[gaifaun]

Its been a while since i've done any reviews. So i contacted E92-Lighting again for my exterior needs.

I will be reviewing:
1) GP Thunder 7500k H3 Cornering bulbs.
2) LED License Plate
3) Alpine White Painted Reflectors


Service, Packaging
Derrick and I communicate via PM. Albeit sometimes he may take a while to reply but he always pulls through and offers the best pricing on products.
Everything came neatly packed filled with "peanuts". To protect the paint on the reflectors, E92-lighting wrapped them in microfiber towels! a great way method indeed. Items are shipped through USPS first class mail and i got them in a timely manner in Canada.







------ 1) GP Thunder 7500k H3 Cornering bulbs. ------
Since day one, I've hated the H3 cornering bulb's stock yellow color. The cornering bulbs are extremely useful when driving but when it illuminates, the color does not match my LUX or HID's which is a big turnoff. I wanted to retain this cornering feature so i sought to replace the bulbs with whiter and bluer ones.

Stock (left). GP Thunder (right)


The install was simple enough, I just followed the DIY posted. the space is angled awkwardly there so its good advice to use needle nose pliers. took me 15 minutes for both sides first time around.

The light output is expected. nice white and blue. it matches my LUX and HID's nicely. gone is the ugly yellow. However, the brightness is slightly compromised. Before i had more light output but with these aftermarket H3's i get slightly less output. i think it could be the blue tint on the bulb. but i am still very satisfied with the color and it is a good compromise because these bulbs are still bright when lit.


BEFORE





AFTER







------ 2) LED License Plate ------
I was astounded when i saw how many individual LED's each replacement housing had. 24 LED's in each housing! compared to OEM only having 2 or 4. I have a feeling these would be blinding and i was right. I thought the stock ones were bright enough but these take it to the next level. Now when i reverse i can see the back even better with the aid of these bright LED license plate lights.

Build quality is very good. it also has a foam weather stripping surrounding the housing to prevent condensation and such. Color output is very nice. and when placed beside the stock one, the stock LED doesn't even look like its turned on.

The install is the most simple. the DIY is here. If you want you dont even need to use a screw driver. just use bare fingers to push and pull. DIY is here.







OEM (left), replacement (right). the OEM one doesn't even look lit when shone upon the license plate.



BEFORE






AFTER:
[IMG][/IMG]








oem (left). replacement (right)





------ 3) Alpine White Painted Reflectors ------
I didn't know these replacement reflectors were OEM parts! I was expecting all aftermarket reflectors to be taiwan made pieces. But these are a good deal guys considering its painted and its OEM and its pre-taped. what more can you ask for? The paint on this is good quality and seems like they painted a few coats of AW. these are just screaming quality.



Install is slightly more tricky but still completely DIY-able. I didn't remove my wheel. i just turned it full lock to one side and started working with a blow-dryer and a flat head as a prying tool. removing the stock reflectors is a bitch! the old tape is so stubborn and by the time i was done my fingers were sore from rubbing and peeling old residual tape behind the bumper. but this mod is very worth it. makes the car look so much cleaner. European guys are lucky they don't have to go through this.





peel back to reveal double-sided tape


Paint match is another key question here. granted no paint will match perfect and the reflectors are no different. I would say the paint match is around 85-90% for my car. you can tell its the reflectors are more "yellow" than my AW bumper. But all in all i'm satisfied as well. Paint match is less noticeable when viewed from a distance.


notice slightly off paint match



hard to tell when its further away.



Thanks E92-Lighting. don't PM me for pricing. PM E92-Lighting instead, he will ring up a quote for you. buy more save more

[JTO24]

Noice! I'm torn between the mtec 4375k and gp thunder 7500k for the cornering bulb. These look like a great match with the Lux tho. Thank you again for your great reviews! Always a tremendous help!

[gaifaun]

thanks! you are always my loyal supporter.

I have a feeling Mtecs won't be as "blue", if you will.

[Dr. G]

Another great and informative review!

Thanks!

[dwells]

Never really understood the cornering light swap. It reduces light output, and the whole point of them is for extra lighting. It's not like they're on particularly often either, so it's not like anyone really notices the yellowness. Don't understand the license plate LEDs either - think they draw too much attention to the car and throw way too much light onto the road behind it. There's a reason why the stock ones are dim: they're meant to illuminate the plate and nothing else.

Not trying to hate on your thread or anything, I just don't really get the appeal. Good call on the reflectors, though; the stock ambers look just terrible on AW especially.

[ChrisJadesFireF82]

nice write up n nice mods...how well do you think those corner bulbs would match oss...i been meaning to upgrade my fogs n corner bulbs just havent got around to it and im looking for the best option to match the blue of the oss and not lose much output on lighting

[Ghoti]

Thanks for the heads-up on the reflector installation. I got mine from e-92 Lighting as well. Sounds like it will be lots of fun.

