[hybrid90]

Hi all! I finally found a new housing for my passenger headlight and am planning to swap it out the first weekend we have no rain. But, since I've gotta take everything apart anyway, can anyone recommend a way to brighten my headlights? I'm not sure why, but mine just don't seem to be that bright. Housings are still very clear so that's not the issue. But I love how the newer cars seem to be a bit brighter, a bit more blue and a bit more defined. I really don't know much about lighting bulbs, so please forgive my ignorance. Any help or comments would be greatly appreciated!

[spain4065]

You can boost the ballast to increase wattage. Check out HID planet.

[6ixSpd]

Get new quality bulbs. You'd be amazed at how much HID bulbs reduce in output over many years. I was seriously considering upgrading the internals on my 122k mile xenon headlights but decided to try new bulbs and the output is incredible now. Stick with Phillips, Osram, or Morimoto if you want something more budget friendly. Do NOT waste your money on other cheap bulbs. Their longevity/light throw is horrible.

[VTECaddict]

New bulbs should help. But BMW's headlights in general have poor output so even with the same bulb, the output is not going to be as great as some other cars.

[hybrid90]

Originally Posted by VTECaddict

New bulbs should help. But BMW's headlights in general have poor output so even with the same bulb, the output is not going to be as great as some other cars.

I guess I should have clarified. I meant the newer BMWs. I just drove an X1 for three weeks and I loved the output of that one. Bluish tint, very bright & detailed. I think even the E92 Xenons have better output than my car. Or maybe I'm just thinking of the Angel Eyes.

[VTECaddict]

Originally Posted by hybrid90

I guess I should have clarified. I meant the newer BMWs. I just drove an X1 for three weeks and I loved the output of that one. Bluish tint, very bright & detailed. I think even the E92 Xenons have better output than my car. Or maybe I'm just thinking of the Angel Eyes.

The new X1 has LED projector headlights, so they will look a lot more bluish-white and appear brighter on the foreground

[jacie6056]

Originally Posted by VTECaddict

The new X1 has LED projector headlights, so they will look a lot more bluish-white and appear brighter on the foreground

Correct me if I am wrong. Usually foreground light represent less distance performance. Although they looks bright, probably Xenon still good as distance. Again, I might be wrong about it.

[hybrid90]

Originally Posted by jacie6056

Correct me if I am wrong. Usually foreground light represent less distance performance. Although they looks bright, probably Xenon still good as distance. Again, I might be wrong about it.

This is where I get really confused. Where I drive, I come up to a 'T' intersection that is a wall. While I was pulling up to to it in the X1, I can see the headlights lighting up the bottom of the wall (bottom two-three feet) a good distance before I actually get to the intersection. But in my 335i, I can barely tell they're on even while sitting at the intersection, but I know they're level because I can see the line at the top. That is how I judge what kind of brightness I'm getting as well as making sure my headlights are aimed correctly. So again, I don't know if it's just because the new ones are LED or if there's something wrong with mine. I'm sometimes curious if maybe my battery is starting to fail me, but if that IS the case, would that affect the light output or not because theoretically, that should be coming off of the alternator instead of the battery, correct? God, I wish I knew car electrical systems better...

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by jacie6056

Correct me if I am wrong. Usually foreground light represent less distance performance. Although they looks bright, probably Xenon still good as distance. Again, I might be wrong about it.

You are correct but you worded it in an interesting way. To clarify: Foreground doesn't necessarily mean distance output will be poor in terms of the beam pattern of the headlight, some headlights offer strong distance and strong foreground but a strong foreground will cause your eyes to constrict and consequently impede distance vision. Strong foreground may also be byproduct of headlights which are aimed too low and if this is the case distance lighting will suffer due to improper aim.

Originally Posted by hybrid90

This is where I get really confused. Where I drive, I come up to a 'T' intersection that is a wall. While I was pulling up to to it in the X1, I can see the headlights lighting up the bottom of the wall (bottom two-three feet) a good distance before I actually get to the intersection. But in my 335i, I can barely tell they're on even while sitting at the intersection, but I know they're level because I can see the line at the top. That is how I judge what kind of brightness I'm getting as well as making sure my headlights are aimed correctly. So again, I don't know if it's just because the new ones are LED or if there's something wrong with mine. I'm sometimes curious if maybe my battery is starting to fail me, but if that IS the case, would that affect the light output or not because theoretically, that should be coming off of the alternator instead of the battery, correct? God, I wish I knew car electrical systems better...

The X1 headlights are made by Valeo so the LED projectors inside are probably the same as the i3, they are "good" LED projectors compared to others on the market but they still can't keep up with a proper HID setup. The actual light emitted should be "pure white" in color around 5,000-5,500 kelvin or so but the blue color you were referring to is likely the "colorband" which is at the top of the cutoff and caused my dispersive refraction which is the bending/breakdown of intense light, think Pink Floyd album.

For a quick fix and to optimize the current system, make sure the headlights are aimed properly and buy a pair of D1S Osram CBI bulbs to replace your likely old, tired, faded HID bulbs.

For a real fix, have the oem projectors replaced with better units, the main limitation of the E9X headlights are the projectors and replacing them with will VASTLY improve output. A quality HID projector + quality HID bulb + the factory 35w ballast will likely be more than enough output.

Below is a guide for aiming your headlights and also some pics of what "proper" HID setups can look like.

