I happened to post this message on B-fest first, but thought it would be a worthwhile addition here too.
I recently replaced headlight lenses with a pair of DJ Auto lenses on my 2003 with facelift lights. I found them soft compared to Hella lenses. I waited 6 days and ~300 miles before applying protective film. In that time there was already some minor pitting from road dirt, and I don't recall driving through any instance of "sand blasting" in that short time. So I'd strongly advise applying protective film immediately if you install these lenses.
On the bright side, the DJ Auto lenses fit perfectly in the housing. They mated up to all location features & I had absolutely no difficulty installing them using butyl tape (heated of course). They are blemish free; I couldn't spot any "wrinkles" or defects that would distort the light pattern. I'd be happy to install them again.
I found some references stating that DJ Auto uses acrylic for their lenses while the Hella lenses are polycarbonate, which would explain the difference. I also found this link from a Czech vendor advertising "OEM quality" lenses made of polycarbonate.
https://www.bimmerjakes.com/en/bmw-5...eft_right-pair
Unfortunately they are out of stock at the moment. The vendor said they expected it would be May or June of this year before they would have replacements.
Regards
RDL
Can you reuse the corner piece from the old covers on these?
I take it that you mean the orange coloured mask for the marker/parking light, which is chrome on the DJ Auto lenses.
One of the DIYs did swap them. They seem to be attached by plastic pins on the lens through holes in the mask, which are heat staked. That DIY used a tiny soldering iron the melt the pin's end and remove the mask. I tried to remove the masks from both my original Hella and new DJ Auto very gently. In both cases I stopped in fear of breaking either the mask or the lens. So I guess the answer is yes, but I couldn't do so easily. I wound up using the DJ Auto lenses as supplied with the chrome coloured corners.
Regards
RDL
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