Replacement Headlight Lenses

[740iS]

Originally Posted by Skyline

Thanks, that would be appreciated.

I'm curious how you made the outer rings brighter as well. I've replaced my high beam bulbs with LEDs, which made the halo rings brighter and whiter, but the outer rings are a bit dim.

I've done the same and inner rings are still dim too. Interested to see what you find out.

[X5Cat]

Originally Posted by 5Xtheproblems

My headlights have AFS, so I wanted to steer away from heating the housings.

What is AFS? How can I tell if mine are AFS, and why would I not want to bake them? Motor/electronics inside, etc.?

[binbin93]

I have done for my car X5 2007.
many seller on Ebay have new lens.
to remove old one, you need to cut it out since adhesive is bond and not easy to remove by heat.
internal is also very dirty you need to clean.
after that it looks like new one. do not polish it's not effective
see this video for details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhrEq2NL0DE

[5Xtheproblems]

Hey Guys,

So sorry for talking forever to reply back on this. Have been slammed at work and travelling around (EDC Las Vegas) . Excuse the length, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Background: I have an 08 X5 with heavily clouded, pitted, and cracked lenses. No matter the polishing or other methods I employed, the headlights looked terrible-- in spite of my otherwise pristine looking car! I did not want to do the LCI conversion due to cost and the headaches with coding, etc.

My headlights have AFS= "in automotive field, means Adaptive Front-Lighting System. It can continuously accommodate head light to adapt to current steering angle so as to ensure the light direction can be always in accordance with auto driving direction"-- basically, the headlights swivel left and right. Usually found in Xs with premium package, I think.
The extra electronics involved with this prevented me from wanting to bake or apply heat.

Lets start with the lenses I purchased:
For BMW 2008-2013 X5 E70 Car R&L Lens Lampcover Headlight Cover Lampshade Bright | eBay

Video I used to help with cutting open headlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhrEq2NL0DE

How my headlights looked after removal from vehicle :
https://ibb.co/ch59TQ


I started cutting the lenses as shown in the video above. I used a hair dryer on the seals when trying to pry the piece of plastic lens out. That was enough heat to get the plastic to separate and not damage anything!

With the headlights now opened, I decided I wanted to give them a unique look, since mine are Pre-LCI. I took inspiration from the X5M headlights:
https://ibb.co/iq09TQ


I'm missing pics from these steps (phone memory corrupted), but I used silver metallic paint and taped off eye brows and eye liner on the inside of the headlight and dusted with 2 coats. Since I have M wheels, M style grilles and other M accessories on the car, decided to purchase some M decals on ebay to fit in the headlights for decoration. Most modern headlights have wording in them "led active technology, light precision, adaptive technology, etc", and this is my own play on that.

Now the big issue besides the lenses: the outer ring on my headlights was too dim Despite buying some of the best H8 led bulbs, I was also plagued with the dim outer ring. to counter act this, I decided to buy an LED ring to slide behind the outer ring to provide more light output.

140MM HALO RINGS LED ANGEL EYES SMD LED XENON WHITE 7000K DAYTIEM RUNNING LIGHT | eBay

The size of the outer ring I purchased is 140mm-- slightly smaller than the ones fitted to our vehicle, but were easy to slide in and out for install. You can buy any 140mm ring (CCFL, Plasma, LED). I chose LED for the color output. I simply spliced the wires into the H8 connector on each headlight so that they turned on with the stock Halos.

stock ring: 1 aftermarket led: 2

https://ibb.co/i2knF5


Finally, I vacuumed the headlights out and fitted the lenses. I used high heat sealant to reseal the headlights. Have not had any condensation issues since install (5 months now)

Here's some pics of the headlights. I have not manipulated the light output at all. These halos look great and almost-oem when on the road. I hope this gives you guys a little help, and feel free to contact me for further information!

https://ibb.co/kCwPTQ


https://ibb.co/jxAJoQ


https://ibb.co/ic5jTQ


https://ibb.co/dHC9v5




-Antonio

[Whitexi]

That looks really good!

[blue dragon]

Yes, that looks great.

[Mflara420]

Could too post the sealant you used... Great job!

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[5Xtheproblems]

I used a clear silicone tube I purchased at home depot. Chose the higher heat application, so that there wouldn't be issues with a hot engine bay, lights, or warm weather. I actually applied the silicone on the outside of the headlight edges so that I could cut it off in the future (in case I needed to access the internals or repair the led rings).

[blue dragon]

Here is the sealant to use

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/ac...utyl-glue.html

[5Xtheproblems]

Yep, bluedragon's suggestion is best for sealant. I was in a in a hurry at the tail end and used what was faster to source. All in all, it is a smooth process if everything is purchased ahead of time.