I Want To Be Able To See At Night!!!

[BMW4LIFE]

Okay so I made a search regarding light bulbs but I couldn't find the link that answered my questions.

I was wondering what kind of light bulbs you guys use....

I am currently using SilverStar Ultra (modified) 9005 for my headlights but I was wondering if there are better ones out there for about the same price. The ones I have tend to last somewhere around 6 months or so.

Some one told me that PIAA were great but they are like 100!!!! WTF?!

oh and I would like to be in the 5000-8000K if possible too...no yellow light crap!;):D


oh and PS....what would happen if I use 100W light bulbs instead of the 55W that I using currently?

[Ross]

Are your lights properly aimed? The factory lighting is quite adequate at any reasonable speed when properly adjusted.

[attack eagle]

melt the wires.

factory ellisoid lighting is ok when the lenses and reflectors are new and it is very dark or well lit.

freeforms suck period. If you have freeforms you need to just buy smilies and be done with it. if that isn;t good enough, then you can add the HID kit from DDMtuning for $50

older dirty lenses reduce light and are nearly impossbile to clean, and the reflectors are easily damaged

[Qube]

The stages of light...

Freeform >>> free OE
Freeform with 9005 mod >>> $20 bucks
Projectors >>> ~$150 bucks (hey, I'm selling a new set, whaddayaknow)
Projectors with 9005 mod >>> $170 bucks, or reuse your modded bulbs
Projectors with HID >>> ~$350 (6000k) decent set

Don't bother going with gimmicky "100w" bulbs and what not. Those are your options.

[bad_manners_god]

HID Kit: 80 bucks shipped

[Bo525i]

Get HID´s and euro smilies, makes you wonder why you didn´t sooner!

[attack eagle]

HID Kit: 80 bucks shipped

not in free forms

and $80 shipped is too much almost 2x what they cost now from reputable dealers.

don't feel bad though. had a local shop offer one of the local car clubs a 'sweet deal' on hids... at $130 a set... for an ebay brand. And they almost bought them...

[ThoreauHD]

Could any of you fellas recommend a good quality HID kit out there that doesn't look like angel eyes or 70's pants? Thanks.

[attack eagle]

???

A kit is not visible? it goes in the existing headlights. It replaces the filament bulb with an hid ballast (metal box) and a capsule ('bulb').

DDM tuning had the best pricing so far, and seems to have no issues with their 'full size- 3/4 size' ballast. The slim apparently is more likely to trigger the dreaded low beam failure.

http://www.ddmtuning.com/hidkihidbuhi.html

they also now carry the same Prolumen Kits for $99 that Habbie has been selling for a lot more $ these last few years.

[Bo525i]

The slim apparently is more likely to trigger the dreaded low beam failure.

The slims are so much easier to place nicely inside the enginebay imho and the low beam message is easily fixable too..

There´s a howto here: http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39793&highlight=hids!

[bad_manners_god]

not in free forms

and $80 shipped is too much almost 2x what they cost now from reputable dealers.

don't feel bad though. had a local shop offer one of the local car clubs a 'sweet deal' on hids... at $130 a set... for an ebay brand. And they almost bought them...

I bought the kit for $40 from ebay (9006), $20 shipping, that's 60, convert it to canadian and that was 78$ at the time.

[Tiger]

First of all... Check the headlight glass. Does it look pitted? If yes, you have to change it... the lens or whole unit.

Second, forget about those super white blue $$$ bulbs, you will see less. The only bulb that will give you some better light is those +20, +30 etc bulbs... Yes they are yellow, but yellow is more visible.

Thirdly, if you get HID, you still have to make sure you got new lens... or there will be massive glares from those pits.

[NielsGalan]

I did two things.

CHEAP:
Opened and examined the reflectors: Some bozo p.o. had apparently put 100W bulbs in there, melting the plastic reflectors. Got some "new" ones, made sure they were clean and it did a world of difference.

