fitting xenons
- Thread starter sprucy
- Start date
HIDs = Xenons. You probably mean halogen?
This has been covered to death on the forum... Just do a search and you will find all the answers you need.
Top and bottom of it is that for it to be legal it will cost you a lot of money. Cars with standard halogen headlights do not have self levelors and these are required by law when xenons are fitted.
Top and bottom of it is that for it to be legal it will cost you a lot of money. Cars with standard halogen headlights do not have self levelors and these are required by law when xenons are fitted.
I dare say it would be costly. The main problem for you would be the levellers as yours won't be automatic if you have halogens.
If you do decide to do it I have some OEM ballasts and ignitors from a set of OEM ///M headlights. The halogen and xenon headlight casings are the same so it may be possible to build xenons cheaply out of halogens. Do research this though as I'm crap with electrical stuff.
If you do decide to do it I have some OEM ballasts and ignitors from a set of OEM ///M headlights. The halogen and xenon headlight casings are the same so it may be possible to build xenons cheaply out of halogens. Do research this though as I'm crap with electrical stuff.
Does the Z4 really need the auto leveling though? I mean it is quite low car to begin with? There are quite a few vehicles out there that have the lights a lot higher and are dazzling nearly all of the time. Anyone who has had a range rover behind them will surely have noticed? Most new lorries and coaches also have Xenon now and the beam starts high to begin with so auto levelling has little effect... I would bet that if the Z4's Xenon lights were set in the standard level position no one would flash you or appear bothered/blinded on a bumpy country back road.
The auto washing system is a little over the top too... i say this because after doing the angel eye retrofit my lights steamed up so bad there was no light throwing onto the road anymore getting out the car standing back from it to check it had the affect of daytime running lights... the glass was of course very 'glowing' and visible but not so to blind anyone of indeed anyone flash me (i checked this as i had 30 miles to do) and that is worse case scenario. I have now rectified the problem with 2 new rear doors on the lights.
My suggestion would be as you carefully setup the xenons so there is good beam cut off per MOT requirement and no upward light using the OEM xenon stock parts (so using the beam projector and bulb from a OEM xenon) then you should be good. Placing a xenon bulb in halogen projector usually gives too much upward light, you should have complete darkness above a certain level. The OEM Xenons are really good at that. I would then go buy 2 headlight washer nozzle caps and glue them onto the bumper
or maybe now haha Job done. While not fully legal it's a good compromise and light years better than most conversions I see every day around here where someone has stuck a xenon in a halogen housing. On the flip side you doing this may prevent an accident as you will be able to see what you are going to hit, you really do miss the xenon when going back to halogen (hire car i had a few months back)
As for the MOT side of things my Z4 is stock Xenon OEM but I did a HID retrofit on my compact back in 2002 I paid 400 quid for a conversion kit as HID was new back then
. The only thing I got year after year at MOT testing stations is the beam pattern is a little strange but it always passes as the cut off is within spec ... you of course won't have that problem as your beam pattern will be perfect using stock parts.
The auto washing system is a little over the top too... i say this because after doing the angel eye retrofit my lights steamed up so bad there was no light throwing onto the road anymore getting out the car standing back from it to check it had the affect of daytime running lights... the glass was of course very 'glowing' and visible but not so to blind anyone of indeed anyone flash me (i checked this as i had 30 miles to do) and that is worse case scenario. I have now rectified the problem with 2 new rear doors on the lights.
My suggestion would be as you carefully setup the xenons so there is good beam cut off per MOT requirement and no upward light using the OEM xenon stock parts (so using the beam projector and bulb from a OEM xenon) then you should be good. Placing a xenon bulb in halogen projector usually gives too much upward light, you should have complete darkness above a certain level. The OEM Xenons are really good at that. I would then go buy 2 headlight washer nozzle caps and glue them onto the bumper
or maybe now haha Job done. While not fully legal it's a good compromise and light years better than most conversions I see every day around here where someone has stuck a xenon in a halogen housing. On the flip side you doing this may prevent an accident as you will be able to see what you are going to hit, you really do miss the xenon when going back to halogen (hire car i had a few months back) As for the MOT side of things my Z4 is stock Xenon OEM but I did a HID retrofit on my compact back in 2002 I paid 400 quid for a conversion kit as HID was new back then
. The only thing I got year after year at MOT testing stations is the beam pattern is a little strange but it always passes as the cut off is within spec ... you of course won't have that problem as your beam pattern will be perfect using stock parts.Seems there's some misinformation flying around again. Aftermarket xenons are NOT illegal without auto levelers and washers.
As along as they're correctly adjusted and the beam pattern is not scattered, they're fine.
As along as they're correctly adjusted and the beam pattern is not scattered, they're fine.
i always thought they were needed http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/customer-information-notice-cars-2010.pdf of course the MOT tester is unlikely to test the self levelling or the washers and would probably only look if the beam pattern were out or it was clearly aftermarket in some way like the ballasts on show under the bonnet but as Ranski has showed it should sail through as long as the beam pattern is ok as that is what the test for on every MOT. I was also told last year that any warning lamps on the dash on like DSC, bulb out (had it on because of updated rear lights now fixed) etc they can fail it on those too! Crazy.... honestly soon they will be testing if your dodgy cup holder can possibly spill some coffee hence a danger hence a fail. 
RichIbizaSport said:
"may" is the important word.
ESP said:Z4 Coupe said:
I think this is your best bet!
I also looked into it and its a ridiculous amount when you realistically don't actually get much difference.
Purchase some quality pure white xenon style bulbs for £20-£30 and no one will know any difference
imo xenon style bulbs are a waste of money.... cost £20-£30 a bit more and you can get an after market HID kit.... and those literally (excuse the pun) are night and day difference.
thanks for all the replies lad/ladies
i already have a hid kit in my projectors which have washers on already.
the fact i was trying to get at is the xenons are so much brighter ( i had a bmw z4 e89 as a hire car when someone went in the front of me and i can see a big difference compaired to hids so i want to have the same set up as the e89 did
i know the e89 lights and system dont work with the e85 but i know some z4m out their do have the xenons already fitted but like most people say its the cost of fitting which is putting me of
i already have a hid kit in my projectors which have washers on already.
the fact i was trying to get at is the xenons are so much brighter ( i had a bmw z4 e89 as a hire car when someone went in the front of me and i can see a big difference compaired to hids so i want to have the same set up as the e89 did
i know the e89 lights and system dont work with the e85 but i know some z4m out their do have the xenons already fitted but like most people say its the cost of fitting which is putting me of
I always thought HID kits were for show only which is why I've never looked into them but......
I've been driving round country roads in the dark the last couple of nights and the standard lights are almost dangerous. Even with the fogs on I have trouble seeing so have to have the full beams on constantly. I’ve never had a car where I’ve needed to use the main beams so much but I’ve never had a car with projector headlights before.
I think I’m going down the HID kit route.
I've been driving round country roads in the dark the last couple of nights and the standard lights are almost dangerous. Even with the fogs on I have trouble seeing so have to have the full beams on constantly. I’ve never had a car where I’ve needed to use the main beams so much but I’ve never had a car with projector headlights before.
I think I’m going down the HID kit route.