OEM Bi-Xenon Conversion

[CentralPA E82]

NCS Expert was my 1st attempt. The problem was the FRM would not accept the changes (apparently some are 'hardcoded' from the factory). A solution would be to purchase a new FRM without coding, but that would be an add'l $300. You also would have to run add'l wires from the FRM to the headlight in order for the high beam shutter to function. Will provide the pin changes tomorrow (I got the required info from this thread).

[CentralPA E82]

Add a ground wire to pin 2 (the car has a dedicated ground point on each side of the engine bay, follow the brown wire). The halogen setup uses pin 6, move this wire to pin 5 for the shutter. The worst part of the whole process is removing the front bumper, PITA.

[Drawn05]

And you will need to shift the pins on the FRM from halogen parking lights to DRL positions.

Switching the halogen high beam pin on the headlight socket wont work as when you code the $522 in NCS it no longer uses that wire. You would also need to move the pin at the FRM (just as with the DRL above) to the bi-xenon shutter pin for it to work.

Also, as I posted previously, if your car came from the factory with halogens, you cant recode your car to xenons. You need a new FRM.

[AW128i]

Originally Posted by CentralPA E82

Add a ground wire to pin 2 (the car has a dedicated ground point on each side of the engine bay, follow the brown wire). The halogen setup uses pin 6, move this wire to pin 5 for the shutter. The worst part of the whole process is removing the front bumper, PITA.

Thanks! One day, I'll get the European HIDs from Thomas!

[debadgedbmw1]

I was thinking of replacing my factory 128 Oem halogen headlights to these...

http://www.**********s.com/Depo-Headlights-E82.htm

Check it out, has anybody tried these???
I've been advised not to from BMW but hate my factory headlights (non angel eyes/non xenon)
Help and thanks

[CentralPA E82]

There are a few people here running the Depos. I wanted to keep the factory look, but it does cost considerably more.

[thatguy2011]

Originally Posted by debadgedbmw1

I was thinking of replacing my factory 128 Oem halogen headlights to these...

http://www.**********s.com/Depo-Headlights-E82.htm

Check it out, has anybody tried these???
I've been advised not to from BMW but hate my factory headlights (non angel eyes/non xenon)
Help and thanks

Ive seen these which they claim are plug and play http://www.spyderauto.com/product.ph...dlights-Chrome and im also looking for feedback. Please send me a message if you find anything out mate. Also these but i dont like the look as much

[debadgedbmw1]

Very informative vIdeo regarding install of depots!
Keep you posted, more worried about electrical issues or sensors than install.

[debadgedbmw1]

Also, they seem to be for e87 euro not 82 NA models,maybe further investigation needed to make certain wiring is identical

[thatguy2011]

Originally Posted by debadgedbmw1

Also, they seem to be for e87 euro not 82 NA models,maybe further investigation needed to make certain wiring is identical

Oh I see, but spyder autos is based in california so maybe its just a misunderstanding? Well thanks anyways for the response.

[debadgedbmw1]

Originally Posted by thatguy2011

Oh I see, but spyder autos is based in california so maybe its just a misunderstanding? Well thanks anyways for the response.

Give them a call...lemme know I may be interested as I currently hate my Oem halogens! Also, talk to some other 128 owners and see what they have done and If they have experienced electicral/sensor issues

[thatguy2011]

Originally Posted by debadgedbmw1

Give them a call...lemme know I may be interested as I currently hate my Oem halogens! Also, talk to some other 128 owners and see what they have done and If they have experienced electicral/sensor issues

Yeah so do I, theyre so ugly! Ill give them a call tomorrow if theyre open on the weekends, ive been scanning for other 128 owners who upgraded but most of the threads are old .

[thatguy2011]

Ok I called up spyder auto and I got a customer support person, im hoping she knew what she was talking about. She said they should be compatible with a 128i halogen headlight coupe, but it wasnt the most convincing thing ive heard. I might take a punt and buy these, im not sure yet though. It was a bit annoying to have one of my emails from 2 months ago ignored by spyder, and to have someone else give me unconvincing evidence that it will work with my car. Then again I cant see why a company based in california would be creating headlights for hatchbacks that arent even sold in this country.

[Satalite]

Originally Posted by thatguy2011

Ok I called up spyder auto and I got a customer support person, im hoping she knew what she was talking about. She said they should be compatible with a 128i halogen headlight coupe, but it wasnt the most convincing thing ive heard. I might take a punt and buy these, im not sure yet though. It was a bit annoying to have one of my emails from 2 months ago ignored by spyder, and to have someone else give me unconvincing evidence that it will work with my car. Then again I cant see why a company based in california would be creating headlights for hatchbacks that arent even sold in this country.

What is the price of these headlights?

The video above lights just look cheap and the rings only have one light illuminating the entire ring which looks faint...

[thatguy2011]

Originally Posted by Satalite

What is the price of these headlights?

The video above lights just look cheap and the rings only have one light illuminating the entire ring which looks faint...

Theyre not the ones in the vid, but the quality has to be questionable. Theyre ~270-280 depending on the site, but the reviews for spyder headlights seem positive so I was willing to give it a try. They have these http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...VGZW1W3X7MC92V in a silver colour, and a black one aswell.

[Satalite]

Originally Posted by thatguy2011

Theyre not the ones in the vid, but the quality has to be questionable. Theyre ~270-280 depending on the site, but the reviews for spyder headlights seem positive so I was willing to give it a try. They have these http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...VGZW1W3X7MC92V in a silver colour, and a black one aswell.

