Updating Lighting on my Pre Facelift. Held off long enough. LCM 4, G4 Bi-Xenon, etc.

[philly98540]

New spring project. I'll thank (blame) Paul (Blacknight) for getting me started on this with his GB on the Hella G4 replica projectors. Great looking projectors! Thanks Paul!

Car is a 98 with stock halogens. I've owned this car since 2001. As she sits now.

2017-04-10 08.18.16_1491826800843.jpg2017-04-09 20.40.33_1491826801189.jpg


I was striking out finding decent used Hella's to rebuild, so went with these Ebay Hella reps to keep the budget in check.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/201384034812...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

All the old Hella's on-line were total basket cases for too much $$, or were pretty primo with primo prices. Then you still need to retrofit new projectors, AE's, adjusters, and new lenses since the old ones need to be hacked off. Finding bake-able facelifts in good shape was impossible. On multiple trips to my local pick and pulls, all E39's were stripped of headlights. Must be the first things yanked before it gets pulled off the flatbed.

Others have had good luck retrofitting reps, so I went that route. And lets face it, my car is not a nice stock M5 worth keeping stock.

Pic of rep.

2017-04-09 20.40.59_1491826801123.jpg


I took one apart to test fit the new projector. Direct bolt up perfect fit. I don't even think I will need to mess with rotation alignment. These reps were sealed with black silicone rtv. I could open them with slow prying using plastic trim tools. The rtv fully released from the frame channel and stuck to the lens. I have to say, the reps were well sealed.

New Bi-Xenon G4 projector on left, replica halogen projector on right. The bowl and lens is total garbage on the replica. Wavy nasty chrome, and foggy lens. Bolting flange to lens tip dimension is the same. Bolt holes all line up.

2017-04-09 20.41.18_1491826801008.jpg



Scored a set of Hella tails for $80. They are in great shape and have connectors and pigtails for adapting to my stock wiring.

2017-04-09 20.41.41_1491826800895.jpg


More to come.

[philly98540]

LCM IV $75. This will enable the correct settings so everything works nice with the new stuff.

2017-04-10 08.18.56_1491826800642.jpg

[philly98540]

My latest dilemma is figuring out what AE's to get. The AE's in the Reps measure 127mm OD and are total crap. They have four small LED's in each ring. They glow, but not all that good. Most of the AE's for the E39's measure 131mm OD, so I will have to cut the flat top bar on them, and squeeze them to fit. I hope this is doable. The only 127mm OD AE's that I could fine were CCFL, which I want to avoid.

Right now, I'm thinking the newer COB (chips on board) type AE's like these.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/152064202314...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

The COB type give a smooth ring of light, vs the gaps from the SMD type. These are same basic type as the Orion lite's. Not super bright, but way brighter than stock. I don't like the Orion V2's due to the gaps, and the V4's are too bright IMO and not in my budget for this build. Any comments appreciated on choosing AE's. Right now I'm stuck on the project till I get them.

For HID, I'm thinking Morimoto stuff from TRS.

[cnsorial]

Great thread Philly. Looking to do this myself. My projectors should be coming tomorrow from Paul. Gonna have to wait till after finals before I start this though.

Also planning to retro Celis tails instead of my replicas. Let us know how the LCM coding works out.


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[dannyzabolotny]

I'm surprised you were able to resist facelifting for this long— updating the headlights was one of the first things I did for my 2000 540it. You have one of the fastest 540i's here but it still looks mostly original on the outside, talk about a sleeper!

[philly98540]

I'm surprised you were able to resist facelifting for this long— updating the headlights was one of the first things I did for my 2000 540it. You have one of the fastest 540i's here but it still looks mostly original on the outside, talk about a sleeper!

It's almost 100% original on the outside. Only the wheels and grills are non OE. I'm getting older now, so the sleeper thing is good for me. The original lights are just getting too hazed and light output is going down hill, even with new bulbs. I'm really looking forward to seeing better at night. I don't think doing these lights will really remove the sleeper look.

If anyone has comments on Angel Eye choices, I'm all ears. If not, I'll likely give those COB rings a go.

[auaq]

I think I have the SMD ones I got off of eBay for around $30 or so with free shipping.

[JimLev]

I considered getting in on the group buy however I really don't do much night driving to justify it.

