Venom Headlights for Facelift e53. Anyone Tried Them?

[crystalworks]

RB, thanks very much for the suggestions and information. I've talked to you about the halos before. Let me address the points you made and my thinking.

-I had been looking for lens replacements stateside but had no luck and I never peruse the UK or Euro ebay offerings. $155 + unspecified shipping costs is kind of pricey for lens replacements. I purchased new ones for my wife's e83 for <$100.

-$1200 euro options are obviously the best way to go... but I am not willing to drop that kind of coin on a vehicle the market says is worth ~$10k when there are other areas I could spend that $$$ on the car like maintenance and the like.

-I can bake these permaseals open... I'm not worried about that. It will take time and work... but I'm very familiar with lighting mods (which is why I am trying to avoid it... lol). I estimate it will take at least 2 weeks of downtime to bake them, repair all the wiring, measure for new LED halo rings, and then wait for those rings to arrive. Plus I will have to have the lenses professionally corrected as you outlined above. I'm guessing that would cost ~$100. The Umnitza V2 are another $170. So that's about $300 to go this route.

-The Venom headlights. I usually agree with you 100% on this subject. But in this case I actually kind of dig the design. Very reminiscent of the newer "Efficiency Design" headlights on the later generation X's. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so I totally understand your opinion on them. To me (and I checked with the wife too) they actually look very good, minus (as you pointed out) the smaller halo rings. The fact that they are CCFL also sucks. But that said, before LEDs I ran plenty of CCFL kits that lasted me many years. Also with this route there is no downtime and I could work on the factory headlights at my leisure.

-The projector quality is definitely something I considered. I plan on doing a comparison in the garage to see the difference in lighting (scatter, cutoff, etc). Also to help aim them upon installation. Going with the aftermarket option I might retrofit a better projector into the OEM headlights as you mentioned above since down time would not be an issue.

I am hoping someone has actually tried these headlights... hah so I don't have to be the guinea pig. Let me know what you think of my thoughts RB. LOL I don't mind being disagreed with. Hopefully some others will chime in as well.

Edit: Yes I have factory Xenon.

Edit #2: I just noticed that it says "not compatible with Bi-Xenon w/ Adaptive function." What is the Adaptive Function? Is that the leveling function? Because if so, mine has that (when you power up the truck it cycles the headlights down and up) and makes this discussion moot.

[mam4.6]

I say no go. I've seen them in person, they look worse than the pics portray. You'll be displeased with them... But if it's a temporary use till you get your others modded, why not...

[04e53x5]

I agree with RB they look very aftermarket. the rings look to small in my opinion I feel like it came out of russia no offence to any 1 lol

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by mam4.6

I say no go. I've seen them in person, they look worse than the pics portray. You'll be displeased with them... But if it's a temporary use till you get your others modded, why not...

Thanks for chiming in with the first hand experience. Looks like I'll be going with the labor intensive route then. I'm surprised they photograph so well though. Most cheap headlights (Depo) look like garbage even in pics.

Originally Posted by 04e53x5

I agree with RB they look very aftermarket. the rings look to small in my opinion I feel like it came out of russia no offence to any 1 lol

I agree with you (and RB) on the halo rings. They are too small imo as well. I didn't mind the look though as they are an imitation of the "Efficiency Dynamics" design found on newer Bimmers. At any rate, if they are as sub par as mentioned above... I'll just take the X5 off the road for a few weeks while I mod the OE lights.

[04e53x5]

Are there 2 projectors????

[X5only]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

<snip>
Edit #2: I just noticed that it says "not compatible with Bi-Xenon w/ Adaptive function." What is the Adaptive Function? Is that the leveling function? Because if so, mine has that (when you power up the truck it cycles the headlights down and up) and makes this discussion moot.

E53 Adaptive Head Lights- A variable headlamp control system that enables better illumination of the road surface. Depending on the steering angle and other assumptions, the light from the headlamp follows the course of the road. Turn on your headlights facing a wall or something and turn the steering left/right and you'll notice the head lights illumination moving as well in response to your steering input. I think this was a standard option in sports edition 04+

[mam4.6]

I don't think you'll regret your decision. Consider upgrading your projectors to EVO-XRs while you've got your lights open. RB did mine some time ago. They have amazing light output!

Lookin' forward to your project!

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

RB, thanks very much for the suggestions and information. I've talked to you about the halos before. Let me address the points you made and my thinking.

-I had been looking for lens replacements stateside but had no luck and I never peruse the UK or Euro ebay offerings. $155 + unspecified shipping costs is kind of pricey for lens replacements. I purchased new ones for my wife's e83 for <$100. Agreed the lenses are pricey, but the seller looks solid and lets be honest its supply and demand. I have NOT found any E53 lens options and they seem to be the only market, so obviously it would be what the market could bear, price wise. If you are spending upwards of $100 on a professional correction, but you have to bake your housings open and be careful not to crack or mess up the Original lenses, again its a give and take.

-$1200 euro options are obviously the best way to go... but I am not willing to drop that kind of coin on a vehicle the market says is worth ~$10k when there are other areas I could spend that $$$ on the car like maintenance and the like. Understood, its a great look but pricey just to have clear corners.

