E34 Depo Projector HIDs?

[ldawgtheg]

Hey I just got some Depo Projector lights for my 525 and I was wondering which HID bulb should I get. Which will fit? (9005, 9006.. idk?) They are the same for High Beam and Low beam right? I want to get 8000k ones. Lastly. Do I need a conversion kit for the new Projector lights I have now? Thanks so much!

[bfp9]

If they are angel eyes, i believe they take h1 bulbs but i have no idea. 9005 is the low beam on stock headlights and 9006 is the highbeam. but again if they are any different from ellipsoids, i have no clue. Scratch that, smilies take h1 bulbs as well i believe.

[IT Jedi]

If they are angel eyes, i believe they take h1 bulbs but i have no idea. 9005 is the low beam on stock headlights and 9006 is the highbeam. but again if they are any different from ellipsoids, i have no clue. Scratch that, smilies take h1 bulbs as well i believe.

9006 are low, 9005 are highs. H1's are the other possibility.
If there is a clip its an H1. If no clip and they twist in than 900x.

If they are H1 lit highs and lows, there should be an adaptor to connect to your 900x connectors.

I don't suggest HID's for highs. 9011 HIR are an awesome upgrade to 9005 highs. If you have H1's, there are some brutally bright H1 Rally bulbs. 9011's draw the same as stock 9005's but if you put something like a 130watt H1 in the highs, you should get or make a harness to protect your car's wiring. DDMTuning has a decent harness.

[darknezz7]

I've been looking to get some new headlight bulbs. What are the stock bulbs on an '89, fog lights too? h1 or the 900x? And what is the stock wattage for lows/highs/fogs?

whats the deal with xenon bulbs? I just want 5000-6000k no blue for me, I want ambers for fogs though. They are supposed to be brighter but I read reviews that they are actually less.

I suppose those $60 hid kits on ebay are no good?

[K Fox]

I've been looking to get some new headlight bulbs. What are the stock bulbs on an '89, fog lights too? h1 or the 900x? And what is the stock wattage for lows/highs/fogs?

whats the deal with xenon bulbs? I just want 5000-6000k no blue for me, I want ambers for fogs though. They are supposed to be brighter but I read reviews that they are actually less.

I suppose those $60 hid kits on ebay are no good?

Not sure about what your stock bulbs are, but I'd advise getting a set of smilies - they have much better light output and pattern than any stock us lights. After that if you want to upgrade, I'd go with DDM - there are a lot of people here that have their HID kits and love them. There's a couple of threads around here about the newer kits, look 'em up and you'll be impressed.

About the color of the lights (or the 'temp') - there's a bit to consider. The most lumen output will be from bulbs in the 4500k range, if you go lower you lose a little and if you go higher you lose more. The biggest difference is in how well you see with the varying 'temps' - the lower the temp the better the CRI (or color rendering index), down to around 3800k. Basically, the more blue you go the harder it is to actually see anything. The yellow light is actually best in foul weather as it cuts thru the fog and glare better than blue light, which is easily refracted. Reflected is better than refracted. Refraction is why the sky is blue - blue is the most easily refracted color we can see. Blue = blind (at night). I love logic. :stickoutt But seriously, yellow fogs became a fad, but they can be useful, most especially so in bad weather when you really need to be able to see. I still think I may go with 4500k fogs, as they're not blue at all, and will have the best CRI - the 3000k lights lose a little CRI also, but they don't glare so they're better than blue.

Fox

[IT Jedi]

What are the stock bulbs on an '89, fog lights too? h1 or the 900x? And what is the stock wattage for lows/highs/fogs?
I just want 5000-6000k no blue for me, I want ambers for fogs though. They are supposed to be brighter but I read reviews that they are actually less.
I suppose those $60 hid kits on ebay are no good?



US headlights tend to be 55w low and 65w high. US Spec e34 bulbs are 9006 and 9005. H1's are euro and some Canadian I think. Fogs are 55w H1 for projectors. I've not seen the other type but I recall someone saying that they use 900x. Maybe....
4500k 55w HID's match my Murano's Xenon lights. Blue/White. As you go higher in color temperature, the brightness suffers. My 3000k 35w fogs look French. I like them a lot. Very bright.
I have DDM's full size ballast for lows and fogs and they seems to work very well. I did notice that the 55w bulbs dimmed somewhat after 6mos. Still bright but I could see the difference.

[darknezz7]

Not sure about what your stock bulbs are, but I'd advise getting a set of smilies - they have much better light output and pattern than any stock us lights. After that if you want to upgrade, I'd go with DDM - there are a lot of people here that have their HID kits and love them. There's a couple of threads around here about the newer kits, look 'em up and you'll be impressed.