EXPENSIVE AS HELL:
Changed the windshield. 18 years of driving made a zillion small scratches all over the windshield, so the light from other cars got deflected or spread all over the place. Now the whole window doesn't light up when I meet other cars at night.

[Tiger]

Great point on windshield... So true... pitted windshield is hard to see through at night.

[bubba966]

You can run Toshiba 9011's for more light if you don't want to go with HID's from a good place like DDM Tuning.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TOSHIBA-HIR-9011-9012-BULBS-THE-BRIGHTEST-AVAILABLE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c 66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3 286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem180296811894QQitemZ180296 811894QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessor ies

I'm running those now. Better than Silverstar's. They seem to last 10-12 months.

And has already been mentioned, the higher color temps that are blue make it harder to see than the lower color temps that are yellow. So you're getting less visible light with those blue bulbs. And that's not so good when you're looking for better visibility.

I put brand new lights across the frontend, and put those 9011 HIR's in and got much better visibility than I had with slightly pitted glass & Silverstar's. Thinking about going to the DDM HID kit as the bulbs are cheaper than the HIR's, and it should be even more light than the HIR's.

[632 Regal]

i am using wagner Xenon BriteLite 9005BL
Bought 8 sets for when they burn out... 3 years now and not any burned out. Much Much brighter than the 9006 bulbs and only 65W. Oh, i think they were way under 20 each when I got them.

Heed the above advise on pitted lenses, I sprayed my lenses with 3M clear chipguard and it helped a lot but after a year need to re-coat them again.

[Russell]

I did the Toshibas/John Deere bulbs for about a year. The 55w 450k hids are much-much better.

[Russell]

my BMW windshield is pitted after only 6 years. Becoming a distraction. My try to clay and polish it.

[ThoreauHD]

A guy came to my house and replaced the windshield for 180 bucks. I thought that wasn't so bad considering. Was a generic online service.

[BMW4LIFE]

WOW...thanks for all the responses!!!

As far as all the HID kits go...i dont know if i want to spend all that money on them because i dont think i will have this car in a year or so... =/

As far as the lights I have....they are the ellipsodes or how ever you spell it with the lens in pretty good shape....I have not gone inside of them trying to clean them but maybe i should....

I did notice that my passenger light is pointing more down than up.....how do I adjust it to point higher????????????


And finally the bulbs....I am looking to invest in a 9005 bulb...and thats it....any one know of any good none over priced ones?


ps. the toshiba HIR....whats up with them? 30 bucks each??? whats sooo good....how do they compare to the silverstars?

thanks guys!!!!!!!

[Scott C]

WOW...thanks for all the responses!!!

As far as all the HID kits go...i dont know if i want to spend all that money on them because i dont think i will have this car in a year or so... =/

As far as the lights I have....they are the ellipsodes or how ever you spell it with the lens in pretty good shape....I have not gone inside of them trying to clean them but maybe i should....

I did notice that my passenger light is pointing more down than up.....how do I adjust it to point higher????????????


And finally the bulbs....I am looking to invest in a 9005 bulb...and thats it....any one know of any good none over priced ones?


ps. the toshiba HIR....whats up with them? 30 bucks each??? whats sooo good....how do they compare to the silverstars?

thanks guys!!!!!!!

For 1 year?
You have the answers here by all the respondents!
Clean your lights - they accumulate a lot of film...
There is a good chance that the light is aiming down because there are these little plastic pieces that attach the lights to the adjusters that break with age or shock. Or it may be just an adjustment (try wiggling the light up and down - you will know very quickly)
You have all sorts of options HID or bulbs that are under $70

Scott's 2c

[attack eagle]

the best thing you can do is go to 9005 bulb then. Standard normal 9005 bulb. All the colored ones (cool blue, current silverstar, etc) do is impact total lighting and gove you the 'dope' color.

If I had to choose between $30 for silverstars and $6 for cool blues instead of normal bulbs I'd get the 9005 cool blue. 9005 vs 9006 is a 70% increase in lumens already.

[Tiger]

He doesn't have the projector headlight... and will blind everyone.

