HI I've recently made a purchase from Derrick at E92-Lighting. In this thread, i will be combining the review of the:
1) E90 M3 Lip Spoiler (painted)
2) City Vision H8 LED's (Angel Eyes)
The Camera i used was a Canon XSi with kit lens (18-55mm). NO post processing of the photos were done to alter the exposure and color of the pictures.
Customer Service:
I think Derrick really excels in this sector. He has made this transaction really fast and seamless. His PM's were prompt and is to-the-point. I see the stuff he has for sale. I ask him to give me the best possible price he can shipped, and he delivers. Derrick isn't the kinda of guy to start going off topic and chats with you, no his job is to be efficient, to sell and to make you happy, keeping time and number of PM's to a minimum. I did have some concerns for the products before i made my purchase and he patiently answered all my questions fully!
He delivers everytime.
I would definitely recommended him to anyone on E90post!
Packaging:
With such great customer service, a good packing of products is expected.
everything is nice and secure, once its in the box, it doesn't move around at all. Product is cushioned with peanuts and bubble wrap.
Spoiler
City Vision LED's
For a special touch, Derrick included a car freshener in the deal. no wonder it smelt so nice when i was opening the box. We all love free stuff
E90 M3 Lip Spoiler (painted AW)
This spoiler is made of the same material as in the OEM bumpers, PU mixture (polyurethane), so it is flexible and it will be less prone to cracking, compared to the cheap fiberglass stuff. This all makes the installation all the easier! Moreover, Its pretaped! how easy can it get?!!
The paint match is perfect and the lip itself is a quality piece. the fitment will speak for itself in the following pics.
Installation:
Clean the area of the trunk first by stripping its wax. I used mild dish detergent and water.
start off by positioning the spoiler the way you like it. I didnt use any rulers or anyhting. all this is done with my naked eye. I sit the spoiler near the edge of the trunk and i compare the edges of the spoiler to the trunk gap. Then mark it with painters tape.
After the spoiler's spot has been marked with tape, get a friend to help you press the spoiler down after removing the red tape backing. Slowly lower the spoiler onto the trunk constanting checking its alignment. place it on the trunk and double check again before pressing firmly activating the adhesive tape. Push firmly down for about 30 seconds or so. ( I pushed till the back of the car was squatting!). and you are done!
Conclusion:
Installation was foolproof and the product was really nice in paint and quality! fitment is spot on and i couldn't have been happier!
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City Vision H8 LED's (Angel Eyes)
I am really excited about this product because we all know how angel eyes can change the look of our entire car and it is the AE's that sets us apart from the rest of the cars on the road correct?
Although not many people have this set up, I've landed a good deal with Derrick and made the plunge to give these AE's a shot. I expect these to be better than the GP Thunders and RD LED's but fall below the LUX and AIB. The price point of these City Visions explain it.
The reason why i did not go for the LUX and AIBs were the price; too expensive. and also the LUX now needs an external power brick that can't be shoved inside the headlight housing, which makes the engine bay messy, IMO and could be a hassle at the dealership. This is why i got the City Visions, because its proven to be brighter at 6 watts with dual LED design compared to the inferior RDs and I was told it doesn't dim... That was the main selling point because i hated stock lights for dimming. We'll see when i install it.
You may notice there is a silver brick attached to each bulb, that is small enough to fit inside the headlight housing and gives the bulb full power at all times! at least that's what i was told, its probably a resistor of some sort.
Installation:
I'm not going to do a DIY on bulb swaps because i've done it in the past review i did with the GP Thunders.
Here, you see everything gets tucked right into the housing!
Ignition OFF. GP Thunder 7500k V2 on the left (
50% power), City Visions on the right (
~85% power)
I prefer LED bulbs over halogen bulbs for AEs because LEDs provide a "crisper" more "cut" light compared to the "diffused and scattered" halogen light. you can see in the next picture how the halogen bulb is filling up the inner right too much and making it less defined compared to the LED which gives a more crisp light and light output for outer and inner ring is more balanced. But the most important thing is color temperature that gives the LEDs away. Just the crisp and cool white blue light.
Ignition ON, GP Thunders 7500k V2 on the left (full power), City Visions on the right (full power).
GP Thunders were already better than stock alot, and These City Visions are better in every way.
DONE!
Because LEDs have a high color temperature, it will be harder to see in the day compared to traditional halogen bulbs. ie// you can see stock yellow AEs much better than GP Thunders during the day because GP Thunder is much whiter than stock.
Direct sunlight (look and you can see both outer and inner rings are still lit)
Sun overhead
look how
crisp these rings are! The inner ring is not dissipated like stock halogens. the rings are
very uniformly lit mostly due to the Dual LED design of the City Visions. In person, the color of this is pure cool white during the day and turns white / blue at night!
No dimming and perfect color match!
Xenons OFF
Conclusion:
These LEDs are AMAZING. I love the color it produces, a cool white during the day and white / blue at night. Perfect color match with Xenons,
Near full power (~85%) without ignition on, and you know the best bonus? it
FADES in and out. thats right, Fading LED's just like the AIBs. Unlike other crappy units like RDs or w/e there's
NO FLICKER and they FADE when you unlock your car, really cool!
Sometimes people will mistaken your GP Thunders to be stock because they're both halogen bulbs but with these, not a chance. Full brightness when you press the unlock button! ( i rarely use CA anymore now im so addicted to admiring my AEs as i approach my car
)
This is an excellent unit for the money. I wish i bought these rather than the GP Thunders in the first place. I like the City Visions better than the LUX or AIB because this around $150 cheaper. It fuctions in just nearly the same manner (no flicker, fades in). I can't justify the extra hundred i'll be spending just for more brightness. You have to remember theres only so much you can do with replacing the bulbs to brighter ones because the fibre-optic tubes in the AE are flawed to begin with.
Go message E92-lighting today and ask for a quote, you'd be surprised to see the price he can offer
Thanks again Derrick!
Feel Free to post questions or comments below!
UPDATE: further observation shows the City Visions H8 LED's DO NOT run at full power without ignition. Instead i approximate about 85% of power is given to these bulbs until you start the car up. Its not as good as i had hoped but it still looks amazing when i unlock the car compared to stock dim yellow bulbs.