E53 Headlight
 

What do you guys think of aftermarket headlights for a 2001 X5? I need to replace one headlight and the cheapest I found was $750 each. I can get both for under $200 off ebay and they're a lot nicer (no reflector lense and built in angel eyes) but they're probably not motorized, but is it worth the extra cost to go oem?

Opinions?

From my experience I got those "ebay" ones. I have them for a while now. They work and they are decent looking ones, however... unfortunately when i purchased my headlights I didnt really know much about self level motors or CCFLs. I have honestly seen NICE headlights on the X5s around here in Brooklyn and when I ask every now and then, their respond is that they purchased it off of eBay. They look nothing like mines, unfortunately I have "Fake halos". I have the rings but with a tiny little blue light bulb that makes it reflect against the rings to make it seem as if there is a real halo light.

I would purchase mine from eBay again but i would first make sure they have CCFL, decent looking and very bright. Overall as long as they have CCFL they should be decent ones overall.

Good luck! :)

Link or pictures?

Pipes, there's tons of info on this site about after market headlights. Some bad experienced, some good experiences. I've had a bad experience in the past with some aftermarket lights with ballasts that kept failing, but now I'm having a great experience. Check this thread out.

http://www.Xoutpost.com/bmw-related-...fters-hid.html

If you have stock HID, and your low beam ballasts are good working condition, this will be a great option. If not, good luck in your search! They are essentially "eBay" lights, but for a better deal and tested by some of us xoutposters.

RP' right,
If you afford it, run with these puppies. Take a look at what RP and mtx5 just completed. Fantastic only starts to describe the end result.

Also check out what simoncpw also recently did in this thread:Mission Completed... here we go... Different theme with yellowish oem looking a/eye rings, but still very well done.

Then again you could take a look at dolphin_4_u input in this much thrashed about subject here:Abused subject - Are these ebay headlights any good, and these angel eyes?

Pipes,
Re the $200 ebay lights. King Sim0n's same product description is enough surely. The old addage rings ever so true here; you get what you pay for.

In any event good luck, come back with pics when all done.

Here's an example:

1999-2001 2002 2003 BMW X5 LED HALO PROJECTOR HEADLIGHT on eBay.ca (item 370268278752 end time 30-Oct-09 20:23:51 EDT)

I have HID right now, so I don't know exactly if I can just purchase these and everything will work good.

Oh and I just purchased HID bulbs, before I decided to get headlights....

Don't buy those headlights unless someone here can back the quality.

Since you have HID, you should look into the link I posted before.

Cool. Since there's probably no more GB, where can I purchase these now?

Also, I heard you can buy the non-motorized ones, and just swap the motor off the oem ones onto the new ones, for alot cheaper?

Anyways, I just bought a pair of HID bulbs before I cracked my headlight, now I'm looking for the most cost efficient way to fix it.

Why not buy an original used headlight (I've seen them on ebay for $130-$175) and If you want to do the rings, get a CCFL set for $40 and install them. You will have the original, yet pimped out OEM look..:smokin:

Don't go too cheap. You get what you pay for mostly.

THe one thing i would be nervous about is the quality of the plastic on the non oem ones. I would think they would get cloudy easier...

Interesting point, you could always add a clear film though.

So I found the HID DEPO headlights on EBAY and there is a $200 difference between the LED and non LED rings? Is it worth it?

Eh, probably not. Go for the non LED to save some cash.

I have the Depo's..Good quality overall-the projectors aren't PERFECT and the halos are led which is fairly week compared to CCFL. Pretty happy overall considering the price.

I bought projector headlights in black of ebay. they look much nicer that the OEM and are about the same brightness as the OEM xenon lights. they also have halo's which are CCFL.
I bought them for about 200$, great quality:thumbup:

x5x, pls provide the link for the product you purchased

they don't do them any more, sorry, but I will try get a link to the same headlights on another ebay seller:thumbup:

thanks x5x!

two questions though:

1. are you positive, everything is working fine without any problem?

2. do i need to purchase special bulbs or i could continue to use the oem bulbs for this headlight?

oh.... would you post some pictures and HAPPY THANKS GIVING!

Yes, everything works fine :thumbup:
No errors and no problems, but the headlights already have 6000k HID bulbs, which are brighter than OEM Xenon bulbs, so you do not have to purchase any special bulbs, they are already supplied.

I will take some pictures when the weather is nicer.

Happy thanks giving.

Hey guys,
I just clicked on the link above and realised that I've seen those exact same h/lights on an X5 over here on the GC. I spotted the X in a used car yard. It was a 4.4, gloss black to all lower (black plastic) trim and it had outstanding 20" Bayern Mesh rims.

I actually bumped into the guy who bought it a few weeks ago. He's taken off both mufflers, man his X sounds sick.

Anyway back to topic, I remember how the h/lights caught my eye (as I'd never seen them before) when it was in the caryard, so I took some pics as per below. Got to be honest and say not my cup of tea, but they certainly are different and as long as they keep working hassle free and you like them, then that's all that matters.
Enjoy :thumbup:

Kind of a 7 series look for the X5!Maybe for the X5 with a personality complex!
Not my favorite headlights..sorry!
At the moment,in my opinion,the Depo ,like Philip has ,are the best option.

x5x where can i buy the bulbs for replacements? they have to be ordered by the ebay seller?

You can buy all the bulbs in your local spare parts shop or the internet, but you can ask the seller what type of bulbs they are :thumbup:

hey x5x, but when i buy the bulbs, i need to ensure that the bulbs have high k's correct?

also, this HID thing works on both high and normal beam lights? what about day time lights? what about, blinker lights on the side? are they all HID?

would you post some pictures, please?

