[Art.Jablonski]

Hey all, I've seen this topic come up frequently but I haven't seen any definitive answers posted which seems rather odd since there are quite a few LCI halogen owners looking for projector headlamps.
Over here I saw post saying they'll fit http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=514184
Here is one reporting just the opposite http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...light=lci+depo

My questions are as follows:
1.) Will the DEPOs (any verison) fit the LCI?
2.) If not, why? Electrical connections different? Mounting incompatible?

I was hoping for a heads up before I dropped the $700 and gave it a try anyway. If I don't hear anything either yay or nay I'll pick up a set and keep you all posted. Since the LCI lights fit in the pre-LCIs it would seem as though the DEPOs (which fit the pre-LCI) would mount in LCI.


Please forgive me if I'm but in my forum and google searching I haven't found a solid answer other than someone saying "No they won't fit" or "Yeah, they'll fit" without any additional information.

[Comstock]

No clue, but I dig the Rocket Jockey name!

Edit: I just bought a pair for my 2011. I'll take some pictures when they get here and let you know.

[PrMaX]

Originally Posted by Comstock

No clue, but I dig the Rocket Jockey name!

Edit: I just bought a pair for my 2011. I'll take some pictures when they get here and let you know.

Waiting for pics.

I also have a E90LCI w halogen lights and want to install DEPO P90s with LEDs.

[Comstock]

Expected UPS delivery is Monday. I'm pretty stoked to see if they'll fit

[514Bimmer]

just call jlevis and ask them, why make a thread for something so simple

[Comstock]

Originally Posted by 514Bimmer

just call jlevis and ask them, why make a thread for something so simple

'cause it's fun...

-----
Update May 9th:

After using the headlights at night for the first time and actually relying on them to see I can tell you that the beam pattern is terrible. The light was much worse than my stock halogens. The lights, from an aesthetic perspective, look fantastic and the AEs will turn heads but the DEPOs are definitely form over function. Keep in mind this was with H7 bulbs through the projector lenses. I just ordered three 10000K HID kits for the low beams, high beams, and fog lights. So we'll see if that helps anything. I'm not too keen on the 10000K bulb color but I'm hoping they will match the color of the AEs. For the price you really can't go wrong. The headlamps set me back $600 and another $300 for the HID kits. So for less than $1000 you can make your headlight look (at least to oncoming drivers) great. Let's see how they hold up long term.

I also added a few pictures of the angel eyes in direct sunlight and by request a picture/movie of the turn signals in action.


-----------
Anyway, I received the DEPO lights today. I have a 2011 E90 and installation was a snap. It took me just under an hour and a half to install by myself and that includes a trip to AutoZone to get some double sided 3M tape. You'll want the 3M tape to secure the DC voltage box to the inside of the headlamp housing otherwise it will just bounce around inside. The pictures should show what I'm talking about.

Bottom line: Even though these were advertised to only work in a 2006 to 2008 they DO fit in an LCI with no modifications! The angel eye's are BRIGHT...extremely bright...almost obnoxiously bright. Bright to the point that I feel silly driving at night because of the intense purple hue. In the daytime they look white/blue but at night they look very blue/purple. You'll need an 8000 K or 10000 K headlight bulb to match the color of the angel eyes. The angel eyes flash for a few seconds and throw a bulb out error for the first few seconds after you turn the car on. Once the flashing is done (3 to 5 seconds) the error will clear and the lights are fine. Check the video for the flashing I'm referring to.


The box.






Unboxed. (that's the protective plastic still on the headlamp, those are not cracks or scratches)





Before with the halogens.





Ready to install with the bumper removed.





Back of DEPO light. The wires and DC converter are just stuffed in there.





I took this....and see below...





...And 3M taped it here so it won't bounce around.





Success!





After install, lights out.





Again, after install.





The finished product!





And again. (I coded the amber corner delete so I can run the AEs as DRLs by turning on my parking lights.)





The LED turn signal.




A shot of the AEs in direct sunlight. They really do look that bright during the day.





And another.


Here's a video of the initial flashing I was talking about. The bulb out warning only lasts until the lights come on steady at full brightness. Then the error clears and you are good to go.

Turn signal in action!


If you have any questions please let me know!

[bezbez]

Thanks for posting. This was a simple question that no one seemed to know the answer to. I'm gonna get me a set of P90 V2's

[PrMaX]

Great pictures
Can you take pictures or movie showing the turn signals turned on?

[Comstock]

Originally Posted by PrMaX

Great pictures
Can you take pictures or movie showing the turn signals turned on?

Absolutely! Updated the original post with some more pictures and movie for you.

[jocamryn]

Not too shabby...The rings look nice.

[PrMaX]

Originally Posted by Comstock

Absolutely! Updated the original post with some more pictures and movie for you.

Thanks for the pictures. Headlights look very cool and stylish.

Now I'm 100% sure that I want them to have

[3lusive]

They look great, I was expecting them to not look at good as OEM but damn they look very nice.

