[jrah]

I am looking at changing the Standard setup Halogen headlights on my 325d E90 to Xenons. I however have a few queries:

Are they easy to fit by yourself?

Roughly how much would they set me back?

Thanks in Advance

[AlanQS]

If you do a quick search or even just scan the thread titles in this forum you should find - if I recall correctly - that it can be very expensive and very difficult. You need the units, the headlight washers, the self levelling sensors on the axles and re-coding of the car and, I suspect, a few more things besides, making it well into a four figure cost.

Retrofit headlamp washers

[SiKkBaSs]

You can't do it. Subject to law ECE 39.

1) Lack of adjustment/levellers
2) Washers at the front of your car



Best bet is to get a top quality halogen setup going or fit aftermarket headlights.

[fuzzer123456]

It is possible to do anything to anything , its whether or not youre willing to pay the cash for it.

You will need to buy at least the following:

RHD Xenon headlamps
New Light Switch
Self Leveling gear (most likely removing the rear axel of the car and installing there if its anything like the other OEM retrofits that ive read about.)
Headlamp washers
Fitting and coding into the car.

Youre talking about £2,500 for that lot.

When you see the total for all that lot you will just forget the idea or just buy a car with them factory fitted.

[SiKkBaSs]

Originally Posted by fuzzer123456

It is possible to do anything to anything , its whether or not youre willing to pay the cash for it.

You will need to buy at least the following:

RHD Xenon headlamps
New Light Switch
Self Leveling gear (most likely removing the rear axel of the car and installing there if its anything like the other OEM retrofits that ive read about.)
Headlamp washers
Fitting and coding into the car.

Youre talking about £2,500 for that lot.

When you see the total for all that lot you will just forget the idea or just buy a car with them factory fitted.

You could also for the same token, convert your regular 3 to an M3 if you had the money

[Martin 335d]

I'm doing it to mine, I have headlight washers already and iintend to fit them using one of E90 Andys kits

It's not impossible and not that expensive either, if I canget a nearside light it's going to cost me less that £700 all in

[lesfinnie]

I cannot see why people spend silly money on this upgrade, xenon are good lights but the bulb uogrades you get now are not that far behind eg "Ring Xenon Max" I have these in the main beam side and are excellent

[xenon]

I agree that with the "silly money" comment but I've yet to see any halogen bulbs that can compete with properly set-up HIDs. Anyway, if you do try the mod make sur you get OEM lamps - whatever you do don't fit HID bulbs in the Mr Kipling reflectors.

You certainly don't have to remove the rear axle to fit the self-levelling potentiometers, they clip to the existing arms.

[Carrera RSR]

These Xenon threads need to be collated and put as a sticky. Every new member is asking or thinking about the same question.

Can I fit Xenons?
Can I fit Corona rings?
Can I change the colour of the yellow corona rings?
What LED's fit without errors?

Search facilities are your friend but many new members haven't got this sussed yet.

[jrah]

Thanks for your help. I think I will give it a miss I thought it would be a simple fit, didn't realise there was so many technicalities involved.

[SiKkBaSs]

Originally Posted by Martin 335d

It's not impossible and not that expensive either...it's going to cost me less that £700 all in

Seems like A LOT to me. Cost effective that is not IMO.

[lesfinnie]

Seems like A LOT to me. Cost effective that is not IMO.[/QUOTE]

I agree

[Martin 335d]

It dependson your view on what's expensibmve and what's not, I personally think the halogen headlights among the worst lights I have driven with, worse than a mk4 Golf and they are bad, so £700 seems to be a fair price to carry out something I wanted included in the spec of my car when I bought it, and as an added bonus I can actually see where i'm going too

I'm not going to be lowering my car or adding bigger wheels etc so the money some guys spend on those I am spending on headlights

[xenon]

Fair comment. Let us know how the conversion goes and good luck.

[SiKkBaSs]

Originally Posted by Martin 335d

It dependson your view on what's expensibmve and what's not, I personally think the halogen headlights among the worst lights I have driven with, worse than a mk4 Golf and they are bad, so £700 seems to be a fair price to carry out something I wanted included in the spec of my car when I bought it, and as an added bonus I can actually see where i'm going too

I'm not going to be lowering my car or adding bigger wheels etc so the money some guys spend on those I am spending on headlights

Fair enough...but still £700 is £700, you can do so much more with the money (not just on the car)...

