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AE Side by Side Comparison... and finally found a good one!!

66K views 238 replies 50 participants last post by  gmcclintock 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello all,

With my small fleet... I can do a nice comparison between all the lights on the market, so this is the second part of the series. Please see the attached pictures, in the Z4 is the LUX AE LED light... which are the brightest on the market that I have been able to find. On the 3 series is the OEM AE LED lights.... and on the 7 series (the one on the right)... are the AlpineMSS HID light system.

I have to say I am extremely impressed with the AlpineMSS system (www.alpinemss.com). The kit is very high quality, they are just as bright and as white as the OEM AE LED lights on the 3, they blow away the LUX AE lights, are extremely easy to install. I am not that mechanically inclined and it took me about 20 min. Alex over at alpine was extremely responsive and is working on a bulb that is slightly lower wattage... however I am not sure if I will go with that. These simply look amazing. The inner halo is crisp and sharp... the photos do not do it justice. This system does not throw any codes and yes they do work on the 7.. just ask Alex.... They are so good I am ordering a set for my Z4 and my X....






 
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#103 ·
Has anyone tried emailing Alex from Alpinemms? I have been doing so the past 2-3 weeks with no replies at all. Need to buy more bulbs from him but it can get frustrating when you keep emailing someone and they don't reply, especially after buying their product.
 
#105 · (Edited)
I haven't needed additional bulbs. Did yours crap out? During the original ordering process, they were great getting back to me. Did you call them? Alex- 310-560-0808
No they are working fine, just that the left side bulb is slightly brighter than the right side so I thought I buy an additional set of bulbs, you never know when they give way and I'm sure just the bulbs won't cost much.
Thanks, will give him a ring.
 
#109 ·
Post by UMNITZA in the other thread, is this true guys that the HID's will burn out overtime?

"The benefits of this unit over an HID system is that with an HID system, they look really bright on the high beam, but only average on the low beam.
Further, HID systems will burn the ends of the fiber optics and burn out the rings over time, so that the rings will eventually get dimmer and duller and will damage the internals to the point where it will become brittle.

HID are good in short term usage only."
 
#110 ·
He's got to come up with something to justify going with his dimly lit angel eyes.
 
#112 ·
Lovely post, Falcon. I am ordering these for my M6. I am very anxious to see the results as I have not seen another 6er with these lights.
 
#115 ·
I am sorry to hear that. Maybe you can sell these and recoup at least some of the money. Your 750 is very beautiful nonetheless.

If you don't mind me asking, how long did shipping take?
 
#122 ·
I got my 8k installed yesterday. I went to a friend that is more familiar and more mechanically inclined than me. We both have 09 528i. He is very particular and made sure it was a perfect install. BTW Alex was available while we did the install as I called him a couple of times to help out thru the process. After the full install I got a warning message that said Daytime right side parking lamp on my idrive. They first flickered then went to full illumination when starting the car or unlocking the car. After a few restarts the flickering stopped. Then I got only the passenger side to light up. Now they are working, however after letting it sit over night I'm still getting the error message on the idive. I called Alex and he has been great to deal with. I'm supposed to follow up with Alex on Monday. So anyone having these issues or a fix for this problem?

Thanks
Craig
 
#123 ·
I have his lights in three of my cars and have had no issues....
 
#124 · (Edited)
This is "OLD NEWS". I did this almost a year ago, see the other posting (read through page 13 http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=415604&highlight=hid&page=8)

Here's the trouble people, "HEAT". That area is NOT designed for a full blown HID kit, and it gets dang hot in there with the bulbs burning, and that's why BMW uses low voltage bulbs to illuminate the rings. Can you run the HID AE's, hell yes. You can do whatever you want to the car, with direct wiring like I did as well. I did this complete set-up and documented it on this site, but abandoned the idea due to heat generation and blur--it needs a 25 watt bulb really.

Yeah you've had no problems yet, but I am skeptical it will hold up. Please post your heat generation temperatures. They are very high, over 300F on the inside of the casing, and while I can't calculate how long the plastic can withstand that heat, I pulled them out. Maybe it will last a long time, and look great too. I did not like the "fear factor" associated with using the high voltage for a my AE's as it's not what the space was intended for. LED's are far cooler, and that's why BMW uses them for the AE area on the latest models. They know better.

I hope whomever is doing the install for profit has insurance. Please keep us all posted. Those ballasts fire at 20-30,000 volts on start-up to get the gas going, and constantly controls the voltage to keep the gas illuminated, varying voltage. It's like having an electical nuclear reactor in there. My advice, don't do it. Fire hazard or worse. Ask BMW if it's a good idea. Scarey deal.
 
