Help Make Decision - DEPO lights

[bmwbmwfan]

I don't think mine are projectors....not sure really to tell you the truth. But they are self-levelling. They are stock and basic as it gets otherwise.

I don't have the fading that everyone here is talking about when doors are locked/unlocked. Only the side markers light/corners/taillights.

Would I get this fading feature on the rings if I get these lights??


M5James, could you tell me if these are the HIDs you were talking about??
HIDExtra.com - The Best Source for HID Xenon Light Conversion Kits D2S-5000K

So one of these for my low beams and one for my fogs??




I hope by the end of this, I make my decision. I thank everyone for participating in this thread. Really, at the end it might just come down to $$$...

[MINIz guy]

Originally Posted by m5james

I'm in Reno visiting family and I have a broken laptop screen, so trying to view and compare each ebay link from my Treo. I'll be back home on Monday, then i'll take a peak for ya bro. In the meantime, take a good close-up pic or give more details of your current headlights...do you have projectors already, self leveling, etc. My 4.4 didn't come w/ projector headlights, so even if I wanted to do an HID conversion, it'd look like the E36 that didn't have projectors, making the light horribly scattered and almost useless.

Could you expand on that last statement? Wouldn't scattered light be dependent on the new headlight housing and not the previous light setup?

I've also been toying with the idea of adding HID headlights to a 2003 3.0i with halogen lights. The easy way to do this is to just purchase ballasts, lights for installation and level the lights manually so it doesn't blind oncoming drivers. This is different than an OEM setup as the OEM setup also includes auto-leveling sensors so the lights can automatically level themselves when a load is put upon the axles; this way, your lights will be always level and not blind oncoming drivers by pointing too high up or give you low visibility by points too far down. To get this "complete" retrofit to be like an OEM setup, it will cost around $1500 on eBay including all the wiring, sensors, ballasts and OEM headlights. You also need headlight washers, which is another $300 retrofit kit if you don't have it, for this OEM retrofit to work properly. This kit has also been discontinued from what RealOEM is saying, but I'm not sure if you can still get it in Europe.

[m5james]

Originally Posted by MINIz guy

Could you expand on that last statement? Wouldn't scattered light be dependent on the new headlight housing and not the previous light setup?

I've also been toying with the idea of adding HID headlights to a 2003 3.0i with halogen lights. The easy way to do this is to just purchase ballasts, lights for installation and level the lights manually so it doesn't blind oncoming drivers. This is different than an OEM setup as the OEM setup also includes auto-leveling sensors so the lights can automatically level themselves when a load is put upon the axles; this way, your lights will be always level and not blind oncoming drivers by pointing too high up or give you low visibility by points too far down. To get this "complete" retrofit to be like an OEM setup, it will cost around $1500 on eBay including all the wiring, sensors, ballasts and OEM headlights. You also need headlight washers, which is another $300 retrofit kit if you don't have it, for this OEM retrofit to work properly. This kit has also been discontinued from what RealOEM is saying, but I'm not sure if you can still get it in Europe.

With headlights like mine and the ones you usually find in the E36, the lowbeams are halogen bulbs w/ a plastic wafer in front of the bulb which scatters the light pattern and makes HID's almost useless since they put out so much brighter light. Projector headlights have a like 2" circle in the middle of the wafer w/ a crystal ball type of lens that focuses the light better, giving that cool upwards right angle cutoff that we all love so much.

[m5james]

Originally Posted by bmwbmwfan

I don't think mine are projectors....not sure really to tell you the truth. But they are self-levelling. They are stock and basic as it gets otherwise.

It'd be really helpful is you took a picture just to be sure. You mentioned you've seen some of my posts, and there was one thread where someone asked me to take pics of my headlights so he could compare them to him.

I can't imagine that if you've got self leveling headlights that you wouldn't also already have stock HID's, but then again I never figured I'd be able to buy a V8 X5 w/o projectors and a sunroof.

I'll be home tomorrow evening, so I'll be able to help ya out then. In the meantime, since Tom said the ebay ones are the same as his, find out what the shipping differences would be between his the ebay set.

If you've already got stock HID's, then you won't need Tom's expensive resistors. If you don't have stock HID's and if neither Tom's or the ebay kit doesn't come w/ HID's, then the place where I ordered my conversion kit will come w/ bulbs, ballasts and resistors for $60 shipped. You might have to pay a little more for shipping to Canada, but it's such a small box, I'd imagine it can't be that much more. You'd have to call HIDextra and ask them while you're waiting for shipping quotes from ebay and Tom.

[MINIz guy]

Originally Posted by m5james

With headlights like mine and the ones you usually find in the E36, the lowbeams are halogen bulbs w/ a plastic wafer in front of the bulb which scatters the light pattern and makes HID's almost useless since they put out so much brighter light. Projector headlights have a like 2" circle in the middle of the wafer w/ a crystal ball type of lens that focuses the light better, giving that cool upwards right angle cutoff that we all love so much.

Yes, I do understand where you're coming from. But, isn't the OP wanting to upgrade the whole headlight housing and not just adding HID bulbs to the original halogen housing?

Also, I remember reading that X Foomph has self leveling halogen headlights, and he is from Australia. It might just be a European thing where all headlights have self leveling installed.

[m5james]

I understand he wants to upgrade the whole headlight, I was just doing the comparison of E36 and my X5 headlights in reference to the headlight itself not having a projector. I don't remember if Xoomph had self leveling headlights, but I do remember he doesn't have projectors. BMWBMWFan doesn't know if he has projectors or not, so I'm just trying to find things out beforehand since those DEPO's and car's w/ autoleveling use a different wiring harness that car's w/o self leveling.

[bmwbmwfan]

Hey,

Here is a picture I took with my phone...




What exactly is self levelling?? Basically when I start my car, 2secs late I see that the height of where light is being project moves up or down. I don't think it does it as I am driving...only in the begining...unless I cannot notice it. Doesn't this sound like self levelling though?

I am definitely still considering my purchase with TOM...but I might get the HID kit else where to save some money with the resistors! Which ones are required?

[bmwbmwfan]

I just noticed a price reduction!!

00 01 02 03 BMW E53 X5 UHP LED HALO PROJECTOR HEADLIGHT:eBay Motors (item 200419824174 end time Jan-18-10 12:24:51 PST)

I am very tempted...would I get any error codes at all????

[MINIz guy]

That is a great price. You already have HID and self leveling headlights, so it should just be plug and play!

[bmwbmwfan]

Wonder if TOM could price match!

I'm pretty sure I don't have HIDs...I just looked at the bulb its a 9006...so it cannot be HID right?? And the colour is yellow orange...