facelift non xenon upg

[storminmike]

[quote=""redz""]fitted today in a little under an hour..

no warning msg/noise and pretty easy to do.

Best upg i have done so far![/quote]

Did you end up with the 50watt 4,300k ones then?
What's you impression of their brightness?

I tend to look at the puddle of lights that cars produce when we're side by side on the motorway. Subjective I know but if you outshine theirs then it must be good. The old e36 lost out badly at this light war as the tarmac looked barely lit until a fiesta came by and lit the road/trees/birds


How did the install go/pics?

[redz]

i bought the 50w 6000k.. same bulb temp as i had on my lexus.

very bright, noticeable during daylight and really lit up the road where no road lights.. a def improvement. considering doing the main beam and fogs too!

no pics as yet.. its too cold!! install was quite trouble free, didnt get a perfect circle cutout but added some silicone sealer to ensure its water tight.a nice threaded hole to mount the ballasts to as well!

[storminmike]

[quote=""redz""]i bought the 50w 6000k.. same bulb temp as i had on my lexus.

very bright, noticeable during daylight and really lit up the road where no road lights.. a def improvement. considering doing the main beam and fogs too!

no pics as yet.. its too cold!! install was quite trouble free, didnt get a perfect circle cutout but added some silicone sealer to ensure its water tight.a nice threaded hole to mount the ballasts to as well![/quote]

6000k...interesting I did consider 6000 but after reading about colour temp I thought the light might b atad compromised and a little too blue and stand out as .....OOOOOH HID..... pull him up....but maybe that's not the case

Be interesting to see how you get on with heat etc....mind you I 'm not sure my 35w ballast would work with 50watt bulbs....but who knows

In my experience the hole was the trcky bit. I first cut away a wide gap in the wing bit on the back of lamp cover...slightly wider than the hole. I marked the centre then used one of those wood cutting spade bits in a cordless drill (I didn't have a hole saw). A bit of de-burring and job was a good un.

Easy peasy though as you say

[redz]

never had a prob in 5 yrs in the lexus with 6000k, dont forget most ppl will prob think they are standard!

[Denis O]

Mine's all done now along with LED angle eyes so all matching.

Started with the angel eyes which took seconds although when removing the original bulb don't go too far anti clockwise because it goes past opening and locks again.

HIDS took longer and as usual, the first one took about an hour and the 2nd one took 15 minutes, including putting everything away after.

Issues I had as follows:

1). HIDS Dirct Kit instructions suggest 21mm hole and as others have said go bigger. 21mm wood bits are like hens teeth anyway. HIDS Direct told me over the phone that a 22mm hole is perfect although I can't see how you can get the bulb or the plugs through that hole. I went for 25mm which seems fine. The plugs go through with a bit of effort and the gromit stays in place.

2). The split bulb holders are a pain. Weak as a weak thing and seemed to take ages to get the bulb locked into the holder properly. Managed with the help of a screwdriver pressing against the tabs to get them locked in. Bloody silly idea. Why don't they just use H4 bulbs with springs and be done with it. I found this step the most difficult. Not too time consuming but a pain.

3). Connections to the bulbs has not been mentioned in thie thread before so I called HID Direct and they suggested Red to Yellow and Black to Brown....but not always. Mine were that way and worked strainght away. If you get them round the wrong way I was assured that the car does not blow up or catch fire. They just won't work. All the other connections are obvious.

So that's it, all done and looking forward to it getting dark to see what they look and perform like.

[X5Sport]

[quote=""redz""]never had a prob in 5 yrs in the lexus with 6000k, dont forget most ppl will prob think they are standard! [/quote]

The 'blue shift' difference between the approved 4,300K and 6,000K colour temps is probably not enough for most people to notice. Go up to 8,000K (or higher) and then it's very apparent. Even for the same rated power, the 'apparent' light output is lower because of the UV filtering that has to be applied cuts the blue light level, and more importantly the reduction in sensitivity to blue light which the vast majority of humans have (there is a rare genetic mutation that allows those with it to see much bluer light further up the visible spectrum towards UV). Human eyesight is centred on the 'Green' area of the spectrum. It's why we regularly use 'far red' or 'far blue' light for 'low light' environments such as cabins and control rooms where displays are being monitored.

