Upgrading headlights on 1996 e38 H1 bulb

[MrChrysler]

What can I do to make the lights brighter, i got H1 bulb as standard for my dipped beam. Can someone list possible options?
1. LED h1?
2. Some conversions to different bulb types like H7?
3. Projectors?

How many different types and options did BMW have for the GLASS pre facelift versions?

My headlamps have dark appearance and they come with H1 bulb 1996-1998.
The are some headlights with light appearance and with white indicator.
I found out that there are glass Xenon produced between 1997-1998
Are there any glass headlights that use H7 bulb for dipped beam?

Its confusing.
Some pictures
BMW headlamps.jpg

[rslifkin]

I'd say the best combo you can put in without having to upgrade wiring for higher current draw or worry about extra heat hurting the reflectors (like you would with higher wattage H1 bulbs, which are available) is to swap to projectors. On my 01, I've got bi-xenon projectors (Morimoto Mini H1 7.0) in the low beam spots, plus 65w 9011 bulbs (brighter, same wattage drop-in replacement for the stock 9005) in the high beam reflectors. The low beams are very good and with the projectors plus the stock reflector high beams, the high beams are excellent.

[PB617]

The easiest upgrade would be to get an an HID kit. My 98’ had H1 halogen bulbs. I just recently installed the DDM ultra canbus HID kit 4500k (H1). I also took out the headlights, cleaned them and changed the glass. Now the car looks good as new! Plus, it makes it a lot easier to install the hid kit with the headlights out.

The high beams are H7 bulbs. I upgraded those to Vosla 65w H7. Osram made 65w H7’s but were discontinued a while ago. The factory H7 bulb puts out about 1500 lumens and the Osram/Vosla 65w version puts put 2100 lumens. Pretty decent upgrade if you use your high beams.





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[Timm]

Start by cleaning the headlamp assembly including the projector low-beam lenses - it makes a huge difference! If the glass front is badly pitted then use a windscreen rejuvenating kit to get it clear again - and then use Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited bulbs - then you will have no problems:

https://www.meeknet.co.uk/E38/Headli...t_Cleaning.htm

[asianvenom]

I got a pair of oem hid headlight in good condition, including oem ballast can let go for 150+shipping, pm if you're interested.

Nevermind I just noticed you're from the UK, shipping is going to kill it.

[MrChrysler]

Start by cleaning the headlamp assembly including the projector low-beam lenses - it makes a huge difference! If the glass front is badly pitted then use a windscreen rejuvenating kit to get it clear again - and then use Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited bulbs - then you will have no problems:

https://www.meeknet.co.uk/E38/Headli...t_Cleaning.htm

I am already using Osram Night Breaker Laser which is the latest and brightest h1 bulb. It's still not great.

[SilverV12]

Partially I agree with Timm if you don't want or can't spend any money on it, I can't look into your wallet and understand if you want to go the low budget way. If so do not only clean the lenses but the reflectors inside the projectors aswell, makes a huge difference.
For little money you can upgrade to h1 xenon lights, even with the stock reflectors you'll definitely notice the difference on the road but only if the reflectors are any good in the first place.
If you got the money to spend to do it the proper way you can do more or less what I did; ditched the original 2.5 inch projectors and installed 3 inch bi-xenon projectors with 5500k h1 and 5000k h7 for the inner high beams as shown in the attached pic.
Evox-R 2.0 + E55 shroud 01.jpg

[SilverIris]

Rather than re-invent the wheel with an aftermarket Xenon retrofit kit, wouldn't it make more sense to just get some factory pre-facelift Xenon housings? Looks like there's a set on Ebay right now for 150 GBP plus shipping within the UK too.

[MrChrysler]

I also took out the headlights, cleaned them and changed the glass.

The high beams are H7 bulbs.

Where can I get just the glass?
I thought that newer headlights between 1997-1998 used H7 bulb for the dipped beams instead of H1, as well as H7 for the long beam.
I am scared to touch the reflective surface of the lamp as it is so easy to damage. On my different car I have used soft cloth that was moist with water, applied almost no pressure while cleaning and it still removed the paint.

For little money you can upgrade to h1 xenon lights, even with the stock reflectors you'll definitely notice the difference on the road but only if the reflectors are any good in the first place.
If you got the money to spend to do it the proper way you can do more or less what I did; ditched the original 2.5 inch projectors and installed 3 inch bi-xenon projectors with 5500k h1 and 5000k h7 for the inner high beams as shown in the attached pic.

