Spyder Black HID type Halo Projector Headlights BMW Z4 03-08

[misterawa]

I recall threads about the cheap, non-HID halo projectors on ebay. Are these the same brand? I ran accross this yesterday online @ vividracing.

http://www.vividracing.com/catalog/s...-p-147500.html

Comments/thoughts...

[BU Z4]

Yes, same as the ebay brand, there are 3 types on these lights on the market:
black, chrome, smoke (chrome with smoke tint).

[fercho]

go for it bro!! I like them

[misterawa]

Originally Posted by fercho

go for it bro!! I like them

I found some good pics of them on z4-forum

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=25422

Can anyone here on Zpost, that has them, comment on it? They're like half the price on ebay.

[Jumbosock]

These get brought up on occasion but I haven't ever seen a good pic of them installed (day or night). I remember reading that they were a lot of work to install the wiring. Do pics/video exist?


Edit: looks like I was a couple minutes late on asking for pics.

[fercho]

theres some really good pic on this post, they are half way down.

http://www.bmwfaq.com/f156/z4-angel-...15/index2.html

[liamket]

bump

anyone have these and enjoy them? my oem's are all beat up... need new ones but don't want to pay for replacement oem.

I like the smoke, at least from the pictures but am still hesitant

[jaimebt]

Originally Posted by liamket

bump

anyone have these and enjoy them? my oem's are all beat up... need new ones but don't want to pay for replacement oem.

I like the smoke, at least from the pictures but am still hesitant

i just bought this ones: http://www.ebay.com/itm/131028316116...84.m1439.l2649

seller claimed they were hids, but its totally wrong, they are not, neither plug and play.

you cannot use your factory xenon kit. you will need a smaller ballast (slim kit), so that it can fit inside the headlight.

my carshop is working on it, i´ll post some pics next week.

more opinions? check this reviews in amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Spyder-Auto-Ha...w+z4+headlight

hope this helps!

[XMetal]

^^ This is not good. It appears these lights are actually designed for halogen setup, without the needed motors for HID auto leveling. So...even if you purchase an aftermarket smaller ballast kit, you will lose your auto leveling function, which will make it illegal on US public roads. This explains why they can sell it so cheap. I guessed it's an OK alternative if you have an OE halogen setup to begin with.

[jaimebt]

Originally Posted by XMetal

^^ This is not good. It appears these lights are actually designed for halogen setup, without the needed motors for HID auto leveling. So...even if you purchase an aftermarket smaller ballast kit, you will lose your auto leveling function, which will make it illegal on US public roads. This explains why they can sell it so cheap. I guessed it's an OK alternative if you have an OE halogen setup to begin with.

i didnt realize that, you are totally right. i live in mexico though, so it doesnt really matters if i dont have the auto leveling. here, they dont even know what that is

i just came back from the carshop, and the mechanic guy actually did a great job making them to work with an aftermarket xenon kit. they look nicee

but my car is still in the shop, they will finish doing some paint jobs next week, so ill post pics then.

cheers

[brock5ga]

Got home yesterday and noticed someone hit the left front of my car. Split the bumper and the left headlight is loose. Both are pretty foggy and I was going to have the bumper repainted anyway and had planned on having the headlights sanded and re-cleared. Now it looks like I am in the market for lights. To replace one side with OE, I am sure we will never get the older one close to matching. I found these on ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/131028316488...84.m1423.l2649
They say there is no low beam included, to install factory bulb. Says it is for HID version. I'll call the insurance company and see what their estimate is and then decide what I want to do. I am leaning towards this, but do not want to get into a conversion where the car is down for an extended period while I try to retrofit bulbs. Any opinions or has anyone possibly seen these?

[jaimebt]

those are like mine, in fact, its the same seller.

they look very good, and maybe better than the oem ones.

in my first day of use and after i wash my car, one of the headlights (left) appears to have some condensation inside.

now i will have to remove the bumper again, and see what is causing this. maybe, i will have to put some silicone around it.

i want to post some pictures, but i dont know how..

i will keep you posted.

[jaimebt]

this is the only one i have for now, but tomorrow i will post more.

