Depo Angel Eyes V2 - Review

[bNks334]

Background:
Another member requested I post up a review of my Halogen ---> Xenon conversion. Overall, I have found these forums are pretty lacking in terms of actual useful information. A majority of the time people say to just buy "xyz," but it's hard to find out what is really the best option. The general consensus seems to be that aftermarket projectors are the best bet, and that Depo was a little better than other brands like Spyder.

See thread here for background: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=870777

So, I did some Googling. After seeing many people talk about the Depo V1 headlights, I came across an EBAY listing for "DEPO V2 08-13 BMW E82/E88..." The Depo V2 have a continuous LED halo ring, and they supposedly don't suffer from moisture issues that the V1 had. For $469, this kit, sold by fishcake, had everything I needed to do a full Halogen to Xenon conversion. This included error cancelers and ballasts.

Install:
The install was pretty straight forward. It was actually kind of hard to find the bumper removal process, but it has been posted in several places so search around!

Although this is not the one I used, see here: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...t+bumper+cover


The Depos fit like stock. As previously mentioned, they were completely plug and play. The error cancelers and ballasts are all wired up and ready to go. I chose to zip-tie the ballasts right to the back of my headlights (using the metal locking brackets as mount points).

Function:
The headlights and halo rings work without error. I have had them installed for 2 months and have not had an issue. However, keep in mind that you will need to code your car to utilize the new halo rings. The Halos will not operate as daytime running lights when your lights are set to the auto function. You need to put the headlight setting to parking lights in order for the halos to run. Your daytime running lights will still light up. The dealer actually coded my daytime running lights off for me for free. While this is a temporary solution, I will eventually like to get them coded properly.

I would like to note that the headlights did fog up pretty badly upon initial install. I guess it was really humid out the day I installed them. The seller was very responsive when I e-mailed him about the issue. He suggested I try to air them out overnight. This seemed to have cured the moisture issue as I have not seen any in the past 2 months.

1-year UPDATE: I ended up using Carly for BMW Android app ($58) and an OBDII bluetooth adapter ($12 on amazon) to code the headlights. The app also allows you to do a ton of other things like close windows with the lock button etc. It is definitely worth buying. If you track, you can use the app to data log various parameters as well, given you have a newer car and cable. The headlight housing is great (depo), but the HID components are actually very cheap. You can buy the same exact HID components used in this kit for something like $35 on Ebay. I ended up swapping the bulbs and ballasts out for a set I found on Amazon for about $100. As for moisture, I do occasionally get some after car washes. I think the seal of the housing itself is not the issues, but rather I found that the black rubber bunge that seals where the wires enter the back of the housing allows moisture in. A little silicone here will keep moisture out. Possibly even a little grease under the seal might even go a long way here.

Here are some pictures of what they look like stock vs 6000K...









Let me know if you need any other information, good luck!

[Adam135]

They look great

[ShocknAwe]

Look great, thanks for taking the time to post a review for those asking this question in the future!

[Bucki14]

Awesome!! Fantastic review and as ShocknAwe mentioned thanks for taking the time out to post this thread!

[bNks334]

Thanks, everyone.

Bucki, I got really caught up looking at lux halos and projector retrofits. This kit was definitely the easiest way to go about doing the conversion, and the price is pretty good for what you get.

A much older thread on this forum indicated that buying everything these lights come with would cost close to 900. With that cost you might get slightly brighter halos, but all I see is diminishing returns.

If anyone knows of a better all-in-one option please advise!

[CAVU]

Looks great! The amber corners on yours aren't as orange as mine. Is that just the way the Depo units are designed?

[bNks334]

the side markers are clear on the depos, as you can see in the middle picture. therefore, I believe that is why they don't look as orange as a stock headlight with the yellow side marker housing.

The bulbs themselves are still yellow. You can get the chrome bulbs (which still emits yellow light) so that they don't stand out as much inside of the clear housing.

[Gray_Panther]

Big request:
May you drive up to a wall, park the car about 30 feet away and take a picture of the output with the low beams on? I would like to see the beam pattern against the wall.

They look great!

[bNks334]

Sure thing, I will get a pic up as soon as I can.

[DNG]

Looks great! I've had V2 Depos for about a year now and still haven't had any problems.

[Bucki14]

Yup totally looking into getting a pair next week and doing the install myself. Hopefully I don't go insane hunting for all the bolts! But I sure as hell don't want to over pay someone for the job. Once i see a beam pattern, i think that will solidify the purchase. Thanks again Banks!

[bNks334]

Originally Posted by Bucki14

Yup totally looking into getting a pair next week and doing the install myself. Hopefully I don't go insane hunting for all the bolts! But I sure as hell don't want to over pay someone for the job. Once i see a beam pattern, i think that will solidify the purchase. Thanks again Banks!

I just updated the post with a picture of the beam pattern. Sorry it was still a little too bright out. Also take note I have both headlights aimed inward slightly more than necessary. The cutoff is very clean at night.

[Bucki14]

Oooh not bad at all, purchase being made in the morning thanks so fricken much on the information.

[Philipangoo]

Did u ever figure out the coding settings. How do they function now? Also were you able to figure out the parking settings brightness.


Great informative post. Looking to do this conversion on my wife's 128.

[bNks334]

No I haven't been able to get the settings that need to be coded. I think the e90 forums would be better for coding. Weird thing happened though... my primary fob died. When I started using my secondary fob my daytime running lights are back on even though the dealer coded them off... I'll be bringing the car in for service soon so I'll see what they say.

[Gray_Panther]

The beam pattern looks aligned properly, which is great. The hotspot is really focused on the center there. I can see that the bowl wasn't designed purely for HID's, but should be fine. Thanks for posting!!

[mmmusty]

thank you, i had seen these for the past two months now, ive waiting to hear something from someone i can trust about these. i saw that they have some cool turn signals too LOL!

[Kooky Kats]

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[Kooky Kats]

Lightwerkz in NJ Installed my V2 DEPOs by Fishcake. Just as OP said, the PlugNPlay claim only goes so far. You need these coded to utilize the AE as daytime running headlights. Driving around with parking lights is stupid.

My local dealer quoted me $220 to code. They made me sit in waiting room for 3 hours and did nothing saying that some module was removed... Which was a lie.

Today, I took my car to a Coding Guy in Brooklyn and he quickly resolved many issues and more. He was a great guy who had an assortment of goodies he gave to me as well.

The car looks dope. He was shocked at how little I paid for the setup.

[bNks334]

Originally Posted by Kooky Kats

Lightwerkz in NJ Installed my V2 DEPOs by Fishcake. Just as OP said, the PlugNPlay claim only goes so far. You need these coded to utilize the AE as daytime running headlights. Driving around with parking lights is stupid.

My local dealer quoted me $220 to code. They made me sit in waiting room for 3 hours and did nothing saying that some module was removed... Which was a lie.

Today, I took my car to a Coding Guy in Brooklyn and he quickly resolved many issues and more. He was a great guy who had an assortment of goodies he gave to me as well.

The car looks dope. He was shocked at how little I paid for the setup.

I agree, they look great! I updated the original post to include how i eventually coded mine.

[alfredcoffee]

Can anyone tell me how much the oem halo headlights cost vs the cost of depo v2 halo headlights?

I heard the depo v2 don't come with HID; is this true?

How do they compare?

[GabeMG]

OP, it's been years, did you ever code the headlights to function correctly?
I'm looking to get a set of these headlights, and want the halos to be the DRLs and the autoheadlights to work
Let us know if anyone is out there