We built this city.....

[cogriff]

This is my build thread.

I will update it along the way as I add items and learn new things.

I purchased a 2007 Z4 3.0si sport package in Montego Blue last October. I had a few short weeks of playing before I had to put it away for the winter. Over the winter I was busy accumulating parts and ideas and learning a ton from the great people on this forum. I have a vision and I'm looking forward to sharing it with all of you as it happens.

Unfortunately I don't have any pics from when I first got it but I do have new pics after my first mods. I have installed rotors, pads, and SS lines from sport tech and at the same time installed my new Apex EC-7 wheels in satin black. the specs are:

wheels
18x8.5 et35
18x9.5 et43

tires
Hancook Ventus V12
235/40R18
265/35R18

suspension is stock for now.

My BMW aero front bumper and side skirts have just arrived at the dealer ship for pick up and I have H&R coilovers shipping out on the 17th.

by the end of April things should just about be done and ready for a summer of fun!

[Finnegan]

Nice! Aero in that wonderful blue should be stunning. Looks like a fun summer ahead!

[cogriff]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

Nice! Aero in that wonderful blue should be stunning. Looks like a fun summer ahead!

Thanks! I'm pretty pumped to get the aero stuff on.

I undertook a bit of a project this afternoon. I've been reading up on the options for our "angel eyes" to improve the brightness over the stock 10w incandescent bulb. I researched a lot about direct fit LED's and the more intrusive techcarbon option. I decided on a different route. While researching LED's that would fit the stock BA9S socket in the BMW plastc holder I realized there were not many options. I purchased the highest output set I could find and tried them out. Here is what they looked like compared to stock.




While looking at the BA9S options I saw that there were many better options for a BA15S socket. This is a substantially different socket than what the BMW holder can accommodate but I was sure I could figure something out.

here is what I did:

first off I ordered a set of BA15S sockets here: http://www.superbrightleds.com/morei...d-sockets/171/

Then I ordered some lights here:
http://www.superbrightleds.com/morei...ower-led/1643/

I took the stock holder and cut off the plastic surrounding the metal BA9S socket with a dremel


Then I slid off the top part I had just separated from the base


After that while holding the base I pushed down on the socket and the whole thing with the plug came out the bottom and this is what I ended up with


When I compared the hole to the base of the BA15S socket it wasn't quite big enough so I took my dremel again and made it big enough to fit the new socket.



It's now time for the most important part of any project


Now you can see the socket I purchased only has one wire. I soldered another wire to the outside of the socket to act as the ground and crimped on some connectors which I cut so they would fit inside the stock connection on the car. here is what I ended up with


Now you need a way to attach the new socket to the BMW plastic holder. I used zip ties for now till I can come up with a better solution. Be careful how you attach it as you don't want to interfere with the circumference of the holder or the clips. Otherwise you will not be able to get the holder to snap back in place.


You're done, now just install the LED bulb


and re-install into the car. This particular bulb will fit no problem. Some are too long, others are too large a diameter. This was the best one I could find that would fit.

Here is the finished product compared to stock



The end result is no where near as bright as the new cars or the techcarbon option but is about twice as bright as any BA9S bulb you can find. Also because they are LED they run about 3.5w so no danger of overheating. Be aware that this will set off your bulb out warning on the dash. This is easily coded out using NCS expert which I did. Also, the LED bulbs are polarized, when inserting your connectors that you have fashioned into the existing connector, if you get no light simply unplug and swap them around.

Total cost is about $52. Of course you've wrecked your stock holders so if you're not happy with it the cost to replace them is alot!

Cheers.

[Aries326]

Wow, great build! I'd have to strongly consider this. Stories of Tekarbon lights starting to leak for some have scared me off. This is the closest to the real thing with minimal cost. Thanks!!!

[StickMon]

Thanks! I like the way you think.
This is going to be my next LED project having just completed all my rear lights, hamburgers, and front corner markers.
Are they as blue as they look in the pics?
I'm trying to get something that best matches the HIDs, so 4500-5000K might be better.
I recently changed out the 5630 SMDs I put in my front corner markers for 5050 SMDs. The 5630s were just too blue.

[Vanne]

On Rock and Roll!!
(Sorry, could'nt resist!)

Looks awesome mate, keep up the good work. Love the build.

[chickdr]

I like your work ethic! For those of us who like staying with the B9S option is this the bulb you used? http://www.superbrightleds.com/morei...9-led-tower/9/

Also- when you code the bulb out warning off does this affect just the DRL's or all of your lights? I don't know how specific you can get with turning off warnings.

[cogriff]

Originally Posted by Vanne

On Rock and Roll!!
(Sorry, could'nt resist!)

