Smoked Depo review wanted

[ezrez]

Anyone have any recent experiences with the Depo headlights that they'd like to share? Bosch and Hella prices are leaning towards stupid and Depo's came to mind...

Thanks for sharing

[Bimmerguy91]

Haven't specifically tried the Depo headlights for an E30 but I have used Depo lights on many other BMWs and never had any issues. They are pretty good quality, definitely good enough for 99% of E30s

[Mad Max]

Euro Smiley Smoked Crosshair Projector Headlight Set

Sold at ECS. Part #ES#2710776 $249.95

I like the look of these and the price only if the quality pans out.

The only review given stated it took two hours to install including making a trip to the local auto parts for connectors??? My question for this upgrade is why am I, after dropping 250 large, needing to buy connectors and slicing wires to make it all work?

Why are they not plug and play so I am not cutting up my investment!

[TURBOX]

looking to do this also, but have been on the fence
Euro Smiley Smoked Crosshair Projector Headlight Set
other stuff keeps breaking

[Todd Black 88]

Euro Smiley Smoked Crosshair Projector Headlight Set

Sold at ECS. Part #ES#2710776 $249.95

I like the look of these and the price only if the quality pans out.

The only review given stated it took two hours to install including making a trip to the local auto parts for connectors??? My question for this upgrade is why am I, after dropping 250 large, needing to buy connectors and slicing wires to make it all work?

Why are they not plug and play so I am not cutting up my investment!

Because you are buying lights that were never designed for your North American car?

[Mad Max]

Because you are buying lights that were never designed for your North American car?

Ok, I wasn't aware of that.

BUT, why is there not a connector to attach these Depo's to my current wiring harness provided with a $250.00 kit.

[AndrewBird]

Because the proper way to install them is to put the proper connectors on your car, not use an adapter that adds resistance to the circuit.

[reelizmpro]

Ok, I wasn't aware of that.

BUT, why is there not a connector to attach these Depo's to my current wiring harness provided with a $250.00 kit.

They copied everything except the euro connectors. Unfortunately, the housings along with the waterproof terminals are expensive. You can get them used off other BMW's at the junkyard if you know what to look for. The sad adapter harness they provide is specifically designed for cars with ellipsoids already which means 88-89. If your car didn't come with ellipsoids then you'd need to make your own adapter harness with male/female spade connectors. You might want to use HID or LED units in the lowbeams anyway so you just need to wire up the highbeams and citylights. It's not a big deal if you are inclined and have the tools.

I've had all kinds of lights over the years from Bosch/Hella euro ellipsoids to Depo's and I have no major complaints. The quality isn't as good but good enough and of course they are brand new vs nearly 30 year old original lights. OEM used parts are just getting older everyday. At some point you just have to decide what's more important. The one thing I have noticed about the smoked Depo's though is the trim rings will rust. I refinished them after a few years and they have started rusting again. I don't have this issue with original Hella smoked lights. People also say the glass is thinner or cheaper which may be true but then again cost to replace the set is much cheaper than OEM.

[badwella]

I have the Depo's on my car. Daily driven for the last few months.

Quality is good. I do recommend doing a thorough inspection around the glass. Early DEPO's had complaints of leaking. I found a small area that looked suspect where there was a gap in the sealer. Just to be safe, I ran a small bead of clear silicone all the way around all the lenses to ensure there would be no leaks. No problems so far. The casting for the H1 bulb seat isn't perfect (lots of flashing left over), but IIRC, all else was perfectly fine. The holders/bracket/frame, whatever it's called, had lots of flashing left over on mine where there are bolt holes, etc. Not a big deal to cut them out however, but it won't matter anyway. I just like to do it.

Also, to protect the glass I recommend getting Lamin-X or an equivalent.

If you are lucky, you can find all the necessary Euro connectors on fleabay. I paid about $50 for the lot of them and spliced them into my harness just fine. Would have cost something like $140 for brand new ones.

Deleted my side markers and tapped into the line to power my city lights. However, I want to undo that and make them run solely as DRL that will turn off when I turn on the main beams.

Taken right after they were installed (with new valance and euro grills, etc).

[Bimmerguy91]

Because they probably had sealed beam headlights. ANY headlight upgrade on a sealed beam car will require splicing wires, etc.

Euro Smiley Smoked Crosshair Projector Headlight Set

Sold at ECS. Part #ES#2710776 $249.95

I like the look of these and the price only if the quality pans out.

The only review given stated it took two hours to install including making a trip to the local auto parts for connectors??? My question for this upgrade is why am I, after dropping 250 large, needing to buy connectors and slicing wires to make it all work?

Why are they not plug and play so I am not cutting up my investment!

[Mo Brighta]

Upgrades from Sealed Beams - no splicing

Because they probably had sealed beam headlights. ANY headlight upgrade on a sealed beam car will require splicing wires, etc.

Not true, I sell tons of Hella and Cibie halogens to replace sealed beams. Plug And Play.

I install sealed beam connectors - solder them to high beam wiring, you plug into the harness connector. Lows are simply plug-ins, no adaptors needed, since H4 lamps take the harness connector directly.

And they all take headlight protection film very well, of course. A good headlight should last 30 years; mine do.

Good Lights Don't Leak, and they WORK with standard wattage high output lamps. But if you want Depos, get them and see how they work. It's only money.