About the color of the lights (or the 'temp') ...........
Fox


Id love some smiles :D

I know all about cri and amber fogs for weather and everything, but thanks.




US headlights tend to be 55w low and 65w high. US Spec e34 bulbs are 9006 and 9005. H1's are euro and some Canadian I think. Fogs are 55w H1 for projectors. I've not seen the other type but I recall someone saying that they use 900x. Maybe....
4500k 55w HID's match my Murano's Xenon lights. Blue/White. As you go higher in color temperature, the brightness suffers. My 3000k 35w fogs look French. I like them a lot. Very bright.
I have DDM's full size ballast for lows and fogs and they seems to work very well. I did notice that the 55w bulbs dimmed somewhat after 6mos. Still bright but I could see the difference.




thank you, thats pretty much what I thought. Yeah my '89 535 has projector fogs I think and the '94 530 does not. I'm gonna go with 5000k 55w bulbs for the lows and 3000k 55w ones for the fogs too if I can.

[ldawgtheg]

Hey thanks for the input everyone. Sorry I didn't put this on earlier but here is the link to the lights that I just bought http://depoautolights.com/series-clear-headlights-p-1739.html?osCsid=457476bf967faa9ffcc17bbb4dddaaf9

So I'm reading these posts and I should probably go with 9006 HID lights for the low beams and maybe stay with the stock H1 bulbs? I'm kind of new to all this...

Would I need a conversion kit for the projectors or can I just buy these bulbs? http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/HID-Bulb-Replacements-Pair

[cmgreensr]

Holy crap did you spend $437 on ae's? wow, either way, if the housings are plastic, would that be a problem with HID's as far as melting?

[K Fox]

Id love some smiles :D

I know all about cri and amber fogs for weather and everything, but thanks.

Wow, cool. I haven't met too many other people that know much about lighting like that. CRI doesn't mean much to most of the people I talk to , so it's nice to see another geek every now and then. :D Carry on.

Fox

[cmgreensr]

Fox,
I still say :urtheman

[darknezz7]

so now I'm confused, looking up 9006 bulbs im getting 80watt ones and 80/100 watt low hi sets.

I've found some 55w ones now. is it legal to use more than 55w for the lows?

I think I'm going to just run 55w xenon 5000k's for the lows and 55w xenon 3000k's for the fogs.

[IT Jedi]

so now I'm confused, looking up 9006 bulbs im getting 80watt ones and 80/100 watt low hi sets.

I've found some 55w ones now. is it legal to use more than 55w for the lows?

I think I'm going to just run 55w xenon 5000k's for the lows and 55w xenon 3000k's for the fogs.

Ok.

Lows: 9006 bulb type. Here is the link to DDM's kit (http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/Apexcone-Raptor-HID-Kit) that I have. 55w are a couple bucks more than 35w. Choose the right bulb shape for the headlight housing you have (9006 for US & H1 for Euro)
FIRST!! Search the forum for LBE or Low Beam Error. You should know what you are in for. It could be no hassles or... other. There are 4 or 5 ways to deal with the LB Error. IMO, running HID's without a harness is nuts. I tried and wasted two LKM's. I don't think DDM's Error Code Eliminators work for the E34. If you are squeamish about harnesses, etc. there is another solution. HIR 9012. Google it. You will likely end up at FineMotoring.com. That's were I bought my 9011 highs from. Nice guy.

Highs: I think there is only one useful solution. HIR 9011. Its easy, super bright and can't damage anything. Its amazing how much light they put out without any of the danger 80w+ 9005 (melting grounds and other hi-jinx).

Fogs: Having 35w is enough. Really. Although I've never compared temps, all recommendations are that 55w is not a good choice for plastic housed fogs. 3000k 35w fogs are brutally bright. With a search you'll see that some people have set these up without a harness but I wouldn't. :)

Choice of lowbeam housing doesn't seem too important to me. (9006 US vs H1 Smiley Euro)
Three levels of "better" lighting:

[Good] Hella or PIAA 65 watt Lows == 80w Highs == 65w H1 Fogs
[Very Good] HIR 9012 Lows == HIR 9011 Highs == 65w H1 Fogs
[Best Possible] HID 55w Lows (Harness) == HIR 9011 Highs == HID 35w H1 Fogs (Harness)

[M Quick]

Just saying;
Don't use stock halogen bulbs that are around 100W, they will most likely melt the reflectors, i have had apart several sets of lowbeams and they all have some kind of meltage inside after being used with 100W bulbs, even if they seem to do no harm from the outside, as you cannot see the reflector without taking the glass off.
And i think that the highs will suffer from melting reflectors too if used with too strong bulbs.


HID's hasn't the same heat output as halogen bulbs, so you're safe with HID's either way.

