[2010E92LCI]

Originally Posted by sirleeofroy

Hi guys

So I thought I would create a thread covering my experience with the H7 LED's I recently bought and fitted just this morning. I had mentioned to a couple of members here that I would be the guinea pig and post my results so, here they are.

I had intended on installing some LED fogs as well however, I was time limited with the garage space I was using and to get to the fog light housing I need to remove the arch liner and I simply didn't have the time to do that today. I will update the thread once I do.

So these are the H7 LED's I bought: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/H7-LED-Phi...53.m2749.l2649

And these are the fogs: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-HB4-27-...53.m2749.l2649

I chose those H7 LED's based purely on the LED type they use and the style of cooling. The Lumiled LED's are smaller (1.6mm x 2mm) and positioned so that they mimic the halogen filament as much as possible. I'm certainly no expert but the bit of reading I did do on HID conversions (and the way they distribute light) into halogen housings vs LED offerings, these LED's made far more sense. There are plenty of H7 LED's out there but many of them use bigger LED types and are usually positioned in a manner that does not mimic a halogen and simply throws light everywhere, much like those HID conversions we all know and love...

The heatsink is reversible which I initially thought would be handy, and I'm sure there is a situation where it would be but for me, the stock configuration is the only way I could use it as the clip that holds the bulb in fouls the heatsink if you try to use it the other way around.







I was pleasantly surprised to find some sort of thermal compound when unscrewing the heatsink, looks like toothpaste but hey, the thought was there!

Here is the LED next the the halogen bulb it will replace (Osram, not sure which) and sorry for the fuzzy pic, it looked better when I took it, honest!



You can see (just about!) that the LED is similar in position and size to the halogen filament....

This is the power converter that reduces the 12v down to whatever the bulb uses. Looks similar to the ballast in HID kits...



It's worth noting the build quality of this bulb, I really set my expectations low with regards to both build quality and performance but upon opening the box and having a look, I was mildly impressed. Don't get me wrong, whilst these feel pretty sturdy with their solid aluminium build, closer inspection shows the very average production quality with sharp edges and metal burrs along with fuzzy writing. Maybe I'm nitpicking, what did I expect for £45....

On to the the install, once you've got to the back of the headlight (I removed the wheels for ease of access) and removed the halogen bulb, installing the LED is pretty straightforward. You do need to remove the heatsink and thread the wire through the bulb retaining clip, this then clips back on as normal once the bulb is in situ.



You can then screw on the the heatsink. Be careful with the power wire.



It was at this point I realised I was going to need to make a hole in the dust cap to feed the wiring through..... (apologies for swapping sides, I didn't get good pics all on one side!)



Unfortunately, this is where things get a little ghetto...... I didn't have a drill to hand or I would have made a much nicer job of it.... Stanley to the rescue....



Here it is with the wiring fed through.



I might as well get this out of the way now as that picture shows the reason the dust cap doesn't quite go back on properly. It's that inward block at what would be the top and inside when closed. It fouls the heatsink so it will need revisiting with a dremel to cut out whatever is needed. As it stands, it almost closes but not enough to get the clip on so for now, I have used some strong 3M tape to hold it shut until I get back to it.

This is how it looks from the front...



And now we get to the bit that matters, the performance......

I will hold my full judgement until I've actually been out in the dark and used them but feel free to let me know what you think of the pics...

These are the original halogens. Note: these look much whiter in this pic than they are, you will see in another pic.



This is after the first LED was installed. Note: The drivers side was still jacked up when I took this which is why the LED light is higher, this is more to illustrate the difference in colour and light output.



This is with both LED's install and the car back on the floor.


I put the original halogens right under the LED pic so you can see the difference.

It's probably worth mentioning that the bulb has some adjustment on the collar where you can rotate the bulb to your desired position and then lock it out. I have no idea how that adjustment will affect the light pattern, cut off, spread etc... I'll test this as soon as I can..

