BMW E34 headlamps retrofit

[Hazwan]

Me being me again, thinking oh that looks like it might fit. Little did I know theres a LOT of modding required to be done. I'm still not happy with the way its installed right now. I'm having a trouble trying to put the connector/boot thinggy on. I'll figure that out soon I guess. Oh and I gotta repaint my bay.

LOL what have I done here ><


Cleaned up real good


Test fit


Duh that doesn't work
[IMG]http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/6296/img0861zv.jpg[/IMG

Stock BMW tabs shaved off


Stock 1g headlight bucket cut




It fits. kinda.

[Hazwan]

Obviously the projector doesn't fit lol


Oh yay!


IT FITS!!




lol hax


Cutout line


Done. kinda.

[Hazwan]

Done. for now. I still gotta do some finishing touch but that will do for today >< Took me 9 hours straight to get them done lol!






Dat cutoff! Obviously its still daylight and I hada turn the exposure down to get that. Better pics tonight woot!

[A18A]

it looks evil like it wants to kill me and my family :O

[Civic Accord Honda]

he has created the devil :O

[Dr_Snooz]

Great work as always, though I suspect you're going to be less than elated with the light those give you. It's nearly impossible to see anything when you're out in the country because the cutoff is well below street sign level.

Now the high beams are another matter. You can signal space craft in the Orion nebula with those.

Did you test your electrics before installing? I tried putting some E34 horns on my 3g and the electrical system wasn't powerful enough to run them. They just emitted a feeble meep. On the E34, the horns are astonishingly loud. It's hard to tell from your pic, but the light looks pretty yellow. I suspect you're going to have some electrical work ahead of you before getting those to work right. Hardly worth the bother for the meager light they deliver. I don't mean to bash your mod. Your work is always excellent. The headlights are meh. Wish you had asked me before cutting up your car.

[Hazwan]

Great work as always, though I suspect you're going to be less than elated with the light those give you. It's nearly impossible to see anything when you're out in the country because the cutoff is well below street sign level.

Now the high beams are another matter. You can signal space craft in the Orion nebula with those.

Did you test your electrics before installing? I tried putting some E34 horns on my 3g and the electrical system wasn't powerful enough to run them. They just emitted a feeble meep. On the E34, the horns are astonishingly loud. It's hard to tell from your pic, but the light looks pretty yellow. I suspect you're going to have some electrical work ahead of you before getting those to work right. Hardly worth the bother for the meager light they deliver. I don't mean to bash your mod. Your work is always excellent. The headlights are meh. Wish you had asked me before cutting up your car.

Eh trust me they're not as yellow and as poor as you can see from the pics. I was too busy last night to get some proper pics but the light output is good, as good as my old H4 conversions. And yes, my headlight circuit is good, putting out perfect 13.5v during idle and under load and slightly above 14v on higher RPMs.

This is probably why


Now keep in mind that my camera made them look dim/too yellow and the bulbs are old. I'm pretty sure with a pair of good/high efficiency H1 bulbs they gonna be just fine.

Took for a test drive last night and yes, I can see shit on the road as good as my old H4 housings

[Hazwan]

Some better pics. Its kinda hard to capture the light's intensity but I can't really tell much difference with my old H4 housings. Mind you the bulbs are old and probably on its way out. I'm getting some good H1 bulbs for them soon.

[1GCustomAccord]

Hey very good job! They look really nice and a lil evil
I was thinking in adapting some BMW eagle eyes in mine, not an easy task i guess.
Hey do you take off your shoes before coming in to your house?

[Dr_Snooz]

Well, if you like the low-beams, put in the highs. They are painfully bright.

[DBMaster]

Hmm. Back in the distant 80's I put two Marchal high/low beam H4 housings in the outer spots on my 72 Catalina. What a difference compared to standard sealed beam halogens of the time period! But, this area is far more developed now and I literally NEVER use high beams at all. So, a good light dispersion pattern and sharp cutoff have become the most important aspects of my automotive lighting. I could practically drive with NO headlights around here these days. I like what you have done with the BMW lighting. It's a fun project, to be sure.

[2oodoor]

Nice work that was a good idea

[Hazwan]

Hey very good job! They look really nice and a lil evil
I was thinking in adapting some BMW eagle eyes in mine, not an easy task i guess.
Hey do you take off your shoes before coming in to your house?

Yes haha

Well, if you like the low-beams, put in the highs. They are painfully bright.

I already have them even before the low beams install. They indeed is bright (Y)

Hmm. Back in the distant 80's I put two Marchal high/low beam H4 housings in the outer spots on my 72 Catalina. What a difference compared to standard sealed beam halogens of the time period! But, this area is far more developed now and I literally NEVER use high beams at all. So, a good light dispersion pattern and sharp cutoff have become the most important aspects of my automotive lighting. I could practically drive with NO headlights around here these days. I like what you have done with the BMW lighting. It's a fun project, to be sure.

YES! Anything > sealed beam. I had good H4 bulb the last time too and that is just (Y)

Nice work that was a good idea

Thanks

Okay now I know I probably would get flamed by this but thoughts on.......

pnp HID kit? I know running HIDs in stock halogen housings is a no-no and I myself hated people running them in stock housing and blinding everybody on the road.

BUT I've made some research and apparently the cutoff is still sharp and there is no glare at all with them in the stock projector housings:





Thats a good cutoff IMO. Except! The beam pattern isn't as wide as a proper/modern HID projectors. But that last pic looks good enough to me so idk???

Should I go with high powered good H1 bulbs or bother with a good pnp HID kit? Stupid idea? Ahhh decisions!

[1GCustomAccord]

HID is not a bad idea! 4.5-5.5 K is the best light color for best luminosity, the only problem is in foggy areas, they are not as good as a yellowish light.

[Hazwan]

4300k HID to be exact, aka the closest to the halogen output and while still maintaining the best output. I'm not a fan of anything higher than 5000k so yeah.

[1GCustomAccord]

Yep. Just to be a lil more wikipedic, hallogen lamps are rated 2.6Kk aprox, so anything over that is good untill 5.5Kk.

[79cord]

Congratulations they look great.
Clearly a tight fit even with work, given how deep those projector lamp assemblies are.
I've noticed some new Audi & Fords actually mounting the low-beams inboard of the high beam; providing they were still close enough to the outside edge of the car I guess.
Legally I think headlight washers & self leveling lamps are often required for HID globes.

I've actually enquired to see if I could buy some cheap smashed Renault lights to play with, thinking of using their reflectors & adjustment mechanisms (throwing away the rest) under custom lenses given their lenses don't provide light optics, but they wanted too much money for their rubbish.

.. Don't worry they wouldn't be recognizable! Should look almost original in the end once completely stripped back.
I just wanted to be able to recess them even deeper than those of early Accords, with the top of their trim rings obscured so they peer out from under the bonnet, and allow a tiny bit more room for a central grille slightly wider at bottom than top vaugely like 2g Accord (non-US), (& some Mustang) styling, for a more aggressive look.
Idea's not completely dead yet though if the right lamb assemblies appear.

[247shuer247]

damn those look sick ! wish i had a one of my own

[carotman]

Nice work!

The cutoff line is really good.

[2ndGenGuy]

Killer work on the retrofit man. I like how those lights look in there!