I also got the luggage trunk LED lamp from e-92 Lighting to replace the pitiful OEM light ... and WOW it looks soooo much better. I can actually see things in there now!

[gaifaun]

Originally Posted by Dr. G

Another great and informative review!

Thanks!

no problem! glad i can help you guys out and contribute to the community!

Originally Posted by dwells

Never really understood the cornering light swap. It reduces light output, and the whole point of them is for extra lighting. It's not like they're on particularly often either, so it's not like anyone really notices the yellowness. Don't understand the license plate LEDs either - think they draw too much attention to the car and throw way too much light onto the road behind it. There's a reason why the stock ones are dim: they're meant to illuminate the plate and nothing else.

Not trying to hate on your thread or anything, I just don't really get the appeal. Good call on the reflectors, though; the stock ambers look just terrible on AW especially.

I perfectly understand you perspective. But it turns on very often for me. Whenever i activate the turn signal it illuminates. It is especially unpleasant when you are waiting for a left turn at an intersection where everyone sees your mismatched lights and this yellow blob of H3 coming from the inner ring. Hence i switched it out for something that has a nicer color temperature to it. These new bulbs are not to a point where there is no illumination. I can still see the corner of the road light up when i activate my H3, just that the output is slightly reduced. its still very useful for me. put it this way, if stock output is 100% brightness, then the aftermarket ones are 80%. Still effective when im on the very rare roads where there are no street lights in vancouver.

as for the license plate lights. yes to each their own. I do all these reviews so i can provide more information to the community so it can help them choose their mods better. Some may say changing the stock LED license plate lights sets off the rear end; its just like swapping out AE's in a way. I personally would like the led plate lights to be a bit dimmer but no one makes "dimmer" aftermarket LED bulbs. and i personally think the stock LED ones are a bit too dim. I am still trying to find the perfect set with the perfect balance.

thanks for the constructive feedback, i hope i can provide more insight as to why i always write reviews.

Originally Posted by Ghoti

Thanks for the heads-up on the reflector installation. I got mine from e-92 Lighting as well. Sounds like it will be lots of fun.

I also got the luggage trunk LED lamp from e-92 Lighting to replace the pitiful OEM light ... and WOW it looks soooo much better. I can actually see things in there now!

yeah the reflector mod is a PITA. be careful too. don't damage your bumper as that part of the bumper is really thin and flimsy.

[Vesar]

If i were you, i wouldnt change the license plate bulbs because they were already white (LED). The cornering bubls look great tho

[boyhsu]

haha the plate light is absolutely amazing!

[mrj25]

Excellent write up! I'm looking forward on picking up the bright LEDs for the license plate

[onefastfox]

looks great, im just waiting on e92 lighting to email me back, been about 2 days..........

[MiKc]

thanks so much for the review !!
good to hear some good news while i wait for my cornering to arrive

[Pinz]

You guys think something like this is possible to find in Mineral White? Or if I get in Alpine White it will not be noticeable? I think under certain lighting the reflection will be different, so it's better if it was Mineral White.

[E92-Lighting]

Originally Posted by Pinz

You guys think something like this is possible to find in Mineral White? Or if I get in Alpine White it will not be noticeable? I think under certain lighting the reflection will be different, so it's better if it was Mineral White.

these are an exact match with OEM headlights

[Pinz]

Originally Posted by E92-Lighting

these are an exact match with OEM headlights

I was referring to the Alpine White Painted Reflectors?

[wdeerfield]

Originally Posted by Pinz

I was referring to the Alpine White Painted Reflectors?

http://www.bimmian.com/Painted-Refle...r-E93-3-Series

they have them in mineral white. just select your m3 from the list and click add next to the mineral white choice.

[mikeseli]

Has anyone looked at installing led H3 bulbs?

[QUIKDZL]

I just ordered a pair from ebay. They are advertised as CREE 80W LED SMD H3 Super Bright White Fog Tail DRL Head Light Lamp Bulb.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151652419218...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

They have 16 CREE LED chips pulling 5 watts each, for a total of 80 watts per bulb, producing 2000 lumens ber bulb. The stock H3 incandescent bulbs pull 55 watts each and produce about 800 lumens each. 12 of the CREE chips are arranged radially around the cylinder that makes up the "bulb" and four are at the tip, projecting through a focusing lens.

Color temperature is 6000K, so this SHOULD be exactly what we are looking for to complement our xenon HID headlights/color matching LED angel eye upgrades/color matching LED fog light upgrades.

I plan to get them installed in about two weeks--can't wait to see the results. Since there was no mention of it in the ad, I won't be surprised if they give me a CANBUS bulb out warning. I should be able to code that away using my awesome BMWhat OBD dongle and iPhone app, or a CANBUS resistor can be added.