Lighting

[johnnye23]

So whats the deal with the headlights ? Very disappointed with the poor quality of illumination.I did some quick surfing on the subject and found that there are a lot of opinions on what can be done to improve it. I would appreciate some thoughts from fellow Mafia members, thanks .:mafia

[danewilson77]

I bet you gots ZKW's....

If you do the reflective coating on the bowls has probably baked off. This does not happen on the counterpart brand, AL (American Lighting). Some cars got the good ones, and some didn't. I do not know what the difference in the coating is and I do not know how to dtermine which cars got them, and why.

I do know you can identify which ones you have by looking at the sticker on top of the headlight.

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/IMG_20101216_225203.jpg

[az3579]

If you have the ZKW's, suck to be you.
I have them, and surely enough; sucks to be me.

[Mtnman]

I posted something decently long about this last week. When I get off the cell phone and to the laptop, ill direct you to it. I had zkw's and have replaced them. More to come

[Mtnman]

Here is my post. Most of it applies to you, although some may not. If you have zkw xenons, then dane was right. Yu may have burnt bowls, which is what i had. I replaced my with depo p46s. I can give you a lot more info if you want. Just let me know.

Ok, i can help you on this because i have already done this myself, and can give you a lot of pointers on headlights. First, for your fogging i would start with a new seal. That is easy to do and should be cheap.

Now, let me delve into the xenon, bi-xenon, and p46 depos.

1. You have bi-xenons. It means there is a shutter inside your xenon lamp that flips it from regular to super bright. Its like keeping your hand over part of a flashlight, then taking your hand away. This is what you have, and hence the "bi" part of bi-xenon. The inside halogen lamps serve two purposes. first, DRl or daytime running lights. i have mine turned off, i think like you. Second, they are your "flash to pass" lights, so when you pull the high beam stalk back towards yourself while driving, these will light up.

2. Pre-2004 cars have xenon lights. They do not have the shuttering feature, so when you push the stalk forward for high beams, it turns on the halogen bulbs in these cars. They also have the flash to pass feature with the halogen too. This is the difference in xenon vs bi-xenon.

3. Projector p46 lights. Also called depo lights. These are total light assemblies that come pre-wired from the factory (china). They are pretty simple plug and play. They also come with angel eyes of varying sizes and styles. we will get into that in a minute. first, the lights themselves. These are XENON lights. NOT bi-xenons. Because your car is already wired for Bi-xenons, you do not have to worry about error codes, code cancelling adapters, or anything else. What you do have to worry about is that your car will still think they are bi-xenons. When you push your stalk forward into the "bright light" position, nothing will happen. However, you will still have high beams when you pull the stalk back towards you in the Flash to pass mode. You can hold the stalk back and your halogens will stay on (along with the xenons). This may cause some concern at inspection time, but i am not sure. Most mechanics i talk to say as long as they see the brights come on, thats all they need. I have heard rumors of other stories (ie not passing inspection) so i dont know. My lights are exactly a year old now, so soon i will be able to tell you what the deal is in NC. Now, the simple solution to all of this would be to have the car flashed to make it think it has xenons. This is what i was told to do by the sales rep who sold me the lights. HOWEVER, this is NOT AN OPTION. for some reason, this "backwards" flash is impossible.

Now, the angel eyes come in all styles and colors and brightnesses. I chose the standard angel eyes that come with the depos. No upgrades at all. I like the classic "orangish" look of the xenons on early 2000 5 series, and this is what those angel eyes look like. If you like the new super-bright ones on the new 3 series, then you can get those. They will come installed, but you will have to wire them up yourself. There are a multitude of ways to wire them in. Mine went through the aux line, so the eyes stay lit for about 10 seconds after the car is shut off. Some people wire them to the door light, so they come on when you hit the unlock button. Some people wire them into the parking lights (but they will blink with your blinker like this). Mine stay on all the time. It is what i wanted. You can see my depos if you look at the ZHP MAFIA logo at the top of the site. That is my front end. I also have some color pics i can send. And, as always, let me know if i can help further.

David

[Washburn]

I also remember reading something about the horizontal line across one of the lenses... I have forgotten what it was supposed to mean... :(

[Mtnman]

I also remember reading something about the horizontal line across one of the lenses... I have forgotten what it was supposed to mean... :(

??? Dnt know. Bosch lenses have three (i think?) lines across the lenses themselves, but the xenons also have a "cutoff line" that you can see in the distance when you drive which i believe is to keep from blinding the cars in front of you.

[pyreguy]

I looked this weekend and I have the ZKW's, though I an not having problems yet. Mine has a logo on the lense at the inner bottom corner by the grilles.
http://i986.photobucket.com/albums/ae342/pyreguy/ZHP/DSC00055.jpg

[adb1028]

Mtnman, how are the depos? I currently have halogens and looking to upgrade to some OEM AL's or a set of DEPO's with HID's.

