XSeries-forum

Hello , i have a pre facelift 2003 x5 , non xenon headlights fitted

I have fitted bluevision bulbs but the light output (even with high beam) is extremely poor! to the point where my girl friend even commented on it !

I have raised the lights up a little by adjusting the manual pully , and that made them a bit better , but the high beam does next to nothing tbh! and iv fitted them with 100w bulbs


So im at a bit of a loss on what to do.

Are the xenon pre facelift lights much better? can find them on ebay for about £200ish , would i need to code them to my car? if so can i do it with my bmw scanner?

The other thing i have thought about it buying after market headlights and fitting them with a HID kit ? anyone done this ?

MOT isnt a issue with me so dont need the legal mr police man talk about HID kits , just where i live alot of the roads are b roads and no street lights do decent lights has always been a factor for me! and with the winter months now coming in its annoying me even more! lol


Thanks in advance! 

That's the trouble with blue tinted lights.  The tinting reduces the light output, in some cases drastically.  Fine for town driving, but not out in the sticks.

Xenon HIDs should be much better and there are conversion kits available.  Several folks on here have fitted 55W kits and ballasts so there will be lots of guidance from them wots dun it as they say 

This thread might also help you...

As long as you fit 'R' type (for reflector type lights) bulbs you should have no issues with the MOT either. 'S' type (OK for projectors) bulbs may cause excess glare.  Most MOT places aren't really bothered anyway.

HIDS Direct or HIDS4U are good places to look for kits.

Richard

Id say go for the factory Xenons,

I upgraded to them from the factory Halogens like yours and the difference is second to none and they look so much more modern,

I also upgraded the factory Xenon bulbs from the 5-6k stock to 8k as I prefer the slightly bluer look not to everyone's taste but I love them,

Fitting is dead easy there plug and play no coding needed