Headlight upgrade?

[Seattle135is]

Anyone upgrade to these headlights? I think the price point seems reasonable for what looks like a fairly decent refresh.
So, what's your opinion on having LED halos on a classic? Ghetto or tasteful?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BLACK-03-08-...65bfd3&vxp=mtr

[gas-can]

Hi Seattle,

I looked at lights similar to this a while ago for the same reason but decided against them cause most of these cheap aftermarket lights just don't seem to have the same quality as OEM. A lot of people seem to have condensation/water issues after a while.

They do look nice though.

gc

[ried]

What gas-can said ^^^

[Arsonism]

Those look dreadfully familiar to the Spyder or Pulsar lights that they sell for the Z's. If these are indeed that light housing simply from a different seller then make sure you read up on some of the reviews that have gone through the board for those lights. They would be under a different forum but there has been a lot of talk about them.

I personally think that the upgrade is nice and that if they are quality lights/housings it should only improve the look of the vehicle. There may be others that feel differently, but I'm not sure I put the older Z's on the "classic" level yet. It will be a timeless car, but I don't think it's earned it's title yet.

Z3s more or less have, especially shoes, but other than that, meh.

[StickMon]

LED halos are a good upgrade. Doesn't diminish the "classic" quality at all.
Things I've read about the eBay lights:
1) Even if they say "HID", beware.
2) Go to some trouble to seal them before installing.

There's a big thread recently on Spyder lights that should be some help.
They do look nice, though.

[DreamTheater]

I installed a set on my Z4 over the weekend, they look really good and definitely give a new look to the car when the angel eyes are turned on.

I bought mine for a few other reasons besides the looks, someone hit my car in a parking lot and didn't leave a note, as a result of the bumper & headlight being knocked out of place the headlight started to get heaps of condensation/fog on the inside, so that was the tipping point for buying them

Overall I'm pretty happy with them so far, they retain all OEM functions (no errors, adjustable motor) which is great, and within 5 minutes of installing them and going for a drive I got a compliment on them too.

Now I'm just waiting on a Rieger front bar

[DrVolkl]

Originally Posted by DreamTheater

I installed a set on my Z4 over the weekend, they look really good and definitely give a new look to the car when the angel eyes are turned on.

I bought mine for a few other reasons besides the looks, someone hit my car in a parking lot and didn't leave a note, as a result of the bumper & headlight being knocked out of place the headlight started to get heaps of condensation/fog on the inside, so that was the tipping point for buying them

Overall I'm pretty happy with them so far, they retain all OEM functions (no errors, adjustable motor) which is great, and within 5 minutes of installing them and going for a drive I got a compliment on them too.

Now I'm just waiting on a Rieger front bar

How hard was the install? Are they simply plug and play or did you have to mess with them at all (cut wires etc). Also, did they self align, or do you have to make adjustments, etc?

Can you post some pictures when you get a chance? Where they the ones in the link here?

[DreamTheater]

Originally Posted by DrVolkl

How hard was the install? Are they simply plug and play or did you have to mess with them at all (cut wires etc). Also, did they self align, or do you have to make adjustments, etc?

Can you post some pictures when you get a chance? Where they the ones in the link here?

Sorry for the late reply, I'm not very active on these forums.

It was 90% plug and play, the only part which isn't plug and play are the angel eyes which are just a positive and negative wire coming from the CCFL transformer.
To get them to work I cut into the parking lights and connected them in line with those and viola! I probably would've preferred to hook them up to be connected when I turn the key to accessory or beyond, so that I can have them on during the day without turning my tail lights on (they're smoked out so they look better off during the day.. a trade off for my laziness I guess).

They self align, but unknowingly when I was removing my old headlights I adjusted my passenger side adjuster and it points way off to the side, I'll fix it once I get my new bumper to save rework. If you do everything correctly, no adjustments needed.

I believe they're the same, but these are the ones I bought: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Black-CCF...62fffc2&_uhb=1

The only two pictures I've got currently aren't that great but here they are:

[KevinC]

Just curious - who would put crappy, Chinese, non-DOT-compliant Ebay lights, that can compromise your own safety as well as those you share the road with, onto a $50k car? Boggles the mind.

The only "real" upgrade is OEM HIDs. Anything else is pure crap. Trust me.

[DreamTheater]

Originally Posted by KevinC

Just curious - who would put crappy, Chinese, non-DOT-compliant Ebay lights, that can compromise your own safety as well as those you share the road with, onto a $50k car? Boggles the mind.