[brock5ga]

Originally Posted by jaimebt

i just bought this ones: http://www.ebay.com/itm/131028316116...84.m1439.l2649

seller claimed they were hids, but its totally wrong, they are not, neither plug and play.

you cannot use your factory xenon kit. you will need a smaller ballast (slim kit), so that it can fit inside the headlight.

my carshop is working on it, i´ll post some pics next week.

more opinions? check this reviews in amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Spyder-Auto-Ha...w+z4+headlight

hope this helps!

Is it the bulb that won't fit or the ballast? Or both? I was wondering if you could put the correct replacement bulb in the socket and use the oem wiring and ballast? If not, which slim kit did you buy? I believe this is the light I want to go with. Just trying to order everything in one shot and reduce downtime if possible. Thanks

[jaimebt]

the bulbs fit, but they flicker a little while driving. you should find something or someway to hold them tight (mine are not).

i dont know exactly what type of ballast i have on my headlights, because i didnt bought them directly, a guy i know that works in a bmw body shop got them from "i dont want to know where", maybe from another crash bmw car

anyways, any slim ballast kit should perfectly fit.

what really bothers me is the condensation on both headlights, being the left one the worst. that bmw guy did put silicone around the headlights, but it didnt seem to work 100%. i will have to take them out and do another layer of silicone around them.

here is a picture:

[bassrebel]

can you take a picture of the headlights at night?

[brock5ga]

Originally Posted by jaimebt

the bulbs fit, but they flicker a little while driving. you should find something or someway to hold them tight (mine are not).

i dont know exactly what type of ballast i have on my headlights, because i didnt bought them directly, a guy i know that works in a bmw body shop got them from "i dont want to know where", maybe from another crash bmw car

anyways, any slim ballast kit should perfectly fit.

what really bothers me is the condensation on both headlights, being the left one the worst. that bmw guy did put silicone around the headlights, but it didnt seem to work 100%. i will have to take them out and do another layer of silicone around them. I will research and see if I can find out the proper bulb for the Spyder brand. Would rather have a couple of bulbs to work with to keep the car from being down too long. Didn't want to use it as a daily driver, but with the pickup getting 15mpg, I am looking forward to getting her back.

here is a picture:

I wonder if the condensation may be a result of the bulbs not fitting properly and sealing the back of the housing? All these aftermarket lights I am seeing like this look identical to the Spyder lights. I bet they are all manufactured the same. Do you know what bulb the housing is supposed to take? I would like to find the proper bulb and check fitment before installing in the car. Do the lights align well with the fender - hood - bumper? Also ordered the aero front bumper to replace the damaged one. If you pull them and you still have the original ballasts, see if they are the same size.

[StickMon]

Don't just put more sealer on it before getting all that moisture out.
You'll just trap it inside.

[Pheonix]

Originally Posted by XMetal

^^ This is not good. It appears these lights are actually designed for halogen setup, without the needed motors for HID auto leveling. So...even if you purchase an aftermarket smaller ballast kit, you will lose your auto leveling function, which will make it illegal on US public roads. This explains why they can sell it so cheap. I guessed it's an OK alternative if you have an OE halogen setup to begin with.

I did not know it is illegal not to have auto leveling headlights? As a matter of fact, i dont know that many cars have this features! It is a bit overkilled feature anyway because the light only level at start up.
By the way, those light look really nice but that is a lot of moistures! The guys might right, check the sealing between the bulb and the housing.

[jaimebt]

i dont think that the condensation is getting in through the back of the housing, because it has a tight round rubber cap covering the back where you put in the bulb and the ballast. im almost sure the condensation is getting in somewhere around the headlight.

and yes, they are identical to the spyder headlights.

i used the original xenon bulbs that i took from my oem headlights, but i didnt use the original ballast, because it didnt fit inside the the hole (that is covered by the rubber cap) where you put the bulb and the ballast, thats why i used a smaller ballast.

the headlights align perfectly with the fender - hood - bumper.

here is a picture of them at night. they were kind of dirty though...

[jaimebt]

[pungo]

Originally Posted by Pheonix

I did not know it is illegal not to have auto leveling headlights? As a matter of fact, i dont know that many cars have this features! It is a bit overkilled feature anyway because the light only level at start up.

The idea with the auto leveling is it you were to load the trunk with bags of concrete or what ever, the lights would level so they're not pointing up and blinding people. I think it makes more sense on a larger car where you could have some fat people in the rear seat and a load of luggage. Bottom line is the auto leveling isn't really needed if you don't load the back, or accelerate so hard the front raises