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OPINION/HELP: Upgrade from halogens to HIDs

6K views 35 replies 6 participants last post by  Kgolf31 
#1 ·
Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum and i am in the process of upgrading my halogen headlights to some HIDs (6000k) along with putting in angel eyes and new fog lights (6000k)... im not to familiar with the name brands and vendors out there.

Ive done a little bit of research and this what i have my sights on....

HID Temp: 6000k
Bulbs: Apexcone 55W or 35W OR Predator Xenix
Projector Housing: DEPO from EAS OR Projector46
Angel Eyes: Aurora from EAS
Fog Lights: ?????

I know that i want to stick with the 6000k and the Aurora angel eyes, but im not to sure about the DEPO projector housing, and there doesnt seem to be alot of information about upgrading fog lights to HIDs online (or maybe im not looking hard enough).

Are there better types of projector housings out there? i know umnitza has the Projector46 housing but, according to their website, they only have it in a black housing for the 2001 E46. I like the way my current silver housing looks on my car, im not too sure how a black housing would look on a black car.

If you guys have any feedback or opinions on what i have planned, please reply. Im open to whatever you guys have to say.

Thanks!
 
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#2 ·
Give us a call. the Black housing is standard but you can a) always paint the inner trim b) ask us about the chrome lining we have as well (seen in our animated gif on the site). c) stay with black and see if it grows on you.

BTW - the highest specific output is the Orion V2 inside the Projector46s:
 
#8 ·
Is there a way that i can reuse my current housing (to keep the silver trim) and put projectors onto them? im pretty new at this so i dont actually know how the headlight housing looks/works... my last car was a '87 corrola (which had the flip up headlights).

Ive seen some DIY headlight upgrades, and it seems like you can remove the from plastic shield and that the housing of where the bulbs actually are stay intact on the car. So if i were to get projectors, then how does that work? do you remove whatever housing that is intact on the car and replace it with the projector housing?

about part c).... ive seen alot of bimmers w/ black housing headlights, but are on every car but black bimmers... im not used to having a black housing, with a black car.... it would sound like a good idea if i wanted to make the entire car black... (black kidney grills, smoked tail lights, the whole nine)... but i like the silver trim around the windows.... and my rims match that (black painted rims / polished lip)... so id like to keep that theme going...
 
#3 ·
Are there better types of projector housings out there? i know umnitza has the Projector46 housing but, according to their website, they only have it in a black housing for the 2001 E46. I like the way my current silver housing looks on my car, im not too sure how a black housing would look on a black car.

If you guys have any feedback or opinions on what i have planned, please reply. Im open to whatever you guys have to say.

Thanks!
sorry D) = reuse your inner silver trim.
 
#4 ·
Do yourself a favor and call nick@jlevisw.com. They have all the stuff you need and way better service than any other company. I have dealt with Umnitza and wouldn't recommend it. The aurora's are great and give off plenty of light, and Jlevisw.com has an LED angel eye that is good too. Nick also has fog light specific kits, projector options galore, and again, the best service to date. PM me if you want/need details or just go to www.jlevisw.com and ask for nick.
 
#10 ·
hey smlock, im happy you check out my thread... i was hoping you would put in your two cents. you always seem to have some really great input on a lot of different topics.

is it true that about the "BTW - the highest specific output is the Orion V2 inside the Projector46s:"??? the only reason why i was leaning more towards the the aurora's was because they claim to have the "brightest angel eyes on the market"... but umnitza says the same for the orions... so i dont know who to believe anymore... can you help me with this?

also... about jlevisw... are these the angel eyes that you were talking about... and if so... have you heard anything about them.... or what do you think of em?
http://www.jlevistreetwerks.com/BMW-E46-3-Series-3-Series-Lighting/c30_33_343_35/p1059/MyCarr-62-LED-Angel-Eyes-for-Most-BMWs/product_info.html?osCsid=gap9hdh6bqeoskhna1dob6grs0

smlock... about the projectors from jlevisw... ive been to their website and all ive seen about the projectors are here:
http://www.jlevistreetwerks.com/BMW-E46-3-Series-3-Series-Lighting/c30_33_343_35/p50/Projector46-Headlights-%28Select-Model%29/product_info.html
on this^ page, they say that only the predator chromium is availibe with these housings... but i want angel eyes that have at least 60LEDs.... i dont like the broken "pearl necklace" look...
 
