Black Depo headlights

[youngbimmer]

My headlights were pitted and corroded on the inside, and I did not want to deal with baking them open and refinishing the inside. I went ahead and ordered these Depo black euro smiley crosshair replicas, they were made in Taiwan:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/89-96-BMW-E3...lVZ082&vxp=mtr

They came in today, and I installed them They look great, they feel high quality, they use a glass lens just like OEM. Beam output is significantly better than the old ellipsoid units I had. I recommend them to anybody looking to freshen the look of their car. They really give a nice, understated clean look. I will post pictures as soon as my car becomes presentable again.

Also installed some Antares Ingen 225/55R16 tires on my E38 Style 5 16" wheels from Walmart, $250 installed for all 4 tires. I was happily surprised, they grip well and ride fairly quietly and smoothly. I had them installed with my 3mm spacers, I can try to see if they will clear without spacers as well.

[CroughtonE32]

My headlights were pitted and corroded on the inside, and I did not want to deal with baking them open and refinishing the inside. I went ahead and ordered these Depo black euro smiley crosshair replicas, they were made in Taiwan:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/89-96-BMW-E3...lVZ082&vxp=mtr

They came in today, and I installed them They look great, they feel high quality, they use a glass lens just like OEM. Beam output is significantly better than the old ellipsoid units I had. I recommend them to anybody looking to freshen the look of their car. They really give a nice, understated clean look. I will post pictures as soon as my car becomes presentable again.

Also installed some Antares Ingen 225/55R16 tires on my E38 Style 5 16" wheels from Walmart, $250 installed for all 4 tires. I was happily surprised, they grip well and ride fairly quietly and smoothly. I had them installed with my 3mm spacers, I can try to see if they will clear without spacers as well.

They really look beautiful. Few questions. So these are also Elipsoid beams, but is the Euro version different? Does it still use the 9005 and 9006 bulbs or the H1 bulbs, and also what is that "city light" thing in the write up. Can you explain what that looks like and how it turns on and off. I read the Ebay ad completely and I am lost. They look great on that E30. Any extra wiring to do?

[youngbimmer]

They really look beautiful. Few questions. So these are also Elipsoid beams, but is the Euro version different? Does it still use the 9005 and 9006 bulbs or the H1 bulbs, and also what is that "city light" thing in the write up. Can you explain what that looks like and how it turns on and off. I read the Ebay ad completely and I am lost. They look great on that E30. Any extra wiring to do?

They are ellipsoids, but they have some sort of crosshair setup inside for supposed better beam scatter. They are manually adjustable lights, and use H1 bulbs. They have some weird harness, but that is common for third party lighting. It works, it just feels weird at first. The city lights, there is some sort of DRL at the top of the headlight, it has an extra wire hardness that needs to be somehow spliced into the rest of the wiring system. I did not bother, but it is nice that it is already there for those that want to go the extra mile. I just wanted the dark glass lens that were of decent quality, and these certainly fit the bill. As I said, I will happily take pictures, but my chrome bumper trim is trash and my hood has no paint on it, emblems are beyond faded. When it all comes together I will take pictures, but I love them so far. I couldn't fathom paying the 600-700$ for the real deal when these look just as good.

[shogun]

you need these plugs for EURO H1 headlights http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Upgrade/Euro_light.htm

[CroughtonE32]

They are ellipsoids, but they have some sort of crosshair setup inside for supposed better beam scatter. They are manually adjustable lights, and use H1 bulbs. They have some weird harness, but that is common for third party lighting. It works, it just feels weird at first. The city lights, there is some sort of DRL at the top of the headlight, it has an extra wire hardness that needs to be somehow spliced into the rest of the wiring system. I did not bother, but it is nice that it is already there for those that want to go the extra mile. I just wanted the dark glass lens that were of decent quality, and these certainly fit the bill. As I said, I will happily take pictures, but my chrome bumper trim is trash and my hood has no paint on it, emblems are beyond faded. When it all comes together I will take pictures, but I love them so far. I couldn't fathom paying the 600-700$ for the real deal when these look just as good.

Actually, I can't wait to see how they look on your E32, all lit up. I've been asking people here, checking other forums, and thinking of just replacing my OEM lights with four new ones so I don't need to take apart and clean reflectors. I'm just not up to that sort of job. I would love to have more light than I have. Even when I bought the car new in 1990, the lighting was never close to what I see on the road these days. I thought maybe replacing the four with the same OEM lamps, but putting better 9005 and 9006 bulbs in might do the trick. I've changed the bulbs a couple of times, and no upgrade really makes a difference. I've always thought that was because the reflectors are 27 years old (even though they look new from the outside). Even though your bumper is off, and you're in need of paint, maybe one day you can post a picture of your new lights on at night. Love to see how they look. Either way, great look. Congrats.

