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Official Lighting Guide

264K views 294 replies 95 participants last post by  VpointVick 
#1 ·
I hope all of you with lingering questions on your lighting are reading. This thread is meant for sedan owners (1999-2005) and coupe owners (until 2003).

I. Difference between halogen and Xenon headlights?
  • Halogen headlights use a filament inside the bulb, just like a regular light bulb in a house lamp.
  • Xenon headlights have a projector which is a bowl specially designed to concentrate the light output of a specially made bulb with a xenon gas inside of it. To power a xenon bulb a ballast is needed because a certain amount of power is needed to keep them running.
Below is a good youtube video explaining the two. It is in German, but if you watch it you will understand a lot more.


II. How to improve halogen lights?
  • You can either get different halogen bulbs or do a projector retrofit for xenon bulbs.
  • If you just want to upgrade the bulbs you can look into bulbs such as Sylvania Silverstars, Philips X-treme Power, Philips Vision Plus, etc. I recommend Sylvania or Philips halogen bulbs.
  • Projector retrofit (see below)
Morimoto H1 Projector retrofit is a plug and play application for halogen lights which can be done at the cost of around $255 before shipping cost for the projectors, bulbs and ballasts. For $30 more you can get the H1 wiring harness which I recommend. WWW.THERETROFITSOURCE.COM
Morimoto H1 Mini Projector with bulbs $145
Morimoto 35 watt ballasts $110
H1 wiring harness $30
DIY: hid retrofit on a budget! (for halogen lights)

III. How to improve Xenon lights?
  • There are two types of OEM projector headlights for E46's which are AL (Automotive Lighting) or ZKW
  • AL projectors are made of a material that does not burn up after many hours or use and hold their lighting output well.
  • On the other hand ZKW lights have poorly made projectors which burn out. BMW is aware of it but a recall is not in the works unfortunately.
For AL lights I highly recommend installing ZKW clear lenses from TRS. Simple install which will take about two hours taking your time and adding/removing washers for spacing purposes.
ZKW clear lenses $40 or $25 for value ones with a few imperfections.
My DIY video to install the lenses


My lighting with Nokya 2500k fogs, Philips 85122+ D2S bulbs and ZKW clear lenses.


Philips 85122+ bulbs, ZKW lenses, AL projectors
- YouTube

For ZKW lights the only thing you can do is replace your lights with halogen headlights with the Morimoto retrofit, Get a set of OEM AL headlights or just put in a different projector altogether (see section IV below).

IV. The highest level of lighting?
  • You want something better? That can be done. There are many people who go all out on their lighting setups to get the best possible light output possible.
  • Arguably the best projector is the FXR. It has a far depth and wide diffusion which is everything you would want. It is possible to install this projector onto either your halogen or xenon headlights, but you will have to do some cutting and modifying the housing.
Some DIY's that might help
Official DIY: Quad Bi-Xenon conversion. Complete with...
Why do I keep ripping on p46 headlights? (Don't buy...
>>> fx-r retrofit!! <<<

V. Bulb colors and K numbers explained
  • You've probably seen either halogen or xenon bulbs being sold stating 4300k, 5000k, 6000k, etc. The list goes on.
  • These numbers are the color of light output in Kelvin which measures temperature/light temperature.
  • The rule about this is that the lower the number (the more yellow) the more you will see and the more that will be illuminated on the road. Not only this but it is much easier on your eyes especially if you do a lot of night time driving.
  • The higher you go, 8000k, 10,000k, etc the less you will see.
  • Lumens, how much light output is generated, varies depending on the temperature of the bulb and the brand. Example: if you get 4300k Philips xenon bulbs that would be considered the best of lighting. On the other hand if you get some 10,000k ebay bulbs expect to see nothing.
Here is a color chart to explain


You should buy Sylvania or Philips bulbs.

A great thread explaining the various versions, temperatures and lumens.
Everything you ever wanted to know about HID bulbs. - HiDplanet : The Official Automotive Lighting Forum.

VI. Dos and Don'ts for your lighting setup
  • Do not put an hid/xenon kit into your halogen headlights/foglights. It is illegal, blinds other drivers and has poor light diffusion.
  • Try to stick with 4300k or 5000k bulbs for your low beams for best lighting.
  • For fogs try to stick with 2500k or 3000k bulbs. Nokya bulbs are excellent for fog lights and cost $20-25 USD shipped on www.ebay.com
  • Try to run a wiring harness if you retrofit in an hid kit into your car. The initial surge from the ballasts CAN harm your LCM module which will result in the gauge cluster resetting, mileage being completely screwed up, on-board computer stalk being fried (happened to me) and many other electrical problems.
  • Do not buy cheap ebay headlights and tail lights. These lights are of extremely poor quality, ebay sellers will not help you when they fail and the overall quality sucks on those lights.
  • If you want to buy new tail lights, side markers and corner lights stick with OEM where possible, if not... DEPO is the only other way to go for side markers and corners and for tail lights Eagle Eyes (tail lights only, EE is not recommended by me for headlights)
 
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#9 ·
are the morimoto h1's the best ones to buy if you're looking to convert? i'm looking to do the retrofit, no p46's for me, or are the fxr ones best? i'm always on the retrofit website but sorta get confused with the amounts of options haha never quite sure which ones to order for my 2003 325ci.
 
