[ecaedus]

pretty much what the title says. i have a 08 328i w/ stock halogens, hate these. i'm thinking about buying the Depo P90 projector headlights w/ FX-R retrofit from Umnitza for $770+shipping.

has anyone done this before? what do you think about FX-R projector lens retrofit? beam pattern? quality? light distribution?

i've heard that P90 housings are crap and have hiarline cracks, fogging etc. so i'm concerned that these are gonna fail on me in less than a year. i know they are aftermarkets but i do hope they at least last for two years...

wanted to do OEM Pre lci Xenon conversion at first but the whole setup is gonna cost me $1600+,can't afford it

[ecaedus]

no one?....

[rollinstone157]

Originally Posted by ecaedus

pretty much what the title says. i have a 08 328i w/ stock halogens, hate these. i'm thinking about buying the Depo P90 projector headlights w/ FX-R retrofit from Umnitza for $770+shipping.

has anyone done this before? what do you think about FX-R projector lens retrofit? beam pattern? quality? light distribution?

i've heard that P90 housings are crap and have hiarline cracks, fogging etc. so i'm concerned that these are gonna fail on me in less than a year. i know they are aftermarkets but i do hope they at least last for two years...

wanted to do OEM Pre lci Xenon conversion at first but the whole setup is gonna cost me $1600+,can't afford it

A trip to HIDPlanet.com shows that people love the FX-R projectors for their incredible cutoff, excellent light distribution, etc...basically, better than OEM projectors. I mean, the P90 housings might not be as good as OEM, but if you put some protective Vinyl film on the front I imagine that would help a lot with any potential cracking/pitting.

And if you don't crack open the headlights, I see no reason for them to fog up. Just make sure that the seals for the light bulbs stay flexible, and if they become brittle/crack, just put some new seals in there.

[ecaedus]

Originally Posted by rollinstone157

A trip to HIDPlanet.com shows that people love the FX-R projectors for their incredible cutoff, excellent light distribution, etc...basically, better than OEM projectors. I mean, the P90 housings might not be as good as OEM, but if you put some protective Vinyl film on the front I imagine that would help a lot with any potential cracking/pitting.

And if you don't crack open the headlights, I see no reason for them to fog up. Just make sure that the seals for the light bulbs stay flexible, and if they become brittle/crack, just put some new seals in there.

thanks for the input man! right now i just don't know whether i can trust umnitza with their FX-R projectors. they say its a PNP job but i'm confused about how to get the bi-xenon and angel eye functions since my car isn't coded for those. however according to them i don't need to code my car for bixenon funcition

[fdriller9]

They probably have some type of harness that will work with your car.

Umnitza is a pretty reputable company. I wouldn't be worried about ordering from them. I got a set of orions for a friends E46 and installed them for him. Quality was pretty good and no errors.

[rollinstone157]

Originally Posted by ecaedus

thanks for the input man! right now i just don't know whether i can trust umnitza with their FX-R projectors. they say its a PNP job but i'm confused about how to get the bi-xenon and angel eye functions since my car isn't coded for those. however according to them i don't need to code my car for bixenon funcition

Just for the record, Umnitza does not and did not build or design the FX-R projectors. Another website called TheRetrofitSource.com sells them, and many people on HidPlanet uses them for build projects. So I assure you, they're extremely good projectors. If you feel kinda iffy with Umnitza, pick up the Fishcake DEPO's from ebay with the ring LED angel eyes, and send the lights off to TheRetrofitSource.com's trusted retrofitters (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/rec...trofitters.php). Heck, you could probably have fishcake ship the lights to your preferred retrofitter in order to save on shipping costs.

Umnitza knows how to wire up the projectors to the existing DEPO harness in order to get BiXenon functionality without coding, which means it's just a matter of connecting what wires where, so just make it clear to the retrofitter of choice that you want full BiXenon capability. Personally, I've heard excellent things about LightWerkz.

[ecaedus]

Originally Posted by *********

They probably have some type of harness that will work with your car.

Umnitza is a pretty reputable company. I wouldn't be worried about ordering from them. I got a set of orions for a friends E46 and installed them for him. Quality was pretty good and no errors.

glad to hear that man, btw mean AEs you got there. r u on stock xenons? what AE bulb do you have?

[ecaedus]

Originally Posted by rollinstone157

Just for the record, Umnitza does not and did not build or design the FX-R projectors. Another website called TheRetrofitSource.com sells them, and many people on HidPlanet uses them for build projects. So I assure you, they're extremely good projectors. If you feel kinda iffy with Umnitza, pick up the Fishcake DEPO's from ebay with the ring LED angel eyes, and send the lights off to TheRetrofitSource.com's trusted retrofitters (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/rec...trofitters.php). Heck, you could probably have fishcake ship the lights to your preferred retrofitter in order to save on shipping costs.

