Transporter are all included. It should be mentioned that the sizes of badges are not the same for different models and years. So you should be careful when you choose the emblem for your vehicle..
Front Badge, Rear Badge, or Both?
Before you carry out the upgrade, you should decide at first whether to upgrade the front badge, the rear badge, or both. You can consider how to use the car and personal preference in advance.
The front badge is no doubt the best choice during the day. Pedestrians, drivers in oncoming vehicles, and parking lot users can notice it at first. At night, when the headlights are on, the badge will also light up. Although the light may be partly washed out by headlight output, people can still see the illuminated emblem clearly.
The rear badge has the opposite effect: it cannot be noticed easily in daylight. But at night, the rear emblem will deliver a striking effect when the car tail lights are on. When a Golf is parked outside a restaurant or venue, the light up rear emblem will win attention and praise from almost everyone there. It will become an outstanding point rather than a functional car. Many owners tend to replace both front and rear badges finally. In this way, the car will look better as a whole. It may look strange to upgrade only front or rear emblem.
Installation Without the Workshop Visit
Many people choose this upgrade because the installation process is simple. Owners with even basic mechanical experience can handle it easily. There is no cutting and drilling during the process. You can also move it if you don’t need it one day.
You need a plastic trim lever to remove the factory badge. In some cases, you also need a heat gun to soften the adhesive backing. Then you should connect the LED harness of the new emblem to the sidelight or DRL circuit. Next, you can put the new badge back into the original location with clips or adhesive. If you install the emblem for the first time on Volkswagen models, you need about 30 to 60 minutes to finish the work. But you will need less time for a second try.
During the installation, some people usually hesitate about circuit selection. Most people choose to connect the emblem to the sidelights or parking lights. It means the emblem will light up as soon as you turn on the car’s exterior lights. However, newer Volkswagen models are equipped with lighting management systems. At this time, you should make sure the circuit you choose won’t cause a fault code on the vehicle’s CANbus network. Most reliable emblems include resistors or CANbus compatibility by design. It is still necessary for you to confirm before ordering.
The Bigger Picture: Personalization Without Modification
Car upgrades can vary a lot for different personal needs. They can be both subtle and dramatic. But many people usually choose small upgrades. Full body wraps and wide-body kits are really big upgrades that will change the car’s outlook. In fact, not everyone can accept the changes in daily life. The light up emblem is totally different. It will not change the appearance of the car. Especially in daytime, people can hardly notice it if they doesn’t light up.
Many people are attracted by the outstanding effect. Maybe they are tired of similar vehicles and decide to change. The light up emblem may be their best choice. In daytime, your car will look almost the same as usual. But when it gets dark, your car will stand out on the road. If you are VW owner who is proud of the brand’s design style, the light up emblem will not let you down.
