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    #31
    BiFocal availability

    Originally posted by Motheye99 View Post
    How much for a plug and play set?
    As you can imagine, they jacked up the price once they went to a 'special order' status. BiFocals only, from Hella USA, are running $340 the pair plus shipping (from the US only; not overseas). I am doing the mentioned setup (film, lamps, connectors) for $112 the pair plus shipping.

    The low beam relay mod to make them permanently active with highs is $12. It is a pretty simple mod inside the fuse box that requires hand tools only - 2 screwdrivers and a hex key (Allen wrench). A jumper wire with the correct Hella terminal to install in the relay socket, heat shrink tube to cover the terminal liberated, and instructions with pictures are included.

    Also, there's an update on the back side- a rubber boot is now included. The light has a unique 'ground post' for wiring, a tapered round 'finger' thing that sticks up. The terminal for this is equally unique, and is available from Hella through my connection. You can see this post in RZMOSER's pictures. Look at IMG_2909, it's on the left. The main and city light bulbs ground through the metal socket structure, which is wired to ground via this post.

    Lamps - the RangePower 50+ Narva lamps have been outclassed by a newer H1, also 55 watts! Vosla (German of course) makes an H1 +100 that claims double the output of a standard H1. I have these, and have sold them to great acclaim. They are only a few bucks more than the Narva 50+ at $18 a piece.

    I have been told, again, that these are available by special order, prepaid only. But my experience tells me they are definitely worth the wait!

    Email me with specific questions or to order a pair.

    Rzmoser- email me any time, let's talk!

    Andy
    Andy says "Be Seen, and Not Hurt!"
    Lighting Upgrades front and back for 2002, E3, E9, E10, E12, E21, E23, E24, E28, E30, E32, E36, E39, and more.
    Tail Light Improvements keep them off your tail.
    Headlight protection saves headlights from breakage.

    Comment


      #32
      Well, we lost them again. Seems the Hella's BiFocal H1 low beam is no longer available - AGAIN, this time for good. If I were king, I'd be greasing the guillotine already!

      With almost 30 years since the last OEM use of these round standard lights, I understand the logic - so few cars that use them are still on the road, so the market is simply not large enough to make their usual profit.
      CURSE those aerodynamic lights!

      So now, it seems other manufacturers are making up a new range of 5-3/4 inch (146 mm) round lights to take up the slack. I have sold a pair of the H1 high beams, they seemed to be a very good quality, from a company called Koito. Japanese in origin, but not of the usual low quality imitation product I used to call 'Jap Crap.' I tested it in the lab, and it has a nice crisp lens design with a flat face, NO bubbles or distortion in the glass, practically NO stray light out of the focus area, and it came with a nice compact brass plug in adaptor to fit the standard sealed beam and H4 headlight exactly. No wiring to do- just install the bulb, the dust cap, and the adaptor, and install the light in the bucket.

      I will try to get the owner to post a review of these Koito High Beam lights. If anyone else has them, please post your own!

      Meanwhile, I will continue to seek out any stray Hella BiFocal and / or Cibié/Valeo CSR H1 low beams for Right Hand Traffic, if they are not astronomically priced.

      Wish me luck!!!
      Andy says "Be Seen, and Not Hurt!"
      Lighting Upgrades front and back for 2002, E3, E9, E10, E12, E21, E23, E24, E28, E30, E32, E36, E39, and more.
      Tail Light Improvements keep them off your tail.
      Headlight protection saves headlights from breakage.

      Comment


        #33
        After I sold the initial 10 I bought I didn't try to get anymore. There really wasn't that much demand, at least for me through the forums and Facebook groups I was selling through. I'm still loving mine, and kept an extra for myself in case one gets cracked. For the people that have contacted me asking about them I've been sending them to this website, which didn't have them a couple months ago but seems to have them again: https://www.rallylights.com/hella-5-...1-hl26700.html

        I've been focused on the seat shocks, which have been selling well for the last four years.

