I can confirm that Sam, mentioned in your link, is the real deal. I had full features enabled on my 2021 RS7 including the Matix, Laser, halo protection (stops you hitting anything) etc. Also did similar on our E Tron premium plus. I have not done this on my GT but the adaptive high beams and Laser seem to work well, not sure if they are 100%.

 

I had this enabled on my previous etron S but it was equipped with the Digital Matrix Design LED headlamp assembly. I think the GTs are only equipped with the Matrix LED with Laser, which does not provide the light carpet or animations

 

This is correct. Be sure to check what light package your car has: "Matrix LED" headlights have NO Smart Light capability; "Matrix Design LED" headlights have the Smart ability for selective field "blanking"; "Digital Matrix Design LED" headlights have the blanking, plus the carpet and animation ("digital" means it contains a digital projector chip in addition to the LED array). Some GT's I think came "with Laser"--that is a laser-based enhancement for the Bright lights.

 

gotcha, so our GTs don’t have anything to gain from this kind of mod

Exactly. Don’t waste your time with this.

 

This is a very high level breakdown:

Matrix LED: auto brightness/dim functions

HD Matrix LED: Matrix LED with just more LEDs

Digital Matrix Design LED: All functions of the Matrix LED with the selection field blanking, animations, & carpet lane lighting.

Here’s the official Audi release on their headlight tech and the differences in capabilities: Lighting

 

HD Matrix LED: Matrix LED with just more LEDs

But doesn't the HD Matrix LED in the GT also do selective diming, just not the animations and carpet?

From the link.
" As soon as the camera on the windshield detects other vehicles or city limits, the controller switches off individual LEDs or dims them in 64 stages, creating several million possible light patterns. The Matrix LED light masks out other vehicles while continuing to fully illuminate the zones between and adjacent to them. "

 

Here’s the welcome/exit animation of my etron S (Digital Matrix Design): https://79069b29326774851.temporary.link/VIDEO-DMD.mp4

 

I actually just had this enabled by Pacific German in Orange County, CA yesterday. They told me for a while they were working on this and emailed me a week ago they can do do it. They also enabled the performance meter (0-100km, 1/4 mile, etc), Maneuver light assistance (turns on lights under the door handles when backing up for more visibility), and ambient blue lights in headlights. I haven't driven it at night yet but can take a video next time I do

 

did they say which headlight features would work on the GT?

 

Just an update. I spoke with the aforementioned "Sam" on WhatsApp for a while. He answered all of my questions and was super helpful.

Basically, the GT's headlights can be upgraded by this mod (some cannot though, as some had some hardware left out due to chip shortage -- he will need your VIN to see if your car has the necessary hardware). On the GT you don't get graphics/animations or light carpet but you do get the dynamic lighting up of various parts of the road as conditions change. He sends you several videos to look over. It seems like it would be a lot safer driving at night with this upgrading lighting, so i'm going to give it a shot. It will take a bit to do the mod because i need to get the cable first. I'll let everyone know how it goes

 

Not a great video but you can see the diming feature works once enabled. Will work best in really dark areas

Matrix Lights 1

Matrix Lights 2

 

Just went through the process with Sam via WhatsApp on my GT and my wife's new '24 Q8 e-tron. took about 35 minutes total for the two cars. really isn't much to it from the customer's end. Just have to plug in the cable and some software to let him control the USB device remotely. He threw in some freebies like acceleration measurement, TPMS in the virtual cockpit, intersection/crossing light with route data. It's day time now so i can't try it out yet. I'll report back.

 

What kind of software did you need to install? I don't have a laptop that isn't for work and would be wary of installing something weird.

 

It's just this one: FlexiHub: Centralized Access for Remote USB & COM devices

I have a mac, so i had to use Parallels to install windows. I made it so Windows was entirely cut off from my Mac and also on a VLAN without access to my home network. But honestly, Sam seems very trustworthy.

 

Thank you! That's good to know that Parallels is needed since I don't think I would be able to install that on my work Mac. It looks like thay have a Mac version of the software, that didn't work?

 

FWIW, a Windows laptop can be had for like $200... it doesn't need to be fancy at all. And if you're already paying a thousand bucks for the mod, that might be a reasonable cost. (Or not; just putting it out there!)

https://amzn.to/3RX4yY5

 

I'm not beyond dragging my PC gaming tower down to the garage and remoting into it via my mac laptop to save $200

I'm sure I can buy a friend or neighbor a six pack to borrow theirs too.

 

Used the lights for the first time last night on my way home from work.

It's really nice. Essentially your brights can be on a lot more, giving you a wider range of visibility, and you can see parts of the beam 'adapting' to the road curves, oncoming cars, and cars you are approaching from behind. I did not get flashed for 'having my brights on' by anyone. The effect is much more pronounced on dark, single lane roads than on multi-lane highways.

Overall, i am happy with the upgrade. the process was super easy. The value is relative and subjective. I think it's a bit on the expensive side for what it provides. Feels like it should have been a $300-$400 upgrade. But in my eyes it makes the car safer. I drive a lot at night and early in the morning for my job. Anything that makes the car safer is worthwhile for me.

 

I also want to add my voice and I just did the upgrade with Sam. He is great, the process was painless and I can not say enough how great it is. I am still baffled how far behind we are here in the US as this is not only super cool but incredibly useful and much safer in dark roads.

I highly recommend doing this with Sam and enabling your headlights, you will not regret it. The amount of technology and how useful it is is just so cool!

 

The issue has even made it to the main stream media here in the US:

Headlights are blinding in America but not other countries and this tech is why | CNN Business

Imagine if you could drive at night with your high beams on all the time, bathing the road ahead in bright light but without ever blinding other drivers.

www.cnn.com

 

FYI:

In America, Headlights are blinding but not in other countries, this tech is why | CNN Business

Imagine if you could drive at night with your high beams on all the time, bathing the road ahead in bright light but without ever blinding other drivers.

amp.cnn.com

 

Hello!

I have a ‘21 Etron Prestige. Would this work on that one?

How would I get Sam’s number?

Thank you!

 

Sam can tell you. Their number is in the Reddit post.