Feel free to ask any questions,
Evan







Some output examples

[jacie6056]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

You are correct but you worded it in an interesting way. To clarify: Foreground doesn't necessarily mean distance output will be poor in terms of the beam pattern of the headlight, some headlights offer strong distance and strong foreground but a strong foreground will cause your eyes to constrict and consequently impede distance vision. Strong foreground may also be byproduct of headlights which are aimed too low and if this is the case distance lighting will suffer due to improper aim.

Excellent write up. Are you Evan from auto vision lab？
I appreciate from your recently E90 retrofit so much. Yes due to English is not my first language. Sometimes I can not deliver my idea clearly and I need to improve it.

For E46 AL projector, I knew its old projector. However, with proper alignment and clear lens swap. I still pretty satisfy about it.(High Beam) I mean I would like to try the newer projector, However the Adaptive headlight cages just kill me. I can not fit the mini D2s 4.0 inside. Because I am not as handy and skillful than you are.

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by jacie6056

Excellent write up. Are you Evan from auto vision lab？
I appreciate from your recently E90 retrofit so much. Yes due to English is not my first language. Sometimes I can not deliver my idea clearly and I need to improve it.

For E46 AL projector, I knew its old projector. However, with proper alignment and clear lens swap. I still pretty satisfy about it.(High Beam) I mean I would like to try the newer projector, However the Adaptive headlight cages just kill me. I can not fit the mini D2s 4.0 inside. Because I am not as handy and skillful than you are.

Thank you for the kind words. Yes, Vision Auto Lab

The E46 has some decent qualities and some which can be improved with the optimizations listed above but best to replace if possible. The high beam is good. Low beam could use more width.

You have an E92?

[jacie6056]

Yes, I have an E92. You have a very good eye. low beam are lack of width as you said exactly. I am currently fit in an D2s 4.0 into my fog housing to compensate the width before I find out a better way.

[hybrid90]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

For a real fix, have the oem projectors replaced with better units, the main limitation of the E9X headlights are the projectors and replacing them with will VASTLY improve output. A quality HID projector + quality HID bulb + the factory 35w ballast will likely be more than enough output.

You kind of lost me here. I know that I can replace the HID bulbs (I'm assuming they're actually bulbs), but replacing the projectors? What exactly does that mean? You mean the entire headlight or is there something in there that I"m not aware of. But then, I don't even know what the ballast is actually for, so you'll have to forgive my ignorance.

The adjustment fix is really tough for me right now as my passenger (right side) is still broken. I have a feeling my light output may have a lot to do with the adjustment being off. I got a used housing off eBay, but I haven't installed it yet because I'm in the process of finishing up my suspension and figured this would give me time to address the light issue before I actually pull everything apart, and I won't even mention the rain storms that keep hitting us every three days here on the Central Coast.

[jacie6056]

Originally Posted by hybrid90

This is where I get really confused. Where I drive, I come up to a 'T' intersection that is a wall. While I was pulling up to to it in the X1, I can see the headlights lighting up the bottom of the wall (bottom two-three feet) a good distance before I actually get to the intersection. :

Some output photos on the wall as an references might be more help to give some suggestions?

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by jacie6056

Yes, I have an E92. You have a very good eye. low beam are lack of width as you said exactly. I am currently fit in an D2s 4.0 into my fog housing to compensate the width before I find out a better way.

Yes, I know my headlights and projectors

Do you have pics on how you fit the D2S 4.0 into the fogs? Is it all sealed properly?

For a REALLY wide projector setup most bi-xenons won't offer that great of performance relative to low beam only units but many of those won't fit into the E92 headlight. However the D2S 4.0 can fit in there which would free up your fogs for something wider like the current gen Accord LED fogs, they are super wide if you can mount them to your bumper

Originally Posted by hybrid90

You kind of lost me here. I know that I can replace the HID bulbs (I'm assuming they're actually bulbs), but replacing the projectors? What exactly does that mean? You mean the entire headlight or is there something in there that I"m not aware of. But then, I don't even know what the ballast is actually for, so you'll have to forgive my ignorance.

The adjustment fix is really tough for me right now as my passenger (right side) is still broken. I have a feeling my light output may have a lot to do with the adjustment being off. I got a used housing off eBay, but I haven't installed it yet because I'm in the process of finishing up my suspension and figured this would give me time to address the light issue before I actually pull everything apart, and I won't even mention the rain storms that keep hitting us every three days here on the Central Coast.

Check out this thread, it should shed some light on the internal layout of the headlight, clarify what a projector is, and make sense of what the possibilities are. Feel free to ask any questions.
https://www.hidplanet.com/forums/for...ite-demon-eyes

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Stole this but it's pretty accurate. Rule of thumb is 5-7 years on HID BULBS.

0 hours = 3200 lumens (100%)
200 hours = 2880 lumens (90%)
1000 hours = 2560 lumens (80%)
1500 hours = 2400 lumens (75%)
2000 hours = 2240 lumens (70%)


So even after 2000 hours (that's 5 1/2 years of one hour per day).

[jacie6056]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

Yes, I know my headlights and projectors

Do you have pics on how you fit the D2S 4.0 into the fogs? Is it all sealed properly?
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I will take a photo when I have a chance to take off the bumper. You mean fitting D2s 4.0 is possible? I guess if I want to do that it will requiring a lot of trimming about the adaptive projector cage.. The interesting thing is I have a dual high beam when I press high beam stalk with factory E46 AL projector and 4.0 together.

The projector you put in is a very good performance with width projector. It is an excellent rights up and handy work no matter how many time I see the post.