Umnitza knows how to wire up the projectors to the existing DEPO harness in order to get BiXenon functionality without coding, which means it's just a matter of connecting what wires where, so just make it clear to the retrofitter of choice that you want full BiXenon capability. Personally, I've heard excellent things about LightWerkz.

all right nice, i watched some reviews on umnitza's products and they seem solid. i think i'll just get the entire setup from them

so the orion AEs, assuming wired like the stock AE in DEPO P90 housing, will function normally without me tapping any wires right? (also i believe i can code the AEs to run as DRLs on these lights yes?)

[fdriller9]

Originally Posted by ecaedus

glad to hear that man, btw mean AEs you got there. r u on stock xenons? what AE bulb do you have?

They're custom

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=567644

[rollinstone157]

Originally Posted by ecaedus

all right nice, i watched some reviews on umnitza's products and they seem solid. i think i'll just get the entire setup from them

so the orion AEs, assuming wired like the stock AE in DEPO P90 housing, will function normally without me tapping any wires right? (also i believe i can code the AEs to run as DRLs on these lights yes?)

Yes on both counts.

[da1nonly]

ecadedus: if u do get these pls post some pics and your thoughts on them. I'm thinking of going this route too, but probably in a few months

Originally Posted by ecaedus

pretty much what the title says. i have a 08 328i w/ stock halogens, hate these. i'm thinking about buying the Depo P90 projector headlights w/ FX-R retrofit from Umnitza for $770+shipping.

has anyone done this before? what do you think about FX-R projector lens retrofit? beam pattern? quality? light distribution?

i've heard that P90 housings are crap and have hiarline cracks, fogging etc. so i'm concerned that these are gonna fail on me in less than a year. i know they are aftermarkets but i do hope they at least last for two years...

wanted to do OEM Pre lci Xenon conversion at first but the whole setup is gonna cost me $1600+,can't afford it

[deceptiv.335]

eca im in ur same boat.. if u get them b4 i do, post pics.. but check these threads..

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...php?p=22460609

http://m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=319957

[ecaedus]

Originally Posted by da1nonly

ecadedus: if u do get these pls post some pics and your thoughts on them. I'm thinking of going this route too, but probably in a few months

i'm saving up for these lights right now, i should be able to buy them next month hopefully. will post pics when installed!

[ecaedus]

Originally Posted by inimeg

eca im in ur same boat.. if u get them b4 i do, post pics.. but check these threads..

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...php?p=22460609

http://m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=319957

damn that output is SWEET, when r u thinking about getting urs dude?

[ecaedus]

Originally Posted by rollinstone157

Yes on both counts.

yeah i just checked with umnitza, apparently the AEs are tapped within the headlight and the whole set is PnP, according to them at least. i can probably code the AEs to run as DRLs later when i get the right coding gear together.

[ecaedus]

apparently there's also this issue with "bowing" beams, so the beam pattern seems to curve off near the edges of the both sides.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1692724

[rollinstone157]

Originally Posted by ecaedus

apparently there's also this issue with "bowing" beams, so the beam pattern seems to curve off near the edges of the both sides.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1692724

There is an issue with that, yes, but that means there's a defective projector, and he was able to exchange it for a refund. No harm, no foul. I'd assume since Umnitza is doing the install, they're going to check their work before putting it in a box and sending it to you.

[ecaedus]

Originally Posted by rollinstone157

There is an issue with that, yes, but that means there's a defective projector, and he was able to exchange it for a refund. No harm, no foul. I'd assume since Umnitza is doing the install, they're going to check their work before putting it in a box and sending it to you.

yeah i hope they do.i think i'm gonna go for it early next month when i have enough money. i better get something worth it lol

[ecaedus]

i think one of our forum members has already ordered a set of these babies and he's going to install them soon! lets hope for some good results. it seems to me that no one in this forum has ever done FX-R retrofit on E90 cars, i've only seen these in actions on E46 cars.

[Trevendous03]

Originally Posted by ecaedus

i think one of our forum members has already ordered a set of these babies and he's going to install them soon! lets hope for some good results. it seems to me that no one in this forum has ever done FX-R retrofit on E90 cars, i've only seen these in actions on E46 cars.

This is a very helpful thread, and Ecaedus is talking about me.

Here are my initial Umnitza P90 FX-R Retrofit pre-installation thoughts:

iPhone pic


- Ordered from Umnitza with everything pre-installed, including LED amber turn signals, on October 14.

- Item arrived to my location in Ohio on November 1 = FAST PROCESSING AND SHIPPING!

- Everything was packed very securely, and headlights were even wrapped.

