E30 Lighting Guide + DIY Bi-Xenon Conversion

[e30owner]

Hella H1 BiFocal (Bi-Focus) Low beam (outer): http://www.rallylights.com/hella-5-3...1-hl26700.html
Hella H1 High Beam (inner): http://www.rallylights.com/hl71157-h...-ece-each.html
Cibies: http://www.danielsternlighting.com/p.../products.html
There is also a mixed Low/High beam unit, just like the stock sealed beams work, though rallylights.com say it gives up some light over the BiFocal unit in order to accomplish its dual lighting nature.
Hella H4 Low/High beam (outer): http://www.rallylights.com/h5006-hel...dlamp-kit.html

Thanks for the detailed report. I don't know much about headlights, but I own a 1986 BMW 325 with stock H5006/H5001 sealed beams. i notice that according to the above specs, the Hella mixed Lo/Hi unit is an "exact replacement" for the H5006 sealed beam. The H1 bi-focus Lo-beam, on the other hand, is intended as a replacement for 4002 and 4005 sealed beams, which I do not have. Does that mean that replacing my H5006 sealed beams with the H1 Bi-Focus Lo-beam unit would give superior lighting, but would require modifications, whereas replacing the H5006 with the H4 Lo/Hi would give up some light, but would be plug-and-play?

[hankolerd]

I updated the original post with a small amount of details on wiring, as well as some comparisons between the LED high beam and 9011 HIR high beam.

[hankolerd]

JT has started shipping the new Squared adapter this past week (or maybe is starting this week) - http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=321623

[DER E30]

Much brightness. So Mini H1 7.0. Most excite.

Yes when are the new retrofit adaptors for 7.0s coming?

[bmwman91]

Eh you may want to reconsider going to HIDs. ;)

Much brightness. So Mini H1 7.0. Most excite.

[DER E30]

Eh you may want to reconsider going to HIDs

Yes! It is amazing how much light they spit out!

[hankolerd]

Looks good JT!

I posted a bit of updated info on wiring based on what I have discovered when trying to run the 9011 HIR in place of the LED high beams and popping fuses.

[glucklich21]

For anyone curious on h1 bulbs, I just did a sealed beam to Euro Ellipsoid conversion from Depo. About $230 plus shipping from eBay, build quality is pretty good, read a lot of reviews but went this route instead of hunting down oem hellas. Im using them with low beam H1 Sylvania silverstar ultra's. Tried the normal silverstar which actually give you a cooler temp white light but days after found out that the ultra's were "the brighter bulb" so i changed them out for those just because. The ultras are a bit warmer then the base silverstar (i do film production so maybe only ill notice the difference with my trained eye) but still whiter then regular untinted halogen which is what i was going for, they actually seem brighter then the base silverstar's as well so its the best of both worlds i guess. I just compared them to another cars standard bulbs and I'm very impressed with the light performance I'm getting. I know tinted bulbs aren't best and won't give me the brightest performance possible from h1 but I'm very pleased because i could hardly see with the stock sealed beams and i don't HAVE to go HID. Ill add comparison photos soon between my e30 and my brothers stock lighting setup e36.

Eh you may want to reconsider going to HIDs. ;)

[Garrick2007]

For anyone curious on h1 bulbs, I just did a sealed beam to Euro Ellipsoid conversion from Depo. About $230 plus shipping from eBay, build quality is pretty good, read a lot of reviews but went this route instead of hunting down oem hellas. Im using them with low beam H1 Sylvania silverstar ultra's. Tried the normal silverstar which actually give you a cooler temp white light but days after found out that the ultra's were "the brighter bulb" so i changed them out for those just because. The ultras are a bit warmer then the base silverstar (i do film production so maybe only ill notice the difference with my trained eye) but still whiter then regular untinted halogen which is what i was going for, they actually seem brighter then the base silverstar's as well so its the best of both worlds i guess. I just compared them to another cars standard bulbs and I'm very impressed with the light performance I'm getting. I know tinted bulbs aren't best and won't give me the brightest performance possible from h1 but I'm very pleased because i could hardly see with the stock sealed beams and i don't HAVE to go HID. Ill add comparison photos soon between my e30 and my brothers stock lighting setup e36.

[hankolerd]

I found a pair of new OEM projector housing's for 75% off out of Germany, so by end of January I will be able to compare Morimoto Mini H1 with 35W 4500K bulbs vs OEM Ellipsoids with Philips HIR1 bulbs in the low/high beams, and Morimoto XB LED vs Philips HIR2 in the high beams.

I also heard back from Daniel Stern, he recommends for sealed beam cars to go straight to the Hella BiFocal unit, it is a more straightforward swap, and he believes the optics on it are better at putting more light on the road than the Ellipsoids. Though, he also recommends new units over well worn units, so if you are looking at a pair of dirty old BiFocals or a new set of Ellipsoids, he says the new Ellipsoid would be better. If you already have a decent set of Ellipsoids he simply recommends upgrading the bulbs to Philips HIR1/HIR2, as they are ~50% brighter than comparable 9005/9006 bulbs at the same wattage.