[darknezz7]

im not getting hid kits im getting xenon gas bulbs.

i got 9006 55w 5000k lows and h1 55w 3000k fogs, oh well if the fogs are bright.

good price on the ddm hd's

[M Quick]

im not getting hid kits im getting xenon gas bulbs.

i got 9006 55w 5000k lows and h1 55w 3000k fogs, oh well if the fogs are bright.

good price on the ddm hd's



What's the difference between HID's and xenon gas bulbs? Aren't both xenon gas bulbs which needs a ballast and igniter to start up? Just curious and wanna learn!

[K Fox]

What's the difference between HID's and xenon gas bulbs? Aren't both xenon gas bulbs which needs a ballast and igniter to start up? Just curious and wanna learn!

No no - the Xenon bulbs he's referring to are simply normal halogen bulbs that have been filled with a Xenon gas mixture instead of the normal halogen gas mixture inside the bulb. They still have a normal wire filament to produce the light. HID's do have the Xenon gas inside, but they are the one's that have the electrical arc to provide light, and thus need the ballasts.

Fox

[IT Jedi]

At $30-45/bulb (Hella) Xenon/Halogen mix bulbs are more marketing than performance. They do allow the filament to burn a little hotter but the coated bulbs aren't even close to HIR's (which are $32/bulb) or HID's ($50-70 for a complete set up). They may look blueish like HID's but they pretty much suck (weak/defused pattern at the end of their range). I guess if you spend all your time in the city than... cool.

OMG I just looked at the pic of these... http://depoautolights.com/images/20080811037.jpg
It really doesn't matter what you put into them. Yuck.

[Supra330Xi]

I was thinking about getting the ApexCone HID kit from DDM, but I don't really want to deal with making my own harness. Is there a plug-n-play harness out there I can get that's relatively cheap? I was looking on eBay for them, but not sure which one...any help here?

[IT Jedi]

I was thinking about getting the ApexCone HID kit from DDM, but I don't really want to deal with making my own harness. Is there a plug-n-play harness out there I can get that's relatively cheap? I was looking on eBay for them, but not sure which one...any help here?

I built the harness for my lows. Its probably overkill as it has 8 gauge power lines and grounds. I was too lazy to build another for my fogs so i bought all the bits from DDM. The process is the same for lows and fogs... you just don't need a fog light to 9005/6 connector adapter. Look here (http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1551097)
Their harness and pieces are well built and at a good price for the quality.

Edit: 55w not 35w and for lows I use this resistor to eliminate LKM errors (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230407860548&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_2406wt_817)

[Supra330Xi]

I built the harness for my lows. Its probably overkill as it has 8 gauge power lines and grounds. I was too lazy to build another for my fogs so i bought all the bits from DDM. The process is the same for lows and fogs... you just don't need a fog light to 9005/6 connector adapter. Look here (http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1551097)
Their harness and pieces are well built and at a good price for the quality.

Edit: 55w not 35w and for lows I use this resistor to eliminate LKM errors (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230407860548&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_2406wt_817)


Thanks for your help so far!! I did some searching and it seems to be up in the air on if a code-eliminator is needed. I'll probably still use a harness, might have to wire in the resistors I guess...

The link to ebay doesn't work...do you have another link?

[IT Jedi]

Resistors (http://cgi.ebay.com/1-x-5-ohm-5R-Aluminium-clad-Resistor-100W-100-W-Watt-/230407860548?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35a560f144#ht_2406wt_817)

Sorry about that. Try this one.

Yea I had a tech at DDM tell me that it's not effective on E34's. This resistor has been solid. Its 100w so the 55-60w heat it up but aren't close to its limit. It should be mounted in open air for best cooling.

[darknezz7]

At $30-45/bulb (Hella) Xenon/Halogen mix bulbs are more marketing than performance. They do allow the filament to burn a little hotter but the coated bulbs aren't even close to HIR's (which are $32/bulb) or HID's ($50-70 for a complete set up). They may look blueish like HID's but they pretty much suck (weak/defused pattern at the end of their range). I guess if you spend all your time in the city than... cool.

I only paid $15 for 4 low beam ones and $9 for the yellow fogs. They do seem like a gimmick and I'm sure the HIR's are better but I Just want to try these. Both my cars low beams are really dim and I think just new bulbs even these fake xenons will be better. And the 535 has a bad fog bulb.

Eventually I'll get a real hid kit. Thanks for the help

[bam240sx]

i was curious, high beam is 9006 as well right? i was thinking about 55w 4500k raptor kit from ddm for the high's since i live in some back roads, so once they're on they're on for 10 or 15 mins at a time

[Supra330Xi]

Resistors (http://cgi.ebay.com/1-x-5-ohm-5R-Aluminium-clad-Resistor-100W-100-W-Watt-/230407860548?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35a560f144#ht_2406wt_817)

Sorry about that. Try this one.

