school me on HIDs/lights

[Alkasquawlik]

My iX initially came with sealed beams and I upgraded to US ellipsoids sometime in the last year.

I know that with ellipsoids, unlike the sealed beams, you can swap out bulbs for different brightnesses etc etc, but I have absolutely no clue where to go from here.

Do I need to get an HID kit or do I just need to get different bulbs, or are those one and the same?

I'm looking for brighter lights, I don't want to have those blueish and whiteish looking headlights because I think they'd look tacky on an E30. Modern lighting on a 20 year old car. I want something that keeps the nostalgia of the classic E30, but gives a brighter light.

School me?

[e30nub]

I got some Sylvania Silverstar's and they're perfect for what you're asking. They're super bright, (the high beams are retardedly bright,) but I might go to some just plain white HID's since they seem to be just THAT much more brighter.

Check out the HID thread for what people are running:

http://r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=117367&page=6

[Alkasquawlik]

I'm assuming the Sylvania's are just regular bulbs you can buy, right?

What's the difference between them and HIDs?

[Danny]

Just get Sylvania SilverStars like Pierre said, grab them at Kragen.

Then you don't have to deal with housing ballasts or any BS.

[Alkasquawlik]

Just get Sylvania SilverStars like Pierre said, grab them at Kragen.

Then you don't have to deal with housing ballasts or any BS.

Works for me lol.
All that stuff confuses the fuck out of me.

[StereoInstaller1]

If yo want to see the fucking road ahead, don't waste time.

Buy a set of 5000K HIDs (I am using the 35 watt slims, was $50ish total) and install them.

You will never go back.

Luke

[Alkasquawlik]

If yo want to see the fucking road ahead, don't waste time.

Buy a set of 5000K HIDs (I am using the 35 watt slims, was $50ish total) and install them.

You will never go back.

Luke

If I went HID, what is the list of things I would need to buy?

I really have no idea on the different things I need, the different outputs and levels, etc

[Danny]

PM Golde30, I think he has a line on some.

He'll hook it up.

[smonkbmw]

https://www.ddmtuning.com

click "hid and lighting" on the left hand side bar

click 35/55 watt kits

on the right use the 55watt option

color temp 4500

bulb type 9006

purchase.

the rest is plug and play. the ballasts connect to the 9006 connector in your car. the bulbs are like any standard bulb. the difference is staggering. 3300 lumens of light output is roughly TWICE the brightness of any standard halogen. its all simple and there are plenty of write ups on here about it. DDM tuning even has their own forum on bimmerforums.com if you have any other issues/concerns.

[nando]

I like my 6k temp bulbs. I'm not a fan of the ricer blue look at all, but they're pretty much white anyway. I have 3k fogs if i need some yellow. :p

[StereoInstaller1]

Mine claim 6K, but they are a bit blue.

I understand the higher wattages are less blue.

Wifey gets these soon as I get some 55 watt.

[nando]

that could be, mine are 55w.

funny part is the fogs are actually green when I first turn them on

[Alkasquawlik]

So wtf are the differences between the different wattages and power levels (ie. 4500k, 6000k)

[ubernasty]

optically, the colors change. i have 55w 6000k and they are a little blue. depending on what you get they range from white/blue/purple. just do a little searching

[joonsup]

So wtf are the differences between the different wattages and power levels (ie. 4500k, 6000k)

the higher the Kelvin, the less output you will have and the bluer the color it will produce. DDM tuning kits come either in 35w or 55w and according to them the 55w kits produce 30-40% brighter light than the 35w. I currently run their 35w kit with the 5000K bulbs but I am leaning towards purchasing the 55w kit with the 6000K bulb to compare how much brighter they are.