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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > Cosmetic and Lighting Modifications (exterior/interior) > Pre-LCI Halogen to HID Plug & Play Install - No Errors



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      02-13-2012, 07:52 AM   #1
PaddyMcGrath
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Thumbs up Pre-LCI Halogen to HID Plug & Play Install - No Errors

I thought this might be of some interest to a lot of people who have been looking into the best route to convert their Pre-LCI Halogen equipped cars to a HID based system. Before I start, I just want to point out that I've no affiliation to any trader and I paid full price for the all the products listed below.

The first thing you need before beginning a HID conversion is a pair of projector based headlamps. Before Christmas I ordered a pair of Umnitza P90 Projectors with their Predator Orion V2 LED Angel Eyes.

Link : http://www.umnitza.com/index.php?mai...oducts_id=1167

At the time, there was no quality, reliable & straight forward HID conversion that I could find for the E90 so I ordered the headlights without their FX-R Retrofit as I had planned to keep a halogen setup in the car. If I could go back, I would order them with the FX-R projectors but what's done is done.

I'm also a member on an Irish based BMW Owners Club and it was on here recently that a company in the UK was brought to my attention and in particular, their guaranteed error free & plug and play HID conversion.

Link : http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/hid-kit...its-p-297.html

It was my birthday last week and my girlfriend actually bought me the above Wideview H7 BMW HID Kit in 6000K.

This morning, I set about installing them ...

--------




This is the kit as it's supplied. It contains everything required for the most straightforward install you could imagine (I'm a complete disaster when it comes to electronics) and this no more difficult than installing a H7 bulb.



The only cutting involved is to make two small holes on the back of the bulb covers. I used a 23mm hole saw which was a perfect fit.



This is what the standard H7 bulb looks like installed (I had a spare set of headlights to trial fit everything first. There's no need to remove the headlights from the car)



Here is the Wideview bulb installed. Notice the two loose spades - these are connected into the original H7 plug.



Here is everything connected (minus the rear bulb cover) Each connection can only go into its proper partner so you don't have to worry about connecting things up incorrectly.



Plugging the spare headlight into the car and everything works perfectly first time. No errors on dash, no flickering or any other strange phenomena.



I needed to jack the car up ...



... to access the E90's Glory Hole. Halogen still installed in this pic.



H7 Halogen bulb removed along with the retaining clip. You need to squeeze this in at the bottom to remove it and re-install it with the new HID bulb.



So here are my Phillips Extreme Power +100 H7 Halogen bulbs. These are amongst the best halogen bulbs you can buy on the market today ...



... but they don't even come close to these 6000K HIDs (excuse my dirty headlights).



A comparison between the two - HID on left, Halogen on right.



The most difficult (I use that term lightly) part of the entire conversion was tidying up the wires and finding a location for the ballasts.



They're a pretty tidy solution so it shouldn't take you more than five minutes to hide the wires and find a suitable location for everything. This kit is 100% water proof, dust proof and shock resistant.



Passenger side complete ...



... and driver's side completed.



It took me less than an hour to install everything and that was really taking my time. The only problem I had was that I had the two spades in the wrong way in the original bulb plug. Once they were swapped around, everything was perfect and remained working with no issues since.

No errors, no blood, sweat or tears.

Another benefit is I can revert to my halogens in about five or ten minutes should I need to for our National Car Test but I can't see this being a problem.

I hope this was of some help to anyone interested in a hassle free HID conversion!
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      02-13-2012, 08:32 AM   #2
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Thanks for this I'm looking into doing this right now. Seems like the least expensive way to get projectors BY FAR.

Can you tell me what is the FX-R and what is the difference between the $150 upgrade and the $250 upgrade?

I can't stand my oem halogens.
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      02-13-2012, 11:34 AM   #3
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The FX-R is a much, much improved projector that Umnitza retrofit into the headlight. I presume the difference is dependent on what system your car requires although I'm not sure.
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      02-13-2012, 11:50 AM   #4
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Is it really that much better though? Double the cost better?

Would you say the ones you have now are significantly better than the halogens?
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      02-13-2012, 11:57 AM   #5
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Did you compare the Philips Halogen bulb and the HID to check for the amount of actual light thrown on the road (useful light to the motorist)? It would be nice to know what that difference was. Just looking at the lamps face on does not say much.

Darkroom beat me to the question! I was thinking along the same lines after I saw the photo above. I use Philips Xtreme vision and I think they are very good, good cut off and a lot more light on the road (where it matters).

Last edited by raj55; 02-13-2012 at 12:08 PM..
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      02-13-2012, 12:45 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by darkrom View Post
Is it really that much better though? Double the cost better?

Would you say the ones you have now are significantly better than the halogens?
From what I've read, they are supposedly night and day better. To be honest though, I'm not really that particular and I'm more than happy with the upgrade from halogens. From what I can tell, the light on the road is more intense and the throw is a good bit further too.

Quote:
Originally Posted by raj55 View Post
Did you compare the Philips Halogen bulb and the HID to check for the amount of actual light thrown on the road (useful light to the motorist)? It would be nice to know what that difference was. Just looking at the lamps face on does not say much.

Darkroom beat me to the question! I was thinking along the same lines after I saw the photo above. I use Philips Xtreme vision and I think they are very good, good cut off and a lot more light on the road (where it matters).
I couldn't really tell during the day and I'm not prepared to go for a drive with one halogen and one HID as it's a pretty quick way to be pulled by the police here. My initial observation would be that the light is much more intense where it matters.

I'll be sure to come back with a more in-depth report once I've clocked up some miles!
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      02-20-2012, 02:04 AM   #7
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I'm probably going to get this soon thanks for the input!
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      02-20-2012, 08:26 AM   #8
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I'm looking into replacing my 06 325i halogens with projectors soon. I'm assuming this is my best option right now?

I want to get the most simple and reliable kit. I'd like to save cash over the OEM but I don't want shit quality. Is the FX-R kit my best bet?
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