Poor light from previous owner's aftermarket halos

L555BAT · 02-14-2015, 05:18 PM

Hi. Recently bought a 2006 E90 thinking that the headlamps had been upgraded to LCI projector ones. LCI cars weren't in my budget so I wasn't familiar with how the OEM projector ones look.

I've noticed now though that they are Taiwanese aftermarket ones, projector style with LED halos.

They don't look out of place, but:

The halo LEDs blink a few times for ~10 seconds on ignition presumably when the computer's testing the bulbs. I'd rather they didn't do this as it looks a bit silly like I deliberately modified my car to draw attention. Also when I left the ignition on for a few minutes they came on for a few seconds solid (not blinking) later on. I imagine they do this periodically while driving too, but I hope they don't blink as that would look silly and might get me into trouble.

The dip and main beams are really poor. Worse than any car I've ever driven and that includes some mid-90s cheap hatchbacks. Dip lights up first 20 metres ok, but not adequate for 50+mph driving. Full beam is barely better and not enough. Both beams are pretty narrow too. It has passed MOT before I bought it though, although it could have been let through by a friendly tester.

I've tracked them down as being these ones: http://www.reliableautoparts.com.tw/...oducts_id=1512. They have Osram H1 bulbs in them (dip and main beam) unlike the OEM lights which I believe are H7s.

Does anyone have any experiences with this particular model or similar? It seems to be unbranded and sold without a brand name by many people e.g. on eBay.

Is it worth spending on upgraded bulbs for them to see if that helps, or just go straight for some OEM non-projector ones (£218 each new, or used from eBay) or some better aftermarket ones ? The performance could be down to the lamp shape meaning better bulbs wouldn't help. I don't really mind about losing the halo/projector.

Daytime, off:

Daytime, sidelights on.

Manufacturer photo, front:

Manufacturer photo, rear:

My dip beam, the bar in front of the door is about 15 inches high. Notice the narrowness.:

My main beam:

L555BAT · 02-16-2015, 01:26 PM

Could anyone help me with this please? Would be much appreciated.

I've read that the car does a bulb check "cold" and "warm", so I guess it'll be blinking the LED halos while I'm driving?

02-14-2015, 05:18 PM	#1
L555BAT Enlisted Member 10 Rep 34 Posts Drives: 2006 E90 330i Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: UK iTrader: (0)	Poor light from previous owner's aftermarket halos Hi. Recently bought a 2006 E90 thinking that the headlamps had been upgraded to LCI projector ones. LCI cars weren't in my budget so I wasn't familiar with how the OEM projector ones look. I've noticed now though that they are Taiwanese aftermarket ones, projector style with LED halos. They don't look out of place, but: The halo LEDs blink a few times for ~10 seconds on ignition presumably when the computer's testing the bulbs. I'd rather they didn't do this as it looks a bit silly like I deliberately modified my car to draw attention. Also when I left the ignition on for a few minutes they came on for a few seconds solid (not blinking) later on. I imagine they do this periodically while driving too, but I hope they don't blink as that would look silly and might get me into trouble. The dip and main beams are really poor. Worse than any car I've ever driven and that includes some mid-90s cheap hatchbacks. Dip lights up first 20 metres ok, but not adequate for 50+mph driving. Full beam is barely better and not enough. Both beams are pretty narrow too. It has passed MOT before I bought it though, although it could have been let through by a friendly tester. I've tracked them down as being these ones: http://www.reliableautoparts.com.tw/...oducts_id=1512. They have Osram H1 bulbs in them (dip and main beam) unlike the OEM lights which I believe are H7s. Does anyone have any experiences with this particular model or similar? It seems to be unbranded and sold without a brand name by many people e.g. on eBay. Is it worth spending on upgraded bulbs for them to see if that helps, or just go straight for some OEM non-projector ones (£218 each new, or used from eBay) or some better aftermarket ones ? The performance could be down to the lamp shape meaning better bulbs wouldn't help. I don't really mind about losing the halo/projector. Daytime, off: Daytime, sidelights on. Manufacturer photo, front: Manufacturer photo, rear: My dip beam, the bar in front of the door is about 15 inches high. Notice the narrowness.: My main beam:
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02-16-2015, 01:26 PM	#2
L555BAT Enlisted Member 10 Rep 34 Posts Drives: 2006 E90 330i Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: UK iTrader: (0)	Could anyone help me with this please? Would be much appreciated. I've read that the car does a bulb check "cold" and "warm", so I guess it'll be blinking the LED halos while I'm driving?
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