Yeah just saw your post earlier post. I skimmed through the thread last night but was doing HW at the same time...Quote:
Originally Posted by spencers
DROIDstatus. Come at me, bro.
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Yeah just saw your post earlier post. I skimmed through the thread last night but was doing HW at the same time...Quote:
Originally Posted by spencers
DROIDstatus. Come at me, bro.
Here are some good quotes from that thread:
(Keep in mind, when they refer to E46 projectors, they are referring to BOSCH projectors, with or without ZKW lenses)
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The "mountain" foreground of the FX and FXR are what turn me off. I know they're cheap and easy to retro because of their size and mounting, and I'm sure that is why most use them, but the output has always bothered me. It's like a nasty shadow and makes the beam look like two balloons. Never been a fan.
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Although the E46 are not wide projectors and do not have sharp cutoff like the FX-R, but they have had a lot of research and development in their design, allowing them to perform well in the 'real' world and also meet various lighting standards, maybe this is why people who have them like driving with them because they have been designed to light the road for the driver and not just be as bright or sharp a cutoff as possible. Just my thoughts..
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just a follow up to this post. I actually switched jobs and now drive alot in the dark at night. I absolutly love the e-46's. I put the fx-r headlight in for a couple days to see how I liked driving on the high way with them and went right back to the e-46's. they light up the highway amazingly
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I have FR's in my car right now, and personally i find the distance lacking with them i've never been happy with the low beam, the high beam when combined with my factory highs are great, but the distance with the low beam has never impressed me
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the e46 is a very interesting projector for how tiny it is. it makes use of extra light better than any projector ive seen. sc430, TL, etc all pale in comparison using a 50w setup. the e46 just seems like it was made for it. i still miss that old retro, my current 35w valeos are like candles. when i had e46, streetlights were no match and s2k looked like halogen when i was passing lol. i would be driving in a group of cars and it looked like i was the only car with lights on.
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have E46 in one of my cars and love them.
FXR have so many defects and most of guys that have them never compare them before buying them or had any other projectors before.
Just to name a few defects:
They have most of the light output on the foreground so close to the car and very little to nothing under the cutoff for far distance lighting where is most needed.
They have a really annoying pencil laser beam in the middle of each projector.
The cutoff on both sides is not straight, they both go slightly upwards which is dangerous for oncoming drivers.
You can not use them without the bulb spacer/adapter.
You can only use them with 1 brand of bulbs, because some other brands won't fit properly.
Some guys found out the chrome peels and even if they have warranty will be a nightmare and expensive to re-do the retro to exchange the bowls a few times.
The good:
Small and easy to retrofit.
Have clear lens which produces some nice color.
Good high beams.
I never will buy these defective projectors and I do not understand that the sellers never fixed them.
That proves again and again that fakes are never better than original 99% of the time.
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yes, many projectors shoot much further in the distance. nothing matched the e46 i had for distance and intensity in front of the car. and they were still wider than halogen reflector. other projectors are wider, but they lack good distance and often have too much foreground.
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I would say my e46's are about a highway lane narrower on each side than the fx-r's. but they light up about 5 lanes wide worth of light. and as far as forward distance they light up over head highway signs about half mile away easy, if not further. they have a nice even light all the way through the beam pattern.
you can see in this pic the beam streches across 6 garage doors plus at about 75-100 feet.
Like I said, I would not suggest retrofitting FX-R's over replacing with Bosch headlamps.
But I would suggest retrofitting FX-R's if you have ZKW's with the burned bowl issue, as it's a good permanent fix. Otherwise, the temporary fix would be to get unburned bowls.
So a fxr retrofit is $750 and takes a week-ish? I know new the headlights from the dealer are like $7xx each.
Ian
I was quoted $500 from Lightwerkz and it would take a whole day. I'm not sure if I'm going to do it based on what I've been reading..
Apparently in the FX35, you can actually adjust how far the light is thrown down the road via a switch. Problem is, we don't get that feature with the retrofit... :(
But, I talked to someone who has an FX35 (2nd gen) and he says the light output is really good.
My mother used to have a FX35 and the OEM projectors were top notch. Some of the best I've seen.Quote:
Originally Posted by az3579
New/used OEM headlight...or retrofit??? Decisions decisions
If it's a ZKW, don't even bother. It'll only get just as bad in a few years' time.Quote:
Originally Posted by 808ZHP
So with all the reading done. Which setup has the BEST light output onto the road from best to worst?