E46 projector retro-fit

[David325is]

I was wondering if it is possible to replace just the projector part of the US spec ellipsoids with a projector from an e46 or any new BMW.

[Ryan Stewart]

yes, its been done. No, I dont know how. And with HID my euro ellips can run pace with the E46 projectors in every way.

[mikeedler]

why?

[nando]

yeah.. you can get HID for your US ellipse for probably the same or less than it would cost to retrofit E46 projectors.

[egk2]

yeah.. you can get HID for your US ellipse for probably the same or less than it would cost to retrofit E46 projectors.

I agree with why but you could just go to a body shop and sift through the pile of wrecked headlights, back in the day when daylight demon eyes(angel eyes) were not available as a kit for e36's, I picked up a pair of e39 wrecked headlights and just used the guts, the body shop just gave them to me.

[bimmerphile]

yes, its been done. No, I dont know how. And with HID my euro ellips can run pace with the E46 projectors in every way.

except for auto-leveling, cornering, and high-beams ;)

[MattM20]

arent the lens' on the e46 projector different than the one's found on the e30 projector? i guess a reason for retrofitting a modern projector would be to get the distinct purple hue out of lower color temps.

[bimmerphile]

arent the lens' on the e46 projector different than the one's found on the e30 projector? i guess a reason for retrofitting a modern projector would be to get the distinct purple hue out of lower color temps.

Heh, ask anyone who's seen my HIDs in person how blue/purple they really are. It's freaking awesome. 5000K system, too.

[mikeedler]

the hue of the light output is from the HID bulb, not the projector. I would think the easiest thing to do would to get the HID boxes and do a retrofit into the E30 elips.

[PanamaE30]

The reason why you'd want to retrofit E46/E39 xenon headlamps is that they're bi-xenon and have autoleveling (and in some cases the adaptive crap, but it won't work).

This means you get xenon hi's AND low's for the same money. Not to mention it's also a lot better about projecting the light, as it's done through a plate.

My .02

[ZiMMie]

a guy on max did it. used everything from the e39 excludin the angel eyes.
looks lke alot of work.





it looks lke a great mod. I love the look of it.

[Jand3rson]

Sorry, but in the daytime, that just looks stupid.

[ZiMMie]

^^I kinda lke it in way. its different from all the others.

[GaryE30]

^^I kinda lke it in way. its different from all the others.

Yea, in the daytime it doesn't look so bad. I give the man props for pulling it off atleast.

[AdamF 88iS]

I've done this before. The projectors are a direct fit into US ellip housings. Just take out the 3 screws on the back and swap them. This allows you to use the D2S HID bulb and ballast without any other modification to the car. If you can find them cheap enough it's a good way to go; and they look stock during the day.