[youngbimmer]

Actually, I can't wait to see how they look on your E32, all lit up. I've been asking people here, checking other forums, and thinking of just replacing my OEM lights with four new ones so I don't need to take apart and clean reflectors. I'm just not up to that sort of job. I would love to have more light than I have. Even when I bought the car new in 1990, the lighting was never close to what I see on the road these days. I thought maybe replacing the four with the same OEM lamps, but putting better 9005 and 9006 bulbs in might do the trick. I've changed the bulbs a couple of times, and no upgrade really makes a difference. I've always thought that was because the reflectors are 27 years old (even though they look new from the outside). Even though your bumper is off, and you're in need of paint, maybe one day you can post a picture of your new lights on at night. Love to see how they look. Either way, great look. Congrats.

I can certainly do that for you. I think I need to adjust the beams though, they are uneven in direction of light output. They look killer though, I took preliminary photos and it doesn't do it justice. The really look outstanding in person. If you're on the fence, I say go for it.

[youngbimmer]

As promised,
IMG_0427.jpgIMG_0428.jpgIMG_0429.jpgIMG_0430.jpg

and one picture with old lights for reference
IMG_0316.jpg

[CroughtonE32]

Well the smoked glass sure looks nice against the dark car. Interesting how they light up in the center. When you drive at night that beam lights up better than the OEM? I see you changed out the yellow parking lights for clear.

[youngbimmer]

Su

Well the smoked glass sure looks nice against the dark car. Interesting how they light up in the center. When you drive at night that beam lights up better than the OEM? I see you changed out the yellow parking lights for clear.

Subjectively, it seems better to me because my old lights were really very corroded on the inside, the reflective material was badly oxidized. So really anything would have been an improvement. I have not wired the city lights in, i'm not a fan of splicing into electrical components. the corners are smoked, also made by Depo, as are my rear lights. It modernizes the look of the E32 without really making it ricy. I considered LED tail lights but they looked too ricey for me. I would love if somebody could make the fiber optic "L" line lamps that all these new BMWs have, it would look so great on the E32, as it goes with the rectangular body lines

[CroughtonE32]

I've never seen these before. Bav Auto has them on their site if you like them. They're for the clear lenses but they make them in a color that flashes amber and is invisible through the clear or smoked flasher lenses. I don't know how they did that.

[NE32]

That looks great! I've been on the fence about if I wanted to go all clear lights or smoked. Really depends on the color of the car imo. Do you have a picture of you taillights? Thought about going all LED but went with just LED bulbs. Haven't put them in yet but the ones I have for my front corners are absolutely perfect.

[Zej]

Looks fantastic! If I had a dark car I'd be ordering them on ebay straight away... unfortunately I don't think they'd have the same effect on my Bronzitbeige E32.
Glad your tyres worked out in the end

[youngbimmer]

Thanks guys, I can post pics of the rear when the weather is not so crappy, maybe tomorrow it will be nicer. I like the rear tail lights I have, also smoked/clear lenses, but NOT LED. The LED's I feel would ruin the E32 style and make them too ricey.

If anybody has a lead on a custom tail light manufacturer, I want to see if they can whip up the new style "L" lamps that use 2-3 red stripes that curve into the L shape. Look at the F01 7 series tail lights to understand what I'm getting at, I'd love that kind of light for the E32. It would flow so well with the body lines.

[shogun]

This company in Canada makes clear and colored reproductions of virtually any vehicle lens (not DOT approved) http://klearz.com/index.php

quote: About Us: At Klearz, we specialize in making clear and colored reproductions of virtually any vehicle lens. We can also produce housings or any other plastic parts. We can duplicate any stock lens in clear or any basic color including black for a smoked effect. Our lenses are made with UV resistant material and will not yellow overtime. A little bit about what we do. We have been in business since 2002. We do resin casting and not injection molding like most clear lenses producers. Resin casting has pros and cons. We can do extremely small runs and still be profitable but our prices are a bit more expensive. Tooling time is very short, but production takes more time, we can only produce one set of lenses per day per set of molds. All our products are sold for show only and have had all the writing removed from the lenses since we are not DOT approved. We are always interested in new projects. We specialize in smaller lenses such as side markers, turn signals and headlight markers. Please keep in mind that we need interest from at least 10 people in order to produce a new product. We usually arrange a group buy. If you have an idea in mind and want to make it a reality, please try to arrange a group buy ahead of time with other car owners, forum members, etc.
Here samples for E34 tail light segments http://klearz.com/products/bmw/e34/e...light_segments

also this is of interest for us E32 owners, in case something is NLA from BMW, quote: "We can also produce housings or any other plastic parts"