        Comment


          #34
          Still have the comparison video here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yGU...9ScO1NwTx/view

          Comment


            #35
            I'm pretty sure the actual E30 version of these are still available. Of course they cannot be used with the US sealed beam brackets. They require the matching Euro ones.
            Plug and Play Wiring Harness Adapters for S54, S50, M54 and more.

            Comment


              #36
              Originally posted by Andrew325is View Post
              I'm pretty sure the actual E30 version of these are still available. Of course they cannot be used with the US sealed beam brackets. They require the matching Euro ones.
              I think you have them confused with a different headlight. The Bi-Focus lows fit right into the sealed beam bracket, down to the tabs that keep them aligned in the bracket. Not only that, but by puling off the plastic for the sealed beam connector the crimp connections fit right onto the H1 bulb and the pin for the ground.

              I have my Bi-Focus lows paired with the Hella 002425811 H1 highs: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G76Q9K
              Last edited by rzmoser; 10-22-2019, 09:18 PM.

              Comment


                #37
                Originally posted by rzmoser View Post

                I think you have them confused with a different headlight. The Bi-Focus lows fit right into the sealed beam bracket, down to the tabs that keep them aligned in the bracket. Not only that, but by puling off the plastic for the sealed beam connector the crimp connections fit right onto the H1 bulb and the pin for the ground.

                I have my Bi-Focus lows paired with the Hella 002425811 H1 highs: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G76Q9K
                I'm not confused. :) The pre-facelift Euro E30s have Hella Bi-Focus headlights, but they don't fit in the sealed beam brackets. It's the generic ones that do. The E30 ones have tabs attached to them for the Euro brackets. I suppose you could grind those tabs off if you wanted to fit them to sealed beam brackets. They are part numbers 63121368861 (Hella 1B3 126 677-051) and 63121368862 (Hella 1B3 126 677-041).
                Plug and Play Wiring Harness Adapters for S54, S50, M54 and more.

                Comment


                  #38
                  Since the headlights were developed by/with BMW they contracted with Bosch to make them too. As you can see the pattern is identical to the Hellas.

                  Click image for larger version

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                  Attached Files
                  Plug and Play Wiring Harness Adapters for S54, S50, M54 and more.

                  Comment


                    #39
                    I think it would be interesting to do a detailed comparison of these with the Euro ellipsoids. In a Euro E30 brochure BMW says the ellipsoids are better. I'm happy with the Bi-Focus headlights I put on my car though. They were an easy upgrade for the sealed beams.

                    "The new ellipsoid technology low-beam headlights ensure a substantial increase in motoring safety, providing a large and softly contoured field of vision. The light they generate is brighter and offers enhanced illumination of the road ahead, while glare is reduced for both the driver and oncoming traffic."

                    Click image for larger version

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                    Plug and Play Wiring Harness Adapters for S54, S50, M54 and more.

                    Comment


                      #40
                      Originally posted by rzmoser View Post
                      ... and kept an extra for myself in case one gets cracked... .
                      Hey rzmoser, I understand the concept of 'backup' completely! I have a good suggestion - cover the lights with a super tough, perfectly clear layer of protective film. I have been using and selling the XPEL Technologies stuff for years, and swear by it. I have a pair for the smaller BiFocal SET ASIDE FOR YOU, and for anyone who buys a pair of these from me or from anyone, if they can find them. If you need three circles, maybe we can make a deal? I had the MFR cut them to my specs to match the diameter of the face of the headlights for virtually perfect coverage. They fit all Ellipsoid, Halogen and reflector headlights with a more or less flat face, so they're good for any headlight in either size - two large (like 2002) or Euro lows (like e28), or four small (like E30) headlights.