#125 ·
I hate to tell you this but I took the temp of the H8 bulb and the alpine mss light after they were both on for 10 min... Temps were within 10c of each other. Don't believe me... Go try to remove the H8 bulb after they have been on for several hours....
 
#128 ·
Error "Right daytime running /Parking lamp!"



The Blinking stopped after a few times on Saturday. Yesterday didn't drive the car. I still get the error coding on my idrive. And With it set to Auto, the driver side angel eyes didn't turn on. I turned them the lights off off and then they came back on. I'm waiting for Alex to reply to my message i left him today. He said on Saturday he would one way he would take care of it. Something is wrong. To me it either it works or it doesn't
 
#130 · (Edited)
Any aftermarket HID might have problem, I have done a lot of HID conversions to my previous cars, headlights, fog lights, some last forever, some burned out within days.

BTW, just found out H8 is same as H11, and I had 2 sets I bought before for spare/replacement. But since I sold my last car and thought I have no use of the H11s, I sold them dirty cheap ( 40.00 each ). What a

mistake!
 
#132 ·
Sadly my right side Angel eyes don't work at all. For the past 1 week it has been going on and off and today it is just dead. I can't be asked to contact Alex because I traded in my car for the 640i which I am picking up next weekend. Also before I bought them from Alex, he was very quick to reply my emails but after getting them, I probably got 1 reply for every 5-6 repeated emails to him asking him to sell me another set of bulbs just in case what I have were to give way. In a way it's good he didn't reply because I won't be having any use for them now.
 
#135 ·
I ordered these bulbs nearly a month ago and have yet to receive them, or a tracking number for that matter. A few days after ordering I emailed Alex and asked when I could expect them to be shipped and if I could get a tracking number. I got no reply so I just decided to wait a week or so and see if they would come.

I have had a lot going on with work and a death in the family, so unfortunately I have not had time to repeatedly email Alex over a $180 pair of light bulbs. I finally got the chance to write him on Sunday requesting info on when the bulbs would be shipped or a tracking number and again no reply.

Today I emailed him again for a final time. If I don't hear back I will be forced to dispute the charges with my credit card company. My hopes are that the bulbs do arrive and are as good as other members testimonies, but to be honest I have all but lost hope in them being delivered.

Nonetheless I would expect better customer service.
 
#136 ·
I know exactly how you feel because I emailed him so many times wanting to give him more business(to buy extra bulbs) but no replies.Easily sent him 5 emails with no replies over a period of a few weeks.
Also the right side was slightly brighter than the left so thought might as well get an extra set in case the one's he sent me blows but no replies.
So much for customer service. He can be busy whatsoever, to me this is very unprofessional. I have had times in my business when replying emails becomes a chore but I always put my clients first because it's what help puts food on our table.
You know what irritates me is that he was so quick to reply my emails before ordering the kit but after placing an order, no emails replies at all. Anyway I have already sold the car and will never use him or recommend his products to anyone.
 
#137 ·
I have to agree with everything you have said, Sam. The funny thing is that I mentioned in one of my earlier emails that I was a member of bimmerfest.com as well as M6board.com and that I looked forward to posting pictures on both boards. To my knowledge no one has used the bulbs on M6board and yet there is a huge demand; this could have brought a lot of business.

If I do receive the bulbs the quality seems to speak for itself. As such I will most likely still share my pictures, but at this point I would be unable to recommend them without mentioning the lack of customer service.

At this point my issue is that I do not believe I will be receiving the bulbs.

On a more positive note I noticed in another thread that you had traded in your 7 for the new 6er. Congratulations and enjoy in good health. The new 6er is absolutely stunning.
 
#138 ·
I have to agree with everything you have said, Sam. The funny thing is that I mentioned in one of my earlier emails that I was a member of bimmerfest.com as well as M6board.com and that I looked forward to posting pictures on both boards. To my knowledge no one has used the bulbs on M6board and yet there is a huge demand; this could have brought a lot of business.

If I do receive the bulbs the quality seems to speak for itself. As such I will most likely still share my pictures, but at this point I would be unable to recommend them without mentioning the lack of customer service.

At this point my issue is that I do not believe I will be receiving the bulbs.

On a more positive note I noticed in another thread that you had traded in your 7 for the new 6er. Congratulations and enjoy in good health. The new 6er is absolutely stunning.
Thank you. I am loving the 6 and putting on the ACS kit. You can see photos this weekend posted in the 6 section.
The bulbs were working perfectly fine till the last few weeks where the right side would just work at times. Good thing I sold of the car otherwise I'd be breaking my head today as to what to do. There is no backup here for the alpinemms bulbs and I would have only Alex to rely on. :thumbup:
 
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