Yea I had a tech at DDM tell me that it's not effective on E34's. This resistor has been solid. Its 100w so the 55-60w heat it up but aren't close to its limit. It should be mounted in open air for best cooling.


If I were to get the wiring harness from DDM, where does the resistor get wired in?

[IT Jedi]

i was curious, high beam is 9006 as well right? i was thinking about 55w 4500k raptor kit from ddm for the high's since i live in some back roads, so once they're on they're on for 10 or 15 mins at a time
9005's are high. I'd say that as long as you didn't expect to use Flash to Pass, it's just a light so it will work just like lows. The thing about highs and not projector lows is they are overwhelming to on-coming traffic.



If I were to get the wiring harness from DDM, where does the resistor get wired in?

The resistor is wired across positive to negative before the harness relay. When we were testing different solution, I built a modular adaptor that connects between my harness and the car's connector. Made it easy to try different solutions. Keeping in mind that you do not want the resistor to be touching anything, you could spice it into the harness between the connector (to the car) and the relay. Search the forum for more pictures of the resistor fix. There is also a LBE fix where you mod the LKM by adding an appropriate ground. Several people have had success with this method.

[T444E]

i was curious, high beam is 9006 as well right? i was thinking about 55w 4500k raptor kit from ddm for the high's since i live in some back roads, so once they're on they're on for 10 or 15 mins at a time

No, high beam is a 9005. Slightly different plug and no colored cap on the top of the bulb.

[B Dot]

Ok.

Lows: 9006 bulb type. Here is the link to DDM's kit (http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/Apexcone-Raptor-HID-Kit) that I have. 55w are a couple bucks more than 35w. Choose the right bulb shape for the headlight housing you have (9006 for US & H1 for Euro)
FIRST!! Search the forum for LBE or Low Beam Error. You should know what you are in for. It could be no hassles or... other. There are 4 or 5 ways to deal with the LB Error. IMO, running HID's without a harness is nuts. I tried and wasted two LKM's. I don't think DDM's Error Code Eliminators work for the E34. If you are squeamish about harnesses, etc. there is another solution. HIR 9012. Google it. You will likely end up at FineMotoring.com. That's were I bought my 9011 highs from. Nice guy.

Highs: I think there is only one useful solution. HIR 9011. Its easy, super bright and can't damage anything. Its amazing how much light they put out without any of the danger 80w+ 9005 (melting grounds and other hi-jinx).

Fogs: Having 35w is enough. Really. Although I've never compared temps, all recommendations are that 55w is not a good choice for plastic housed fogs. 3000k 35w fogs are brutally bright. With a search you'll see that some people have set these up without a harness but I wouldn't. :)

Choice of lowbeam housing doesn't seem too important to me. (9006 US vs H1 Smiley Euro)
Three levels of "better" lighting:


[Good] Hella or PIAA 65 watt Lows == 80w Highs == 65w H1 Fogs
[Very Good] HIR 9012 Lows == HIR 9011 Highs == 65w H1 Fogs
[Best Possible] HID 55w Lows (Harness) == HIR 9011 Highs == HID 35w H1 Fogs (Harness)


I also just picked up an E34 and was looking into getting some hid's from ddmtuning for the lows/fogs. I was under the impression that the kits were plug & play? What is the advantage or disadvantage to using their extra harness they sell? I have the oem hella headlights so those would be US spec correct? Thanks in advance!

[IT Jedi]

I also just picked up an E34 and was looking into getting some hid's from ddmtuning for the lows/fogs. I was under the impression that the kits were plug & play? What is the advantage or disadvantage to using their extra harness they sell? I have the oem hella headlights so those would be US spec correct? Thanks in advance!

In a nutshell, some people have been able to simply plug full size ballasts in with no errors. Some not. Search Persistent Low Beam Error.

The harness will isolate your 15-16 year old electrical system from the intense draw during the HID ignition. Even with several different LKM's (I have a collection now :) ), I saw errors and other issues with slim 55w ballasts, full size 55w and full size 35w without a harness. It seems the fog circuit maybe more forgiving than the lowbeam circuit as a harness on lows without a proper resistor causes LBE.

DDM's Harness is adequate and reasonably priced. I like my design better but it was a ton of work and getting theirs takes a couple of clicks FTW.

Maybe the Error Code Eliminator will work on your car. Its much new than mine. As you will see in your search, more new e34's seem to have less errors but its not universal.

[Supra330Xi]

Thanks for all of your help. I'm going to order the full size 55w apexcone ballasts with 5000k bulbs and the wiring harness. Skipping the code-eliminators and see what it does.

Found a pic of the wiring with the resistor
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e58/russian03rustler/525i/S6301972.jpg