Looks awesome mate, keep up the good work. Love the build.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by chickdr

I like your work ethic! For those of us who like staying with the B9S option is this the bulb you used? http://www.superbrightleds.com/morei...9-led-tower/9/
Also- when you code the bulb out warning off does this affect just the DRL's or all of your lights? I don't know how specific you can get with turning off warnings.

The one I used was this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/T4W-233-BA9s...-/181205803710
The lens part on the end I just pried off (it is only lightly glued on) as I figured I didn't need a focused beam just as much ambient light as possible.

To be honest I'm not sure. For my car with xenons the code option is for hot/cold monitoring of the high beams. A failed xenon will still bring in the warning and I believe that any signal/position/standing light out will bring it in as well but I can't confirm that.

Originally Posted by StickMon

Thanks! I like the way you think.
This is going to be my next LED project having just completed all my rear lights, hamburgers, and front corner markers.
Are they as blue as they look in the pics?
I'm trying to get something that best matches the HIDs, so 4500-5000K might be better.
I recently changed out the 5630 SMDs I put in my front corner markers for 5050 SMDs. The 5630s were just too blue.

The pictures give a pretty accurate visual of the resulting colour. The BA9S bulbs I used were SMD 5630 with a 5w cree LED on the end. Those were really blue but not as bright. The BA15S bulbs I have now didn't say what type of SMD they were but I suspect they are 5050. When looking for bulbs I paid more attention to the total lumen output of the bulb. For example, the BA9S bulb shown is 413lm and the BA15S bulb is 550lm. It doesn't sound like a big difference but alot has to do with the way the light pipe works. The LEDs pointing forward have very little impact on how bright the ring looks so the 5w cree on the end of the BA9S is basically useless and that one LED accounts for the bulk of the lumen output for the BA9S.

Look for a bulb that uses SMD5050 or better and has the maximum number of LEDs you can find on the SIDES of the bulb. You will be limited in length and diameter based on the light housing. Those are the limits I was playing with and came up with this.

Also, maybe there is a filter in the lightpipe or the way light gets refracted through it but the light output is always bluer that what the LED looks like when just plugged in but not installed. Even the incandescent bulb doesn't look as yellow when installed vs when not. Keep that in mind when trying to match things up.

[pokeybritches]

Nice build!

[StickMon]

Originally Posted by cogriff

... The LEDs pointing forward have very little impact on how bright the ring looks so the 5w cree on the end of the BA9S is basically useless and that one LED accounts for the bulk of the lumen output for the BA9S.

Look for a bulb that uses SMD5050 or better and has the maximum number of LEDs you can find on the SIDES of the bulb. You will be limited in length and diameter based on the light housing. Those are the limits I was playing with and came up with this.

Also, maybe there is a filter in the lightpipe ...

Correct on all counts.
I've been keeping my eye out for something small with CREEs around the sides.
Depending on the material of the light pipe it could well favor blue.
They may have even picked it for the purpose of making the incandescents look a little whiter.

[cogriff]

Originally Posted by StickMon

Correct on all counts.
I've been keeping my eye out for something small with CREEs around the sides.

Found these:
http://www.dx.com/p/ba9s-t4w-w6w-50w...-12-24v-278086

Might be a BA9S option that will be comparable to my BA15S option. Pay no attention to the 50w number. The actual power draw will be closer to 6-8w.

I might try these bulbs in my BA15S sockets:
http://www.amazon.com/Genssi-White-B.../dp/B00ED35ALY

lots of options to play with....

[StickMon]

Yea. The "Wattage" is equivalent light output at 5W/CREE.
Those look similar to these I put in my "panic" brake lights.
I measured those at 150 mA, so it's really just a smidge over 2 W.
The heads are fat and long. Not sure they'd fit in the housing for the angel eyes.
I wanted to try them in the front turn signals, but I couldn't even get them into the sockets without modification.

More random data:
I measured error free LED brake lights and turn signals from Bimmian:
Brake lights: 650 mA at 13 V
Turn signals: 500 mA at 13 V
So it looks like about half an amp is enough for the LCM to think you have a good 20 W bulb.
I was able to fool the bulb out for the panic brake lights with 20 Ω.

[Finnegan]

Really cool thinking around this issue! Nice work!

[cogriff]

teaser....

[cogriff]

Aero kit is on. Just waiting for time to get the coilovers installed. Had some paint correction done at the same time as the install. I'll post info about that whole fiasco when I have more time.

[Nate4641]

Very nice!

[jdoublehcubed]

two part expoxy to hold your angle eye franken clips together. 5 minute epoxy from home depot is more than good enough.

looks nice. good to have someone else do it first