Improving dipped headlights on an E85 2.51 2004

[Sailorman]

I'm new to the world of Z4's, having bought my oldish 2.51 ten days ago.

The dipped headlights are pathetic; the main beam ones are superb. As the car has a beam height adjustor right by the light switch I think the lights are all halogen. Can anyone please confirm?

Next, I've been told that fitting Philips X-Treme Vision G-Force H7 with 130% extra light will improve matters simply and cheaply. Any comments from those who have tried this route? I'm looking for a quick and simple solution, not necessarily the best one.

I should say I've found the Forum invaluable and I have read quite a lot on this topic but most of it quite old and I think this bulb is fairly new.

Thanks in advance

Sailorman

 

[brillomaster]

quick and simple is change the bulb to the brightest one you can get hold of (either philips extreme vision or osram night breakers most likely) and then also adjust the beam of the dipped lights up a fraction.

i think there are some bulbs that give +200% more brightness than standard, osram nightbreaker 200, for example. though the downside is they dont last as long. but then, i dont do much fun driving in the dark anyways.

 

[Zulu4]

I use Osram LEDriving lights. They are bright, have a good beam pattern but the government, in its usual wisdom, deems them illegal. My car is due its MOT in a few weeks so I'll see what they have to say about it.

 

[RvsBmw]

Ive search around the headlight question. Best option is to upgrade the projectors (halogen or bi-xenon) and but some decent bulbs in it. The biggest problem is the "bad" projector followed by bulbs.

See here more information: https://www.retrofitlab.com/en/bmw-z4-e85-2002-2008-bi-xenon-evox-r-xenon-koplampen.html or https://www.retrofitlab.com/en/bmw-z4-e85-2002-2008-bi-xenon-evox-r-halogen-headlights.html.
You will get alot of light .

 

[Sailorman]

Thanks to those who responded. I have ordered a pair of Philips x-Treme Vision bulbs (150W0 and will try them first as this is the quickest way to hopefully brighter dipped lights.

Sailorman

 

[Thermaltake]

Ive tried the "brighter" bulbs in loads of cars, And i almost exclusively own cars with terrible headlights from old jap cars to the Z4. I honestly dont get the whole just buy Osram nightbreakers thing, Everyone will have their opinion but I found they made very little difference and have a habit of dying quickly.

2 things that made a big difference for me, Probably in about equal measure:

Restore your headlights. Get one of the £15/20 kits with the drill attachments, foam pad etc. Sand down your headlighgts, (Its scary the first time), sand sand sand as the kit says in progressive grits then polish and seal with some UV spray/top coat etc. Even if your headlights look ok to you now, Making the lenses properly free of microscratches, swirls, oxidisation etc makes a huge difference in terms of brightness. Way more than the "premium" bulbs I put in. The only downside is it doesnt really improve range that much. It will make current range brighter which is great but wont see you further down the road.

2nd thing. LED bulbs. or HID's if you wanna go down that route. Ive had LED's for about 3 years now, Much better light than any bulb "upgrade". Even the £25 Nighthawk LED's are a huge improvement. People will moan "they are not legal" yada yada. Ive went through multiple MOT's on various cars without a word even said. Nobody has flashed me etc, Ive even had my own car driven towards me by a friend and no issues. As long as its in a projector housing and not a reflector and the headlights arent angled to the sky you wont have any issues. (Although you most likely want to adjust the Z4 headlights up a touch because they seem to sag down over time). Considering I get blinded by every modern 4x4 both oncoming and behind, Particularly the new X5 and range rovers, How those things are legal I dno, Im happy with using LED's/HID's in a proper manor.

someone on youtube did a test of loads of LED's, apparently these are the top dogs at the moment:
https://www.bevinsee.com/products/bevinsee-h7-led-headlight-fog-light-white-100w-15000lm-6000k-bulbs-kit-vc-cooling-tech-2pcs

 

[Zulu4]

Well said Thermaltake.

I took my son's Peugeot for its MOT the other day at Halfords. Whilst there, I quizzed the MOT tester about lights and he said for LED sidelights he just lets them pass as there is no way they will dazzle anyone. For LED headlights he said so long as they are producing a decent beam pattern he lets them pass since they are brighter and therefore safer than halogens. He did say however, it's all down to the tester.

I'll be going there for my Zed's MOT then 8)

 

[Sailorman]

Thank you both. Sage advice, I am sure but I have bought some brighter bulbs and will try them. Thank to the various replies I also have a couple of other options should I be disappointed with the results.

Interesting to hear about the indulgent MOT tester. You don't say where?

 

[Davz]

The brighter bulbs are better than standard but do burn out and are imho a waste of money.
Fitting led’s is illegal, any decent mot tester should fail them. I did read that in the rain they are not as good as hid’s.
The best option is to fit an aftermarket hid kit. It is perfectly legal in a z4 projector. Don’t waste money on an expensive kit, they are no different from a cheap kit, £35 should be ample. Only takes about 30 mins per side to fit, well the first one takes an hour the second max 30 mins. The light output is superb for a 35w 4000k set up, avoid the higher wattages.

 

[Sailorman]

I tried the brighter bulbs (Philips X-Treme Vision Pro150) last night. THey are definitely a good deal brighter than the ones they replaced.

So I am happy and my thanks again to those who responded and for all their advice.

Sailorman