gbuck 0 Report post Posted February 20, 2015 Hi Guys Ive recently purchased a 2002 525d, my first BMW! Its a great car, but I really need to upgrade the headlights! I do a lot of country lane driving once I come off the m25 (traffic here sucks compared to home) and I really struggle to see, on anything but high beam!! Ive done some basic research and am thinking of purchasing this HID conversion kit http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/55w-slim-canbus-hid-xenon-conversion-kit-all-bulb-types/ at 6000K with the H7 plastic base. What do you guys think? Also to keep the angle eyes at the same colour temp can I buy 6000K bulbs for them? Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated! Cheers, George! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aja540i 1896 Report post Posted February 20, 2015 You really need to get the complete headlight assemblies to get the full benefit from hid bulbs. Hid bulbs produce light differently to normal bulbs and the reflectors are shaped differently to allow for this, if you just use the plastic adaptors in a normal housing you might be disapointed, also check the law, i know they are illegal in NZ. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwi535 538 Report post Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) i can say that proper HID on the low beam is amazing,but even though i had the full factory system on my 120 there were times that they were very annoying to otherdrivers,ie when i am in outside lane of a two lane road and there is another car to my left ,in the area where the low beam cut of angles upward.You can tell they didnt want to be there.Bloody amazing to drive behing though. i had norma halogen high beams.There are those who say HID no good for high beam because of the delay to switch on.Dont forget that most cars low beam stays on so its not like you lose any light when switching,full brighness of high will take a second or so Edited February 20, 2015 by kiwi535 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gbuck 0 Report post Posted February 20, 2015 You really need to get the complete headlight assemblies to get the full benefit from hid bulbs. Hid bulbs produce light differently to normal bulbs and the reflectors are shaped differently to allow for this, if you just use the plastic adaptors in a normal housing you might be disapointed, also check the law, i know they are illegal in NZ. Thanks for the info! What would I search for and where would I find a complete headlight assembly? Im assuming these would be from a newer model 5 series, is there much modification required to get them to fit? The current brightness of my lights is so sh*t, its dangerous! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gbuck 0 Report post Posted February 20, 2015 From what I have found online I need to get myself a pair of "e39 Hella facelift OEM hid Headlights". Because mine is pre facelift will I require a ballast or are these plug and play? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1870 Report post Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) You will need facelift Xenon headlight units which I obtained ex UK. I'm pretty sure e39's specd with HID's also had auto-leveling. So if that's the case you will need the auto-leveling parts and wiring along with a suitable LCM (Light control module). The headlight units should come with ballast resistor packs, and wiring is easy enough to do, in fact I think BMW do a retrofit wiring kit. Brand-new ex Hella NZ the xenon headlight units are around 2k each.... Edited February 20, 2015 by BreakMyWindow Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trottsky 24 Report post Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) I used to MOT (WOF) in the UK and as has been mentioned just watch out for the legal side of things, if you have HID dipped beam and you don't have auto headlight levelling utilising front and rear axle height sensors AND also don't have a headlight wash system installed it won't be legal. But you could always throw the halogens back in when it comes around to test time! Edited February 20, 2015 by trottsky Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gbuck 0 Report post Posted February 21, 2015 You will need facelift Xenon headlight units which I obtained ex UK. I'm pretty sure e39's specd with HID's also had auto-leveling. So if that's the case you will need the auto-leveling parts and wiring along with a suitable LCM (Light control module). The headlight units should come with ballast resistor packs, and wiring is easy enough to do, in fact I think BMW do a retrofit wiring kit. Brand-new ex Hella NZ the xenon headlight units are around 2k each.... Thanks for the info. So what I am looking for is a pair of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-5-Series-E39-Hella-M-Tech-Headlights-Angel-Eye-Headlamps-Lights-M5-535-530-/191516126511?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c97402d2f I cant seem to see a ballast here? Should it not be attached to the rear of the headlight unit? I have a levelling dial on my dash, but thats just for manual adjustment when ride height of vehicle changes. How complicated is it to install auto levelling? Im actually shocked by how bad the OEM lights are, its terrible when its rain or on dark country lanes, you can barely see anything with oncoming traffic. Will a light bulb change make any difference? My lenses aren't clouded. I used to MOT (WOF) in the UK and as has been mentioned just watch out for the legal side of things, if you have HID dipped beam and you don't have auto headlight levelling utilising front and rear axle height sensors AND also don't have a headlight wash system installed it won't be legal. But you could always throw the halogens back in when it comes around to test time! Appreciate the heads up, will be a bit of a ball ache replacing entire headlight unit ever time I need a MOT. Although being able to see when im driving will be nice! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Allanw 1051 Report post Posted February 21, 2015 You can buy genuine BMW retrofit kits in the UK/Europe (I got one for ours). it comes with a basic form of self-levelling. It's almost impossible to retrofit the full E39 self levelling system. Ebay, or ebay.de The Xenons are OK, the halogens are complete crap on the E39. neither is stunning, though the xenons are vastly superior. Self-levelling and washers with xenons are required to "work if fitted", but are not actually required in the UK - the wording is funny. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1870 Report post Posted February 26, 2015 The trouble with facelifted E39 Headlights is that the Xenon and Halogen units look identical on the lense side. You need good pics of the backside to determine if they're indeed xenon. There will be a few mis-represented units stating they're xenon but are halogen. This can also work to your favour price wise, so even check the listings that state they're not xenon. Ballasts attach to the backside of the unit with a bracket. About mid-way through 2002 Hella used epoxy to seal the front lenses. Replacing adjusters on these is not fun. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
