Do you guys read? I mean not to be a dick, but seriously.

Mrbmwx5 is posting the switching of the rings he did on AFTERMARKET housings, these specifically:

Black 01 03 BMW E53 x5 Halo Projector Headlights Lamp Pair Lights Left Right Set | eBay


Its already a well known fact that the STOCK HOUSINGS of the pre-facelift use 128-130 mm rings for low beam and 160mm for high beam, just like the ones that are readily available.


Now, some members here run the aftermarket housings on their pre-facelift X5, tmv actually used to have these on his old 3.0, and some wanted to upgrade to CCFL but didn't know what size the rings are of the ones that are on the housing.


I measured them last night because i have a set of the AFTERMARKET lights in my basement as I am doing a proper retrofit for a member on the forums who has an Estoril 4.6, and I measured the diameter of the rings since I have his set baked open and on my workbench.



NOW, that that is cleared up, the sizes for the aftermarket housings (the ones mrbmwx5 worked on) are as follows:

High beam - 145 mm
Low beam - 123 mm (use 125 mm ring for replacement)

I thought I'd do something good for the members here and report back on what rings to use should you have the same aftermarket headlights, or might want to purchase a set and upgrade the rings off the bat. There you go, my good deed for today.

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Thank you for the clarification to the others! I retract my previous statement.

I know my measurements are correct but I guess a few mm smaller helps to fit the "full circle" rings a bit better in the housing, as the CCFL rings are close to complete circles but a little smushed on the top. I will try to get some pics of the shape of the CCFL rings included in the housing later.



Also, would like to know if you had to modify the "ring holders" at all (the chrome plastic pieces) on those lights to keep the LED rings in place, or do they just stay clipped in place like the CCFL's did? Your 140 and 120mm measurements seem to be good (slightly less than actual diameter of the CCFL rings), just want to know if they do clip in place like the original rings in these lights. I'm trying for as easy of a drop in swap as I can with these.


I still think you might be able to get a 145mm on the high beam, but it will be a tight fit as the CCFL ring is slightly squished on top, its not a complete circle. The low beam ring is closer to being a full circle.

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Thank you for the pics, I thought I might have to trim a bit off the top of the black piece as the "headroom" just isn't enough for a full circled ring.

The new rings stayed in place without gluing them onto the chrome piece?

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hey Tom did you get any other pics of when you were done mounting the rings? Specifically I'd like to see pics of how much you trimmed on the black plastic housing and closeups from the back of how they are mounted, looks like the low beam ring is almost a full circle already, and the high beam ring is a tight fit because it's not fully round (which is why i assume you went a few mm smaller with the 140 mm ring as opposed to the 145)

Any other help is appreciated, thanks!

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OK awesome, thanks! Do you think the 125 and 145 would fit too, or was it tight enough with the 140mm ring?