Headlight questions

[GJ1]

Mines are self levelling and I have the adjuster inside too...

Interesting. How do you tell Mr_Ke1th?

[thecremeegg]

I have the Xenons and they're garbage as well. Every time I take it for an MOT they adjust the headlights down to be "legal", but they're then completely unusable so I have to adjust them up again. Even then they're no better than the halogens on my gf's Golf GTI.
It's possible that the lens of the projector has fogged up but I cba to take the headlights apart!

[tug]

Mine are also self leveling and i also have the level control on the dash. It has been said that only xenons are self leveling. Mine are deffo halogen and i have always been confused by this one as well.

[Davz]

Self leveling isn't normally tested at MOT time, washers definitely are.

That is not correct, testers are advised to check the self leveling system but it is advised not a requirement as systems react quickly and it is difficult to test.
Regarding headlight washers, this is only a requirement on cars manufactured after 2009 and not before, so all e85's are legal with hids and no washers.
Regarding self leveling on halogen cars, the adjustment of the headlights is motorised hence hearing the levelling of the headlights when the ignition is turned on, but I'm not sure there is a sensor which constantly levels the headlights, perhaps someone in the know can verify? However when a mot tester switches the ignition they will hear and see the headlights level and assume the self levelling is working.
If the op wants a link to a really good hid system for just £30 let me know. A bit of advice, only fit a 35w system, the 55w run to hot. There is a good post on the forum from a member who has fitted all manner of systems and that was his advice.....search engine is your friend.

[Sticks]

Sorry if I've missed the point, but when I had an E46 with similar glow worm lights, I just fitted these. Cheap, quick, made them good enough, not like Xenons, obv. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... UTF8&psc=1

Btw with Carly you can adjust the frequency and length of washer operation. It still goes everywhere

[Jfgoldfish]

That is not correct, testers are advised to check the self leveling system but it is advised not a requirement as systems react quickly and it is difficult to test.

That's good news. I stand corrected then.
Hopefully mine should pass at MOT time without the washers.

55w run to hot.

55w HIDs run cooler than 55w halogens. They are more efficient hence more energy is converted to light.

[GJ1]

Thanks to all the contributions so far, there’s some very helpful information.

In summary so far, using LEDs for sidelights & high beam appear to be recommended. Penelope has made a recommendation in terms of the sidelights and appears very happy with these (bright & error free presumably). If anyone has LED suggestions for high beam then I would welcome them too. Also, Jfgoldfish and Davz have offered recommendations for HIDs (for low beam?) and retainers - I for one would welcome any recommendations please.

Jfgoldfish - you mention coding out any errors using winfkp. I'm not familiar with this, how would this work exactly?

I'm still not sure I understand what the noise I hear from the headlights on turning the ignition is??!

Cheers

[GJ1]

Sorry if I've missed the point, but when I had an E46 with similar glow worm lights, I just fitted these. Cheap, quick, made them good enough, not like Xenons, obv. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... UTF8&psc=1

These certainly appear to be the Halogen bulb of choice from what I have previously read.

[Sticks]

Sorry if I've missed the point, but when I had an E46 with similar glow worm lights, I just fitted these. Cheap, quick, made them good enough, not like Xenons, obv. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... UTF8&psc=1

These certainly appear to be the Halogen bulb of choice from what I have previously read.

I have LEDs on my Audi. I don't particularly rate the main beam tbh. Brighter, whiter, and better at the nearest part of the beam, but fades at the furthest.

Sorry, not helpful. Depends what you want I suppose.

[Penelope]

Took a punt on a pair of these. If they don't work any better than the Halogens in the Dip Position I'll just fit them to the High Beam.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-CANBUS-H ... 2749.l2649

[GJ1]

Took a punt on a pair of these. If they don't work any better than the Halogens in the Dip Position I'll just fit them to the High Beam.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-CANBUS-H ... 2749.l2649

Good luck. Would be interested to hear how you get on with them.

[Motionblurrr]

I'm just going to copy and paste my post from another headlight upgrade thread (very informative: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=117875 ). I've been through it all, I was kind of a guinea pig tester of upgrading these lights if you have the standard halogen H7s:

Man.. I've been through it all with E85/86 Halogen headlights in terms of modifying them to get the best output without buying Xenon version of the headlights (and some vanity of me wanting them looking better), so I have much experience in this.

