front headlight upgrade: 2001 520iSE

[sav520]

hey,

i currently hav ugly yellow bi-xenon bulbs, angel eyes and fog lights for my bmw. I have looked briefly at bulbs which give off a bright white light with a tint of blue, however i have seen a wide range of prices, i would like to know how much all the kit would cost me, and whether the installment can be done by myself, a guy with limited skills, and how long would the installment would take as i use my bmw regularly.

thanks to anyone who can help me out.

[M5 Maniac]

Originally Posted by sav520

hey,

i currently hav ugly yellow bi-xenon bulbs, angel eyes and fog lights for my bmw. I have looked briefly at bulbs which give off a bright white light with a tint of blue, however i have seen a wide range of prices, i would like to know how much all the kit would cost me, and whether the installment can be done by myself, a guy with limited skills, and how long would the installment would take as i use my bmw regularly.

thanks to anyone who can help me out.

I hear you, once I got my Beast the lights was one of the first things I addressed. Here is what I did:

• left the stock bi-xenon bulbs (do you really find them yellow, they should not be given their Kalvin temperature rating?) You can replace them with higher Kalvin grade, but keep in mind they will be more noticeable for oncoming traffic while reducing your visibility and coverage!
• Replaced my fog lights with Razo bulbs (Premium White Zero I believe they are called, right around 5000K), it is as close to a true xenon light as you can get. Really happy with those, although in retrospect I likely should have spent marginally more money to buy an HID fog kit. As these burn out, that is what I will do. If you go for a xenon kit, make sure you buy one with waterproof ballasts, and mounting the ballast away from water and debri is key.
• Replaced the ugly yellow stock angel eye halogen halos with a 'modded' PIAA bulb. You may have seen the PIAA AE replacement bulbs (about $119 a set), but I found those dissapointing as they have only a 1 Watt White LED light. So what I did is, buy a 3-Watt Luxeon LED bulb and swapped it (sodding is required). Now I have something that is 3-times as bright as the PIAA, is LED so it doesn't heat up, nor use battery power as a halogen bulbs, and perhaps most imporantly, I chose a blue LED so my halos are really cool. This is not as good as a CCFL kit, but the benefit is a true 2-minute plug and play and OEM fit, no need to open up the lenses and remove the headlights. IMO, I think they are just as good, if not better (given the fact that you can put any color LED that you like) than the i-Bright product which is close to 3 times more expensive.

Hope this helps.

[bvarianlvr]

Good information!


But I really like this idea:

Replaced the ugly yellow stock angel eye halogen halos with a 'modded' PIAA bulb. You may have seen the PIAA AE replacement bulbs (about $119 a set), but I found those dissapointing as they have only a 1 Watt White LED light. So what I did is, buy a 3-Watt Luxeon LED bulb and swapped it (sodding is required). Now I have something that is 3-times as bright as the PIAA, is LED so it doesn't heat up, nor use battery power as a halogen bulbs, and perhaps most imporantly, I chose a blue LED so my halos are really cool. This is not as good as a CCFL kit, but the benefit is a true 2-minute plug and play and OEM fit, no need to open up the lenses and remove the headlights. IMO, I think they are just as good, if not better (given the fact that you can put any color LED that you like) than the i-Bright product which is close to 3 times more expensive.

I'll have to study it and see if I can pull it off! Whats sodding though?

Which of these did you get? http://www.theledlight.com/highdome_3watt.html

[M5 Maniac]

Originally Posted by bvarianlvr

Good information!


But I really like this idea:

I'll have to study it and see if I can pull it off! Whats sodding though?

Which of these did you get? http://www.theledlight.com/highdome_3watt.html

It is fairly easy to pull off. Here is what I bought, it is the blue

High powered 3 Watt Led with heat sink platform (Forward Emitter)

http://superlumination.com/led.html

[bvarianlvr]

Originally Posted by M5 Maniac

It is fairly easy to pull off. Here is what I bought, it is the blue

High powered 3 Watt Led with heat sink platform (Forward Emitter)

http://superlumination.com/led.html

Can the stock one be pulled off from the outside of the headlight housing?

[M5 Maniac]

Originally Posted by bvarianlvr

Can the stock one be pulled off from the outside of the headlight housing?

Instalation is easy, you simply take out the stock AE bulb assembly (simply twist in the clockwise direction and unplug the wires) and replace it with the PIAA assembly. It comes with a small connecting harness, so it is truly plug-and-play and OEM fit. No need to take out housing or anything off sorts, simply a swap of bulbs.

I love the blue LEDs, had them in white initially, but I think the blue are very cool and devilish . I just have to see if now I am gonna get hassled by cops, but I doubt it. A lot of people notice them tto, it is subtle, but distinguishable at the same time.

[bvarianlvr]

Originally Posted by M5 Maniac

Instalation is easy, you simply take out the stock AE bulb assembly (simply twist in the clockwise direction and unplug the wires) and replace it with the PIAA assembly. It comes with a small connecting harness, so it is truly plug-and-play and OEM fit. No need to take out housing or anything off sorts, simply a swap of bulbs.

I love the blue LEDs, had them in white initially, but I think the blue are very cool and devilish . I just have to see if now I am gonna get hassled by cops, but I doubt it. A lot of people notice them tto, it is subtle, but distinguishable at the same time.

I'll have to take a look at the rear of the headlight assembly. Sounds too easy! :)