The ZKW Burnt Bowls Thread

[cakM3]

You probably got AL assemblies from the M3. The reason it has 3 wires is because AL bi-xenon shutters use two solenoids to move the shutter; one start solenoid to move the shutter, and a 2nd lower draw solenoid to hold the shutter in the up (hi-beam) position. The ZKW projectors use a single solenoid to move and hold the shutter. There are controllers sold that allow you to convert your two wire input to the 3 wire output needed for the 3 wires (provided you swapped only the internals and not the whole housing):

http://www.wolstentech.com/bixenon/

Looks like this might be the solution I am looking for. Yes, the M3 bi-xenon projectors I'm using are AL. When I get these I will install them and see if this does the trick. If so then I think I will have a good solution as well.

There is a slight modificaiton that needs to be done which includes cutting and drilling pilot holes in order to mount the AL projectors but in the end everything lined up perfectly and I don't have any alignment issues as shown in the picture of my previous post.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge...very much appreciated

[cakM3]

The AL bi-xenon shutter is just 3 wires vs 2 wires for ZKW, right?

That is correct Trevor.

[Rovert]

Well I can easily get AL assemblies at my friend's BMW wreck yard. How much should I offer him for the bowls?

[zj96sc]

The bowls themselves won't fit into the ZKW housings. I don't remember the name of the part at the moment, but form what I understand you need the whole thing the projector low beam attaches to, plus the projector/bowl/lens assembly....its is also the piece holding the high beam reflector. Basically everything held in place by the adjustment screws.

Somebody correct me if i'm wrong here.

[cakM3]

The bowls themselves won't fit into the ZKW housings.

This is true. You will have to slightly modify your ZKW housings to make the AL Projectors fit.

I don't remember the name of the part at the moment, but form what I understand you need the whole thing the projector low beam attaches to, plus the projector/bowl/lens assembly....its is also the piece holding the high beam reflector. Basically everything held in place by the adjustment screws.

Somebody correct me if i'm wrong here.

What I did was basically transfer the whole AL projector assembly over to the ZKW housing. The only part of the AL projector I did not use was the Bosh lens. I swapped lens and used the ZKW lens instead. The picture below shows the AL projector assembly with the installed ZKW lens. This was an easy swap because both the Bosh and ZKW lens are the same size.



Another view of the AL projector assembly


The mounting holes on the AL projector assembly did not line up with any of the mounting holes of the ZKW housing. This is where I had to take my time and align the AL projector on the ZKW housing and then mark the holes so I could drill pilot holes where the AL projector would mount. There was some slight cutting on where the original mounting points were as well so I could get the AL projector to mount flush. As you can see in the picture there is a red rubber spacer (transferred from the M3 housing). I used two to get the AL projector to mount perfectly.



Sorry for the not-so-perfect iPhone pic here...




This is the rear view of the "upgraded" ZKW headlight assembly.


When I work on my driver's side I will be taking more detailed pictures of every step as well as having someone come by (if they are available) to assist. I will have more time to detail every step with a helper.

Modified ZKW projector:

[cakM3]

Hey everyone! It looks like I will be completing my OEM M3 bi-xenon retrofit over the weekend. It will be about a week after this when I will have everything organized to post a very detailed DIY with lots of pics...getting all jazzed thinking about this

[danewilson77]

...getting all jazzed thinking about this

Me too.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[az3579]

Can't wait, Charlie!

[Johnmadd]

Good work. Maybe you could make some money doing this for other zkw owners.

[az3579]

Tonight, I went and took a pic of the light output from an E90. I wanted to see what I would get if I did the E90 project swap.
If/When I decide to do it, I will also be making a tutorial or some kind of writeup on it. I hear it's an easy swap.