The only HID bulb is in the projector lens, the rest are LED (HID Xenon look) and halogen, all the bulbs are much brighter than the OEM bulbs. The pictures of the same headlights are posted above :thumbup:

exactly how many light bulbs are on each side? (i'm guessing blinker light, low beam, and high beam...) anything else?

Yes, the 3 small LED lights at the top corner, you can get six for about 10$
Also if you have a side light (Europe spec) but US spec do not have a side light.

hey x5x, how are your new lights workign so far? good? no problems? :)

does it look little akward without midifying your fog lamps after modifying your projectors? what about rear? i feel like they all have to be modified in order to look smooth, no?

I have had the lights for over a year now and there are no problems, they work fine.:thumbup:
No, it does not look akward next to the fog lights, because the fogs are either projectors or non projectors and the headlights have a projector lens and the other one is a non projector lens, so it looks good either way (I have projector lens for my fogs)
And you do not have to change the rear lights because you do not see them at the same time.
I have aftermarket lights at the rear, and it does not really make a difference at the front, but if you want aftermarket lights at the rear, you can get then really cheap (around 100$)
I will send you a link to rear taillights if you are interested.

hey x5x yes please! send me the link...

i can't make my mind up between black or crystal housing or smoke and non...... and i would like to match my front and tail in terms of its style....

also which bulb are you using? 6k? or higher? which color?

6000k i think, it looks factory Xenon white/blue.
Heres a few links,
These are the ones I have and I think the best looking :thumbup:
http://crazythegod.com/eBay/catalog/...53-LED-RSa.jpg
The same ones in black
http://crazythegod.com/ebay/catalog/...53-LED-SKa.jpg
Search for "BMW X5 LED TAILLIGHTS" or "BMW X5 TAILLIGHTS" any where on the internet (google, ebay...) and you can find the taillights that you think look best and best value for money:thumbup:

Factory HID's are right around 4500k...

Yes, but the Xenon lens is tinted blue, but it would be yellowish without the lens.

hey x5x, i just found out about CCFL... What are the difference between CCFL (it looks like CCFL can go up to 8k?, true?) and HID? What are the benefits?

also, according to the seller you mentioned, the HID can go up to 12000k... but rocky1536 is saying 4500k... ??? pls, advise.

oh!!! also, is it legal to use this kind of light bulbs as some (high brightess lights) are illegal to use in the first place, if i remember correctly. pls, advise on this as well.

No, they are not illegal, anything above 8,000k is illegal if you do not have a Xenon lens, and if you do have a Xenon lens, anything above 10,000k is illegal and these lights have 6,000k and a Xenon lens but these lights are fine, I passed my MOT test:thumbup:

hey x5x, i just found out about CCFL... What are the difference between CCFL (it looks like CCFL can go up to 8k?, true?) and HID? What are the benefits?

also, according to the seller you mentioned, the HID can go up to 12000k... but rocky1536 is saying 4500k... ??? pls, advise.

CCFL are brighter angel eyes and I would recommend 6,000k Xenon, but 4,500k is standard (like you get on the BMW Xenon lights) but 6,000k is the brightest HID, anything above 6,000k puts less and less lights on the road. I would not recommend anything above 10,000k or anything below 5,000k.
but the seller is selling 6,000k Xenon lights, not 4,500, he might of ment that nothing over 4,500k can come standard.

The benefits are that HID uses up 3 times less power that standard lights, can be up to 3 times brighter that standard lights. And HID bulbs do not burn out unless the bulb brakes, only then it would burn out. But for the bulb to brake, it has to come into physical contact with something.

both HID and CCFL projectors should work for my car? mine is standard HALO right now.

Yes, they both work on your car :thumbup:

is ccfl still brigher than normal halo lights?

what's the brightness of a normal halo (one i have right now) in K unit?

CCFL is brighter

hmm... no more things to worryabout.... should i go with CCFL? or HID? :)

K unit's measure color temperature, not brightness. A Lumen are standard here.

juppalgae I think you are confused.

CCFL are Cold Cathode Florescent lights-very low heat type of bulb that can be flexible and emits a very even, fairly bright light.

HID's are high intensity discharge- Never will you find them utilized for angel eyes, as they are extremely bright, get pretty hot, and really only used for low beams and SOMETIMES high beams.

So to answer your questions, get HID's for your headlights, and CCFL for you angel eyes...ALTHOUGH I have seen some very impressive LED angel eyes. Just make sure the design incorporates enough individule LEDs to not look "spotty" BTW:

LED stands for light emitting diode.

thanks rocky... would you pick one example from ebay? pls, provide me the link. and i will go ahead and purchase tat.

hey x5x, the link you gave me is HID for only low beam... wouldn't it be better off to have HID for both low and high beam?

You don't need HID for high beam, because it wold not make much of a difference in brightness, if you want "HID LOOK" bulbs, that are the same brightness, they cost around $15, I have never seen or heard of HID for high beam.

Pipes I have a spare set if you still need them. IMHO stay far away from aftermarket. On both my e46 and e46 aftermarket lights caused more problems then they were worth. Actuay ZKW e36 projectors were not bad.

x5x, check this!

2 SETS HID 01-03 BMW X5 BLACK HALO PROJECTOR HEADLIGHTS:eBay Motors (item 250537033925 end time Dec-25-09 02:23:14 PST)

We just got these in a couple of days ago:

http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1260473993

More info in this thread: http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-related-...tml#post689230

is this an aftermarket headlight?

Yes - these are DEPO headlamps.

what are DEPO headlamps?

DEPO is an aftermarket supplier of many headlights, including BMW applications. More info in this thread:http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-related-...tml#post689230