I thought I'd ask here as I havent got much of an idea about headlight bulbs!

I'm after some upgrade headlight bulbs for my mums E60 BMW as the standard ones are like candles compared to the S and she drives a lot of country roads and A roads with no lighting.

The car has Xenons but the standard ones are H7 55w so give off a yellowish light very much like old school normal headlights which are far too dim with the angel halo's giving off a warm yellow colour too.

So, what I need is a set of bulbs that give off a nice bright light that will mean we can actually see where we're going on dipped beam. Also, if I replace them will it make the halo's look odd? Can the colour of these be changed with a simple bulb change too?

I've read bits and pieces in the past about 4000k and 6000k etc but don't really know what it all means and what the differences are etc.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as to what I should change them to.

Thanks in advance,

Alex

 

So they are not HID's as standard.

Generally IMO 'Philips' bulbs are the best you can buy IME, i think you can get 5000K Xenons but i believe due the power (wattage) they are technically illegal and not for road use.

Some are coated in a light blue and thus alter the light output colour but I'd stick with as white as you can get as its the best light output, IIRC 4000K is daylight

See here, enter the car etc and it gives your choices - sometimes you can get the bulbs cheaper on ebay.

http://www.powerbulbs.com/

 

No HID's I think are only on the M5. Xenons and directional xenons are an upgrade as it is...everythings a bloody upgrade on a BMW so considering the price of the car it's pretty poor

Cheers for the link though, I'll definitely check that out. I know PIAA do 4100k but seem to be hard to get hold of but I'll be checking that link out and the philips ones for sure now.



Any ideas on the halo's?

 

Right, just had a look at the link, there are 2 options:

Philips Blue Vision

Philips X-Treme Power

Which are better? The x-treme power are more expensive but then it doesnt say what the light intensity is...

 

No idea about the halos.

No idea, for £2 you might as well get them

 

Just looked into the halo situation, just have to buy 4000k 501 sidelight bulbs like any other car and then there is a reflector which projects the light through the fibre optic that the halo is made of.

Do you mean for the extra £2 get the more expensive ones? Only thing I'm not sure about is whether the colour temp is a good as the blue vision...

 

Hang on - it has projector lenses and only halogen lamps shining through them?

Can you confirm that's the case?

BTW stock HID colour is 4300K and is yellowish
5000k is more white
6000k is blue white

4300k actually gives the best light output, you lose output as you go higher up the colour temperature range.

 

erm...well the headlight looks very much the same as the S on the dipped beam lense but I've taken the bulb out and its an H7 55w.

Here's a pic to give you an idea:



Thanks,

Alex

 

That's a projector lens, no wonder the headlights feel like they're candle powered - early Jag X types had the same problem - fitting an aftermarket HID kit is the way forward, either that or pay daft cash for the BMW dealer parts

Halogen lamps ( irrespective of brand or price) simply do not have the power or intensity to work properly with a projector lens.

 

Oh bugger. So I'm guessing that means that fitting more powerful bulbs will make virtually no difference then?

HID kit sounds expensive and I doubt my mum will want to cough up for that...