Bulbs and avoiding lens burn in

[SharifZ3]

Hey everyone,

New owner of a Z3 here and I've been lucky enough to have obtained 2 new headlights to replace my original pair.

It seems as though the stock bulbs end up burning the plastic inside lens of the newer headlights (my old ones included)

I'm looking at going to LEDs to prevent this assuming they run cooler at the front of the bulb and wont burn the lenses.

Anyone with any recommendations on a solution to avoid burning these new headlights?

Thank you

[z3forlife]

I’m running vled bulbs with no problems so far.

[solimans]

Many threads on headlights here for the searching...

Sorry I can’t help I’ve not sorted my headlights yet


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[SharifZ3]

Thanks - I've seen and read them - this has not been answered.

Rather than add to the initial post about having done that I thought I'd cut down on the amount of text so it was quick and to the point for future reference.

In the posts I've read - have'nt found one yet that mentioned a bulb that helped prevent burning of the lense because it ran cooler or otherwise... would love it if you could prove me wrong.

so here you have it - ended up writing this anyway... apologies to future readers.

- - - Updated - - -

I’m running vled bulbs with no problems so far.

Thank you for this - Ill have a look. How long have you been running them for? Are they the same wattage as the originals.

I was thinking of going to these Philips Ultinon LED bulbs here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-119.../dp/B07C5RMKFW assuming the beam / bulb wouldnt burn the plastic lens but am unsure.

Also dont mind the, now old school, 3200K or so color of the original filament / halogens.... but alas... I cant find LEDs that run 3200K

thoughts?

[cyberman]

Wondering what you mean buy "burn". My 96 has 90k miles with no issues using stock bulb types. The outside of the lenses got the usually sun-burn, where the outer surface got cloudy. This is due to UV light from the sun. The solution I used was to use a 3M kit, along with some drill-mounted polishing pads. In the end, they looked almost as good as new. Did your headlights melt on the inside?

[BimmerBreaker]

LEDs have a horrible light scatter pattern... They are not designed for our lights and blind oncoming drivers

Ans cyberman this issue only affects facelift cars...

[SharifZ3]

Hey Cyberman, BimmerBreaker,

Thanks - sorry, on the facelift cars the inner lens is plastic vs glass on the pre-facelift I believe. My inner lens have burn marks presumably from the bulbs. I need to check that they are the oem originals but have read elsewhere I'm not the only one facing this issue...

BimmerBreaker - thanks for this. I'm not a big fan of the LEDs but was hoping at least they'd prevent the lens from burning...

Another solution is to invest in lower wattage halogens at the cost of loosing visibility. Even then I'm still not sure going down say 10 watts would make it cool enough.

Thoughts?

[BladeRunner919]

If you want to get a bit more 'involved' in the headlights, you could fit hid projectors using brackets from SKY1Z3, which puts the hid lens through the plastic oem one:



Have a look at this for more info: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...ts-Version-1-1

[SharifZ3]

Definitely one of the best looking retrofits I've ever seen...

I'd like to keep it as stock looking as possible though - I might use the instruction here to retrofit some glass ones from an older Z3 as I understand they come with glass lens.

It seems theres no other solution. I'll see if theres a lower wattage bulb option - but then that'll suck because visibility will only decrease further.

[cyberman]

Thanks for the information. I didn't see any glass in my 96's lights, but I wasn't looking for it. I'll check again.

[mpire]

I ran a set of LEDs for a few months and they did more damage than the HIDs I had.

So IDK, YMMV.

[SharifZ3]

Thanks Mpire, which type / manufacturer did you run?

Did some more research on this today, it seems this study shows that yes - some LEDs run hotter on average. https://betterautomotivelighting.com...ght-bulbs-get/

Looks like you have to be picky with the manufacturer....

In summary and for future readers when that link may or may not exist, a infrared thermometer was used to see what the op. temp. of a halogen bulb (55w phillips - same as our oem) and it was found that after 30 minutes,

Halogen Headlight Bulbs: 155 degrees on the back side and 161 degrees on the front side

Whats most interesting is ALL of the following tested had a LOWER front (Beam) temp than the factory halogens....

Following that they tested a few manufacturers of LED bulbs and found,
1- Oracle 4000LM: average temp 184 degrees 20% hotter than halogen (91F on the front)
2- GTR Lighting GEN 3: average temp 171 degrees 15% hotter than halogen (88F on the front)3- Putco Silver-Lux: temp as high as 143, average temp 116 ~9% cooler than halogen (77F on the front)4- Street Glow XHP: average temp 93 degrees ~48% cooler than halogen!!!!!!! (76F on the front)

Mpire what damage exactly did you face? was it to the rear?

[BimmerBreaker]

I dont think the lens burning is caused directly by heat. It seems to be caused by the intensity of light which is focused through the lens. All the lenses Ive seen burn in the same spots and in rather specific spots too.

LED may burn worse than stock because they arent designed for our reflector bowls so will focus light in places the lens wasnt designed for

[SharifZ3]

I dont think the lens burning is caused directly by heat. It seems to be caused by the intensity of light which is focused through the lens. All the lenses Ive seen burn in the same spots and in rather specific spots too.

LED may burn worse than stock because they arent designed for our reflector bowls so will focus light in places the lens wasnt designed for

Ughhhhhhhhhhh you're most likely right... in which case there isnt much of a solution then...

[cyberman]

Yep - looks my 96 has real glass inside.

[mpire]

Thanks Mpire, which type / manufacturer did you run?
Mpire what damage exactly did you face? was it to the rear?

I ran the sealights for a few months and the low beams started to yellow, plus a couple small holes in the lens were developing. They were like new before because I had spent a lot of time sanding and polishing the housings to look new and there was no yellowing.

If I left them in there they would have turned brown or worse.

Its pretty dramatic damage for only a few months, but these housings weren't designed for something so hot close to them. The non-chrome ringed lights have glass lenses, which would do much better. If you have the updated lights they have plastic lenses.

I ran HIDs on them before with no impact, so IDK, YMMV. I get the feeling the LED lights extend much farther into the housing than the standard halogen bulbs do and that's probably to blame.

Plus at 20+ years old the lights are probably fragile.

[MartyBtoo]

mpire, I'm disappointed in you. What you should have said was that you ran Sealight S2's (the highest power one they make) and had problems, while I have documented that I am running Sealight X1's (which are lower power than S2's) with no problems in my plastic lens Z3. The devil is in the details!

Marty

[SharifZ3]

Okay - Looks as though Marty has a potential solution...

How long have you been running em for Marty?

[z3forlife]

I’m running the micro evolution which the manufacturer says is comparable to a 35 watt hid. They’re 3500 lumen and I’ve been using them more than a year. I chose the 5K for a nice white light.

[SharifZ3]

AM assuming no burns - 5k or lower is EXACTLY what am looking for too!!!

Thanks guys!

[z3forlife]

No burns and I have the plastic lenses. My high beams are also DRL.

[BladeRunner919]

Are LEDs, such as the Sealight X1s, a direct replacememt for the standard halogen? I've never been sure if they cause problems with scatter, in the same way that an HID in a fresnal lens would?

[MartyBtoo]

Okay - Looks as though Marty has a potential solution...

How long have you been running em for Marty?

I have had them for over a year, both low and high beams.

Marty

PS Yes they are a direct replacement, and they do not alter the light pattern.

[BimmerBreaker]

[...] and they do not alter the light pattern.

Not possible to change bulbs and not change light pattern

[crashgordan]

from the dead. any updates???

hoping for some solid intel