[hankolerd]

I have been e-mailing with Daniel Stern and he has shared some information regarding why a projector retro-fit might not be the best or safest lighting upgrade available. I will post some links in the original post. I agree with most of his thoughts, and if I would have spoken with him before my upgrade I would have steered clear of a retro-fit.

I went ahead and ordered a Philips 9011/HIR high beam to replace the LED high beam. I will post up comparison photos of that when I get them swapped. In the meantime, I will continue to run this retro-fit on the low beams, but may be on the lookout for an OEM projector in the future. At the very least I would like to compare them side-by-side someday.

[hankolerd]

I have been e-mailing with Daniel Stern on his thoughts for these cars. I am still waiting for a few answers for him, but it seems his choice would be the H4 Hella Bi-Focal sealed-beam replacements (same plug as the sealed beam), or the US Ellipsoid. I enquired how the Hella Bi-Focal compares to the Cibie.

For the US Ellipsoid running 9005/9006 he highly recommended the Philips branded 9011/HIR1 and 9012/HIR2 bulbs. The base on the 9011 and 9012 has to be modified slightly, but he said this is very easy to do, and these bulbs produce ~50% more lumens (1700 for the Philips 9005 vs 2530 for the Philips 9011).

I didn't ask about the best H1 bulb, but his website lists the 55W H1 Narva, so probably it is his favorite bulb. I will add this to the first post.

I would stick with sealed beams, but they keep getting more expensive and harder to find.
O'reilly doesn't even carry them, and Autozone wants $18 for "Xtravision" H5006 sealed beams.
I replaced one, and a month later, the other burned out - and it is a Wagner that I put in less than a year ago!
I'd like to go to H4/H1 lamps, but don't want to spend a lot and put a lot of time into it (no barn/workshop to do it in anymore).

This is exactly the problem I had, the Wagner bulbs were only lasting a few months (<1000 miles), I got tired of wasting my money on such cheap bulbs. After e-mailing with Daniel Stern I think the Hella Bi-Focal low beams and H1 E-Code high beams seems like a no brainer for a sealed beam upgrade. All in you would be ~$400 after tax, or less if you can find them used.

I would stay far away from cheap lights. The way those reflectors are notched seems plain wrong. There is a reason all OEM reflectors are smooth. Especially stay away from the ones coated black. I can't speak to how much light black paint robs, but if I had to guess I would say 30-50%. If you do go with either of those kits definitely post photos of the result to help others make informed decisions.

[McGyver]

It looks like Topgear Autosport is sort of hit & miss for cheap Chinese parts (at best) and wrong or non functional at worst.

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/TopGearAutosport/page/21

Bummer. I like the "Plug & Play conversion idea.

I would stick with sealed beams, but they keep getting more expensive and harder to find.

O'reilly doesn't even carry them, and Autozone wants $18 for "Xtravision" H5006 sealed beams.
I replaced one, and a month later, the other burned out - and it is a Wagner that I put in less than a year ago!
I'd like to go to H4/H1 lamps, but don't want to spend a lot and put a lot of time into it (no barn/workshop to do it in anymore).

Remember that you get what you pay for and you will have to constantly replace/fuck with cheap chinese shit.

If I were you, I'd try to find a set of US ellipsoids and use those. As OP stated, you'll get better light output plus bulbs are cheap and available everywhere. Wiring them is also a piece of cake, and you can occasionally find them at the junkyard. Just make sure to get the plugs as well.

[Mark 42]

It looks like Topgear Autosport is sort of hit & miss for cheap Chinese parts (at best) and wrong or non functional at worst.

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/TopGearAutosport/page/21

Bummer. I like the "Plug & Play conversion idea.

I would stick with sealed beams, but they keep getting more expensive and harder to find.

O'reilly doesn't even carry them, and Autozone wants $18 for "Xtravision" H5006 sealed beams.
I replaced one, and a month later, the other burned out - and it is a Wagner that I put in less than a year ago!
I'd like to go to H4/H1 lamps, but don't want to spend a lot and put a lot of time into it (no barn/workshop to do it in anymore).

[Mark 42]

Anyone tried any of these?

I found these when I was searching for a replacement H5006 sealed beam.
I really like the faceted reflectors, but have no idea about the quality.

http://www.topgearautosport.com/part/A128426X199/BMW_E30_3_Series_1984-1991_Sealed_Beam_Headlight_Conversion_Low_and_High_Beams.html

They also have one with blacked out reflectors, which I think would look cool,
but it's only available with the angel eyes type rings on the black reflectored ones.

http://www.topgearautosport.com/part/A128ZRB2199/BMW_3_Series_1984-1991_Halo_Black_Sealed_Beam_Headlight_Conversion_Low_and_High_Beams.html

I wonder how much brightness is lost by the black versus silver reflectors.

The only way angel eyes look good (to me) is with an added front lip (like the pic below) on the hood.
I have no idea who makes this one - I've seen others, but they looked different (maybe just because
of the color though?) Anyone know who makes this one?...



I also considered an LED conversion. We are using LED lights on commercial planes now,
so I know they can be made with enough brightness in a useful color spectrum, but the
kind of quality for that would probably be above my budget
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-3-4-H5006-...xUuJ~U&vxp=mtr