XSeries-forum

Hi Guys, I have an E 70 X 5 Sport Jan 2009 in white , third X 5 in six years , love them but want to upgrade the angel eyes to the daylight driving led type .Anyone know which leds will work? ( I have swapped the factory H8 bulbs to super white 65w, as i have Eenons anyway on main lights but they are only ?marginally brighter at night ) I have looked at many LEDs with a6000 K colour spec on internet and spoken to a few honest suppliers who tell met the retro fit leds wont perform like the 2011 model bmw cars with the blue white angel eye daylight lights .......Any ideas help please. D

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 3906104648

I've just ordered the above but haven't got them yet so can't tell you how good they are (or the H8 equivalent). I'll report back when I get them.

Hi Dan, what have you ordered ? The Leds or super white uprated H8 bulbs. According to the LEd suppliers you need xenons on the main lights to fit the latest leds , but as i stated they still dont look like the 2011 model bmw cars lights which really do stand out in the day.I have seen 6000K leds for around £ 45 but having spent £ 40 already on upgrade H 8 bulbs i want to be sure the Leds are as per the latest cars ( without changing the whole headlight units ! ). Let me know when you have the leds fitted ! many thanks ! D )

I have an E53 so the ones on the link are the correct fitting for me but for you I guess you'd need the H8 or whatever they are but they so say they do them for those as well. These are 10W Cree LEDs and should be brighter than the 6W I was going to get. I don't expect them to be as bright as the new OEM ones but we'll see. I'm mainly interested in how they look in dim light/the dark anyway and just want rid of the factory yellow but thought I might as well try these 10W ones at the price.

I've not read up comprehensively but have seen comments on US forums rating the 6W Mtech ones highly but also mentioned hid angel eye upgrades which are supposed to be the brightest but presumably cost a lot and involve more than just switching bulbs but I didn't take much interest really.

hi buddy i have the LUX ones in my e70 there not as bright as the DRL but are better then stock. For 170 odd quid i was expecting both rings to be the same brightness but the outer one still doesnt seem as bright as the inner and there is only one way they go

The 10w in the ebay link posted in this thread...my neighbour has it on his e63 and we couldnt tell the differance between thoses and the 6w he had in before

Ok, so I received these today and have just fitted them.

First impressions are that the units seem well made and are quite 'weighty'.

However, I tried to fit them and they would not go in. So I checked the tab orientation (as they have to be aligned correctly) then removed the oring to try again just to check the fit but they wouldn't fit.

After carefully comparing the locating tabs with the OEM bulbs it was clear that they were marginally bigger. So as I saw it there were three options: send them back; file the bulbs or file the headlamp units.

I made up my mind to try filing one headlamp unit carefully a tiny bit at a time but not to go too far, each time checking the OEM bulb still fitted and located securely.

This worked fine and the OEM bulbs still fit as they did before.

My other criticism is that whilst the male socket provided does connect with the female socket of the car, they are not properly matched fittings and as the actual male pins are thinner, the car connector doesn't grip them well and as the actual fitment doesn't lock in place as they're not matched it was too loose. I therefore managed to tighten the female spade connectors as much as I could then taped the fittings together to hold them in place.

I also then taped the ballast or control unit or whatever it is to the inside of the headlamp back cover before clipping in place as I wouldn't want it rattling around.

I then tried them. Initially I thought there was a problem as there seemed to be a constant flicker then having emailed the seller to point this out I thought I'll just try again and there was no problem.

No errors are showing.

I hadn't realised that the strobing for a few seconds happens each time you start the car and not when you switch them on. I guess that's typical for these things so no big deal.

They look good. As for brightness, it's a cloudy day and they look good to me. Not like the new OEM ones but fine. I have no others to compare to though.

The only problem is that my main lights are not Xenon and are just Philips Xtreme bulbs so they now look very yellow in comparison.

I may take some pictures when I get a chance but the messing about meant that I wasted a lot more time fitting than the 5 or 10 minutes it should have taken.

yes bro they well strobe mine do the same when you start the car looks quite funky...i have the LED reg plate lights they do the same lol!

why dont you fit xenons you just need a canbus kit your headlights already have projectors in them....

Be interested to see pics

Having looked into it I didn't go for aftermarket Xenons for a number of reasons. The main reasons were the possible MOT changes and potential issues with insurance and the BMW warranty. I also read a very technical opinion on them and if I recall correctly, the conclusion was that although they will look brighter, due to the lamp units/lenses (including projector) not being designed for them they are actually no better. I think this is more to do with throw and pattern rather than overall light output. I'm very impressed with my main beam now anyway with the Philips bulbs though they could be better on dip.

It's not stopped raining since I fitted the LEDs so no photos as yet. To me they just look like white versions of what was there before. They look right in terms of brightness to me but not like the new OEM ones which is not surprising given the way they work. There was an HID angel eye kit going on ebay secondhand I noticed which might be better if it's still there.

Just a quick update on these. I still haven't taken any photos but I am happy with the brightness. They're nowhere near as bright as the daytime running lights on the newer models but are fine and I actually think these new DRLs can look too bright.

I did have a problem with one of the circuit boards blowing but the seller was very helpful and sent me a replacement quickly which has been fine so far. The main LED unit was ok though.

its interesting you mentioned the strobing and have noticed when I unlock my e70 the halogen angel eyes start from a low dim and get brighter - as dimming is just switching on and off very quickly this is what those with LED angel eyes are showing - maybe they will start doing some proper dimmable H8s to get round this problem..

The H8 Angel Eyes run at different brightnesses when sidelight or DRL function is on. Dimming is usually done by pulsing the supply voltage, hence it taking a few moments to brighten up.

A further update on these. I have now had a further problem with the other side. I have contacted the seller and he's trying to say that I should pay 10Euro for a replacement circuit or alternatively pay all shipping costs firstly to him in Ireland, then for him to return it to China, then for him to return it to me! So both have gone within four months. I am happy to return it to Ireland for a replacement but only if the problem has been solved otherwise I want my money back. I will update as to how this plays out but as of now I would say steer clear.

Not good and sounds like a rubbish seller too. What happened to their 12 month warranty offered? You could always quote the UK Distance Selling Regs at him/her (your responsibility is no more than sending it back to them, and I'm thinking if it's less than 6 months old (from Delivery) that counts as 'faulty at manufacture' so the Seller might have to pay all the charges), though most likely you'll never hear from the Seller again under those circumstances. That's the downside with these people,