Edit: I forgot to add that these don't appear to throw any errors, after plugging each side in and turning on the ignition to check, the light did flicker for a moment and I did get an exclamation mark on the dash but this only came on once for each side and not since. There has been no flickering since and the lights come on immediately, this is without any additional resistors.

What do you think guys?

With the new changes for MOT, it'd be interesting to see if they do pass the MOT. Let us know how you get on when you do have the MOT done.

[Dormermike]

My MOT is due next month so I'll let you know.

What changes are you referring to?

I'm not entirely happy with my LED upgrade. It is an upgrade in the sense that I can see more, but they are a bit too blue for my liking and I could still do with more light.

[The0pportunist]

I was thinking about the new mot rules, it looks like it only addresses people putting HID into halogen reflectors, not LED into halogen projectors so i'm guessing all is fine ?

[ally_bassman]

Originally Posted by The0pportunist

I was thinking about the new mot rules, it looks like it only addresses people putting HID into halogen reflectors, not LED into halogen projectors so i'm guessing all is fine ?

Correct, LED bulbs, aslong as they are fitted correctly and the beam is similar to that of stock will be fine.

[bmwDon2018]

Hey all! Recent X1 owner from the US with halogen headlights :/ I’ve been searching everywhere for a solid replacement and I was just about set on the VOSLA H7 55W +120 "Superbrite" but seeing this thread has given me hope that LEDs can be a valid replacement! Thanks guys!

[evelus]

Very nice, I will look into getting some of these!

[ally_bassman]

Originally Posted by evelus

Very nice, I will look into getting some of these!

Yes, it's a great mod and I highly reccomend it. Certainly updates the look of the E90 at night compared to the standard Halogens.

Just make sure that you seal up the headlights as best as you can, you DO NOT want any water to get into them, condensation can cause a real headache...... It's taken me 3 different occasions to dry out my pax side headlight, just becuase I did not seal it good enough when I installed the bulbs orginally.

best of luck,

[Dormermike]

Still got mine fitted to my f10 and can certainly see better at night.

MOT coming up... to leave them in or not... decisions decisions

[Adieu]

You guys across the pond are getting hosed.

It's very white, but the throw is _______ ... great for cosmetics if you just drive around during the day, and don't want others to notice you have a dated model with very few options, but halogen-level light output for night driving is just sad.

Here's what slightly less money gets in our parts ($20 angel eyes H8, $35 fogs H8 --- goofed up the sizing so they only fit this way, originally planned the yellow for the fogs...but it's growing on me)



The highly satisfying fogs are 12,000 lumen 6000K white Zdatt H8/H9/H11

[ally_bassman]

Originally Posted by Adieu

You guys across the pond are getting hosed.

It's very white, but the throw is _______ ... great for cosmetics if you just drive around during the day, and don't want others to notice you have a dated model with very few options, but halogen-level light output for night driving is just sad.

Here's what slightly less money gets in our parts ($20 angel eyes H8, $35 fogs H8 --- goofed up the sizing so they only fit this way, originally planned the yellow for the fogs...but it's growing on me)

Sorry, I can't take onboard anyone's opinion that have yellow headlights...

[sirleeofroy]

Originally Posted by Adieu

You guys across the pond are getting hosed.

It's very white, but the throw is _______ ... great for cosmetics if you just drive around during the day, and don't want others to notice you have a dated model with very few options, but halogen-level light output for night driving is just sad.

Here's what slightly less money gets in our parts ($20 angel eyes H8, $35 fogs H8 --- goofed up the sizing so they only fit this way, originally planned the yellow for the fogs...but it's growing on me)

<snip>

The highly satisfying fogs are 12,000 lumen 6000K white Zdatt H8/H9/H11

Do you have a pic of the H7's bulbs before installing or do you have a link to the ones you bought?

The lack of throw could be a couple of things:

1: The particular versions you have may have poor LED positioning, making ineffective use of the Halogen reflector.

