xenon

[wongedan 0]

any1 know how to change 318IA 1999's headlight to xenon? and which xenon white/blue beam is appropriate for the standard & high beam of the bmw? i saw ranges like H1-H5 but have no clue of what to use.. they sell for $18 in trademe, not sure if they are appropriate

[my_e36 43]

I presume you are not talking about proper HID system here. (with ballast and the works)

H1, H4, H5 represent the shape of the bulb and its base and filament geometry, it has nothing to do with its rating and colour.

Those $20 Trademe bulbs are not good. You should avoid anything with blue glass darker then sky blue on the bulb, which is merely blue coating on a normal bulb to acheive the white colour. Not to mention the ridiculous blue tint in your headlight during the day when the headlight is not on.

If you want something half decent, you can try Narva Artic Blue or its equivalent from Hella. You can also get Philips and Osram from these people (http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/home.php) which has Internation free shipping.

Remember, Hella, Philips and Osram bulbs are actually endorsed by BMW for replacement bulbs.

Finally, please don't use TXT language.

Edited for typo.

Edited July 21, 2006 by my_e36

[WarNox 1]

is it true that unless you get a proper HID kit and replace the whole headlight it will not look very good (e36)?

does hella make a whole hid kit or do they just sell the bulbs?

thnx

[Guest Spargo]

F**K me where to start.

1. You need a projecter setup that is actually designed to wrok with a cutoff that is in relation to where the bulbs filament is. Otherwise you get flares and brightspots - blinds on coming traffic. In effect, you need to replace the buckets that the bulbs sit in, otherwise the bulbs won't sit correctly in relation to the built in cutoffs.

2. Blue coated bulbs aren't HID. They are HICrap.

3. A halogen bucket is not manufactured the same way as an HID bucket. If you put an HID xetup into a Halogen bucket, all you'll end up doing is melting sh*t.

I recommend Osram silverstar for non HID setups. They're damned bright, and have a clear mcleans-white colour to them. Sadly they don't do an H3 bulb so you can't stick them in E30 projector Fogs (read: fl fogs)

[my_e36 43]

1. You need a projecter setup that is actually designed to wrok with a cutoff that is in relation to where the bulbs filament is. Otherwise you get flares and brightspots - blinds on coming traffic. In effect, you need to replace the buckets that the bulbs sit in, otherwise the bulbs won't sit correctly in relation to the built in cutoffs.

Many later model cars (BMW or not) have ellipsoidal headlamps where it can produce projecter light pattern & cut-off. Evidently by having a look at the projection your headlight makes when skining on a wall. Ellipsoidal headlamp have a clean cut off line with a bit of halo/rainbow on edge of the cut-off. After you've installed HID, the cut-off will be blurred because the actual length of the bulb that produce light is of different length (and geometry). Halogen bulb only give out light on the filament, HID bulbs have (almost) the whole length of the bulb giving out light. Plus the fact that any HID bulb that is not D2S or D2R fitment has re-engineered base to make them fit on what they say it would, which could make the glaring worse.

Enough technicalities, aftermarket HID is illegal on NZ road because it doesn't have self-leveling and headlmp washing. Info from LTNZ (ex-LTSA) paper "Get your lights right".

3. A halogen bucket is not manufactured the same way as an HID bucket. If you put an HID xetup into a Halogen bucket, all you'll end up doing is melting sh*t.

I thought HID runs lower wattage then halogen?

does hella make a whole hid kit or do they just sell the bulbs?

They do both.

[WarNox 1]

thnx for the info guys.

to get hella lights/bulbs, you'd have to go straight to bmw or can u order from hella directly?

on e36's the fogs use h1 bulbs and headlights h4, is that correct?

so to make it all look 'white', i'd just have to buy the appropriate size Osram silverstar's bulbs.

[kiwi535 538]

pull out your bulb and go to nearly any auto electrician,or look in the manual they will tell you what bulbs.I would expect an e36 to have h1 or h4 bulbs.E 34s are easy they use h1 in every lamp, low, high ,and fog.....I would also be wary about about using 100 watt bulbs,they MAY melt wiring if not the plastic? reflectors!

[martyyn 2]

Enough technicalities, aftermarket HID is illegal on NZ road because it doesn't have self-leveling and headlmp washing. Info from LTNZ (ex-LTSA) paper "Get your lights right".

Is this right ?

E38's were shipped with xenon lights from the factory that were neither self-levelling nor had headlamp washers.....what headlamp washers have to do with it I dont know !

Anyway this is what it says on the LTNZ website.

High intensity discharge (HID) conversion kits

HID conversion kits (an HID bulb with a high voltage power unit or ‘ballast’ which fits into the original headlamp unit in place of the original bulb with no change to the headlamp lens, reflector or housing) are illegal on any vehicle being used on New Zealand roads.

However, a complete halogen headlamp unit can be replaced with a complete HID headlamp unit provided that the replacement headlamp unit complies with approved standards. If in doubt, get advice from a vehicle lighting retailer you trust.

So aslong as the replacement is the entire headlamp then you look safe enough. Im talking to the Umnitza blokes in the States right now about getting some xenons with angel eyes for the 740 and they are convinced the whole replacement is ok

Cheers

Martyn

[WarNox 1]

the whole set is so expensive! how much are umnitza charging you? and shipping?

[martyyn 2]

the whole set is so expensive! how much are umnitza charging you? and shipping?

For angel eyes and xenon including shipping its USD 800

Yes its expensive but if you have to buy the whole lot to be legal then thats what you have to pay.

Dont forget that for an e38 there is feck all options, its not like people are falling over themselves to make addons for the barge.

Cheers

Martyn

[santa 3]

Hi

Are the Osram bulbs available locally??