#5 ·
To the OP: Based on your location being San Jose, I second JLevi - they are in Santa Clara - if you give them a call and talk to them they might invite you over and could show you some of the choices in person and look your car over with you.

Umnitza is up in Concord - a bit of a drive from the South Bay. Not so far as to make it impossible - but with the good reputation JLevi has with projectors, angel eyes, etc. no reason to leave town right?
 
#14 ·
UPDATE: i think i might have found the HID kit that i want... APEXCONE 35W/55W... these are available on two website...
EAS - 35W @ $179 or 55W @ $225
DDM Tuning - 35W @ $49.95 or 55W @ $75.95
and they both have free lifetime warrenties...

they seem like they are the EXACT same thing, but something in the back of my mind tells me that something HAS to be different. There's just such a difference in price, i dont see why that is... any thoughts or opinions?
 
#16 · (Edited)
oh yeah... i understand that i need projectors to get the most out of the HIDs... from what ive seen so far that i can fit any HID kit with any projector housing... (am i right about this?) if im wrong about it... what does umnitza have for their HID kits? also... can you match their price of less than $80 for 55W?

the apexcone have two different wattages.... 35W and 55W... correct me if i am wrong but, i can only assume that the 55W is brighter, therefore gives off more light?

also... does anyone know where bavtoys is located? do they have a store that i can visit?
 
#17 ·
www.bavtoys.com has a good quality kit for $55 right now - you can visit them and email them.

There is a lot of information out there, sometimes it's best to visit a shop to see it all for yourself, without buying anything.

I realize our shop is a long trip for you, but it might be worth it for you - we make all the headlights in house AND we install them :)
 
#18 ·
ive just visited bavtoys.com... i was looking for the $55 HID kit... but couldnt find it... they look like they have some pretty good kits on this website as well... there are so many types of HID kits... is there even much of a difference between on kit and another??

maybe the only difference between them would be their brightness...
im still wondering what the difference is between the 35W and the 55W HID kits.... brightness? color?
 
#20 · (Edited)
If you want the best in hids themselves I suggest http://www.retro-solutions.com/

I wouldn't take free hids from anyone else over paying retro for theirs if that gives you any idea.

Now as for the housings, I have no preference and would probably buy from the ones listed in this thread in a heartbeat. But for the hids themselves its retro's hids or nothing for me.

I haven't done hids in my bmw yet but I have them in my 2002 F250 superduty diesel and love them. True bi-xenon hids for $183 with digital ballast, 55watt light output and a lifetime warranty. Afraid there isn't anyone else that can touch them with a ten foot pole. Oh and support before, during and after the sale. Plus free shipping.
 
#21 · (Edited)
thanks for your input crowe... i havent heard of these guys before... there some really nice pictures on their website... do you know where these guys are located at? Northern California hopefully?

i like your input... but i feel that if i consider these guys.... ill never make up my mind... but we'll see...
right now... im torn between:
jlevisw
umnitza
EAS
DDM tuning (strictly for their $75 55W Apexcone HID kit)

can any HID kit work with any projector housing? i ask this question because ive heard that if you get a certain type of projector housing, then there are only a certain angel eye kits that will work with it....
 
#22 ·
The hid kit and the angel eye stuff isnt the same thing. All you need to know is what bulb socket the headlight housing your going to get is and the retro bunch will tell you what hid kit you need for it.
 
#24 · (Edited)
i feel that the auroras do look brighter, but they're really expensive... especially if you look at the projector housings that each of them are available for.

EAS - DEPO projector housings w/ auroras angel eyes - $579
Umnitza - Projector46 housing w/ orion V2 angel eyes - $408

ive also contacted JleviSW about theyre equivalent - the MyCarr 62LED angel eyes...
i feel that they are up there with the auroras but when i spoke with both kenny and nick from jlevisw, and they said that these angel eyes would only fit on OEM HID projector housings...
as i mentioned earlier, i only want new items... therefore that might have to rule those out...

