[The_DDub]

I ordered the Depo full LED AE ring replacements from ebay last sunday the 24th. They arrived today, here is a pic of them. I'll take more pics as I open the headlamps and install these bad boys! Goodbye crappy stock Depo AEs!



I got the rings installed, they look like a million bucks! I f**king love them.


Baked open headlamps


Test fitting, kinda reminds me of the terminator after it's skin was burned off!


Good separation shot


All sealed up and on in the shade during the day


Backed up the car and took shots of the rings on in direct sunlight


This is probably more of a realistic view


Dang my car needs a wash!


Review:
Baking open the headlamps is actually fairly easy. Separating the lens from the housing is the most difficult part, but I reviewed the procedure so I had it in my head when it was go time. Replacing the rings was easy as they are held in by 3 clips per ring and as Zoraster mentioned, one ring is slightly larger than the other. Just match up the ring that is removed to get the right one on.

Color issue:
When I did a test run, I was not happy with the kelvin color of the LEDs. They are fairly purplish, so I contacted the seller and he said that they only come in 1 color spectrum, 7000K. This is so they are a close match for those guys running 6-8K HIDs My HIDs are 4500k, so there is a pretty significant difference at night. Had I known it might have influenced my decision to buy them. From the pics on the auction and the pics I took, they look like 5000k and if they were, I would have been completely 100% happy with them. I've seen a neighbor's 335is with similarly colored rings. Not sure if he's running aftermarket bulbs, I would guess so. However the 7000K is starting to grow on me.

Looks:
These things look like a million bucks. Really, there shouldn't be any hesitation in getting them!! I am wowed every time I unlock the car and when I pull up behind another car at a stoplight where I can see my rings. They are absolutely beautiful.

Link to album: Depo AE replacement Album

[mi800]

Post some pics. I paid an extra $99 for Depo LED and it only came with 4 LEDS.

[Zoraster]

If you find yourself having to force a ring in, try another one. They are actually two different sizes despite looking identical.

They look pretty good installed. Bright as hell and can be seen clearly during the day.

[The_DDub]

Originally Posted by Zoraster

If you find yourself having to force a ring in, try another one. They are actually two different sizes despite looking identical.

They look pretty good installed. Bright as hell and can be seen clearly during the day.

Cool, thanks for the tip! And I'll see how bright they are during the day on normal voltage. I'll bump up the voltage via coding if I want them brighter like 335is!

[The_DDub]

Added pics and review bump

[514Bimmer]

Headlights are looking Nice ! Looks like a bug massacre on ur bumper lol

[klove83]

Very nice. I like my depo led's also. I do with they wernt as purple. but they look really good and at night they are more white. Its not a horrible thing. But they are brighter than any other AE's that I have seen

[NiVeDh]

Should've painted the reflectors while you had the headlights apart.

[turbo2nr]

too bad no one can come out with something like this for the stock a/e's

[dwells]

Originally Posted by turbo2nr

too bad no one can come out with something like this for the stock a/e's

There's no reason they can't. Would be nice to have an alternative to OSS's price gouging. The LEDs themselves cost a maximum of $20 (extremely generous estimate, but I'd need the specs of the LED to give a real estimate) and the plastic for the rings probably costs a good $2 for a factory to make.

[turbo2nr]

i guess the mounting of the rings would be the biggest challenge ..

some one should make this for the diy'ers and profit off this. id happy pay $150 and install my self..

[dwells]

Originally Posted by turbo2nr

i guess the mounting of the rings would be the biggest challenge ..

some one should make this for the diy'ers and profit off this. id happy pay $150 and install my self..

If someone with OSS was willing to take them apart and photograph the mounting, it could easily be reverse-engineered. It's a bunch of either 3mm or SMD LEDs wired in parallel and encased in a circular ring of plastic for the angel eyes. Designing the LED layout and wiring schematic would be pretty easy, and then you just need a small power box with some capacitors and resistors tapped into a 12v source.

[Ghost170]

looks good!

[sandman0615]

link to ebay auction?

[The_DDub]

Auction Link

The seller's name is fishcake321, aka Simon.

[Hdarkace]

would these work with the LCI version DEpo Headlights?

[qclik]

Originally Posted by dwells

If someone with OSS was willing to take them apart and photograph the mounting, it could easily be reverse-engineered. It's a bunch of either 3mm or SMD LEDs wired in parallel and encased in a circular ring of plastic for the angel eyes. Designing the LED layout and wiring schematic would be pretty easy, and then you just need a small power box with some capacitors and resistors tapped into a 12v source.

The oss is using the umnitza orion v2 , the rings are not clip-on but glued to the housing. I diy mine for $200, the open and power source of the headlight should be the same

[dwells]

Originally Posted by qclik

The oss is using the umnitza orion v2 , the rings are not clip-on but glued to the housing. I diy mine for $200, the open and power source of the headlight should be the same

How difficult was the DIY job? How long would you say it took start to finish?

[francisomar]

Nice upgrade!

[qclik]

Originally Posted by dwells

How difficult was the DIY job? How long would you say it took start to finish?

it was fairy easy, but took a lot of time, cause single mistake could cost $$$. the installation is straight forward, open the headlight, remove outer ring, glue the led ring, connect the wire to existing angel eye bulb connector, reseal the headlight. it took me 2 days, cause i blackout my housing, so would need the paint to dry overnight. if not including removing bumper and headlight and no blackout, i would say 3-4 hr.

[Najt]

nice..it seems like from umnitza... i will probably buy this lights:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/06-08...Q5fAccessories

//edit:
i see that is the same ebay user so i will probably take the AE only too

- can tell us or give more pictures or photos or advice how tu cut the light? with iron tool? and how did you seal that back? what kind of glue etc?

[The_DDub]

Originally Posted by Najt

nice..it seems like from umnitza... i will probably buy this lights:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/06-08...Q5fAccessories

//edit:
i see that is the same ebay user so i will probably take the AE only too

- can tell us or give more pictures or photos or advice how tu cut the light? with iron tool? and how did you seal that back? what kind of glue etc?

Hi, you don't need to cut the seal around the light.

Here's how you open them

1. Set your oven to 220deg F or 105D Celsius =) for 10 mins or allow the oven to reach full temp
2. Remove all the bulbs and extra accessories on the headlamps
3. Put the headlamp in the oven for 15 mins
4. Remove them and pry the lens from the housing.

Here is a youtube I followed:

Resealing:
The video and others say you don't need extra sealant so I followed that advice. 3 days later I had condensation in my headlamps after a car wash
Take my advice, buy some black sealant from an auto parts store and put a bead in before you rebake the headlamps to seal it. The extra bead can be wiped away and you won't have to bake them open twice like me

Essentially it is the same as baking them open
1. Heat oven
2. Put an extra bead of seal
3. Insert housings and cover
4. Remove and attach the lens to close it up