Can facelift headlights be fitted to the Coupe?

Jare

Member
Recently picked up a Coupe that could do with a new set of headlights (one has condensation, one is heavily clouded)

I've never really been a fan of the chrome SI headlights, and rather than going for black angel eyes I was looking at the possibility of the standard facelift headlights: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/BMW_Z4_Facelift_20090321_front-1.jpg as they are darker and I personally think they look much better.

With that said, can they be retrofit to the Coupe? my model is a non-xenon, and I'm not sure if upgrading to xenon's is even feasible, so leaning towards these.

Any help would be appreciated!
 
Jare said:
Recently picked up a Coupe that could do with a new set of headlights (one has condensation, one is heavily clouded)

I've never really been a fan of the chrome SI headlights, and rather than going for black angel eyes I was looking at the possibility of the standard facelift headlights: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/BMW_Z4_Facelift_20090321_front-1.jpg as they are darker and I personally think they look much better.

With that said, can they be retrofit to the Coupe? my model is a non-xenon, and I'm not sure if upgrading to xenon's is even feasible, so leaning towards these.

Any help would be appreciated!

The black headlights are from the 2.5si models, the 3.0si has chrome versions. Both are standard facelift lights, just for different models :thumbsup:
Rob
 
Shouldn't be a problem as all E86s are indeed facelift models.

The different headlights must have been one of those weird decisions BMW made about the 3.0Si - a bit like giving them kidneys with silver slats, when the ones with black slats like all the other Z4s just look so much better (IMHO anyway).

Bi-Xenons will cost loads, even if you can find a pair!
 
Mr Tidy said:
a bit like giving them kidneys with silver slats, when the ones with black slats like all the other Z4s just look so much better (IMHO anyway).

I agree, my Z is Sapphire Black and the headlights/grille really strike me as an odd colour choice, I guess it's like the mirror caps on Mxxx models

While the grille is an easy job, I suspect I'll have a hard time finding 2.5si headlights, which is a shame because the only other options seem to be aftermarket black angel eyes which are a bit ott for me.
 
I'm pretty sure all the 2.0 sport models got the black headlights, so that opens up more possibilities to you :thumbsup:
 
JamieZ4C said:
I'm pretty sure all the 2.0 sport models got the black headlights, so that opens up more possibilities to you :thumbsup:

Will I need to specifically look for self-levelling ones if my existing headlights are self-levelling?
 
JamieZ4C said:
I'm pretty sure all the 2.0 sport models got the black headlights, so that opens up more possibilities to you :thumbsup:

Still looking for facelift 2.0 sport lights to avoid the amber hockey sticks i presume? :?
Rob
 
Jare said:
JamieZ4C said:
I'm pretty sure all the 2.0 sport models got the black headlights, so that opens up more possibilities to you :thumbsup:

Will I need to specifically look for self-levelling ones if my existing headlights are self-levelling?
Isn't is just the Xenon's that are self-levelling? If you've just got halogens, there shouldn't be a problem.
 
Smartbear said:
JamieZ4C said:
I'm pretty sure all the 2.0 sport models got the black headlights, so that opens up more possibilities to you :thumbsup:

Still looking for facelift 2.0 sport lights to avoid the amber hockey sticks i presume? :?
Rob
Think you're confusing me with someone else, Rob!

Quite happy with my standard lights with HID's :thumbsup:
 
JamieZ4C said:
Isn't is just the Xenon's that are self-levelling?.

I'm not sure.. mine definitely aren't Xenons, but they seem to self-level on ignition, unless I'm confusing self-levelling with a pre-start check of some sort
 
:scratchhead: I'm sure halogens don't self-adjust.

Does your light control unit have two wheels for adjusting the instrument cluster brightness (speedo/rev) and headlight level?

Or does it have just the one wheel for adjusting instrument brightness?
 
JamieZ4C said:
Smartbear said:
JamieZ4C said:
I'm pretty sure all the 2.0 sport models got the black headlights, so that opens up more possibilities to you :thumbsup:

Still looking for facelift 2.0 sport lights to avoid the amber hockey sticks i presume? :?
Rob
Think you're confusing me with someone else, Rob!

Quite happy with my standard lights with HID's :thumbsup:

Oops, yes i meant for the op. I’m presuming he doesn’t want amber hockey sticks on his coupe which would look a little odd! :cry:
Rob
 
JamieZ4C said:
:scratchhead: I'm sure halogens don't self-adjust.

Does your light control unit have two wheels for adjusting the instrument cluster brightness (speedo/rev) and headlight level?

Or does it have just the one wheel for adjusting instrument brightness?

You’re right, the halogens on my si had the beam height adjustment next to the light switch :thumbsup:
Rob
 
JamieZ4C said:
Does your light control unit have two wheels for adjusting the instrument cluster brightness (speedo/rev) and headlight level?

It does, this was the first thing I checked, but the headlights do "dance" when I'm facing a wall and turn the car on - I guess this is just standard behaviour and doesn't have anything to do with self-levelling, I had just assumed if the motor could make them do that it could make them self-level.

Smartbear said:
Oops, yes i meant for the op. I’m presuming he doesn’t want amber hockey sticks on his coupe which would look a little odd!
Rob

I don't actually mind the orange, but I think the standard black clear headlights will look a lot cleaner on my car, I'm just having a nightmare finding any.
 
Jare said:
I don't actually mind the orange, but I think the standard black clear headlights will look a lot cleaner on my car, I'm just having a nightmare finding any.
So, you have pre-facelift headlights fitted to your coupe? Ah right, yes, I think that would look a bit odd!

Yes, a lot of Z4 parts aren't the easiest or cheapest to get hold of. I see there are some on eBay. Are they out of your budget?
 
JamieZ4C said:
So, you have pre-facelift headlights fitted to your coupe? Ah right, yes, I think that would look a bit odd!

No, I have the standard SI headlights, I just think even the pre-facelift black/orange are an improvement over the standard SI ones.

I've seen a few on eBay but I want to find a pair rather than individuals, I've been contacting breakers etc because I ideally want to pay around £300 and maybe recondition+sell my existing ones to offset some of the cost.
 
Have you tried polishing the lenses on your lights? There’s kits available & it’s not that difficult, the condensation is usually just a defective seal on the back access cover :thumbsup:
Rob
 
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