H11 low beam bulb replacement

[OMGE30]

Howdy,

It seems I've just done my first session of night driving since the E30 has been resurrected, because I've just realized the piercing power of my low beams is currently downright dangerous.

I did some searching on this topic but figured I'd open up a new one relevant to E30s.

I'm curious what everyone's goto is these days for low beam bulbs.

I have some Phillips Crystalvision 9005's in my shopping cart, as recent reviews seem to infer these last longer than modern Sylvannia, and I wouldn't mind a whiter beam than OE-equivalent.

I'm very curious to try these plug-and-play LED bulbs coming out, but I have a feeling our old-school beam reflectors would cause a mess of illumination. Also slightly concerned that any extra heat output could melt something in the housing.

Very basic discussion I'm opening, but also lots of variables in it

[323i E30]

Why would you expect extra heat output with LED bulbs?
I thought the whole upside on LED is that it doesn’t waste energy on heat as much.

I have LED interior bulbs since a couple of years btw, and I really like them. I’m all for keeping the looks of a car stock, but sometimes stuff is just practical.

[OMGE30]

Why would you expect extra heat output with LED bulbs?

Observation. Most of the plug-and-play LEDs have relatively massive fans built into the plug. Perhaps a red herring, though.

[richardodn]

Based upon your bulb selection, it sounds like you have the US ellipsoid lamps. They suck and no matter what you do they're still going to suck. However from the factory, it came with sealed beams so you might want to clarify what you have.

If your car has sealed beams, changing them to Hella E-code lamps will give you the best bang for your buck. https://www.rallylights.com/hella-5-...dlamp-kit.html
That's link is for the outboard hi/lo lamps using H4 bulbs. There's another kit for just the high beams using H1. I recommend the Hella Xenon +50% halogen lamps or the Hella Plus 100% 2.0.

If you want the ellipsoid look, you really need to source a smiley set.

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Why would you expect extra heat output with LED bulbs?
I thought the whole upside on LED is that it doesn’t waste energy on heat as much.

I have LED interior bulbs since a couple of years btw, and I really like them. I’m all for keeping the looks of a car stock, but sometimes stuff is just practical.

LED headlamps have less heat overall, but the problem is dissipating the heat the LEDs do produce. They can't get as hot as a tungsten filament before they fail.

[aaverhulst]

I hate ellipsoid headlights, at least the one's on my 89 325I. You can not read highway and street signs as the cut off prevents any light up high. I have installed a low cost xenon kit which is a lot brighter and better as a little more light goes up but still not good.

[323i E30]

(…)
LED headlamps have less heat overall, but the problem is dissipating the heat the LEDs do produce. They can't get as hot as a tungsten filament before they fail.

Ahhh ok, thanks!

[OMGE30]

I must have the US ellipsoid, confirmed by ordering the wrong bulb then finally looking under the hood. I suspect this is one more variation between the eta and the "seta", where they were snuck in different components and forgot to update the parts catalog. 35 years later, this oversight is repeatedly trolling me.

I actually love my the high beams on these lamps, but the shoddiness of the lows is abysmal. Maybe it's always been this bad and I simply forgot over 3 years. I assumed the bulbs were aged, so figured I'd explore my options before round 2.

If the best option is sourcing smileys, I might play around with these LEDs for the moment. It's not likely to make everything... worse...?

I'll inspect some xenon kits as well.