Hello everyone, so luckily after removing my lights and switching my bulbs around I came to find out I only needed new bulbs and not a ballast, thank you jesus

Anyways, I always liked the purple hue on the 12000k's but is there any difference besides the light output? It not being as bright as the OEM bulbs do not bother me, I just don't want it to be bothering other people or anything. I would like to keep it OEM but I don't want to put down $400 on some OEM bulbs.
I found this website off of an old post here http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...ies&rmvSB=true . Are those the same bulbs they sell at auto parts stores?

The color looking stupid or ugly doesn't bother me at the moment as I can change them back to 4300 fairly easy, just wanted some opinions and if anyone knows where to get any OEM bulbs for a decent price post it up.

 

I feel that if you're going to be driving the car at night, you're being foolhardy and dangerous to use 12000k bulbs. They put out so little light that it's greatly increasing your risk of an accident because you wouldn't see hazards in front of you in time when driving at speed.

Personally I find the extreme blue/purple to be annoying when I see them, mostly because it's not common/normal and it bothers my eyes. That could be partial bias because I don't like them regardless.

I swapped to the JS2K 6000k bulbs after one of my OEM bulbs blew out (Price was definitely right). I felt that it was noticeable how much less light output just from that slight change and immediately did not feel as comfortable at night. I did get used to it eventually, but switching back to OEM was a great thing for me. I will say that the color wasn't bad (barely into the blue spectrum).

 

Ok good point but how do I go about getting OEM or OEM quality without the price tag, or am I just screwed on that either way?

 

I think the JS2k bulbs are decent for the price. They're not bad and still very decent. I don't want to sound like I did not like them. I did. I just could tell they didn't put out as much usable light and my eyes appreciated changing back to OEM (not because I bought bulbs, but because I bought a new S).


This is also because I live in a small city and I did a lot of driving through the mountains in the evenings where there was very little ambient light (or none if it was a new moon) and we have large populations of deer, etc which can be a nasty surprise so the more light I can throw out the better.

 

Ahhh ok that makes more sense now when you said hazards I was confused, I live in Miami/Orlando area so I never have problems with visibility on the roads. I just don't want to do the price tag of OEM so I guess I will test a cheaper bulb out first and see how I feel

 

Go with OEM bulbs.
Not from the dealer though.

I have osram CBI in mine which is 5500k. They’re expensive though. I think 198.
Don’t go above 6k because you’re really losing light output past that.

You can get bulbs from www.theretrofitsource.com
They have OEM philips for 95.00

Picture of my output.
06+ ap2 slope projectors.
tsx-r clear lens.
Osram CBI 5500k

 

Another vote here for the Osram CBIs.

 

Another vote for theretrofitsource! CBIs look great!

I can also recommend the Phillips 85122+ bulbs as a solid choice. 4300k (OEM) with more lumens.

 

I wouldn't go over 5 or 6k. 12k looks ridiculous and much worse light output.

I have the osram cbi 5k bulbs and love them. Brighter than stock and pure white with no yellow tint. About $200 for the set so not too bad.

 

Are those 5k ones the same lumens as the newer bmw lights? I noticed the newer bmws are brighter then our s2ks in term of their light output. Could be from clearer projector lenses?