Wobz

[704sw]

I was asked by someone why not just get the rear view mirror with the HomeLink buttons on it. My answer is simple: so I can retain my amazing looking M3 oval mirror, of course! I can't give this puppy up; it looks too damn good, and matches my M3 side mirrors perfectly.

0807161905_HDR by botond.pal, on Flickr

I do really like the look of the oval mirror. I saw the Z4M mirror installed in an M3 last weekend in-person. I must say, it looks really good too.


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[derbo]

That looks is amazing.


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[az3579]

You're welcome

That looks is amazing.

I do really like the look of the oval mirror. I saw the Z4M mirror installed in an M3 last weekend in-person. I must say, it looks really good too.

The Z4M mirror is a very close second for me, for sure. If I ever decide to change it up, this is what it'll be with.

[nextelbuddy]

looks great! i may consider the M3 oval mirror. i have the E90 homelink mirror with the invisible compass and i like it for now. i love the auto dimming and i love its FOV. i have no experience with the M3 oval but it feels like it might limit the FOV just a hair more than I prefer.

[704sw]

looks great! i may consider the M3 oval mirror. i have the E90 homelink mirror with the invisible compass and i like it for now. i love the auto dimming and i love its FOV. i have no experience with the M3 oval but it feels like it might limit the FOV just a hair more than I prefer.

I have the E90 Homelink too. I have noticed the mirror blocks my forward view a lot, I guess because I sit so low in this car I'm always looking up at other vehicles. I had the same mirror in my X3, but I sat up high enough for it to not impede my vision.

Now I'm casually looking at Z4M mirrors and a headliner-mounted Homelink. I guess I just love spending money to solve minor problems.


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[derbo]

I have the E90 Homelink too. I have noticed the mirror blocks my forward view a lot, I guess because I sit so low in this car I'm always looking up at other vehicles. I had the same mirror in my X3, but I sat up high enough for it to not impede my vision.

Now I'm casually looking at Z4M mirrors and a headliner-mounted Homelink. I guess I just love spending money to solve minor problems.


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You are too tall.


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[704sw]

You are too tall.


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5'9" so definitely the first time anyone's ever said that to me.


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[az3579]

i have no experience with the M3 oval but it feels like it might limit the FOV just a hair more than I prefer.

I thought it would be slightly annoying as well but it really doesn't make much of a difference. The only things I missed out on are things that don't matter, like the interior of my car, and even then I see enough of it. The only real-world difference in usability between this mirror and the rectangular ones is that adjusting the mirror properly is just a touch more important with the oval mirror so you can get the best view. Otherwise, I never feel like it's lacking in viewing area as whatever falls outside of its scope is something I can easily pick up in my sideview mirrors, as I have those adjusted outwards.

5'9" so definitely the first time anyone's ever said that to me.

You and Derek are like the same height or something.

[az3579]

My quest for unique and interesting things continues with my latest adventure: LED Headlight bulbs.

I've waited a long time for LED headlight bulbs that were worth a damn. Since I found out about Morimoto's 2Stroke LED bulbs, I've been keeping an eye on them, watching for reviews of folks who decided to try them. There still isn't a whole lot of information about their use online, but it seems that the few who have tried them seem to be overall satisfied with their performance. Unfortunately, I found nobody that has installed them in their BMWs.

These bulbs come in a variety of fitments. In reality, the bulb itself is the same for all of these applications. It is the base adapter that changes between the different fitments you can order. They offer a fitment in D2S, so I decided to give these a try and be the (to my knowledge) first person to install them in a D2S projector housing on a BMW.

Now, to be clear, the ultimate goal here isn't the bee's knees in automotive lighting. If that was the case, I wouldn't even pass a second glance at these. These aren't quite as good as a traditional Xenon setup, but I'm okay with that. The reason I bought these is because the bulbs I have in now are aftermarket 6k bulbs, which look like crap IMO. I hate blue illumination, and these aftermarket HID bulbs have a turquoise kind of color to them. So, to kill two birds with one stone, I bought the 2Strokes.

Despite showing backorder on The Retrofit Source's site, I received these within 2 days of ordering. I'm very impressed by how quickly TRS turned my order around.

Here is everything that you get with this specific product:

IMG_20170414_213735 by botond.pal, on Flickr

(2) Morimoto 2Stroke LED bulbs
(2) LED drivers and their wiring
(2) Extended rubber caps
(2) D2S base adapters

IMG_20170414_214005 by botond.pal, on Flickr

IMG_20170414_214104 by botond.pal, on Flickr

IMG_20170414_214257 by botond.pal, on Flickr



I won't get too crazy with the product pics; I'll reserve that for my review that I'll post in the appropriate section once I'm done testing. I will keep the relevant technical details that pertain to my install here.

These are the adapters they provide. They just slip on the bulb and twist lock in place. When installing in the projector, these will stay in the projector and the bulb just twists off these adapters, should you want to remove the bulb and not deal with the retaining clips. It's a very slick design.

IMG_20170414_213927 by botond.pal, on Flickr


If these bulbs check out and throw out enough output to keep me happy, I plan on integrating the bulbs and the drivers into the factory housing. The drivers are pretty small, so they should fit inside.

IMG_20170414_214153 by botond.pal, on Flickr



I did a test run last night to see if they work plug & play. I can say that they do technically work P&P, though some cleverness is going to be required for them to work as though they were factory.

When I plugged them in, I got low beams with no issue. I plugged the LED drivers directly into the 9006 connector coming from the body harness that would normally plug into the headlight housing. This worked for low beam, but unfortunately the projector shutters are wired into the harness inside the housing, so they weren't getting power and as a result, not activating upon high beam actuation. I have a couple of thoughts on how to address this, but my main plan of action is as follows:

* Remove the factory ballast
* Remove the factory ignitor
* Plug the LED driver directly into the 9006 connector that the ballast connects with
* Plug the factory 9006 connector into the housing, as usual

In theory, this should power the LED driver as well as the shutter wiring, so I should have full high beams. I haven't inspected the connections that the ballast uses just yet - my information comes from online research. Once I take out the headlights and verify the connector, I should be able to test my theory. If the ballast doesn't use a 9006 connector, then I will have to proceed with Plan B, which is to order (Qty 2) 9005 Male --> 9005/9006 female splitters. This will allow me to plug into both the headlight housing and the LED drivers, since the drivers use connections that don't care if it's 9005 or 9006.

Tomorrow I will take one headlight out and inspect the ballast connections. I really hope that it uses a 9006 because this will simplify my install process. If everything works as planned, I'll plan out the stuffing of "stuff" inside the headlight housing and making the whole thing work as OE as possible.

[cakM3]

You have gotten my interest Botond... looking forward to seeing how these turn out!