[RichRoberts44]

Hello all. I've tried to research this to death but was wondering if someone could give me so clarity!

I have a 2008 e91 but with lci headlights. I baked them and fitted led halos on top of the factory rings. About 4 years later and 1 ring is failing so need to replace.

Part of me just replaces the rings again but I really want Projectors. I've looked at LED builds but reliase I'd need projector lenses as not to blind other drivers.

My current plan is buy factory Projectors (non adaptive) and swap the over and then install angel eyes Led by opening them up. I'd then use LED bulbs. Am I right in thinking that will be relatively straight forward? To the car it still has halogen as the keds come with canbus modules.
Kits I've seen come with high beam splitters which I'm assuming I'd need for high beams to work?

Another option is use the current headlights and get something like this;

https://retrofitlab.com/products/bmw...gen-headlights

Any help massively appreciated.

[Peter Morrin]

Please take the following with a grain of salt given my experience is based on the Canada/US models.

Current wisdom is that to do a "proper" installation of HID or LED lighting you need a complete projector assembly and not just a replacement bulb. Halogen lights (here) did not have leveling mechanisms to adjust the lights up or down to compensate for weight in the rear. This mechanism was installed by the factory with the HID lights. There was also an option for adaptive lights which also moved them side-to-side as well as up and down.

Most projector retrofits mount a new assembly through the hole in the back of the halogen reflector using a threaded hollow shaft. The hole may need to be enlarged to fit the shaft. This will give you a projectore designed for the HID or LED bulb, but will not give you self-leveling ability. If you don't drive at night with a fully loaded trunk (boot), you should be ok. Otherwise you risk blinding drivers coming at you with lights that point too high.

You obviously need lights designed for the side of the road you drive on. Retrofit-Labs are in Holland, and their products seem a little less exensive than the USA offerings. I can't comment on the quality although there appear to be some people who are not happy with the end result of some of the products. On the positive side, they seem to be responsive to these concerns. You may want to contact them directly.

LED vs HID appears to be an issue of cost/proven technology/life span. HID bulbs are supposed to be good for 2500 hours. Figure out how much time you will be driving your car at night for the anticipated durtion of ownership. They are the more established technology, and bulbs can be replaced without removing the lenses.

Good luck, and let us know what you do and how it works for you.

[nthnthnthnth]

You will definitely want projectors. There are a lot of options based on budget.

If it's in your budget, I'd suggest getting used factory xenon housings and putting in new LED projectors like the NHK Gen IV or Gen V. You get an OEM look and retain the (manual) adjustment ability. You may also be able to resell the OEM projectors it came with to recoup some costs. Since it sounds like you are comfortable baking and resealing headlights, if this is in budget I’d say it’s your best option.

If that's not in budget, then factory xenon housings with no-name LED bulbs in factory projectors would be cheaper (but not much cheaper). Be sure to polish the projector lenses before installing the housings in the car, and see if you can get a picture of the output before you buy, to check if the projector's reflector bowls are burned out (and make sure you’re getting RHD or LHD as appropriate). You won't get as much output but still have the adjustment.

If that's not in budget either, there are housings like these on Amazon, but I wouldn't recommend this. I've seen them in other cars and the turn signals aren't very bright. They also seem to have some build quality issues.

If none of that is in the budget, retrofitting LED projectors with a shroud on the halogen housing would be next. Installing these correctly -- so that the cutoff is exactly horizontal and the heights match across headlights -- and doing that before resealing the lights can be difficult, and you may lose some ability to adjust the projectors properly. Sizing everything correctly (not sure if 2.5" or 3.0" projectors would work best) can also involve a lot of research.

On the plus side, all of these options don't involve HID bulbs or ballasts, and shouldn't involve coding either.

If you are at all concerned about output, an LED projector is generally going to be brighter and have a better cutoff than an LED bulb. A very high end bulb like the DDM Saber ProX Accu/v2 in a used factory projector might end up about as an LED projector, but for the same price (on AliExpress) you can get an NHK LED projector that will have better cutoff and probably better width, and probably last longer as well. Some output shots with different options are in this thread.