2000 BMW 323i Headlight Question

Hey All,

I have the stock halogen lights for the 2000 BMW 323i. I want to put xenon and angel eye in, but an wondering what i need to do this? looking for suggestions on conversion kit, will the halogen housing suffice for the xenon lights or do i need new housing? and depending on the answer to that question i suppose would decide the answer to what kit i should pick if purchasing this angel eye conversion kit...http://www.umnitza.com/orion-lite-60...es-p-5686.html

Any help/ previous experiences doing so with the same type of vehicle would be appreciated

Thanks

Do NOT put HID bulbs in the standard halogen housing.
Not so great for you and much worse for other drivers.

The easiest route for me was to retrofit used OEM xenons. Just make sure they come from a pre-facelift sedan.

Advantages:

• Best lighting: no messing up focus of the beam by putting a vertical HID arc where a horizontal filament was meant to be
• High-quality, with OEM fit and finish
• Plug-n-play (still needs a recode to turn off the dashboard light when the lights are off)
• Very neutral light

Disadvantages:

• May take a while to source
• Unlikely to find both sides in the same place
• Getting a crystal-clear appearance takes some polishing (in my case, less than 1/2 hr)
• Will be a bit more than a set of housings with projectors + HID kit
• If you want a different temperature light output, you need to buy bulbs.

What's the problem with buying a complete plug & play replacement aftermarket set like these...?
I'm not asking to be a smart ass...but if these kits are clean, fit well, and look good...why deal with all the re-furbing of old parts?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/99-01-BMW-E4...sories&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/02-05-BMW-E4...sories&vxp=mtr


http://www.ebay.com/itm/02-05-BMW-E4...sories&vxp=mtr

Originally Posted by KSims1868

What's the problem with buying a complete plug & play replacement aftermarket set like these...?
I'm not asking to be a smart ass...but if these kits are clean, fit well, and look good...why deal with all the re-furbing of old parts?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/99-01-BMW-E4...sories&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/02-05-BMW-E4...sories&vxp=mtr


http://www.ebay.com/itm/02-05-BMW-E4...sories&vxp=mtr

There is no problem with the above mentioned headlights, but they are cheap knock off ones which (who knows) will eat the dust in no time.

OEM is the best way to go, but gets expensive if you look for a new set.

In the lightning section there is a great thread for converting halogens into xenons. I guess the thread is titled xenons in a budget or something like that.

A straight DIY that is very doable and gives OEM(if not better) output.
They use morimoto h1 projectors and just get any angel eyes you want.

Originally Posted by KSims1868

What's the problem with buying a complete plug & play replacement aftermarket set like these...?
I'm not asking to be a smart ass...but if these kits are clean, fit well, and look good...why deal with all the re-furbing of old parts?

To upgrade to projectors and Angel Eyes, then this route is easy. Can even reuse the existing bulbs.

But the OP wanted XENON (aka, HID).

The first link is not HID (although it does have Angel Eyes). Still need to buy and install (tack on) an HID retrofit kit: ballast, igniter, bulb.
The other two links are for facelifted cars (also are not HID).

OEMs, OTOH...

• Don't just "fit well". They fit perfectly.
• Don't necessarily need a lot of "refurbing."
  It took me all of 20 mins to wash, dry, and then polish the covers to make them look NEW. Lenses need to be polished every year, anyway, if the car is parked outside.
• Most important, they have the correct optics: proper projectors for HID are slightly different from what is used in ordinary halogen projectors.
• For angel eyes, just pop open the covers, install, and you're done.

The retrofit kits are the cheapest way to go for folks who already have projector housings (although there are still beam pattern issues). But that doesn't apply to the OP.

Yes, buying NEW HID is very expensive. But, with patience, you can put together a used set for what it costs to get an aftermarket projector housing + HID retrofit kit.

Originally Posted by trj

There is no problem with the above mentioned headlights, but they are cheap knock off ones which (who knows) will eat the dust in no time.

OEM is the best way to go, but gets expensive if you look for a new set.

In the lightning section there is a great thread for converting halogens into xenons. I guess the thread is titled xenons in a budget or something like that.

A straight DIY that is very doable and gives OEM(if not better) output.
They use morimoto h1 projectors and just get any angel eyes you want.

+1 to Morimoto's and some ccfl's. Everyone I know uses theretrofitsource.com