Yah but the quality and light output could be questionable for the price. I would stay more geared toward DEPOs the light output by the domes and low beams is much better. Give BavarianX a call. They have the DEPOs for 1 series and can put their LS1 rings in them to get rid of the crappy rings like all these aftermarket lights have.

I wouldn't go cheap on a product like headlights. There are too many things that can go wrong.

[thatguy2011]

Originally Posted by Satalite

Yah but the quality and light output could be questionable for the price. I would stay more geared toward DEPOs the light output by the domes and low beams is much better. Give BavarianX a call. They have the DEPOs for 1 series and can put their LS1 rings in them to get rid of the crappy rings like all these aftermarket lights have.

I wouldn't go cheap on a product like headlights. There are too many things that can go wrong.

Are depos street legal? And how hard are they to install/how much would it cost to get them installed?

[Satalite]

Originally Posted by thatguy2011

Are depos street legal? And how hard are they to install/how much would it cost to get them installed?

Yes. They would be like any other 3rd party headlight. Install is straightforward -- take off bumper, unscrew could bolts, unhook OEM headlights, hook up new DEPO headlights (1 plug so you can't mess up) and reverse. The above video shows how instal goes. It is the same through all of our cars.

I wouldn't pay anyone to install it. Price for the LS1 DEPOs will run you ~$700. DEPOs cost around $400 and the other $300 is to change out the rings for the LS1's.

Here is a set from a member who had a similar mod done to his DEPOs (change out the rings to add LED)

[thatguy2011]

Originally Posted by Satalite

Yes. They would be like any other 3rd party headlight. Install is straightforward -- take off bumper, unscrew could bolts, unhook OEM headlights, hook up new DEPO headlights (1 plug so you can't mess up) and reverse. The above video shows how instal goes. It is the same through all of our cars.

I wouldn't pay anyone to install it. Price for the LS1 DEPOs will run you ~$700. DEPOs cost around $400 and the other $300 is to change out the rings for the LS1's.

Here is a set from a member who had a similar mod done to his DEPOs (change out the rings to add LED)

I dont need to change any wires or anything? Are the stock depo angel eyes that bad? im only a kid so saving that 300 bucks on LS1s would be nice.
Sorry for pressing you with questions, I just want to make sure Ive got it figured out before I start.

edit: This site offers some packages with a depo headlight, such as LED angel eye upgrade, do you know anything about them ? http://www.jlevistreetwerks.com/m16/...duct_info.html

These jlevisw people are only about 10 min away from my house, I might drive over there and see what they can do.

[Satalite]

Originally Posted by thatguy2011

I dont need to change any wires or anything? Are the stock depo angel eyes that bad? im only a kid so saving that 300 bucks on LS1s would be nice.
Sorry for pressing you with questions, I just want to make sure Ive got it figured out before I start.

edit: This site offers some packages with a depo headlight, such as LED angel eye upgrade, do you know anything about them ? http://www.jlevistreetwerks.com/m16/...duct_info.html

These jlevisw people are only about 10 min away from my house, I might drive over there and see what they can do.

The basic DEPOs utilize only 4 little bulbs for the angel eyes. The LED upgrade from Jlevi just changes the 4 bulbs to LED and about 5K color which is that white/blue you see on their site.

There have been up and down reviews, but from what I have read DON'T upgrade the LED from Jlevi as it is not worth the money and doesn't really make it any brighter (which is a caveat of the DEPOs Angel Eyes not being bright enough for people). If you don't have that extra $300 to drop try looking back on this thread to see what people did with an Ebay LED with their DEPOs for much cheaper. -- http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...HID+conversion (PAGE 9)

As with anything, the cheaper it is the more work is involved and might have problems down the road. I don't think anyone has purchased the LS1 modded DEPOs yet as I was the first ever to inquire about them a couple months back, but had to drop because of financial issues.

[thatguy2011]

Originally Posted by Satalite

The basic DEPOs utilize only 4 little bulbs for the angel eyes. The LED upgrade from Jlevi just changes the 4 bulbs to LED and about 5K color which is that white/blue you see on their site.

There have been up and down reviews, but from what I have read DON'T upgrade the LED from Jlevi as it is not worth the money and doesn't really make it any brighter (which is a caveat of the DEPOs Angel Eyes not being bright enough for people). If you don't have that extra $300 to drop try looking back on this thread to see what people did with an Ebay LED with their DEPOs for much cheaper. -- http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...HID+conversion (PAGE 9)

As with anything, the cheaper it is the more work is involved and might have problems down the road. I don't think anyone has purchased the LS1 modded DEPOs yet as I was the first ever to inquire about them a couple months back, but had to drop because of financial issues.

Alright thanks for the info man, I might try a LED upgrade from ebay then. Do you think I should pick up the pc module if I order the depos? Thanks again

[Satalite]

Originally Posted by thatguy2011

Alright thanks for the info man, I might try a LED upgrade from ebay then. Do you think I should pick up the pc module if I order the depos? Thanks again

I am not sure. Try this.... since you are so close to Jlevi, stop by and have them literally plug them into your car. (Take out OEM plug and plug it into the DEPOs to see if you get an error) - saves you time fooling with the bumper and you will know right then and there. More than likely you won't need it.

Here is a link to the Ebay LED's people have used : http://www.ebay.de/itm/ws/eBayISAPI....#ht_9346wt_957

And the thread where this stuff is discussed and more pictures: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...=445791&page=6