The ZKW Burnt Bowls Thread

[cakM3]

Tonight I posted part of my ZKW repair/retrofit DIY in the DIY section. I should be complete within the next few days but wanted to give everyone a preliminary look at how I performed this retrofit on my ZHP. I had taken tons of pictures so people who are not too familiar with what is involved can now have a good idea if they can or cannot attempt this DIY without getting too far into it. I decided to take on this task with hopes that what I put out will help others.

[iZHP]

[cakM3]

Thanks 808

Video is now added to my DIY showing the actual ZKW lens swap....

[iZHP]

ugh...these parts aren't showing up on ebay too often...

[cakM3]

ugh...these parts aren't showing up on ebay too often...

goes in cycles....seems, when you aren't looking for them they are all over the place and when you get around to looking for them, they are very hard to find...

Just be patient and you will get a set

[iZHP]

can you actually just swap the whole headlight assembly from an M3?

[cakM3]

I think someone had done exactly that but I was unaware of this and only had one M3 headlight assembly to play with so I went a different route. You can try this and see if it will work, I think you can do it.

I'm assuming you are talking about the mounting plate that the projector assembly mounts to, right?

[LivesNearCostco]

I'm trying a more roundabout tactic. I filed an online compliant with the NHTSA about the burnt bowls, and hope that if enough BMW owners file similar complaints, they will ask BMW NA how many cars are affected and what the fix is, and then BMW NA will issue a recall and fix the burnt bowls at their expense.

If I can't hold out that long, I'll try following this DIY.

[cakM3]

Unfortunately, I couldn't wait that long. My light output had degraded past 50% and my fogs were beginning to put out more light output than my ZKWs. Completely unsat situation if you ask me...

So I retrotitted my headlights. This is why I finally posted my DIY. Hopefully, how I outlined my guide will help others. I am in no way an expert which is why I placed a disclaimer at the beginning of my DIY, but I feel I found a workable solution that wouldn't break the bank.

Currently, BMW's solution is for you to buy brand new headlight assemblies for $1,200 a piece and then allow them to charge you their hourly rates to install them. No thanks!!!

Even after showing them my burned out projector bowls, the service manager quickly dismissed the problem stating that the previous owner had misplaced the D2S bulb which caused this problem then added they have never seen this problem.....imagine that! I'm curious if there are others who have had similar experiences from their dealership?

[az3579]

goes in cycles....seems, when you aren't looking for them they are all over the place and when you get around to looking for them, they are very hard to find...

Just be patient and you will get a set

Story of my life. lol
I could have sworn E90 projectors would work too; they look the same as the M3 ones. That is what I was originally going to go with, but since we didn't use E90 projectors, I couldn't tell you if that would work. The E90 ones aren't really any easier to come by; if anything, harder. The light output on those is excellent as well.