[attack eagle]

It's ok on the freeforms, and is the only thing you can do. you can always tilt them down somewhat if needed, but I doubt it will be required.

The benefit is that you can somewhat see and don't have to drive with your brights on all the time (literally, I did use my highbeams ALL THE TIME with the 9006s). no problems with running 9005s and people flashing to indicate glare or brightness.

I didi it on the E34, 3-4 @g DSMs, My wife's Saturn, my wife's Geo Prism, none of which had projector headlights. All were fine. There is no real focal length difference, just the end paint on the bulb. and the wattage difference.

[bubba966]

ps. the toshiba HIR....whats up with them? 30 bucks each??? whats sooo good....how do they compare to the silverstars?

thanks guys!!!!!!!

The HIR 9011's put out 2300 lumens, a 9005 puts out 1700 lumens, and a 9006 puts out 1000 lumens.

So, a Toshiba 9011 HIR will put out about 33% more light than a 9005 bulb will, and 130% more light than a 9006 bulb will.

And yes, they're not cheap. Which is why I'm thinking of the DDM 55w kit @ $70 as replacement bulbs for that setup are $30 pair instead of the $30 each that the HIR's are.

Still, HIR's require no modifications to the car. You just use two o-rings on the base (take one off your old bulb and add it to the one already on the HIR) and slightly modify the plastic housing to fit into a 9006 housing & plug.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

See you should've listened when they told you masturbating leads to blindness.

First it's your night vison..then colors...and when the hair on your palms makes it impossible to drive, it's all over.

[632 Regal]

I just read this exact statement somewhere...


See you should've listened when they told you masturbating leads to blindness.

First it's your night vison..then colors...and when the hair on your palms makes it impossible to drive, it's all over.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

I just read this exact statement somewhere...

Yeah, your medical report:)

[632 Regal]

alcohol perhaps but then I could light and power the city for 4 nights

[BMW4LIFE]

where can i get the adapter to plug into my low beam headlights so it changes the hook up from a 9006 to a 9005 so i dont have to modify the housing of the bulb any more....

cause they are a pain in the ass!!!

arrgggg

[Russell]

There is no adapter. You will need to trim the tabs on the bulb to fit. Search on this forum and others for the diy. Easy task.

[Dave M]

Brunos 9005 conversion page (http://www.bmwe34.net/Wiki/tiki-index.php?page=9005+Conversion)

Dave

[632 Regal]

use a knife to pop the tab on the new bulbs, really easy.


where can i get the adapter to plug into my low beam headlights so it changes the hook up from a 9006 to a 9005 so i dont have to modify the housing of the bulb any more....

cause they are a pain in the ass!!!

arrgggg

[BMW4LIFE]

Will do!

oh by the way...I might have someone on the web that sells Silverstar Ultras for dirt cheap if anyone is interested!

[BMW4LIFE]

okay so i did a lot of thinking and I think i want to go with the HID system...

here are my questions/problems

1) I heard DDM has a very bad reputation about standing behind their product and takes forever to get a warranty exchange (such as burnt bulbs as such)

2) I hear...you get what you pay for ...therefore...DDM is crap? true?

3) what is the difference between the

DDM 35 and 55 Watt Slim Ballast HID Kit

Apexcone 35W/55W Full Size Ballast HID Kit?

4) how hard is the installation?

5) the apexcone says something about it having something so that the low beam indicator does not show...does the more expensive one have that as well?

thanks guys and happy thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[attack eagle]

opposite of what i hear.
I hear habbie is a bitch and 1/2 to get in contact with in the first place, much less get a return out of, ie "You did something to it!".

5:Slim is smaller, and apparently does not have any type of circuit to prevent LBFs.

4 about twice as hard as plugging in a light bulb, since ift is like doing it twice per side instead of once.

5: see 3:

[632 Regal]

Qube is the expert at the HID scenereo. He bought and tested what seemed to be a dozen different sets. Search for his posts regarding HID.