Xenon Lights On A 330i

[MixFlame]

i have a 2004 330i with sport package. it came with regular halogen lights. i would like to upgrade them to xenon lights. do you guys think that these lights are any good? http://www.hidexpress.com/index.asp?PageAc...WPROD&ProdID=14

do i need the h7 bulb type and get the whole kit? does bmw have xenon lights for aftermarket? how much do they cost? any reccomendations on which lights to get?

[e36_m3_Turbo]

yes you need the H7 bulb to fit your headlights. check out m3motorwerks.com or tunermotorsport.com for them. that link you posted, the tempature they burn at are to high for stock or good lighting. 4500k and 4100k is stock. 6000k is the highest i would ever go because its just right amount of light and the tint/color of the light it puts out.hope this helps

[e36_m3_Turbo]

the pic in my sig are stock 4100k, its a 330i

[MixFlame]

if i get the h7 lights do i just put them in or do i need a full kit to install?

also, how easy will it be to install? plug and play and thats it?

[e36_m3_Turbo]

you will need the kit. since your car didint have the things that it should for a xenon setup you need them. it involves some wiring. shouldnt be to hard

[CodySydney]

What's this cost? Are you only doing it for cosmetic reasons or is there something else? My last car had xenons, but I didn't option them into my BMW because they're $1800AU and I just don't see the value?!

[e36_m3_Turbo]

they arent that much. better lighting output.only loik 300-400USD

[peterkulesza]

xenon headlights as bmw makes them use very high voltage (kV range) to discharge an arc through xenon gas atmosphere. that gives a very bright headlight, and huge light intensity. this is about $1200, plus labour, and i think you will need a different air cleaner box (the xenon units have transformers which stick out more than regular 12v headlights). this is rather invloved

the h7 bulbs called "xenon" or whatever give you marginally more light, what you notice is a different color from stock halogens, it is more blue. all halogens have a tungsten element which heats up and is kept in an atmosphere of a halogen gas, which composition varies (hence slightly different colors). the gas is not ionized, it serves mainly to protect the element from oxidizing, as it would in air in about 20 seconds.
those are cheapie $60 dollars a pair, from hella or piaa. if you go to higher wattage bulbs make sure they do not melt the wiring (around 100w maximum) imho i would not put 130 watts. all inall, this takes about 5 minutes and no tools.

[flamba]

the ones that you can get on e-bay and market i really bad...so i heard. i mean, yah they are cheaper but you won't get the same look as what the stock has to offer. I regret that most about my car, mine also came with the regular bulbs, but if your the type of person who likes the actual colour of light (like what peterkulesza said about the blueish look), then you'll have to spend the $$$ and send it over to the dealer and they will for sure give you a good one. However, if you do go on market, i recommend that you really look into each light and make sure its the one you want. Some may say looks almost like xenon... but guess what.. it isn't.
Another thing i also heard (i dunno if its true or not) but not only is the wiring different, but they will have to change some of the wiring in your wire box or whatever...... xenon sucks way more energy and therefore requires 'more of it' so be careful with that.

[e36_m3_Turbo]

i dont know what your talking about 1200+$ for it. you dont need a OEM kit.


http://www.m3motorwerks.com/products/descr...php/II=288/PA=0

[peterkulesza]

you are correct, the xenon kit ($1200 US) i am refering to is OEM.

and yes, i presume one does not need oem, but i had no experience with anything else but hella aftermarket. i think hella for an old 5 is about $800, i do not knwo about e46 kits from them.

the reference you provided looks like the real thing for $350, bargain imho.