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ive done DDM tuning and Intensehid.com in the past in various cars / applications... I think you will need the Bulb out Indicator module for the bimmer as well
DDM is awesome. I just got HIDs for the minivan which had crappy halogen output. Even with HIDs in this headlight housing it's not even blinding....LOL.
For your E46 I'm not sure if you have the little tiny fogs the size of a giant gumball or if your have the ZHP/M3 type foglight which uses 9006 bulbs. Getting a 35 watt kit will allow you to plug and play the system no problem. Getting 55 watt is overkill on fogs and will require a relay harness so you don't blow up your expensive light control module in the car. I've ran 35 watts for years now and it's totally fine.
I've found that if you have 6000K lights in your projector headlights, you'll want 4300K to give equivalent light colour in reflector units. I have 6000K headlights and 6000K fogs and the fogs look a lot more bluer/purple than the headlights. I purchased 4500K for the minivan reflector housings and they have similar light colour to my 6000K projectors.
For your E46 I'm not sure if you have the little tiny fogs the size of a giant gumball or if your have the ZHP/M3 type foglight which uses 9006 bulbs. Getting a 35 watt kit will allow you to plug and play the system no problem. Getting 55 watt is overkill on fogs and will require a relay harness so you don't blow up your expensive light control module in the car. I've ran 35 watts for years now and it's totally fine.
I've found that if you have 6000K lights in your projector headlights, you'll want 4300K to give equivalent light colour in reflector units. I have 6000K headlights and 6000K fogs and the fogs look a lot more bluer/purple than the headlights. I purchased 4500K for the minivan reflector housings and they have similar light colour to my 6000K projectors.
please keep in mind... as the vehicle owner, it is YOUR responsibility to remain LEGAL. upgrading a lighting system to HID from Halogen requires so much more than just changing bulbs. The Department of Transportation has regulations for your jurisdiction, you may be wise to consult that legislation BEFORE making modifications to your lighting system.
Remember, the halogen headlamp housing was engineered to have a focus point that maximises the bulb intensity and it's aim... something else to keep in mind when you are on the roadway that properly aimed headlamps let you SEE while you're also not BLINDING oncoming traffic with glare from mis-aligned headlamps.
so, unless you're buying the WHOLE package, which includes matching headlamp housings to go with the HID bulbs, just keep it OEM and stay LEGAL, stay SAFE for both yourself and everyone else who has to share the roadway with you.
Jay.
Remember, the halogen headlamp housing was engineered to have a focus point that maximises the bulb intensity and it's aim... something else to keep in mind when you are on the roadway that properly aimed headlamps let you SEE while you're also not BLINDING oncoming traffic with glare from mis-aligned headlamps.
so, unless you're buying the WHOLE package, which includes matching headlamp housings to go with the HID bulbs, just keep it OEM and stay LEGAL, stay SAFE for both yourself and everyone else who has to share the roadway with you.
Jay.
Thanks for all the replies. Great info to know. I will do some research and see if I can get it right.
I'm curious how you know this. Have you had a buddy drive your van down the road in the dark and then driven the opposite way in a different car? Or are you just estimating?
The generation of minivan we have is known for an extremely small and poor halogen housings for it's stock halogen lights. On the highway you can easily outdrive them at 50MPH. Everyone who rides in our minivan teases that the lights need to be turned on. Because the reflector housing is so small, light is not reflected efficiently to the ground. The thing that made me choose HID in this reflector unit was that the bulb is encased in a metal "condom" to prevent any direct bulb light from being seen. There is a light shield on under the remaining part of the bulb holder to minimize lower reflector light shining up. Because the reflector is so much smaller than most vehicles on the road it appears to be not as intense. I've stood far back and while you can tell there are HIDs in a reflector unit, this unit is pretty crappy at putting out blinding light. I also made sure to purchase the lowest K colour temperature as higher K glares off the road in a much more eye catching way. I've seen much brighter light coming from other larger reflector housings which is much more blinding to oncoming. This means using their stock halogen setup would be efficient at highway speeds unlike our minivan.
I've also had friends drive my car with HID fogs while they're behind. It's not super distracting at all. They do have more intensity of light than a halogen for sure but the good thing with fog lights are they are lower to the ground/small housings and I have leveled the light pattern to keep the "hotspot" a few inches from the ground at 25 feet away. A majority of the light is casted downwards but of course there is spill to the lower part of the reflector which casts light higher up but nothing crazy like F150's or SUVs with HID in their reflector units.
I've also had friends drive my car with HID fogs while they're behind. It's not super distracting at all. They do have more intensity of light than a halogen for sure but the good thing with fog lights are they are lower to the ground/small housings and I have leveled the light pattern to keep the "hotspot" a few inches from the ground at 25 feet away. A majority of the light is casted downwards but of course there is spill to the lower part of the reflector which casts light higher up but nothing crazy like F150's or SUVs with HID in their reflector units.
Wow, you've done much more research than most people.
What can I say...I love lighting! 
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