2: The headlights may need adjustment.

I only mention this as the throw on mine is pretty good......

We're getting "hosed" ?!?! What does that even mean?

Originally Posted by ally_bassman

Sorry, I can't take onboard anyone's opinion that have yellow film over their headlights...

Agreed.... Yellow film is most definitely not to my taste.

Different strokes and all that....

[bmwDon2018]

Just want to let you folks know, that horizonleds is coming out with a “plug and play” model soon. I have been emailing with them about a set that would work with my X1. I am still waiting on them to answer a few more of my questions but it appears as they will not require drilling through the dust caps. I will update when it hear back from them.

[Dormermike]

More throw on my 30 quid led than the h7 they replace.

Hosed is an american term for ripped off.

[fernando155]

Originally Posted by bmwDon2018

Just want to let you folks know, that horizonleds is coming out with a “plug and play” model soon. I have been emailing with them about a set that would work with my X1. I am still waiting on them to answer a few more of my questions but it appears as they will not require drilling through the dust caps. I will update when it hear back from them.

this model is already plug and play

http://www.horizonleds.co.uk/exterio...adlight-kit-g4

Is with less lumens than the others, but you can change the color of the light that it produces. If you dont like blue, you can fit pure white...

I'm not sure if it will fits. I will imagine than yes, because the other people fits ones more bigger. THe problem is that you can not trust the dimensions at all.
http://www.horizonleds.co.uk/exterio...en-4000-lumens

Just check the photos and see than one is showing 83.57, and the other is showing 93mm and 88mm... how is that possible?

[Adieu]

Originally Posted by ally_bassman

Sorry, I can't take onboard anyone's opinion that have yellow headlights...

Angel eyes....and theyre switchbacks, yellow or white (yes they were supposed to go in the other way around, into the fogs position, but the intended Angel Eyes bulbs looked like they wouldn't fit...whatever, anything better than faded halogen rings)

[Adieu]

Originally Posted by sirleeofroy

Agreed.... Yellow film is most definitely not to my taste.

Different strokes and all that....

No film just an Angel Eye/DRL LED bulb that can do either white OR yellow...actual headlights are stock bixenon

[Itsabdi]

has anyone tried retrofitting DTM style projector on none xenon headlights?? pretty well priced online.

[sirleeofroy]

Originally Posted by Itsabdi

has anyone tried retrofitting DTM style projector on none xenon headlights?? pretty well priced online.

What sort of price are we talking, do you have a link?

I was thinking of getting DEPO H7 projector headlights and fitting them out completely with LED's....

[Scoff123]

From posts I've read online here and there i get the impression that the DEPO projectors aren't all that great -someone please correct me if i'm wrong though.
I would think that a projector should be better than the reflector setup in the halogen lights regardless? The old projector lights i had in my halogen lit E36 were better than my E90 halogen reflectors!

[sirleeofroy]

Originally Posted by Scoff123

From posts I've read online here and there i get the impression that the DEPO projectors aren't all that great -someone please correct me if i'm wrong though.
I would think that a projector should be better than the reflector setup in the halogen lights regardless? The old projector lights i had in my halogen lit E36 were better than my E90 halogen reflectors!

Yeah, I've also read as much but I've not read anything about LED's being used in the projectors as opposed to standard H7 bulbs....

[ally_bassman]

Originally Posted by sirleeofroy

Yeah, I've also read as much but I've not read anything about LED's being used in the projectors as opposed to standard H7 bulbs....

I've read a few times that LED's aren't suitable for Projectors. a HID setup should be used.

[sirleeofroy]

Originally Posted by ally_bassman

I've read a few times that LED's aren't suitable for Projectors. a HID setup should be used.

Really?!

I'd be interested to read why that is.... I figured that if the projector is designed to use a H7 incandescent bulb, surely an LED that was designed to mimic a H7 bulb would be ok...

Do you have any links to what you've read?