- Inspecting the retrofit, it's so clean that it doesn't even look like a retrofit was done. The only way I could tell it was actually done was by looking so closely at the shroud and seeing a small bit of sealant there. Invisible really unless you're staring at the light close up, which no one will do.

- Inspecting the wiring, also very CLEAN and SIMPLE! Choosing the Pre-Installed option is definitely the way to go. Let the professionals handle the wiring. I'm sure it's something you can DIY but definitely not as cleanly. The wire tapping for the bixenon and AEs is all done inside the housing, so there are no loose wires. The only hanging wires are from the ballast to the bulb housing.

- Inspecting the ballasts, they are Canbus Pro slim ballasts, and I do mean slim. I'm sure I'll find a good spot for them. There's about 12 inches of wiring to be able to place the ballast. Researching the Canbus Pro ballasts, the resistors and cancelers are all inside the ballast itself, and it's waterproof, shockproof, and fireproof. Also, E90 owners seem to have success with these ballasts for cancelling all errors and flickering. Supposedly it has very fast start-up times and low noise as well, but I'll know more upon installation.

- All bulbs have been included and all necessary wiring has been done for you, so it does seem that it will be direct PnP. Very excited to swap out my Pre-LCI halogens to these next week... I'll keep you posted. Seems like all I have to do is plug in the main cord, and everything SHOULD work without a hitch. I'll know more next week.

I also have a Canon 5D Mk II, so I'll be taking better pictures. Not sure I'll take install pictures though, because I want to focus on the install, and everyone has seen headlight swapping pictures before. lol

[ecaedus]

Good luck on the install next week Trevendous! Cant wait to see the beam pattern and cutoff photos!

getting my own set in a few days i think, i hope these prove to be a cost effective and near OEM-quality halogen to xenon conversion many of us want to do.

Originally Posted by Trevendous03

This is a very helpful thread, and Ecaedus is talking about me.

Here are my initial Umnitza P90 FX-R Retrofit pre-installation thoughts:

iPhone pic


- Ordered from Umnitza with everything pre-installed, including LED amber turn signals, on October 14.

- Item arrived to my location in Ohio on November 1 = FAST PROCESSING AND SHIPPING!

- Everything was packed very securely, and headlights were even wrapped.

- Inspecting the retrofit, it's so clean that it doesn't even look like a retrofit was done. The only way I could tell it was actually done was by looking so closely at the shroud and seeing a small bit of sealant there. Invisible really unless you're staring at the light close up, which no one will do.

- Inspecting the wiring, also very CLEAN and SIMPLE! Choosing the Pre-Installed option is definitely the way to go. Let the professionals handle the wiring. I'm sure it's something you can DIY but definitely not as cleanly. The wire tapping for the bixenon and AEs is all done inside the housing, so there are no loose wires. The only hanging wires are from the ballast to the bulb housing.

- Inspecting the ballasts, they are Canbus Pro slim ballasts, and I do mean slim. I'm sure I'll find a good spot for them. There's about 12 inches of wiring to be able to place the ballast. Researching the Canbus Pro ballasts, the resistors and cancelers are all inside the ballast itself, and it's waterproof, shockproof, and fireproof. Also, E90 owners seem to have success with these ballasts for cancelling all errors and flickering. Supposedly it has very fast start-up times and low noise as well, but I'll know more upon installation.

- All bulbs have been included and all necessary wiring has been done for you, so it does seem that it will be direct PnP. Very excited to swap out my Pre-LCI halogens to these next week... I'll keep you posted. Seems like all I have to do is plug in the main cord, and everything SHOULD work without a hitch. I'll know more next week.

I also have a Canon 5D Mk II, so I'll be taking better pictures. Not sure I'll take install pictures though, because I want to focus on the install, and everyone has seen headlight swapping pictures before. lol

[rollinstone157]

Originally Posted by Trevendous03

This is a very helpful thread, and Ecaedus is talking about me.

Here are my initial Umnitza P90 FX-R Retrofit pre-installation thoughts:

...
- Inspecting the ballasts, they are Canbus Pro slim ballasts, and I do mean slim. I'm sure I'll find a good spot for them. There's about 12 inches of wiring to be able to place the ballast. Researching the Canbus Pro ballasts, the resistors and cancelers are all inside the ballast itself, and it's waterproof, shockproof, and fireproof. Also, E90 owners seem to have success with these ballasts for cancelling all errors and flickering. Supposedly it has very fast start-up times and low noise as well, but I'll know more upon installation.

Congrats on the lights dude! I'm sure you're gonna be thrilled with them. If there is flickering on the angel eyes, blinkers, or the HIDs, don't sweat it, it takes at most 30 seconds to code. Even if it doesn't throw an error, if you turn off bulb check you'll get rid of the flicker, which may help prolong the life of the HID ballasts/bulbs.