[Mtnman]

I like my depos so far. Obviously, a set of al oem xenons would be better in some cases, but for the price diffence which could be over 1000 different, i am satisfied with them. They are bright and have held up so far. I have had them almost exaclty a year now. No major issues. The depos dont have the auto levelor in them, but i dont think that function would work for you even if you got the ALs, ......but im not positive on that. Ans they have the angel eyes, which would be another hundo on top of the oem ALS. Id be happy to answer any other questions you have.
David

[danewilson77]

OEM AL's = $2000+

Depo's = $300.00 to $370ish...

http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330i-M54_3.0L/Lighting/Headlights/

Nuff said.

Maybe the AL's will be on sale in 5 years since I am sure no one pays that. I will wait...or get depo's.

[Alphatek45]

What I dont understand is, the Depo lights from ecs don't come with bulbs? Says to use existing ones, so this is not an HID upgrade? Not to mention that the "blackout feature" seems to only be available up to 2001 vehicles. I swear, BMW lighting is out to kill me.I cant tell you how many times I go to just buy upgraded headlights but don't out of sheer fucking frustration.

[danewilson77]

Yeah..I hear ya. I can PM Joe if you want, and ask.

[Mtnman]

I got my depos from ddm tuning. They came with bulbs and angel eyes. Think i paid 330 with shipping. I did not upgrade the angel eyes. (but i like the, orange and "dull" like the old five series)

[johnnye23]

Thanks guys good info ! I will take some time and follow up on these suggestions .

[zhp43867]

Do not get Depo. Just don't, the car deserves better. If you have busted ZKWs pay Lightwerkz (http://www.lightwerkz.net/prod_bmw.htm) to retrofit new projectors in them and be prepared to get the most outstanding output you have ever seen. I have them. :)

Costs about ~$700, not cheap but better than getting Depos and cheaper than buying ALs.

[adb1028]

OEM AL's = $2000+

Depo's = $300.00 to $370ish...

http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330i-M54_3.0L/Lighting/Headlights/

Nuff said.

Maybe the AL's will be on sale in 5 years since I am sure no one pays that. I will wait...or get depo's.

We'll I certainly wont be buying new ones, that price is ridiculous. Looks like used sets go for around ~400 on E46f, which may be the route I'm going. The thought of buying used electronics scares me though.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Do not get Depo. Just don't, the car deserves better. If you have busted ZKWs pay Lightwerkz (http://www.lightwerkz.net/prod_bmw.htm) to retrofit new projectors in them and be prepared to get the most outstanding output you have ever seen. I have them. :)

Costs about ~$700, not cheap but better than getting Depos and cheaper than buying ALs.

I edited your post to include the link to lightwerkz. I've been noodling around the site. I like what I see.

Thanks, sir.

[zhp43867]

Lightwerkz is ftw!

But you can also look on eBay for used AL:

EURO BMW XENON HEADLIGHTS (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574947307&toolid=10001&campid=5336776893&customid=&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fmotors.shop.ebay.com%2Fi.html%3F _nkw%3DEURO%2BXENON%2BHEADLIGHTS%2Bbmw%26_sacat%3D %26_dmpt%3DMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories%26_o dkw%3DEURO%2BXENON%2BHEADLIGHTS%26_osacat%3D0%26bk Btn%3D%26_trksid%3Dp4506.m270.l1313)

If you're feeling really adventurous you could piece together a pair for ~$250.

[danewilson77]

Damn...I would jump on that...if it was better timing.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Lightwerkz is ftw!

But you can also look on eBay for used AL:

EURO BMW XENON HEADLIGHTS (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574947307&toolid=10001&campid=5336776893&customid=&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fmotors.shop.ebay.com%2Fi.html%3F _nkw%3DEURO%2BXENON%2BHEADLIGHTS%2Bbmw%26_sacat%3D %26_dmpt%3DMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories%26_o dkw%3DEURO%2BXENON%2BHEADLIGHTS%26_osacat%3D0%26bk Btn%3D%26_trksid%3Dp4506.m270.l1313)

If you're feeling really adventurous you could piece together a pair for ~$250.

And the eBay seller is Rennsport, who many of us have dealings with (they're about 100 miles north of me).

[danewilson77]

Bidding just ended...

[az3579]

I am most certainly going to go with a Lightwerkz setup, specifically the FX-R projector setup. I really like the light output on it, and am thinking about whether I want my shroud painted red... lol

[zhp43867]

Dane I don't think anyone bid on them.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

No one bid on them. Unsold.

[danewilson77]

Damn....I can't believe that...........

[Marcus-SanDiego]

The opening bid was $699.

[danewilson77]

Oh....I thought I saw like $300.00. That musta been the last bid before he shut it down....

[Tampa330i]

I looked this weekend and I have the ZKW's, though I an not having problems yet. Mine has a logo on the lense at the inner bottom corner by the grilles.
http://i986.photobucket.com/albums/ae342/pyreguy/ZHP/DSC00055.jpg

Hey man, thank you so much for this picture. I checked mine and within seconds I found it in the same spot. I guess I'm lucky? They say AL. Still pretty dim though.

[danewilson77]

AL are the good ones.

[pyreguy]

I bookmarked Lightwerkz for when the time comes. I think depos would be a step in the wrong direction for me. I would rather keep what I have.