What did you do to / for your E53 today??

[pnoyako85]

Damn TMv….hope everything is ok…..that exhaust is strong tho i blv …..and the ride height is perfect for that car……hope you get new front and rear bumpers….stupid chevys….

[TiAgX5]

Originally Posted by Peregrin-O

looks like someone forgot to take their tourette medicine a couple posts ago ^......

Could have been a few Long Island Iced Teas.

[tmv]

Thanks Mike.

Originally Posted by Peregrin-O

K, before anyone screams at me cause they're chrome. I plan on opening them up and painting the inside shroud thing black and close them up with some good sealant for zero condensation problems. Seems the black housing ones aren't gonna be in stock for a while. I also went ahead and ordered some 6000k HID's to match my fogs.
Special thanks to TMV for helping me decide as its the same lights he had on his old girl.

Swap the projectors for much better light output once you have them opened.
Good choice

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by tmv

Swap the projectors for much better light output once you have them opened.
Good choice

Peregrin, nice choice of headlights for replacement. I'll be looking to do a set next year, I have my wife's retrofit to do first, as her car gets driven more than my X and I can't stand the halogens!

I'm assuming you have stock HID and will just be swapping your internals from your xenon lights? This projector will drop right in to the existing mounts if you want MUCH better light output, bolt it in and just aim it from there relative to the vehicle center line:

Bi-xenon: Hella EvoX-R - HID Projectors from The Retrofit Source Inc

Also, if you want to replace the CCFL with LED rings up front, you can source them here, you need a pair of 120mm and 140mm rings:

6000K Xenon White Universal Fit Halo Angel Eye LED Projector Ring Version 2 V2 | eBay

To open them up I used 230 for 20 mins in the oven, came open like butter. I didnt use extra butyl on the re-seal (although you can if you want to, not going to hurt), the key is to heat the housing up on the re-seal for another 230 at 20 mins to get the sealant really soft again, so it really closes well when you clamp it shut, make sure all cips engage, and leave some spring clamps around the top or bottom while it cools, you should have no problems.


However, I am not a fan of the 6000k HID, fact is it is significantly dimmer at night than our stock 4300k bulbs, add to the fact that most 6000k bulbs are aftermarket, and I'm afraid you will be suffering at night. Just my opinion, but I think eventually you will want 4300k back

EDIT: I just re-read your post and you are matching your fogs, which I understand, but just some food for thought, you can get probably 15% more light on the road if you go back to 4300k

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by Peregrin-O

looks like someone forgot to take their tourette medicine a couple posts ago ^

Anywho, Thanks to all the awesome info and pics on this forum I went ahead and bought these headlights today...
01 02 03 BMW E53 x5 CCFL Halo Projector Headlights Lights All Clear Left Right | eBay
K, before anyone screams at me cause they're chrome. I plan on opening them up and painting the inside shroud thing black and close them up with some good sealant for zero condensation problems. Seems the black housing ones aren't gonna be in stock for a while. I also went ahead and ordered some 6000k HID's to match my fogs.
Special thanks to TMV for helping me decide as its the same lights he had on his old girl.

I am about do the light upgrade thing with all 6000k also. If I am going to pull the lights and bake them I want more than the housing to look different and I didn't like how different the fogs looked after the last time I replaced bulbs.

[pwvarley]

replaced the window regulator yesterday and doing the outer door handle carrier as soon as USPS drops the new one off! then waiting for the lock actuator to show up tomorrow! just bought the x5 and seems like the previous owner didn't want to fix any of the known issues with the car

[Ricky Bobby]

Installed my new side markers today.



Money shot of 168s freshly sealed for winter

[e30cabrio]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

Installed my new side markers today.



Money shot of 168s freshly sealed for winter

Do you like them?

I washed mine including pressure washing the grease "off" the rim & suspension. I swear they somehow got 50 gallons of grease in that CV boot.

[Ricky Bobby]

Love the markers, much better than the Depos I had and blend into the rub strips better!

And yes cv grease takes a ton of degreaser, when I did my boots I must have used 4-5 harbor freight shop towels when wiping out each outer joint and the parts to it

[e30cabrio]

It was everywhere. I must have gone through 10 rags. Luckily they are cheap. I am happy because the source of the brake wobble was the rotors. I was afraid from reading it might have been suspension related.

Tomorrow full interior detail is planned.