[ucsbwsr]

E90Post,

I am a headlight enthusiast and wanted to share a recent project with you guys as it was for an E90. Most of my previous builds were on the E6X chassis.

Many headlights from the factory offer underwhelming output and some are downright dangerous due to their poor performance. In the automotive lighting world most BMWs produced from 2000 and onward offer roughly C+ performance from the factory this includes even the "fancy" LED lights which simply are underperformers contrary to the hyper LED headlights generate.

All cars can benefit from better lighting as it means better visibility which equates to safety for the driver and his/her occupants as well as other cars on the road as light output is controlled and glare is minimized. Performance cars are great candidates for such upgrades as the added light intensity, width, and throw (distance) compliment the increased capability of the vehicle. Fast cars need good lights!

The car in question is a PTE 6466 335xi, tuned to 26psi and is somewhere in the 600awhp range. The previous headlights were "custom" with black paint and some LED Angel Eyes. Unfortunately this aesthetic-only upgrade is the common recipe for BMW owners and the HID projectors + components are rarely upgraded which is such a missed opportunity in my opinion.

Headlight Specs
- Koito Bi-Xenon Projectors (from Porsche 997 and Nissan Murano)
- STI-R Clear Lens + Tuning for sharpness and color
- White "Demon Eye"
- Apollo Shrouds
- Morimoto xb 5,500k Bulbs
- D1S-D2S Igniters
- Morimoto xb LED Fog corner light
- Custom molded inner shrouds
- Low Gloss Black Bezel Paint
- Angel Eye Delete
- New OEM Lenses

Due to the unique configuration of the "dynamic" system being integrated into the actual projector, it was ditched but Auto-Leveling was retained, no worries though as the Muranos offer a wider output than the stock projectors even with the dynamic feature active.

For those interested I thoroughly photo documented the build of these headlights and it can be seen here (mods if not allowed, happy to remove):
https://www.hidplanet.com/forums/for...ite-demon-eyes

Feel free to ask any questions,
Evan

[VTECaddict]

Great work and amazing output! The BMW OEM projectors really are piles of crap.

Personally not a fan of the blackout and non angel eye look, but workmanship and attention to detail are great.

[noah.s]

That light output is ridiculous. Great work!
I don't know how I feel about the angel eye delete but I dig the white demon eyes .

[RobertRichy]

Evan- absolutely sick. I wish I had the knowledge, patience and time to do something like this. I modded my B6 S4 headlight and my 06 G35 years ago to increase output and add the elusive color flicker via bent shield. But the 335's headlights are different animals.

I've contact several reputable vendors on HIDplanet along with the few popular names that pop up here on E90 and none of them would even consider a clear lens swap let alone a complete retrofit.

I am sooo jealous. I'll head over to your HID post and see if it's something I dare take on.

[6ixSpd]

That throw and cutoff is insane! Not a fan of the aesthetic scheme at all though.

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by VTECaddict

Great work and amazing output! The BMW OEM projectors really are piles of crap.

Personally not a fan of the blackout and non angel eye look, but workmanship and attention to detail are great.

Yea, most projectors BMW uses are under-achievers, a few offer positive characteristics but there isn't a standout performer in any of their headlights. Bosch/AL, ZKW, Hella, and Valeo are some of the companies which produce their headlights, Hella has the strongest offering but still can't hold a candle to the Japanese brands who produce the best HID setups.

Originally Posted by noah.s

That light output is ridiculous. Great work!
I don't know how I feel about the angel eye delete but I dig the white demon eyes .

Thanks. White demon eyes are a pretty fun add-on. They are pretty effective on these projectors due to the internal design of the projector.

Originally Posted by RobertRichy

Evan- absolutely sick. I wish I had the knowledge, patience and time to do something like this. I modded my B6 S4 headlight and my 06 G35 years ago to increase output and add the elusive color flicker via bent shield. But the 335's headlights are different animals.

I've contact several reputable vendors on HIDplanet along with the few popular names that pop up here on E90 and none of them would even consider a clear lens swap let alone a complete retrofit.

I am sooo jealous. I'll head over to your HID post and see if it's something I dare take on.

