you need ballasts and ignitors and all of that good stuff

 

so there isnt any way to get the look with just replacing the halogen bulbs?

 

i just did this yesturday night i'm not 100% done yet but the best way is to 1. get p46s and bam your done or 2. find a oem xenon headset like i did and plug it in
i believe both are plug and play as in you just remove 4 bolts 2 on top 2 on bottem and take the old one out, slide the new one in place and plug it in.

or
you can get an hid conversion kit which is basically a lot easier but you dont get the well aimed xenon light, instead its just a huge spread of light

 

you can simulate the look..with tinted glass bulbs. I used to have luminics h7 violet purple I liked the look for halogens. but it doesnt touch xenons, you wont get no where near the brightness, nor the color flicker that the projectors and the HIDs produce.

 

so there isnt any way to get the look with just replacing the halogen bulbs?

nope with a ballast its just still halogens even if you get the cool ebay blue bulbs haha

 

You could get the "look" from just changing the bulbs. By that I mean the bulbs are tinted blue to get a more xenon like color out of them. This works against you though in light output, diminishing the already poor output of halogens.

If you are looking for the output then my suggestion is go for true xenon retrofit. It makes a HUGE difference driving at night! Check out Projector46 from Jlevi or Umnitza. Or go the OEM route with Ebay. Easy to switch to xenon.

http://jlevistreetwerks.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=30_33_35&products_id=50&osCsid=c9a3c578cc1cc5924b8af877c9a77dd2
http://www.umnitza.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_90&products_id=208

Please don't purchase xenons without retrofitting them in a projector housing (unless its fogs, then who cares). If you put them into a halogen housing/reflector the light dispersion will be terrible and you will blind oncoming traffic.

If you can't afford the cost you could just get some hyper white bulbs like Sylvania Silverstars. Just be sure the bulb you buy is not tinted!

 

You need an entirely new headlight. You can purchase an HID kit (we are running a GB special on them) which includes 2 ballasts, 2 igniters and 2 bulbs. However, your halogen headlights are not optimized for xenon headlights as they are reflective based rather than projector based like an OEM xenon headlight.

Hence, we have our Projector46 kits which are full plug and play headlight replacement kits that are projector based xenons with built in angel eyes--just like a factory xenon headlight setup. The feature our ProLumen HID kit preinstalled with a full lifetime warranty. We include access to a full 45 step installation guide for you to install your angel eyes and are also available via phone and email for technical/installation support.

If you do not feel up to the task of installing, we have a list of authorized installers on our website.

Here is the product page and please feel free to email or call in (408-318-2875) with any questions or to place your order.

http://jlevistreetwerks.com/store/p...m/store/product_info.php?products_id=50&osCsid=60e5201b48d285c06250ffdf4b02df81

 

If you are not looking to spend that much on a full xenon kit, we do have H7 Predator Xenix halogen replacement bulbs which are just halogen bulbs that are colored to look like xenons.

I must warn you however, you will never get the full xenon effect without a true xenon setup. With that said, the Xenix's are a great alternative to the pricier xenon kits.

 

Sorry for dinging up a old thread, I didn't want to start a new thread.

Anyways, so all i have to buy is the Projector46 kit and install it in my car, without buying anything else? so the headlight are a full assembled Headlight, so all i have to do is to swap them and I would have Xenon projector headlights on my car?

Thanks in Advance to answering my question.

 

Second question(just thought of it now), So if I bought the ones from here, http://www.umnitza.com/product_info....roducts_id=208 , for the xenon and bulb option I select 'no thanks", so would I just be left with the housing and no xenons? I am really lost on this topic, any help is great.
thanks

 

If you select "No Thanks!" on the xenon, you won't have xenon headlights. If you select "No Thanks!" on the bulb, you just have the housings.

 

I have a quick question then. I have an 04 330ci coupe, it has projectors of course but halogen bulbs. In essence, what i'm asking is that are the projectors for 04+ coupes the same for halogen or xenon. Or are they different to a great degree (i.e. may melt, completely off beam pattern, focal length is incorrect, etc).

Can i just buy a kit with bulbs and ballasts and be good to go, or will i need to buy new headlamps, and if so from where?

 

I have a quick question then. I have an 04 330ci coupe, it has projectors of course but halogen bulbs.?

Are you sure?I've never seen e46 with projectors,but without HIDs:hmm: :hmm: :hmm:

 

You can buy an HID conversion kit. I'm no salesman and I'm not sure, but I think that JLeviSW is still running a group buy on the HID retrofit. You get the bulbs, ballasts and igniters, and it is completely plug-and-play - you just install everything according to the guide and change your halogen projectors to xenons.

 

trust me man, they changed the headlights (facelift coupe) and they're projectors. My car doesn't have xenons, i just want to know if i get a hid kit (ballast n bulbs) and put it in that it wont look like crap. Such as the beam pattern being all over the place and what not. I was going to start another thread but since this one already existed i decided to ask here. Does anybody know if i could just get the bulbs n ballasts and be good to go or will i have problems.. Also would there be a way for me to put in auto leveling into my existing headlights or is it out of the question?

 

I have an 04 325ci. The facelifted coupes come with projectors, with xenons as an option. You can have halogen projectors - that's what I have. If that is the case, you will want to find a seller and buy an HID conversion kit. They will give you the bulbs, ballasts, igniters, and harnesses (might be slightly different, depending on the vendor) and replace your bulbs with the xenon bulbs, then wire up the HID kit.

It's my understanding that since you have projectors, will you have a tight beam pattern. Look at your beam pattern with your halogen projectors, then look at someone with reflective halogen lights. The reflectors have a really scattered and mushy light pattern. The projectors with halogens, while very dim, still have a very tight pattern, and the xenons should mimic that pattern, just brighter.

Not sure about the auto-leveling, I think there was a DIY on here a little while ago detailing how to do that.

 

Yeah i noticed that, my only fear was that the halogen projectors were made specifically for halogen bulbs. I'm just hoping that bmw was lazy enough not to switch out the projector setups for the xenons. Have you installed xenons in your car, can you tell me how it looks with the projectors? Thanks for your help man.

 

looking to do the same, have halogens, 2004 325ci, let me know how this works out for you guys.

 

For a 2004 325ci, you already have projectors. Let's get some HIDs in there and you'll be all set - They'll be $275 shipped.
JL