[The_DDub]

Those do look great on the LCI! Makes sense that the harness connector is the same as pre-LCI

[nky]

The lights look great! Can you take pictures of the headlight beam pattern at night?

[JayKay335i]

Lights look good

But 10k for driving? Thought you wanted to improve the function of your lights.

[Comstock]

Originally Posted by JayKay335i

Lights look good

But 10k for driving? Thought you wanted to improve the function of your lights.

Right you are. I saw a set 10k bulbs in person and wow, they were obnoxious. Those internet "HID color charts" don't really portray the true uselessness of the 10k light source. I ended up changing my order to 6k bulbs but now wish I would've went with the 4300. My wife drives a VW Tiguan with factory bi-xenons and I absolutely love the white light with just a tiny hint of purple that they have. I believe I read that stock xenons on all vehicles use 4300 K bulbs. If that's true it seems odd to me that different auto brands all seem to have a slightly different color hue to their xenons.

@nky: I'll snap a picture of the beam pattern tonight for you.

[Comstock]

Night shots as requested. Just as a comparison I included the same shots with my wife's 2011 VW Tiguan with factory xenons for comparison. The Tiguan's factory HIDs have such a smoother, cleaner beam pattern....it really makes the DEPO lights look like crap.


E90's headlights at night. The blue looks overwhelming because of the camera. The actual headlights are halogen H7 bulbs, with the naked eye they look blue from the front because of the incredibly bright AEs.





15 feet away from my garage. Any blue/purple you see is from the angel eyes as the actual headlight bulbs are the stock yellowish H7 bulbs.





25 feet away from my garage. (my driveway has a slight slope, that's why they look uneven)





What they look like shining down the street with no street lights.





Another angle down the street.




For comparison the following are of my wife's 2011 VW Tiguan with factory xenons. The difference is astounding.



Tiguan at night.





Tiguan with factory xenons: A shot of the garage at 15 feet.





Tiguan with factory xenons: A shot of the street at night with no street lights.



The DEPO headlights look great aesthetically and have really bright AEs but as far as visibility is concerned they are of no benefit. If you like they way they look, then by all means get the DEPOs, but if you're looking for improved lighting then stick with your E90's factory halogens.

[JayKay335i]

Glad you changed your mind on the color. Anything more than 6.5k is obnoxious and stupid in my opinion. The difference in color you see with the same temperature bulbs have a lot to do with the lens it self in the system and chromatic/achromatic aberrations due to the lens.

[Comstock]

Originally Posted by JayKay335i

Glad you changed your mind on the color. Anything more than 6.5k is obnoxious and stupid in my opinion. The difference in color you see with the same temperature bulbs have a lot to do with the lens it self in the system and chromatic/achromatic aberrations due to the lens.

I gotcha. Well, lesson learned. I should have ordered my car with xenons instead of getting dealer stock with halogens. The factory xenons with aftermarket AEs is exactly what I was looking for. Like I said before the DEPOs are great aesthetically but offer no improvement in terms of visibility. I know what I'll be getting next time around.

[JayKay335i]

Its never to late to make the switch. OEM Xenons come up here and there in the FS section.

[lux.sh]

I saw the first few day time pics, and I was like wow, that is nice...
I even thought that flashing issue was actually a bit cool, like a cop.

then I saw the night pictures and I was like... omg... do they use somalian projectors or something? cut-off is not bad and pretty sharp but distribution and illumination is horrible..

[Comstock]

This should be the final update: I got my HID kits and popped them in to the DEPO headlamps and wow, it makes a world of difference. With halogen bulbs the DEPOs are pretty worthless as far as visibility is concerned but with HIDs they actually look pretty decent. Not anywhere near as good as a stock Xenon setup but still pretty decent. I ordered three kits (two H7 and one H8) from Highperformancebulbs.com. I used one of the H7 kits for the lowbeams and the H8 for my fog lights. The kits were $90 each. I ordered the CANBUS kits and installed them with stock wiring no relay. They don't throw any bulb out errors so that's two thumbs up as far as I'm concerned. The ballasts buzz a bit louder than I expected but Fred, the owner of Highperformancebulbs.com assured me that's normal. I mounted the ballasts on the headlamp bracket/mount thing directly underneath the headlamp and grounded each ballast the the horn mounting screw. The fog lamp ballasts are 3M taped to the brake duct. Pictures are below. That marks the end of my LCI DEPO experiment/trial/review. If you have any questions please feel free to shoot me a PM. Oops forgot to add that I got the 6000K temp bulbs and they are near perfect match to the color of the angel eyes. I wish I would've gotten the 4300K bulbs for better visibility but aesthetically the 6000Ks are great, a hint of blue, not so much that they look ricey.


About 15 feet from my garage.



Down the street. The headlights are aimed a tad low...my driveway has a slope so I couldn't aim them with the standard aiming method. I didn't want to blind oncoming drivers so I aimed conservatively low. I'll have to re-aim on a level surface this weekend.