The only "real" upgrade is OEM HIDs. Anything else is pure crap. Trust me.

To answer your (rhetorical?) question, read back a few posts to understand why I put them on my car.

I'm interested to know how they compromise my safety, or that of other road users?
I can see why you would think that from a personal biased POV, but from a logical standpoint I'm interested to see why you think this.

FYI they are DOT approved, for Australia anyway.

[StickMon]

They look awesome.
Keep us posted on how they hold up, particularly after some rain, and how's your vision with them at night.
If I get a rock through one of mine, I'll be looking seriously at this option.

I just got back from nearly 3 weeks in 'stralia.
The 'roos in Tidbinbilla are suicidal, especially at night.

[DreamTheater]

It's Winter here in Australia at the moment and it's been raining quite a bit lately, the lights have held up pretty well so far.
Visibility is better than OEM, I've heard that the OEM lights aren't the best to begin with though.

Ohh nice, did you enjoy it? I haven't been out that way but yeah the roo's are everywhere and definitely suicidal. Once they see the headlights they just fixate on it and a lot of the time stand in the middle of the road staring at it. I haven't hit any in my Z4 yet touch wood!

[Arsonism]

Originally Posted by StickMon

They look awesome.
Keep us posted on how they hold up, particularly after some rain, and how's your vision with them at night.
If I get a rock through one of mine, I'll be looking seriously at this option.

I just got back from nearly 3 weeks in 'stralia.
The 'roos in Tidbinbilla are suicidal, especially at night.

You should see the deer in Texas. Especially around Austin as they've become domesticated with zero pop limiters (all wolves/foxes hunted a long time ago).


These were great on the Z3, but those headlights were 10 years old. I never thought of throwing in a different LED bulb though... could have had HUGE potential.

[StickMon]

Originally Posted by DreamTheater

It's Winter here in Australia at the moment and it's been raining quite a bit lately, the lights have held up pretty well so far.
Visibility is better than OEM, I've heard that the OEM lights aren't the best to begin with though.

Ohh nice, did you enjoy it? I haven't been out that way but yeah the roo's are everywhere and definitely suicidal. Once they see the headlights they just fixate on it and a lot of the time stand in the middle of the road staring at it. I haven't hit any in my Z4 yet touch wood!

Tidbinbilla is really pretty, but I was working all the time and only got to see it driving in in the morning. Was dark every time I headed back to Canberra.
All in all it was a nice experience, but like you say, it's Winter and it rained quite a lot.
I didn't hit any 'roos, but one ran out in front of me, saw me, and tried to cut back. The street was wet and his feet slipped. He slid on his butt all the way across the street.
Wish I would have had a GoPro.

[SloMo]

Do you guys know if the Spyder lights i'm looking at here (link below) would plug and play (minus slight wiring for the halo) on my 2003 z4 OEM Halogen setup? I've heard the Spyder lights don't come iwth HID but this seller seems to have installed an HID kit in them. I'm just wondering if my current OEM halogen setup will allow this to work with no problem.
http://www.protuninglab.com/20bmwz4e...id=18283950120

[NumbersGame]

Yup, they fit. I just installed Spyder model 5029683 (http://www.spyderauto.com/product_li...&submit=Go+%21) into my base, plain halogen headlight '03 Z4.

The good news is that they are mostly plug and play. Unplug your old headlight harness and plug in the new Spyder harness. High beams, low beam projectors, turn signal and turn signal DRLs all work out of the box with no problem.

The bad news: the two angel eye halos and the center LED come with no pre-made wiring harness and simply appear as three pairs of wires dangling from the underside of the lamp.

The plug and play aspect of them got me past Virginia's safety inspection requirement. I'm going to need to spend another hour though looking at how to splice the three extra pairs into the OEM harness...

BTW, your link for those lights does not say "Spyder" and of the pics that are on there, the lower down lights with the rainbow of wires are Spyders. The top photo with the transformer boxes next to the lit bulbs - my Spyders look nothing like that. Plus I had to pay $552 for my pair. $430 seams like you're getting an even further off, off brand.

[MYovichZ4]

Originally Posted by NumbersGame

The plug and play aspect of them got me past Virginia's safety inspection requirement. I'm going to need to spend another hour though looking at how to splice the three extra pairs into the OEM harness...

Wire Splice Connectors