                      This 30 mil 'press-polished urethane film' is (as with so many good items) No Longer Available, the few pairs I have are the last I know about. I put some on my Cibié CSR (Complex Surface Reflector) headlights from Valeo / Cibié, also NLA, which I installed on my E28 535i about 13 years ago. Bullet poof! Absolutely essential for great headlights like the CSR, BiFocal, and whatever else they have stopped making, and that you want to keep from harm. Seems Ironic the headlights and the film were discontinued about the same time, eh?

                      NB- The CSR Low beam is also a superb H1 low - and rare as hen's teeth on flea-bay, and sold for Left Hand Traffic as often as not, so if you buy a pair, be SURE they are for Right Hand Traffic. Anything from Australia, Thailand, Japan, UK countries, etc. are likely NFG in the USA or Canada, and defeating the alignment tabs to 'rotate' a low beam is not legal, effective, or polite. This question came up, as I had to explain to a customer in detail.

                      I am, like many, absolutely pissed at the idiotic bean counters who proclaim that a superb light is no longer profitable, and then discontinue it. But in the real world, car makers long ago stopped using the modular 146 and 176 (5-3/4 inch, 7 inch) headlight inserts that mimicked the sealed beam fitment spec of headlights with three alignment tabs on the back. Of course the tabs keep the top of the light at the top, to prevent idiots from screwing up the installation. And we know that idiots exercise their constitutional right every day to remain idiots.

                      So, bottom line - if you have good headlights that you don't want to be broken by rocks or road debris, or sand-blasted by same, ask me for some headlight protection film - WHILE I STILL HAVE SOME. Other companies make this stuff, but I find it is more expensive, and the wrong size, and considerably thinner. IF anyone can find a new source without these shortcomings, let me know and I will be glad to set up a new vendor agreement to keep it coming and get a better price for forum members.

                      Andy
                      Andy says "Be Seen, and Not Hurt!"
                      Lighting Upgrades front and back for 2002, E3, E9, E10, E12, E21, E23, E24, E28, E30, E32, E36, E39, and more.
                      Tail Light Improvements keep them off your tail.
                      Headlight protection saves headlights from breakage.

                      Comment


                        #41
                        Originally posted by Mo Brighta View Post
                        Well, we lost them again. Seems the Hella's BiFocal H1 low beam is no longer available - AGAIN, this time for good. If I were king, I'd be greasing the guillotine already!

                        With almost 30 years since the last OEM use of these round standard lights, I understand the logic - so few cars that use them are still on the road, so the market is simply not large enough to make their usual profit.
                        CURSE those aerodynamic lights!

                        So now, it seems other manufacturers are making up a new range of 5-3/4 inch (146 mm) round lights to take up the slack. I have sold a pair of the H1 high beams, they seemed to be a very good quality, from a company called Koito. Japanese in origin, but not of the usual low quality imitation product I used to call 'Jap Crap.' I tested it in the lab, and it has a nice crisp lens design with a flat face, NO bubbles or distortion in the glass, practically NO stray light out of the focus area, and it came with a nice compact brass plug in adaptor to fit the standard sealed beam and H4 headlight exactly. No wiring to do- just install the bulb, the dust cap, and the adaptor, and install the light in the bucket.

                        I will try to get the owner to post a review of these Koito High Beam lights. If anyone else has them, please post your own!

                        Meanwhile, I will continue to seek out any stray Hella BiFocal and / or Cibié/Valeo CSR H1 low beams for Right Hand Traffic, if they are not astronomically priced.

                        Wish me luck!!!
                        Any source of the 146mm Koito housings?

                        Comment


                          #42
                          Originally posted by eternal24k View Post

                          Any source of the 146mm Koito housings?
                          Yes, I can get them. $99 each was the last price, I can check to see if it's gone up/down.
                          Andy
                          Andy says "Be Seen, and Not Hurt!"
                          Lighting Upgrades front and back for 2002, E3, E9, E10, E12, E21, E23, E24, E28, E30, E32, E36, E39, and more.
                          Tail Light Improvements keep them off your tail.
                          Headlight protection saves headlights from breakage.

                          Comment

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