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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum
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BMW E90 LED Headlights conversion
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09-29-2019, 06:21 AM | #1 |
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BMW E90 LED Headlights conversion
Hello, I have 2011 E90 320d with standard halogen headlight bulbs and standard halogen angel lights. I want to convert these into LED and I was wondering what LED bulbs do I need to buy. I’m very confused as to what type of bulb I need as there are a lot of different characteristics I need to consider. Does it need to be H13? I need one for high and low beams but I’m not sure if that fits my car. What colour looks best and most similar to factory BMW led lights, 6000k? How many watts or lumens? I’m clueless in this sector so any help on which bulbs I need for my car specifically, would be greatly appreciated. I’m trying not to spend a lot of money so affordable choices are welcome. I also don’t want any lights that look blue-ish. If you have done the same LED conversion with your BMW, would love to see pictures and the product details that you chose! Thank you
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09-29-2019, 02:44 PM | #2 |
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There are lots of options available for drop-in bulbs. With that said, I would implore you to spend the extra cash to purchase bulbs that are designed to work with halogen reflectors. From what I recall these do exist. If you buy just any bulb, it’ll throw a ton of light up into the faces of other drivers.
Ideally you would do a projector retrofit, or swap in aftermarket projector headlights if on a budget. I would suggest checking out theretrofitsource.com. They have great customer service, so if you reach out to them and explain you’re looking for swap-in LED bulbs that will work correctly with your existing reflectors/cutoff, they should be able to recommend a product or let you know if it doesn’t exist. Hopefully someone will have more direct experience with this, though I believe what you’re looking to do is somewhat of an exception. I’ve seen lots of posts about HID retrofits, but these usually involve headlight housing swaps or projector installs. As for color temp, 5000k should be fine. OE HID’s tend to be around 4200K, which is a bit yellower than I like. Good luck!
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10-09-2019, 09:05 AM | #5 |
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I have halogens in the E90 and E85, but output of the Z4 is really bad!
I used the retro company to get an HID conversion kit a few months ago. Massive difference. My E90 for whatever reason puts out a great amount of light so I never thought about changing it. I added a link of me standing in front of each side of the Z4 attempting to cover the light. With just the HID light blocked, you will see how awful the halogen is. https://1drv.ms/v/s!AnlavCs9oGBdlM90...w5_JQ?e=esAAVL Last edited by Mantraxalos; 10-09-2019 at 09:14 AM.. |
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10-09-2019, 03:53 PM | #6 |
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10-10-2019, 01:49 PM | #7 |
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I put "Daywalker" H7 LED's in my E90 LCI for both high and low beams. They're about the same brightness as a standard halogen; no wild five or six figure claim for output lumens. A few things that led to this choice: No fans or braids for cooling, and no need for external "drivers" so the cap to close the back of the headlight remains intact. These have three LED elements in a triangular pattern so the output is uniform around the bulb instead of being radiated out in only two directions, and there's a circular "cap" at the top of the bulb so all output does go out into the reflector and not directly forward.
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10-10-2019, 06:59 PM | #8 | ||
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10-14-2019, 10:32 AM | #9 |
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I purchased the H7 LED bulb, but because the rear space of the lamp holder is too small, the LED lamp holder is larger than the halogen lamp, and can not be installed. If you can't return it, you need to be careful.
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10-15-2019, 09:34 AM | #10 | |
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These thread titles always say "conversion" but all people are doing is replacing the bulb and blinding the hell out of everyone on the road. |
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12-09-2019, 11:49 AM | #11 | ||
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If you want white headlights on your E90, buy an original set of HID/Xenon headlights or do a proper retrofit. I'd argue that even the proper retrofit doesn't include the leveling feature, but it's still infinitely better than HID or LED bulbs in a halogen reflector. |
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01-02-2020, 07:48 AM | #12 |
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My short experience with LED drop in replacements for halogens has been:
2009 Maxima with halogen projector housings: dimmer than stock halogens 2009 GMC Sierra with halogen reflector housings: blinds *everyone* including me walking towards the truck. Good thing I never drive this thing, and hopefully I can find the Silverstars I ordered last summer. To the OP: Recommend you buy some of the better halogens (silverstar series, for example), instead of trying to use LEDs. Also, using LEDs might cause the car to fail MOT. Probably depends on the garage.
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01-02-2020, 09:52 AM | #13 |
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LED's should not be used in reflector low beam housing. Someone mentioned halogen housings but that is incorrect. LED's are brighter and not exact filament as halogen and the reflector housing throw its beam towards oncoming drivers. This with the brighter light/less controlled is not a good combo.
However LED's do a great job in projector housings, which also can house halogens. This will take advantage of bright light but will have a top cut of not to blind oncoming traffic. I use F7 LED's lights in my lows (projector) and highs (reflector) for two years now and have never had anyone flash me but have a very distinctive cut off the is properly aimed. The high beams in the reflector can see into peoples souls though. And is bright but lot of wasted light going everywhere. |
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02-07-2023, 01:30 PM | #14 |
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Quick question. Looks like there are a bunchbof LED bulbs on amazon that claim that they havr great patterns and are not blinding. I have 2008 328xi E91. Does anyone get errors ehrn replacing halogen bulbs with LED bulbs due to them not drawing enough power and car thinking they are not there. I have heard some need a decoder?
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02-07-2023, 03:45 PM | #15 |
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Yes, you get errors.
I was meddling with High beam H7 Leds for quite some time. I found ones that actually consume ~50W and are upgrade over halogen due to the sheer amount of lumens (they have expected lifespan of about ~200 hours of usage and then they just burn up). Only these did not throw error, previous three products i tried were garbage in terms of output + threw error. They can promise you anything but better check the reviews of actual output. The F5 leds did not throw error but then there was another problem, car does periodic checks of bulbs and every time it would momentarily flash my high beams. This meant high beam check had to be coded out and this way it doesn't really matter what you put there. Only those leds have good pattern that try to mimic halogen wire position. Better design ones have tiny leds on both sides. I'm getting pretty similar focus as with halogen. It's not a concentrated dot like with halogen but instead it's like a light cannon. The output is definitely worth it. Basically same as Osram CBI D1S. I had to adjust the offset slightly between the high beam and low beam. Meaning adding some washers to projector bottom holder. Pretty similar to ledbar users but there is more usable light (less foreground light) and no external lights. Last edited by Captain Buumer; 02-07-2023 at 03:50 PM.. |
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03-01-2023, 03:48 PM | #16 | |
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03-01-2023, 04:35 PM | #17 |
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I've had good results retrofitting Philips Ultinon H7 into another vehicle with reflector housings. Incredible output while maintaining a decent cut off with acceptable glare. And let's be real, these are nothing compared to the blinding lights on modern SUVs and pick ups.
https://www.powerbulbs.com/us/produc...al-led-h7-twin Bulb Facts also has more info: https://www.bulbfacts.com/led-kits/chart/ |
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bmw, bmw (3)series 2011, e90, headlights, led |
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