In terms of halogen upgrade bulbs (Philips Xtreme-Vision, Osram Nightbreakers, etc):

These upgrade halogen bulbs are fantastic! The beam is 100% LEGAL so you will NOT dazzle oncoming drivers with your lights. It will NOT look like Xenon/HID/LED by a longshot. But the range in definitely improved in the Z4's projector lens. The filament is smaller and hotter; therefore brighter, which gives you a more uniform and focused beam than with standard H7 halogens. The difference is NOT dramatic but it is noticeable. To scale it for everyone here: out of 10, the stock H7 halogen gets a 3 in terms of vision. An H7 halogen upgrade bulb (non-blue tinted bulbs) mayyyybe bumps it up to a 5. Not substantial but anything is welcomed. THE DOWNSIDE: The life of the bulbs are much lower than the standard halogen H7s, so be prepared to have a spare in your glovebox if you're doing lots of night time driving.

In terms of LED:

TBH, this is the worst upgrade of the three. The light IS dramatically whiter and actually looks much more modern than a halogen headlight--but the beam pattern is no where near as sharp, uniform or considerate to other drivers compared to halogen. Brightness might be subjective to some people because of the whiter light, it SEEMS brighter but in fact it could be dimmer than an upgraded H7 halogen bulb. Most of these LEDs run at a 5500-6500K color temperature--which is nice and modern looking but if it rains; forget about it. You will barely see the road at night if there's inclement weather. ALSO: If you drive in the winter with snow everywhere, LED bulbs don't get warm enough to melt any ice or snow on the headlight--so it can be dangerous.

In terms of HID/Xenon:

These are the best and it is what I personally use on my Z4. The beam is not legal and there is a little bit of glare but it is mostly controlled by the projector lens itself and the decent positioning of the HID bulb itself. I tried them all: 4,300K, 5,000K, 6,000K and even 8000K. I've gone back and fourth and I stuck with the OEM looking 4,300K. It is by far the brightest color temp, easiest on the eyes, looks the best (IMO) on these cars because it looks like an OEM Xenon headlight and driving with them at night is an absolute joy. You need a CANBUS ballast for these cars because the Z4 checks the bulbs upon startup. If you get a slim CANBUS ballast kit, you can actually fit the entire thing inside the headlight housing and close it with a nice seal--no drilling needed. It won't overheat in my experience since I've ran them for many years.

One thing about the HID/Xenon kit if any of you get it: The bulb return wire (the wire that runs along side the bulb) has to be facing DOWN in our H7 projectors. Most HID kits come with an H7 HID bulb that makes the return wire face upwards inside the projector, which causes a long dark shadow in your beam pattern from the return wire. Most people don't care and it isn't a big deal but if you want the best night time vision with these cars, you'll need to just modify the base by just mimmicking the same tab but on the opposite side. If you do this, you'll get an even, sharp, bright beam pattern on the road ahead.

TL; DR: For the H7 halogen projectors in our cars, HID/Xenon is the best but it is not legal. Upgraded halogen bulbs are the 2nd best but are not as bright as HID/Xenon and do not last as long and are quite expensive for what they are. LED bulbs are mostly junk. They look nice but in terms of actual headlight power they're last place.

[Motionblurrr]

55w HIDs run cooler than 55w halogens. They are more efficient hence more energy is converted to light.

WRONG. Do not run 55W HIDs in these cars! The fear isn't if it runs cooler or hotter than the 55w halogen--it's the fact that the intensity of the 55W HID kit will throw so much concentrated UV light into your projector bowls that it will fry them in no time (and the outer plastic lens of the headlight).

55W HIDS = burned projector bowls. The output gets less and less and less over time because the reflector behind the projector lens will get fried by 55W aftermarket HIDs--effectively negating the entire point of getting HIDs! You can't clean them, restore them, etc. You gotta buy new Hella H7 projectors or new headlights all together if it gets burned bad enough.

35W HID is your friend and plenty bright (especially if you're coming from halogens). Plus, the ballasts and bulbs are much less stressed than if you went with 55W.

[Jfgoldfish]

Jfgoldfish - you mention coding out any errors using winfkp. I'm not familiar with this, how would this work exactly?

Using Winfkp to code out the lights is a fairly simple task. You will need a K/DCAN cable and a working copy of the BMW software suite (Free to download from many sources).

The process goes something like:
- Make sure you have the correct DATEN files for your car
- Download the current programming data for the LCM module.
- Save a backup
- Modify the lines that activate and deactivate bulb checks for low, high and sidelights (NCSdummy is great for modifying the files)
- Write the modified file back to the LCM following instructions to the letter (lots of tutorials on using winfkp on the web)

You can code many other features on your car such as opening and closing the roof from the key, lane change indicators and much more.
Obviously CANbus compatible bulbs are the easiest option but if you buy a set that still throws errors, hope is not lost!

[Jfgoldfish]

WRONG.

Absolutely correct actually!
I wasn't debating the fact that the bulbs will throw too much UV at the housings. That is useful info.
They DO run cooler though.