Nick wasnt 100% sure if these angel eyes would fit on the Projector46s and there is no way know for sure without having to order the housings through them, then and only then will they see if the MyCarr 62 LED angel eyes will work with the Projector46 housings....

i dont want to get stuck with the Projector46s if the MyCarr angel eyes dont work with it... b/c then i still have to purchase he angel eye kit from another vendor...
 
#25 · (Edited)
From what I've heard, the Orion angel eyes are actually brighter, because of the design of the ring......

Also, the Aurora AE's seem to have problems with their clips breaking......

I***8217;ve seen the Orion clips, I don***8217;t think they can be broken without a pair of snips or a dremel***8230;I***8217;ll call Umnitza to confirm but I***8217;m pretty sure that***8217;s true......

I have P46s with just standard CCFL AE's in my headlights. The fitment and quality is great, and after surviving a -5 to -15*F winter, these headlights are made to last........

Just PM me if you have any further questions. I'll be glad to take pictures :D
 
#26 ·
From what I've heard, the Orion angel eyes are actually brighter, because of the design of the ring......

Also, the Aurora AE's seem to have problems with their clips breaking......

I have P46s with just standard CCFL AE's in my headlights. The fitment and quality is great, and after surviving a -5 to -15*F winter, these headlights are made to last........

Just PM me if you have any further questions. I'll be glad to take pictures :D
There is a poll on here, so far the Aurora's are winning. All the angel eye clips are prone to break, they are cheap plastic. P46's have had significant issues though, you might want to keep that in mind. I would seriously call Nick at Jlevisw.com and let him hook you up. Umnitza is probably not the best choice for you....
 
#27 ·
There is a poll on here, so far the Aurora's are winning. All the angel eye clips are prone to break, they are cheap plastic. P46's have had significant issues though, you might want to keep that in mind. I would seriously call Nick at Jlevisw.com and let him hook you up. Umnitza is probably not the best choice for you....
Why do you say that?

I've seen numerous posts asking EAS for replacement clips becuase they broke. But that is what I heard, i dunno......

My friend has the Orion, and I helped him with the install, the clips are extremely durable, and i think it's impossible to break them...........

Also, the poll that is going on, it looks like the sponsers voted for their own product. Take the 2 EAS votes, and the Umnitza vote away, and it's a even match......

I don't like to put companies down, nor do I like companies talking trash to others. I want to see the products perform at their max, and see how they last........

I have P46s from Umnitza and I couldn't be happier. Installation was effortless, and no problems yet. Matt was extremely helpful with my installation problems, and was very friendly throughout the emails I communicated with him...........
 
#30 ·
LMNTSOUL: All clips are not the same. Our clips are designed to be unbreakable. Don't take my word for it. Ask our customers what they know about our new design.
our support is second to none - maybe that's why we received 300+ calls per day for assistance, purchase, and general inquiry. By all means, call us at 4:59pm PST, we're still picking the phones. Our hours are 10-6pm - 10-5pm on the phones.
 
#31 ·
maybe that's why we received 300+ calls per day for assistance.
Or maybe your products need some help in the "reliability" department.... :dunno:

Better yet it's probably calls with "hey, I ordered my stuff and you never shipped it..."
 
#33 ·
Listen,

First of all, this is a public forum and I have not said anything with swear words or direct threats and therfore my comments while not "easy" are in perfect accordance with the rules and guidelines of this forum.

All Angel Eye mounting systems (re-designed or not) are not exactly what I call "strong". It is a weakness of the product and a trade-off for the look. The bottom line is I was promised products I never received (and yet paid for) and was given lowsy service from Umitza. I am perfectly within my right to tell others MY experience. Maybe they have helped 1000's of other people with no issues. That was NOT my experience and I aim to tell everyone what happened.

If this company was so great, why not just send me the freaking stuff they promised me and shut me up? I am not unreasonable, but I was LIED to and I don't like being lied to. PERIOD>
 
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