[jrcook320]

Other than the crappy lense/reflector of the ebay reps, what's your opinion of the build quality? $130 is a great price. They look just as good as my DJ Auto's from here, which are really pretty good in terms of OEM appearance.

Last time I had my DJ Auto's apart to fix an adjuster I put AE's in similar to what you linked. The rings were slightly oversized by 3-4 mm on the OD. I disassembled the SMD board from the fiber optic lenses (that came with the LED AE's) and glued the LED boards in to my light housings behind the original fiber optic rings. The end result was pretty good.

[philly98540]

The quality of the plastic and finishing is better than I expected actually. The AE's and projectors are lousy, but otherwise they seem pretty decent upon disassembly. I hope the lenses hold up over time. I wonder if the replacement lenses that sell for 150 are actually the same as these.

Neat idea on just using the led circuit card portion. Might work on these.

[blackknight530i]

Hey Chris, glad to finally see this thread . It's about time. I know you'll love the new projectors. I'm still blown away at the light output. Good luck with the rest of the swap.

[AquilaBMW]

The COB lights you linked actually look good, better than a lot of other aftermarket stuff out there. Sorry, I can't think of any other one to recommend. Are you going to program the LKM to the car?

[cnsorial]

Oh, does anyone know what happened the the original Hella G4 thread? I tried searching it so I could update it with some pictures when I get my projectors installed but it says "not available" when I click on it.

Those AEs that philly linked look great. If I didn't have OEM Hellas I would try that route


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[blackknight530i]

It went into purgatory, LOL. I started a new one with all the same info though. I'll post the link in a second.

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- - - Updated - - -

Actually, now it looks like the new one went into purgatory as well. What's going on?!

[philly98540]

The original thread got towed to a place they call "the dumper". I can still see it since I'm a mod. Not sure exactly why or who controls those decisions. I'll see if I can reach out to someone and figure it out.

Thanks for the feedback on those COB rings guys.

[blackknight530i]

The original thread got towed to a place they call "the dumper". I can still see it since I'm a mod. Not sure exactly why or who controls those decisions. I'll see if I can reach out to someone and figure it out.

Thanks for the feedback on those COB rings guys.

I knew about the original thread, but I created a new group buy thread that also seems to have gone there.

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[JimLev]

The original thread got towed to a place they call "the dumper". I can still see it since I'm a mod. Not sure exactly why or who controls those decisions. I'll see if I can reach out to someone and figure it out.

Thanks for the feedback on those COB rings guys.

Philly, Kevlar should be able to move it back. You and I can't.

[philly98540]

I just sent PM to Kevlar. Lets see if he can release back to the E39 forum. Might take a while...

[blackknight530i]

I just sent PM to Kevlar. Lets see if he can release back to the E39 forum. Might take a while...

I hope he does. I still have about 8 sets.

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[Kershaw]

I was striking out finding decent used Hella's to rebuild, so went with these Ebay Hella reps to keep the budget in check.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/201384034812...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Do you know if I can retrofit the stock HIDs from my oem headlights into these? They look really decent for $130.

[Jason5driver]

I like this thread!
Thanks!
Jason

[auaq]

I like this thread!
Thanks!
Jason

You're welcome!
Bourne

[Redshift]

Bout time, Chris. Next up, audio? Or are you gonna just go to 25psi instead?

[philly98540]

Do you know if I can retrofit the stock HIDs from my oem headlights into these? They look really decent for $130.

They should fit fine, but you will likely need to mess around with the sealing boot on the back side and maybe mess with the spacing of the standoffs. If I had stock headlights worth rebuilding, I'd just rebuild those and not mess with these. Get new lenses and adjusters.

- - - Updated - - -

Bout time, Chris. Next up, audio? Or are you gonna just go to 25psi instead?

I remember driving your car, with the good lights, and here I am. I just move slower than you with changing stuff. I wont be ripping it all out when I'm done though.

[Redshift]

They should fit fine, but you will likely need to mess around with the sealing boot on the back side and maybe mess with the spacing of the standoffs. If I had stock headlights worth rebuilding, I'd just rebuild those and not mess with these. Get new lenses and adjusters.

- - - Updated - - -


I remember driving your car, with the good lights, and here I am. I just move slower than you with changing stuff. I wont be ripping it all out when I'm done though.

OUCH!



The only thing gone is the SC system. The audio, interior, NBT, lights, suspension, custom exhaust, and all the rest is permanent