Upgrading my E36 3-series lighting

[windnsea00]

Just saw this new forum so figured I would share my upgrade that will be arriving in a few days for people who may want to do the same or are generally interested.

So for people who own the E36 3-series, it's well known the US got ripped off with the cheap plastic reflector beams (9006 bulbs) when Europe got the H1 bulb ellipsoid (projector) glass units. Their guidelines in Germany for light output are much more thorough then the US.

So anyway, since my headlights are horribly weak I ordered ZKW euro ellipsoids (they are OEM) which will run you ~$400 depending on where you purchase them. I also paid $20 extra for having lamin-x put on them, helps protect the housing from road debris. I have a H1 4300k HID (xenon) kit that I will be installing in conjuction with the new headlights.

I went with 4300k (Kelvin) since that's what BMW uses from the factory which allows for the most visible light. It's not uncommon to see people order 5000-7000k for the blueish tint but however they loose more visible light which is my main goal.

The low beams will be HID but the high beams will still be halogen. There are retrofits out there for bi-xenon and self-leveling and even better projectors (Acura TSX for example) but this should be fine for me. Our `02 325iT has self-leveling bi-xenon's and they really make driving at night enjoyable!

This is what the euro glass ellipsoids look like (ZKW specifically):

This is what the stock plastic non-projector housings look like for comparison:

 

[Jim 5]

Very nice upgrade. I love the bi-xenon's on my 330ci.

Lighting can make a huge difference in the enjoyment of your car. I had a 1991 VW Corrado, and this vehicle had some of the very worst example of dumbed-down DOT headlights. They were downright dangerous as I found out on a late-night trip through the Canadian Rockies. It was so bad that a certain VW only supplier manufactured a retrofit kit that ended up looking almost exactly like your existing OEM set-up. Apparently it worked really well, but it was almost as much as the european kit. Anyhow, I digress, but I think this would be my first upgrade on any BMW.

Single projector beams were available as early as 1988 on 635csi's and at the same time (or shortly thereafter) on e30's. I tried to find a retrofit for this set-up when I had an '82 635csi...couldn't find it.

Please show us the final result when you've got these installed with the HID's. I think it will look great and really improve your enjoyment of the car. Money well spent.

 

[windnsea00]

I will make sure to take pics when I get them in, I can't wait. If the E24 was anything like the E30, couldn't you install the ellipsoid headlights and wiring in place of the normal headlights?

 

[G-MAN]

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Very nice upgrade. I love the bi-xenon's on my 330ci.

Lighting can make a huge difference in the enjoyment of your car.

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I agree. As good as the beam pattern was on the OEM halogens (9006) that came in my 300M, I still can't get over the difference the HID projectors from the 300M Special make. There really is no comparison. This was an expensive upgrade (about $1500 for the pair) but everytime I drive at night it's obvious that it was worth it.

 

[JHZR2]

Yep, lighting upgrades are one of the most valuable things that can be done in a car. I have e-codes in my 91 BMW E30, and my 83 MB, both of which had sealed beams (!). THe difference is literally like night and day.

My 04 saab never ceases to amaze me. The efficiency and beam pattern on that lighting fixture are so great that I dont need any sort of HID setup to see perfectly. A great halogen design will do so well by you, that you need not even think about HID - so provided that the halofen hi-beams are quite good on that E36 upgrade, I wouldnt worry about it in the slightest!

JMH

 

[Jim 5]

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I will make sure to take pics when I get them in, I can't wait. If the E24 was anything like the E30, couldn't you install the ellipsoid headlights and wiring in place of the normal headlights?

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Yes, you could, but at the time I was looking for a used set, as the dealership cost was prohibitive. This was a popular upgrade, and I could never seem to find it used before I sold the car.

 

[windnsea00]

Took 3 pictures tonight...talk about an improvment over stock halogens:

 

[Jim 5]

Very nice upgrade. The last shot really shows the beam pattern. You can really see the e-code pattern that G-Man and Mori have described.

Money/time well spent. Now how about some shots of the car in the daylight?

 

[windnsea00]

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Very nice upgrade. The last shot really shows the beam pattern. You can really see the e-code pattern that G-Man and Mori have described.

Money/time well spent. Now how about some shots of the car in the daylight?

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Will do in the near future, someone backed into the side of my car so it's off to the body shop pretty soon.