Yea, most BMW "retrofitters" spray some paint, install some halos and charge $X,XXX for the services, the output still sucks. But BMW owners all seem to care about looks for headlights which baffles me with how concerned they are about their car's function and performance in other areas or if it has an M badge or not (indicative of function).

If you want a retrofit done but still aren't comfortable executing it on your own, feel free to reach out. I probably won't take on another Murano/997 build due to the amount of work/labor/cost but there are some other nice projectors which should fit in there with less work.

Originally Posted by the6M3

That throw and cutoff is insane! Not a fan of the aesthetic scheme at all though.

Yea, the Murano/997 projectors are solid performers.

The angel eye delete isn't for everyone. I appreciate it because it visually cleans up the headlight and accentuates the sharp design of the headlight itself but people who love the halos will think the design misses the mark.

Evan

[usmarine9]

Amazing work!!

[VTECaddict]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

Yea, most projectors BMW uses are under-achievers, a few offer positive characteristics but there isn't a standout performer in any of their headlights. Bosch/AL, ZKW, Hella, and Valeo are some of the companies which produce their headlights, Hella has the strongest offering but still can't hold a candle to the Japanese brands who produce the best HID setups.

Yup. I retrofitted FX projectors into my Accord before I got my E90 and the E90 lights were a definite downgrade. My FX retros would still light up the center divider while diving in the right lane of a 4 lane highway and were much brighter in front. I don't have the time to try to retrofit the E90 though.

[RobertRichy]

PM Sent

[MMMCOOKIES55]

Very nice indeed! In the middle of re-doing my Headlights and was stuck on what shrouds to get. Are those the apollo 1,2 or 3's? I currently have my STI lenses spaced out 1/8, how far are yours spaced out?

Very nice! looks very clean.

[rothwem]

Looking at your headlights, it would be cool if you could retrofit the inner reflectors to bi-xenon projectors but keep the adaptive feature on the outer projectors, resulting in a quad bi-xenon projector with the adaptive feature retained.

Good idea or should I put the crackpipe down?

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by MMMCOOKIESB58

Very nice indeed! In the middle of re-doing my Headlights and was stuck on what shrouds to get. Are those the apollo 1,2 or 3's? I currently have my STI lenses spaced out 1/8, how far are yours spaced out?

Very nice! looks very clean.

The STI-R lens on the Murano took a bit of spacing, using the thin cardboard box type spacers there are many, not sure if it is is quite 1/8" but a fair amount of spacing to achieve the desired results.

Originally Posted by rothwem

Looking at your headlights, it would be cool if you could retrofit the inner reflectors to bi-xenon projectors but keep the adaptive feature on the outer projectors, resulting in a quad bi-xenon projector with the adaptive feature retained.

Good idea or should I put the crackpipe down?

No, a good idea, quads were the original plan for this build (with the oem projector and AFS deleted) but the issue was accessing the inner projector. The housing cap on the rear of the headlight for accessing the oem angle eye bulb is very small, maybe 2" in diameter and with the secondary projector being mounted so far forward the rear of the projector would reside 4-5" forward which means working through the 2" opening you would have to reach 4+" to change the bulb if it needed service. The only way to do this would be with needle nose pliers, patience, and skills.

Here are some pics of what is would have looked like and also the mock up of why it would have been nearly impossible to service the quad projector.

Evan

[ucsbwsr]

rothwem
Also, that is how my E61 headlights are configured. Thankfully my AFS system was setup differently and I was able to upgrade the main projector and retain AFS.

[rothwem]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

rothwem
Also, that is how my E61 headlights are configured. Thankfully my AFS system was setup differently and I was able to upgrade the main projector and retain AFS.

NICE!

I recall stalking on your wagon thread. Good stuff in there.

[Tim603]

First off well done sir

My only question, how on earth did you get them so clean!?!?! (the perma-seal channels)

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by Tim603

First off well done sir

My only question, how on earth did you get them so clean!?!?! (the perma-seal channels)

Thank you!

For the channels it was done with a combination of a chisel, a headlight specific tool, some elbow grease, and a dremel. That's it!