Angel Eyes for E36 - Sacrilege or Sweetness?

[handgrenade 189]

I have a connection who will do an HID upgrade on my E36 Evo Sedan, however I'm wondering about the Angel Eyes option ...

Is it tacky? Overdone? Trying too hard to be E46?

This is all opinion based of course, so just interested to hear what people think ..

I like the look of angel eyes, but on the right car .. and if it wasn't ever factory, then maybe it should be left alone.

Also if I do get it done, it will be done right.

[MLee 35]

I say nay

But I'm a sucker for originality.

HID's are a pretty cool upgrade, but I think angel-eyes are tacky.

[handgrenade 189]

Yeah HIDs are a definite go .. Just undecided about the angel eyes!!

[Phil-540i 166]

IMO, your car looks smick as it is................... without the bogan angel eye thing happening to it...........

Each to their own & all though............

[handgrenade 189]

IMO, your car looks smick as it is................... without the bogan angel eye thing happening to it...........

Each to their own & all though............

thanks for the compliment!!

I suppose I feel sometimes that I'm just driving some standard 318 E36 or something with the M3 badge .. had a lot more attention in the skyline .. people see the cage, massive intercooler and harnesses etc and it stands out .. suppose I need to get used to some undercover stealth class.

Even the e30 and e46 and e92 m3's etc all had some distinctive feature that made them stand out that they are special .. e30 had massive dogbone style guards front and rear, e46 have the m-grilles and quad exhausts etc .. e92 has the bonnet bulges and the grilles as well

the poor e36 is just a standard e36 sedan with very minor subtle items that make it unique.

suppose I need more time to get used to a grown up car. haha.

Ive seen some nice angel eyes on american new camaros and chargers while in the USA for work and they look mean, however those are some large powerful cars .. not family sedans fit for children/family like the e36 sedan.

[handgrenade 189]

i suppose the question is .. what isnt wanky that would help make the e36 sedan m3 look/feel more like something more aggressive?

[Phil-540i 166]

Personally, I find baseball caps being worn the 'correct' way, (ie, peak bit forwards), isn't wanky whereas..........................

Sometimes, subtle is nice in a car, as such. Specially when 'doof-doof boast boy' pulls in beside ya............

Like ya said, a 'grown up car' now..........enjoy it for what it is I reckon............

What you've got is relatively rare, unlike Skylines etc............

[handgrenade 189]

Personally, I find baseball caps being worn the 'correct' way, (ie, peak bit forwards), isn't wanky whereas..........................

Sometimes, subtle is nice in a car, as such. Specially when 'doof-doof boast boy' pulls in beside ya............

Like ya said, a 'grown up car' now..........enjoy it for what it is I reckon............

What you've got is relatively rare, unlike Skylines etc............

haha well guess I have the best of both worlds then, and keep it that way .. caged, race prepped loud skyline with doof doof etc and the smooth euro cruiser with power on tap if required.

might still get the HIDs though and LED foglights to suit .. maybe play with the interior factory lighting to be red to suit the dash instead of the plain yellow/orange glow when doors open etc.

do they make glass e36 headlights? plastic headlights always turn yellowish after a while ..

[jonesrp 63]

Stealth ken...stealth...and then...sneak up on people.

[aja540i 1904]

haha well guess I have the best of both worlds then, and keep it that way .. caged, race prepped loud skyline with doof doof etc and the smooth euro cruiser with power on tap if required.

might still get the HIDs though and LED foglights to suit .. maybe play with the interior factory lighting to be red to suit the dash instead of the plain yellow/orange glow when doors open etc.

do they make glass e36 headlights? plastic headlights always turn yellowish after a while ..

I thought all e36 headlights were glass! Mine are, its one of the things i like about it after spending 4 hours polishing the e39 lights!!

[handgrenade 189]

Glass it is! they are a bit foggy though .. might be moisture, or might be internal plastic bits? will have to investigate.

definitely want to keep it non-wanky but still have something to show ...

The e36 m3 just looks like any other m3, I know .. stealth stealth, but I can't shut up that niggling in the back of my head saying make it look more aggressive to match what is underneath!

[yng_750 247]

Plain angel eyes are abit naff. Voloured angels eyes look hood if they suit the car colour.

Red on black car.

Blue on blue car are always a winner. Put it on a seperate switch as colours arent always legal

[Tristan 338]

I like angels on an E36. If you have the performance to match the aggressive look it (IMO) gives, go for it.

Badass

[yng_750 247]

also i have cleaned the inside of glass lights and found a massive amount of grime and dust on the glass.

[handgrenade 189]

Plain angel eyes are abit naff. Voloured angels eyes look hood if they suit the car colour.

Red on black car.

Blue on blue car are always a winner. Put it on a seperate switch as colours arent always legal

What colour would suit a silver car? haha

[handgrenade 189]

I like angels on an E36. If you have the performance to match the aggressive look it (IMO) gives, go for it.

Badass

M3 evo 236kw?

maybe if it was boosted .. then that would be enough performance to run wanky-angel eyes? haha

[handgrenade 189]

also i have cleaned the inside of glass lights and found a massive amount of grime and dust on the glass.

ah that is probably it. Is it all glued/siliconed together? or are there nice screws and such to take the lights apart?

I just have bad experiences in the past with plastic japanese headlights and trying to get into them.

[handgrenade 189]

Ok. I have found HID kits for H1 bulb types which from research the euro spec e36 sedan headlights run (one set low beam dip, one set high beam dip and one set fog lights).

edit: found out which parking light I'll need to replace.

Now the question is, the standard factory reflectors aren't meant for xenon lights .. does anyone in NZ sell a new set of lenses to control the lighting spread? or does everyone who installs aftermarket HID lights just drive around blinding everyone?

Edited April 8, 2014 by handgrenade

[Smac01 12]

I put Depo headlights with angel eyes on my E36 sedan a few years back, pics at the bottom of this thread.

I thought they looked good in the amber colour as opposed to LED.

[Lucan 196]

I put LED halo things in my old E36, way more staunch IMO...E39's are a similar age to the E36 - the look suits both shapes and draws a bit more attention?

Hardwired so it works as parklights - like in the E39 or putting in an external switch is easy enough too

The whole HID upgrade situation has been thrashed on this forum, searched?

[handgrenade 189]

mostly for e39s.. not too many e36 threads.

I might go for the upgraded blue H1 bulbs to begin with and see how those go.

[bimmer boy 21]

I have added angel eyes and HID to the last few of my BMWs and this it looks good. I recently-ish put 8000k HIDs and LED angel eyes in my black E36. Looks quite good and freshens up the front end much more without any yellow light. Just stay away from colored angel eyes if you do decide to get them and just still with white. Keeps it nice and clean

[handgrenade 189]

Did you have any problems with light glare and dispersion? If I'm going to go HID then I want to do it legit and safely

[bimmer boy 21]

They are fine and have them set aiming lower on the road so it doesn't blind other people. But it's always going to be illegal since the car never came from factory with them so would be a WOF issue but it's also an item that anyone could add after getting a WOF so most places seem to overlook it. When I've gone through check points or been pulled over nothing has been said about them

[handgrenade 189]

I have searched around for replacement lenses to accommodate the HID conversion with no luck. Would like to do it properly if at all ..