#12 ·
FXR is the best but requires trimming, etc.

Thanks for this, Jake!

I'm still confused, though. I have halogens. So the only safe way for me to get brighter lights is replace housings for ones with projectors and then I can add HIDs...(and then I need to add auto-leveling?)...or is there just nothing more I can do?

I don't want to blind anyone, of course.

Anyway, Jake, I do remember your telling me to just leave them the way they were when we met, so didn't mean to doubt you...though, in my defense, no one is perfect, and new solutions do come out.
You will keep the headlights that you have, the halogen ones. The only thing you are doing is popping in projectors and the bright bulbs. It is plug and play and reversible.

Solidjake- PLEASE, Tell people not to clean the mirror housings as the chrome wipes away! Learned that the hard way.. Thx
Sure will!
 
#10 ·
Thanks for this, Jake!

I'm still confused, though. I have halogens. So the only safe way for me to get brighter lights is replace housings for ones with projectors and then I can add HIDs...(and then I need to add auto-leveling?)...or is there just nothing more I can do?

I don't want to blind anyone, of course.

Anyway, Jake, I do remember your telling me to just leave them the way they were when we met, so didn't mean to doubt you...though, in my defense, no one is perfect, and new solutions do come out.
 
#14 ·
Hey Jake,

I had a question for you about my 04 325CI vert. I am finding out that my car has kind of a unique headlight design and my options are somewhat limited. I have stock halogen headlights which are pretty sand blasted and look weathered. I'd like to replace them. I checked out Khoalty and they have the E46 DEPO Projector46 headlights which they offer an upgrade option of high power LED angel eyes.

I read your info above about staying away from using HID bulbs in halogen projectors. Khoalty has the headlights available in halogen (which is what my car has now) or the additional options of auto leveling, Bi-Xenon projectors, and a CANBUS HID kit. What is your experience with HID upgrades? Would I be better off sticking to halogens or can I expect a good result spending the additional $140 of so to upgrade the auto level, Bi-Xenon projectors, and HID kit? I am looking for a plug and play upgrade and can live with halogens but the HID's sure would be nice and the time for me to decide would be when I buy the new headlight assemblies.
 
#15 ·
I had a question for you about my 04 325CI vert. I am finding out that my car has kind of a unique headlight design and my options are somewhat limited. I have stock halogen headlights which are pretty sand blasted and look weathered. I'd like to replace them. I checked out Khoalty and they have the E46 DEPO Projector46 headlights which they offer an upgrade option of high power LED angel eyes.
Since we have been performing more and more retrofits both on BMWs and other cars, please allow us to reply.

Your headlights are 1 piece and sealed closed. They are not clipped together like the sedan of your same year. You have 4 choices:
1) Find a used set on eBay with clear lenses and bake both sets of lenses off in an oven, then simply swap the lenses. You're looking for the cheapest most broken headlights on eBay because you only need the lenses.

2) You can purchase a brand new set of headlights, here:
Umnitza provides the Best Quality Orion LED Angel Eyes, Widest Selection of Aftermarket Bumpers, highest quality LED lights, great selection of led light bars, and incredible dedication to proper customer service.

These have many options for you, angel eyes, bixenon projectors, xenon output, new lenses, plug and play, etc.

3) You can do a full buff and polish on your existing lenses and retrofit a set of projectors into them, far easier than it sounds and we even have a video that shows you how to bake your headlights open now on www.youtube.com/umnitza

Here's the link to the projectors you can retrofit:
Umnitza provides the Best Quality Orion LED Angel Eyes, Widest Selection of Aftermarket Bumpers, highest quality LED lights, great selection of led light bars, and incredible dedication to proper customer service.

4) Combination of #1 or #3, but with a simple Canbus HID kit:
Umnitza provides the Best Quality Orion LED Angel Eyes, Widest Selection of Aftermarket Bumpers, highest quality LED lights, great selection of led light bars, and incredible dedication to proper customer service.

Contrary to many opinions, dropping an HID into these halogen projectors isn't the worst thing you can do. They provide a decent light pattern and since they are projectors, they have distinct cut offs.

You have many choices and from above. Hopefully this answered your questions, and this guides you better. For more information, please call us or email.
 