-I can bake these permaseals open... I'm not worried about that. It will take time and work... but I'm very familiar with lighting mods (which is why I am trying to avoid it... lol). I estimate it will take at least 2 weeks of downtime to bake them, repair all the wiring, measure for new LED halo rings, and then wait for those rings to arrive. Plus I will have to have the lenses professionally corrected as you outlined above. I'm guessing that would cost ~$100. The Umnitza V2 are another $170. So that's about $300 to go this route. If you go with the Umnitza rings you won't have to measure, and honestly you can go with the rings I have on my Spyder headlights, the sizes are exactly the same, give or take a mm, as the facelift lights. You would need a semi-circle 145mm ring, and a full circled 120mm ring for the inner. I can send you the seller from Alibaba I got mine from, they are extremely good quality and bright but will take approx 3-4 weeks to arrive from overseas. The plus, is that they are $55 delivered for a set. So if you go this route, I would order all my parts and have them ready to go in. If you go with the generic rings like I did, the money saved from the Umnitza rings could be spent on new OEM bulbs and/or new projectors (EvoXR)

-The Venom headlights. I usually agree with you 100% on this subject. But in this case I actually kind of dig the design. Very reminiscent of the newer "Efficiency Design" headlights on the later generation X's. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so I totally understand your opinion on them. To me (and I checked with the wife too) they actually look very good, minus (as you pointed out) the smaller halo rings. The fact that they are CCFL also sucks. But that said, before LEDs I ran plenty of CCFL kits that lasted me many years. Also with this route there is no downtime and I could work on the factory headlights at my leisure. I agree with mam4.6 that they are not as good looking in person, that eyebrow really bothers me and it doesn't flow with the facelift design in terms of an OEM+ look. The Depo's for the Pre-facelift for example are a decent look, although not the absolute best headlight I've seen for 00-03, but they do not try to "advance" their look too much given that the pre-facelift is an older design overall.

-The projector quality is definitely something I considered. I plan on doing a comparison in the garage to see the difference in lighting (scatter, cutoff, etc). Also to help aim them upon installation. Going with the aftermarket option I might retrofit a better projector into the OEM headlights as you mentioned above since down time would not be an issue.
Again if you are going to use the $400 option to "float you time" to work on your OE headlights, then I guess so. I will say that retrofitting a new projector into the aftermarket housing will not be as easy, I retrofitted Matt's headlights and because of the tolerances in housing quality it wasn't the easiest job in terms of alignment, etc. Working on OE housings is recommended when swapping a projector. I have the same headlights as Matt with the same projector swap and even on my car my rotation is a degree off, although I've aligned them well enough that its hidden, something only the most OCD would notice. But as on the facelift, the pre-facelifts don't have many options. The Spyder headlights mam4.6 and I have, are no longer in production, but bolted an EvoXR projector in with no other modifications. The Depo's are a better housing but do not take a new projector unless its a custom and more involved retrofit.

I am hoping someone has actually tried these headlights... hah so I don't have to be the guinea pig. Let me know what you think of my thoughts RB. LOL I don't mind being disagreed with. Hopefully some others will chime in as well.

Edit: Yes I have factory Xenon.

Edit #2: I just noticed that it says "not compatible with Bi-Xenon w/ Adaptive function." What is the Adaptive Function? Is that the leveling function? Because if so, mine has that (when you power up the truck it cycles the headlights down and up) and makes this discussion moot. Up and Down is self leveling, all E53 xenons have that. Adaptive is turning left/right into turns, a facelift option. Basically if you chose the facelift aftermarkets for $400 you would lose that option, potentially have an error as well.

Answers above, in summary I recommend if you can afford some down time, do the OEM housings right, you will be glad you did.

Good news on the OEM housings is:
-You have two options for LED halos, one is the generic brand I went with, and have already figured the sizes out for you, since mine are facelift replica lights. If you want to spend the extra $150, Umnitza V2 rings are proven, and well built, hell of a warranty. They will run you $190 or so shipped.
-You have new lenses as an option if you wanted to go with them
-Once repaired the wiring, the housings will last indefinitely
-There are mounting tab repair kits available if you were to break them
-EvoXR will literally be a bolt in projector if you have the OEM housings open, and should require minimal tweaking/aiming once bolted in place. No JB Weld for this swap! Add $150 to your project cost if you choose to do this.

However, I do recommend if anything, you buy FRESH OEM XENON BULBS, you are killing your light output now on original bulbs. You can get Philips or Osram guaranteed from HIDbulbsRus | Home for just about $80 shipped I believe, stick with OEM 4300K.

Cheapest option with OEM's:
-Refurbish/Opti-Lens original lenses ($100)
-Generic LED rings from Overseas, 2-3 week lead time ($55)
-OEM Bulbs ($80)

You can order your parts in advance so they are ready when you are, to dive in. Total project cost should be under $250, the "budget route", and you'll have brighter halos when all said and done!

Full Boar/Upgrade option with OEM's:
-Refurbish/Opti-Lens original lenses ($100)
-Umnitza V2 rings ($190)
-OEM Bulbs ($80)
-EvoXR Projector swap ($150)

This total project cost should be around $550. Still $150 more than those not so hot, aftermarket housings.

Btw, for my "generic rings" I got them from this seller on Alibaba (Nanjing Newsun Ltd), you will need to email the factory and let them know you'd like the 145mm semi-circle, and either the 120mm or 125mm full circle ring would work on the inner rings. 125mm may fit facelift housings better. Their rings come with the inline resistors and a wiring harness which I don't believe you will need, but the inline resistors are a plus.

Super bright LED 3014 SMD Led Angel Eyes halo light for BMW E46 NON projector 7000K LED Halo Ring kit factory supply-in Angel Eyes from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group