I did not even know that there are h1 xenon bulbs. Do you mean HID? Do they fit in the H1 housing?

How can I make sure that new projectors will fit onto original fittings?

I was thinking about going with Philips H1 LEDs, they are extremely bright and have good beam cut off point. The thing is that non of the retro fit LED bulbs in the UK or in Europe are road legal.

[SilverIris]

Jeremy Clarkson: So I went on the Internet and I found this...

For all of the fussing you could do with swapping bulbs, cleaning lenses and hoping to not damage the reflectors/projectors in doing so, you'd still be limited by the housings' optical being set up for a Halogen bulb. Seems silly when there's a ready-made solution with all of the proper MOT approvals. Check your PMs, I just sent it to you.

There comes a point where one gets tired of reinventing the wheel...

Where can I get just the glass?
I thought that newer headlights between 1997-1998 used H7 bulb for the dipped beams instead of H1, as well as H7 for the long beam.
I am scared to touch the reflective surface of the lamp as it is so easy to damage. On my different car I have used soft cloth that was moist with water, applied almost no pressure while cleaning and it still removed the paint.

I did not even know that there are h1 xenon bulbs. Do you mean HID? Do they fit in the H1 housing?

How can I make sure that new projectors will fit onto original fittings?

I was thinking about going with Philips H1 LEDs, they are extremely bright and have good beam cut off point. The thing is that non of the retro fit LED bulbs in the UK or in Europe are road legal.

[SilverV12]

Where can I get just the glass?
I thought that newer headlights between 1997-1998 used H7 bulb for the dipped beams instead of H1, as well as H7 for the long beam.
I am scared to touch the reflective surface of the lamp as it is so easy to damage. On my different car I have used soft cloth that was moist with water, applied almost no pressure while cleaning and it still removed the paint.



I did not even know that there are h1 xenon bulbs. Do you mean HID? Do they fit in the H1 housing?

How can I make sure that new projectors will fit onto original fittings?

I was thinking about going with Philips H1 LEDs, they are extremely bright and have good beam cut off point. The thing is that non of the retro fit LED bulbs in the UK or in Europe are road legal.

With h1 xenon bulbs I did mean HID and yes they do fit.
The 3 inch projectors retrofit that I did isn't exactly a plug & play but there are many options that will fit without too much effort.
Whatever you do never go the aftermarket LED route, they are crap and are giving the wrong light image. There is a good reason they not road legal and will never pass any mot.
That said, take a look at this website where I order most of my stuff. All the projectors can also be ordered for RHD.
I would say the best option for you is the h1 mini Ultimo, I have also retrofitted them in E38's a couple of times for customers of mine.
Oh and new glass I usually order from Ebay Germany, much cheaper than your local stealer.
https://www.retrofitlab.com/

[MrChrysler]

Jeremy Clarkson: So I went on the Internet and I found this...

For all of the fussing you could do with swapping bulbs, cleaning lenses and hoping to not damage the reflectors/projectors in doing so, you'd still be limited by the housings' optical being set up for a Halogen bulb. Seems silly when there's a ready-made solution with all of the proper MOT approvals. Check your PMs, I just sent it to you.

There comes a point where one gets tired of reinventing the wheel...

Well. How much brighter is E38 HID comparing to halogen?
The point is that I don't want to throw away perfectly good headlamp that is just outdated and to replace it with headlight for 150pounds + new bulbs for 120 pounds to notice small difference.

Also to fit HIDs I would need levelling sensors and extra wiring loom that would add up to the cost and time massively.

Whatever you do never go the aftermarket LED route, they are crap and are giving the wrong light image. There is a good reason they not road legal and will never pass any mot.

I would say the best option for you is the h1 mini Ultimo, I have also retrofitted them in E38's a couple of times for customers of mine.
Oh and new glass I usually order from Ebay Germany, much cheaper than your local stealer.
https://www.retrofitlab.com/

You are right about LEDs, however only cheap 5 pounds LEDs fail badly as they can have terrible beam pattern. Philips H1 LEDs at 130 pounds have their pattern almost identical to original, so do some 50-60 pound LED bulbs. Its just stupid outdated legislation from 1989 that is blocking LED bulbs from coming to live. At that time there were no LED lights, and because they are not mentioned in the legislation they are automatically illegal.