#21 ·
Besides their sheer hideousness, what are some other reasons not to purchase these lights, quality, output, error codes?
Bad fitment, cheap quality parts, most likely error codes for the led lights, bad light output diffusion.

Thanks for a great informative post, what about just upgrading the HighBeam H7 bulbs with 100w and leaving everything else stock ? Will the additional current draw cause errors or fry something ?

Thanks
Too much wattage, the housing will start to melt.
 
#18 ·
Upgrading your high beam to an H7 bulb poses many issues:
1) the wiring isn't really designed to handle 100W for too long
2) bulbs that are rated for 100W usually last no more than 50-100 hours of use and it degrades significantly with instant on and off like for the high beam.
3) they are usually poor quality bulbs with thinner glass

it's best not to worry about high beam bulb upgrades as a source for additional light and consider them momentary add-ons in unique circumstances - flashing (informing other drivers of danger or passing) or occasional usage in extra dark areas.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Thanks for the reply. Being new to BMW i would rather err on the side of caution. I have always used 55/100 H4s or H1s and still do in my Tacoma and my old 280SL (which I never drive at night anyway) , always using hella bulbs and where required drop in Hella e-code housings to replace sealed beams, I never had one burn out even after a couple of years of use. No inspections here in TN. I've done this with my old VWs, MBs and Volvos, had to add relays to my 89 Volvo though. I live out in the country and bright lights are a necessity.

What would be a good upgrade for an 03 325xi ? I like the looks of the AngelEyes but don't want to go ricey at all. I need alot of light driving these dark windy country roads at night.

My V70R with bi-xenon were the worst lights I ever had but my wife's Minis with xenons seem to do OK. hence the Halogen question.

Thanks
 
#20 ·
If you must have the brightest output possible, the current generation train of thought is higher quality projectors with retrofits.

Admittedly, we've been a little slow to adopt this approach since we're predominantly a headlight supplier, but we do see the value and have begun offering our own retrofit kits.

Depending if you have xenons now, there are several choices we recommend:

1) If you have Xenons, then we highly recommend removing your current projector and replacing it with the FX-R we carry.
Link here:
http://www.umnitza.com/hid-projectors-shrouds-hid-projectors-c-450_1197_1212.html

2) If you do not have xenons, you can retrofit the H1 or D2S mini projectors, you'll get a little less width on your pattern, but much better light output anyways or
2a) If you do not have xenons, you could simply purchase a full headlight package with angel eyes and projectors. higher cost, but greater reward with minimal work on your part.

As always, options, quality, value varies based on needs/wants/desires. You could do what you want for as little as $175 with a canbus HID kit into non-Xenon headlights and get better light output than your wife's Mini by a long shot, but it will take you about 3-4 hours or more to do in most cases.

Feel free to give us a call if you need to go over some questions in greater details.
 
#29 ·
believe me i have read and read and read on headlights. i want good ones not the cheap ebay crap. but when i look them up i just get lost. i need the full set up. my driver side head light fixture is broke anyway so i want a full upgrade. what i dont get is there are ones that are plug and play and others they say they should be installed by a pro. do these plug and play have everything i need? ballasts and all etc. i have factory halogens right now and they are the worst at night and i work nights thats the man reason i want to upgrade. someone direct me to some sites please? here is what ive looked at...

http://www.umnitza.com/projector46-the-original-xenon-led-angel-eyes-black-housing-p-208.html all the options i dont understand.

http://www.stealthauto.com/Products...on-Type-Corner-(Pair)__E46LHL-BLK-1-PRNT.aspx
 
#30 ·
believe me i have read and read and read on headlights. i want good ones not the cheap ebay crap. but when i look them up i just get lost. i need the full set up. my driver side head light fixture is broke anyway so i want a full upgrade. what i dont get is there are ones that are plug and play and others they say they should be installed by a pro. do these plug and play have everything i need? ballasts and all etc. i have factory halogens right now and they are the worst at night and i work nights thats the man reason i want to upgrade. someone direct me to some sites please? here is what ive looked at...

http://www.umnitza.com/projector46-the-original-xenon-led-angel-eyes-black-housing-p-208.html all the options i dont understand.
We build all our own lights, to the specs of our customers mostly but always build in house. You aren't getting something "just off the shelf".

We offer you Canbus non-error ballasts, something many other companies don't do. We also offer retrofitted projectors - FXR and MINI H1, just like the "other guys" minus the fancy shmancy naming trademark (not patent or design).
 
#32 ·
Thanks for the write up!
I changed my bixenon bulbs to 6000k...love the color but notice the light output difference
I want brighter fog lights...I was just going to put matching 6000k ddm hid kit in them..but that's a no go I guess
Do I buy projector fogs? I just think they look kinda ugly but then again, don't wanna blind anyone
Plzzz help!
 
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