[jaynana]

and all this time i thought you were an engineer, looks like uve got some doctorate in medicine as well!

[X5Sport]

[quote=""jaynana""]and all this time i thought you were an engineer, looks like uve got some doctorate in medicine as well! [/quote]

HaHa.....I'm a semi-pro photographer in my spare time......have to understand colour temps etc. LOL

My Dad's the Doc.

[storminmike]

[quote=""Denis O""]Mine's all done now along with LED angle eyes so all matching.

Started with the angel eyes which took seconds although when removing the original bulb don't go too far anti clockwise because it goes past opening and locks again.

HIDS took longer and as usual, the first one took about an hour and the 2nd one took 15 minutes, including putting everything away after.

Issues I had as follows:

1). HIDS Dirct Kit instructions suggest 21mm hole and as others have said go bigger. 21mm wood bits are like hens teeth anyway. HIDS Direct told me over the phone that a 22mm hole is perfect although I can't see how you can get the bulb or the plugs through that hole. I went for 25mm which seems fine. The plugs go through with a bit of effort and the gromit stays in place.

2). The split bulb holders are a pain. Weak as a weak thing and seemed to take ages to get the bulb locked into the holder properly. Managed with the help of a screwdriver pressing against the tabs to get them locked in. Bloody silly idea. Why don't they just use H4 bulbs with springs and be done with it. I found this step the most difficult. Not too time consuming but a pain.

3). Connections to the bulbs has not been mentioned in thie thread before so I called HID Direct and they suggested Red to Yellow and Black to Brown....but not always. Mine were that way and worked strainght away. If you get them round the wrong way I was assured that the car does not blow up or catch fire. They just won't work. All the other connections are obvious.

So that's it, all done and looking forward to it getting dark to see what they look and perform like.[/quote]


1) 21mm hole...

agreed...too small. As you said....make big enough for the plugs.....small enough that the grommet doesn't fall through

2) The split bulb holders are a pain....

agreed. They're weak enough as it is but having them split so as to pass over the cables makes them weaker than a cadburys roses wrapper. The one they supplied (split aside) did seem a tad thinner....not much but enough that the squish if abused

[storminmike]

I'd considered upgrading my 35watt kit from them to 50 watt mentioned above

Is it possible to upgrade
using bulbs only from my 35
watt kit to 50 watt without
buying a whole new kit?


Unfortunately, its not possible to upgrade the kit with buying a new one. Its the ballasts that produce the power and not just the bulbs


Damn

[SimplyRed]

[quote=""sonnyred""]


....... any more pics or info just let me know [/quote]

That's the colour I want. Is that 4300k·???

One more question. Are there any kits that do not require the drilling of the circular plastic cover?

PS. Mines a 2005 facelift.

[X5Sport]

4,300K is the standard you'll see on OEM BMW fits. If you go higher in temp the light gets progressively 'bluer', lower in temp then more 'red'. Tungsten (H4) bulbs are around 2,700 - 3,300 depending upon the halogen gas mix and have a 'yellow' tint. More Xenon in the mix = whiter output. These so called 'Super bright' filament lamps have more Xenon, and some cheat by also coating the bulb with a blue lacquer.

Pure Xenon gives the colour of an electronic camera flash. 5,500 - 6,000K

[Raj]

[quote=""SimplyRed""]

That's the colour I want. Is that 4300k·???

One more question. Are there any kits that do not require the drilling of the circular plastic cover?

PS. Mines a 2005 facelift.[/quote]

It looks like 4300k or possibly 6000k. As for having to drill the cap, unfortunately it's the only way as you have to feed the bulb and wiring through.

[sonnyred]

[quote=""SimplyRed""]

That's the colour I want. Is that 4300k·???

One more question. Are there any kits that do not require the drilling of the circular plastic cover?

PS. Mines a 2005 facelift.[/quote]

I went for 5000k and you will always have to drill the plastic cover for hid's, it's no biggie.

[shadrack]

[quote=""Raj""][quote=""SimplyRed""]

That's the colour I want. Is that 4300k·???

One more question. Are there any kits that do not require the drilling of the circular plastic cover?

PS. Mines a 2005 facelift.[/quote]

It looks like 4300k or possibly 6000k. As for having to drill the cap, unfortunately it's the only way as you have to feed the bulb and wiring through.[/quote]