To spend that much on something that can be seen at night (mostly) seems a bit OTT. I'd go the option of buying as good a halogen bulb as possible (which I have done) together with fogs and keep the rest as funds for rims and painting and installing front splitter.

But like I've always said that's my opinion.

Let us know how it goes. If you do get it, upgrade them to the white/blue LED markers?

[NFS]

I genuinely have no idea why anyone would be even remotely arsed about having xenons.

[Carrera RSR]

Originally Posted by NFS

I genuinely have no idea why anyone would be even remotely arsed about having xenons.

I drive 40,000 miles per annum and have to say its more a need in having them on the last two cars than a 'like to have'. The visability your get from xenons in the dark at 11pm on the A1 to Newcastle during Winter months makes up or me the £900 I spent on speccing the car up. My humble opinion and not everyone elses' I agree. I would rather see where I am going in safety than a new lip spoiler thank you very much or new 19'' alloys. NFS & Sikkbasss if you want to borrow my car on a dark night to get home or to a hotel you are more than welcome to test the lighting to see my point. If you drive 5 miles per day in daylight I can see your point its a waste of money.

[SiKkBaSs]

Originally Posted by carrerarsr

I drive 40,000 miles per annum and have to say its more a need in having them on the last two cars than a 'like to have'. The visability your get from xenons in the dark at 11pm on the A1 to Newcastle during Winter months makes up or me the £900 I spent on speccing the car up. My humble opinion and not everyone elses' I agree. I would rather see where I am going in safety than a new lip spoiler thank you very much or new 19'' alloys. NFS & Sikkbasss if you want to borrow my car on a dark night to get home or to a hotel you are more than welcome to test the lighting to see my point. If you drive 5 miles per day in daylight I can see your point its a waste of money.

I wouldn't say it's THAT much of a necessity...I mean many other cars use the normal halogens. I'd say it's more of a luxury. If you have it, all is good...if not well then you don't have much choice (700 quid or spend less than £100 and spec decent H7 replacements). Today was tipping it down with shite visibility and no motorway lighting and I got by with ease with the new H7s I installed.

A lot of people just want them "oh so desirable" corona rings for the aesthetics rather than the practicalities.

[Martin 335d]

The reason I'm doing it is because my previous two cars had xenons, an E46 M3 and the OH's Cooper S, now going from a car with xenons to one without is like swapping a torch for a candle, no comparison really, and yes I "could"spend the money on a splitter and carbon go faster bits but the truth is im past that and cannot be bothered having another modified car.

If you have never had xenons in any of your cars I can see your arguement about spending £100 on bulbs but TBH these bulbs don't even come close to a proper xenon light.

Horses for courses and all that but I don't want a modified car as such and the bits I am changing are all OEM parts

[mikeysix]

Op if u hang fire mate I'm very close to posting a how for xenons. All I've done is purchase 2 used oem xenon headlamps from eBay and an aftermarket h7 hid kit. I've changed a couple of wires in the xenon headlight so it's plug ang play for halogen bulbs at the moment with no errors or resistors. I've been meaning to get this done for months. All in it's cost me about 340. I won't have levelling sensors or washers but projector headlights as a minimum

[Carrera RSR]

Originally Posted by SiKkBaSs

I wouldn't say it's THAT much of a necessity...I mean many other cars use the normal halogens. I'd say it's more of a luxury. If you have it, all is good...if not well then you don't have much choice (700 quid or spend less than £100 and spec decent H7 replacements). Today was tipping it down with shite visibility and no motorway lighting and I got by with ease with the new H7s I installed.

A lot of people just want them "oh so desirable" corona rings for the aesthetics rather than the practicalities.

Fine, so you would be happy to remove the power steering, power brakes, power windows, heaters, and stereo system. All are luxuries on your car and are not needed either. They are all desirable to have on a car as well but not a necessity !!!!

I'll pay extra for Xenons on any brand of car every time. For me they are an added safety item in the same way as DSC and ABS. Being a student and driving to college after 9am and returning home before 3pm you have no idea what is like to drive home at 6pm in the dark with a 400 mile journey door to door each week.

[fuzzer123456]

Driving without xenons is like driving with the side lights on....

once you get them , theres no going back!