[SilverV12]

Well. How much brighter is E38 HID comparing to halogen?
The point is that I don't want to throw away perfectly good headlamp that is just outdated and to replace it with headlight for 150pounds + new bulbs for 120 pounds to notice small difference.

Also to fit HIDs I would need levelling sensors and extra wiring loom that would add up to the cost and time massively.

HID's compared to halogen even in the stock projectors would make a very big difference (if fully cleaned) but I understand your dilemma.
If your E38 wasn't equipped with levelling sensors that would mean a MOT failure in the UK as it does in my country if you decided to install HID's.
Mine has it because it had factory HID's but I understand that yours do not have it so you might be stuck to halogen's, even so cleaning the whole lot and maybe even new glass could make a significant difference.

[MrChrysler]

HID's compared to halogen even in the stock projectors would make a very big difference (if fully cleaned) but I understand your dilemma.
If your E38 wasn't equipped with levelling sensors that would mean a MOT failure in the UK as it does in my country if you decided to install HID's.
Mine has it because it had factory HID's but I understand that yours do not have it so you might be stuck to halogen's, even so cleaning the whole lot and maybe even new glass could make a significant difference.

I think that I'll just wait for the legislators to discover LED lights lol. Its funny that there are no road legal bulbs for any of the cars that come with LED headlights as standard. Its sad for the owners of those cars as in the case of a failure they will need to replace whole headlight.

I guess that the only way to stay road legal is to drive like a bat.

[SilverV12]

I don't know exactly about the UK but I think it's the same as in Holland, aftermarket LED's have to meet the same legal requirements as HID's when it comes to MOT.
I have also tested the Philips and the Osram LED's and they just do not compare with HID's in light output and/or pattern. To me they were never an option after the disappointing results.
One other thing we didn't mention, headlight washers. Do yours have them? because for a retrofit you also have to have them by law...

[MrChrysler]

Meanwhile I ve been reading this article:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...nstalled-cars/

Everyone talks about how LED lights dazzle oncoming drivers because of their brightness.
They are missing the point! Your chance of getting dazzled is increased if you have very poor light and oncoming car has good lights.
By allowing older cars to have brighter LED bulbs, the chance of dazzling is decreased as the eye retina is already adjusted to the brighter light.

Its impossible to be blinded by lights during day time as you are used to very bright day light.

I have also tested the Philips and the Osram LED's and they just do not compare with HID's in light output and/or pattern. To me they were never an option after the disappointing results.
One other thing we didn't mention, headlight washers. Do yours have them? because for a retrofit you also have to have them by law...

I think that all e38 have them as standard. Although as everyone knows, they actually do nothing when the headlight is dirty.

Did you try LED's recently? They do have as much as 12000 lumens per light comparing to less than 4000 lumens for the brightest HID, and about 1350 lumens for brightest halogen bulbs.

[rslifkin]

Some factory LEDs put out a ton of light, but most of the aftermarket stuff is no brighter than HIDs and quite a lot of it (even dedicated LED projectors) is dimmer than a good HID setup. LED will get there at some point, but it's not quite there yet I think.

[PB617]

Where can I get just the glass?
I thought that newer headlights between 1997-1998 used H7 bulb for the dipped beams instead of H1, as well as H7 for the long beam.
I am scared to touch the reflective surface of the lamp as it is so easy to damage. On my different car I have used soft cloth that was moist with water, applied almost no pressure while cleaning and it still removed the paint.

Pre-face lift, at least the US spec 98’ the low beam is H1 and high beam H7. I got the headlight glass from ebay and ordered the DDM hid kit. Sure, its not the best and you could do what others have done and change projectors etc. It already has projectors from the factory and a nice cut off. I’ve had good luck with that company and have used their kits in many cars. Even had a bulb replaced under warranty after 3 years on one kit i had.

I took the lights apart and cleaned everything. The reflector i cleaned gently with a lense cleaner and a microfiber cloth, no issues. The HID light output is much better than the old H1 halogens. Cleaning and changing the glass alone would make a big difference.

Your best bet would be to get the oem hid kit, if you can find it cheap. My e38 is not my daily driver, and for a 22 year old car the headlights perform great with the current upgrades.




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[SilverV12]

Meanwhile I ve been reading this article:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...nstalled-cars/

Everyone talks about how LED lights dazzle oncoming drivers because of their brightness.
They are missing the point! Your chance of getting dazzled is increased if you have very poor light and oncoming car has good lights.
By allowing older cars to have brighter LED bulbs, the chance of dazzling is decreased as the eye retina is already adjusted to the brighter light.

Its impossible to be blinded by lights during day time as you are used to very bright day light.



I think that all e38 have them as standard. Although as everyone knows, they actually do nothing when the headlight is dirty.

Did you try LED's recently? They do have as much as 12000 lumens per light comparing to less than 4000 lumens for the brightest HID, and about 1350 lumens for brightest halogen bulbs.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Almost on a daily base I encounter these idiots with aftermarket led's or HID's in reflector headlight that were never designed for this. Even during daylight they will blind you, I for one can't understand how they can see anything on the road at night. Still not legal but not my problem I suppose, I just answer them with triple-xenon...

Just last summer I picked up a set of headlights from a Polish E38 (728i) and strangely enough it didn't have any headlight washers so I'm not sure. Also never spent any time investigating it, just don't know.
I'm not doing led's anymore, IMHO they all suck and don't want to put any energy in it.
A headlight reflector or projector designed for halogen or HID can never house led's. Even if they make them 20000 lumens.
Google matrix led, says it all….

[Timm]

You can use LED's in the main beams as they are switched off for oncoming vehicles - but not for dipped (low) beams - I've tried loads of them!

[MrChrysler]

You can use LED's in the main beams as they are switched off for oncoming vehicles - but not for dipped (low) beams - I've tried loads of them!

The main beams are okay, although still useless in region of Manchester in very busy traffic.

I don't really care about the stupid medieval road rules as long as the modification is safe for other users.
Same with road legal braking distance (73meters to stop on the dry road??? seriously).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZUWNuHOFOc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWmEbbPlQ_c

I mean which car does not brake within half that distance today? Even 3 ton Cadillac escalade can break 60-0mph in 36 meters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nPzEOlIaJ4

1. How difficult would it be to do HIDs conversion?
There are two levelling sensors, some wiring loom. What else is needed, is there some ECU for the system?
Could it be adapted to my Halogen lights with new HID projectors, or would it need complete new lights that came as HIDs from factory?

[SilverIris]

According to Top Gear, braking distance was based on a 1960s Ford Anglia. I'm pretty certain a bicycle can out-brake it...

As for Xenon/HID conversion, your best bet is to retrofit a set of factory Xenon housings with igniters and Xenon control modules, then re-code your LCM (Light Control Module) for them in PA Soft. Fewest number of variables, least likely to draw unwanted attention from the pre-schooler drones with blues & twos (AKA Police). Details here: https://www.meeknet.co.uk/E38/E38_Xenon_Lights.pdf

The end result will be FAR more pleasing than any aftermarket kit could ever hope to accomplish. Wouldn't you agree, Timm?

[rslifkin]

The factory HID projectors aren't that great though. They're decent, but you can do a good bit better with other projectors that'll fit in the housings (especially if you drive in areas where better high beams are useful and go bi-xenon).

[MrChrysler]

According to Top Gear, braking distance was based on a 1960s Ford Anglia. I'm pretty certain a bicycle can out-brake it...

As for Xenon/HID conversion, your best bet is to retrofit a set of factory Xenon housings with igniters and Xenon control modules, then re-code your LCM (Light Control Module) for them in PA Soft. Fewest number of variables, least likely to draw unwanted attention from the pre-schooler drones with blues & twos (AKA Police). Details here: https://www.meeknet.co.uk/E38/E38_Xenon_Lights.pdf

The end result will be FAR more pleasing than any aftermarket kit could ever hope to accomplish. Wouldn't you agree, Timm?

In the document it says that pre 99 models did not have vertical beam throw controls. Is it really true, I guess that I don't need to install it than.

So you say that it would be better just to change the lens? Or the whole headlamp?

The factory HID projectors aren't that great though. They're decent, but you can do a good bit better with other projectors that'll fit in the housings (especially if you drive in areas where better high beams are useful and go bi-xenon).

What would you suggest, some people recommend e60 lens. I just don't know where to get this stuff.

[rslifkin]

For projectors, The Retrofit Source sells a kit to put the Morimoto Mini H1 7.0 in place of the stock Bosch low beam projector without having to custom make any mounts or anything. And they're a 2.5" lens projector like stock, so looking at the light from outside, you can barely tell anything was modified (and without having a stock light to compare to, you'd probably never notice). The 2.5" version of the FX-R projector will fit as well, but you'd have to make mounts. 3" projectors will be a tougher fit with the inner lenses, but it's possible.