[thatdudejim]

Hello,

New to the forums here as I just got my car (also new to cars in general). I have been driving around and noticed that the stock headlamps aren't bright enough for me (used to the 6000k on my bike). I am trying to change the stocks to a 5000k output. Looking around on the forums and some other sites I am confused on what bulb I need. I found some that showed the D1S bulb, while others showed the H7 bulb. I am not really looking for a kit, just more of a plug and play. Can anyone clarify which bulb I need? Also any recommendations on what to do about the lights?

I found the bulbs below but are not sure if they would work.
http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-High-...ype=automotive

side note: The previous owner told me he changed the angel eyes. If I alter the headlights would I have to do anything to the angel eyes?

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by thatdudejim

Hello,

New to the forums here as I just got my car (also new to cars in general). I have been driving around and noticed that the stock headlamps aren't bright enough for me (used to the 6000k on my bike). I am trying to change the stocks to a 5000k output. Looking around on the forums and some other sites I am confused on what bulb I need. I found some that showed the D1S bulb, while others showed the H7 bulb. I am not really looking for a kit, just more of a plug and play. Can anyone clarify which bulb I need? Also any recommendations on what to do about the lights?

I found the bulbs below but are not sure if they would work.
http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-High-...ype=automotive

side note: The previous owner told me he changed the angel eyes. If I alter the headlights would I have to do anything to the angel eyes?

Do you have halogens or xenons? The halogen bulbs are h7, and I believe xenons are d1s like you said. If you have halogens there's not much you can do other than a higher quality bulb or switching out the headlights to xenons.

[thatdudejim]

That makes more sense. I have the xenons. If I were to buy D1S bulbs would it just be an easy swap; just swap out and done? Are there any good brands out there that are good quality? I'm leaning more towards those Sylvania ones as it seems like a good price with good reviews.

Thanks in advance!

[Dark_Knight_335]

Get the Osram 5000s- Rollinstone has some excellent recommendations- get in here brother!

[thatdudejim]

So I'm looking at a bunch of D1S bulbs. I found that OSRAM and Sylvania are basically the same company. These seem really good quality but the prices are all over the place.

There's this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-High-...ords=osram+d1s

And then this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-Silve...ords=osram+d1s

They look the same! But there's a $75 difference! I tried looking up OSRAM bulbs but only found expensive ones. Does anyone know a good site to buy them? I looked on eBay but I know there are some fakes out there.

Also trying to keep a budget of ~100-120.

Thanks!

[TheEd]

Beware of Amazon and Ebay when trying to find true Osram Xenarc bulbs. The Retrofit Source sells genuine Osram bulbs, $200 a pair:

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pro...ducts_id=17166

I've bought bulbs and retrofit kits from them in the past on different vehicles, excellent customer service.

[Dark_Knight_335]

I understand your pricing concern, but I would not cheap out on bulbs- especially high-intensity discharge bulbs- the price of new xenon ballasts is scary compared to the price of a good xenon bulb.

+1 for retrofit source, or high performance bulbs


My Phillips Ultinon 6000 K bulbs were over $300 for the pair, but they work perfectly 2 years running and they are amazing when it comes to nighttime driving.

[thatdudejim]

I really like the Osram Xenarcs and will probably get those ones. My next question though is will I need new ballasts, or can I use the old ones? If so, any recommendations? I was watching a youtube video from theretrofitsource and in the video he doesn't show a new ballast.

Video here:

Sorry for all the noob questions, but appreciate all the help!

[Dark_Knight_335]

I would never venture to do these myself- it's way too dangerous and you can actually blow yourself into oblivion if you're not careful, but so long as you stay within the 35 Watt spec of the OEM ballast you should not need a new one. If you do decide to DIY, do NOT -on pain of death- touch the filaments with your hands- use latex gloves.

[thatdudejim]

Thanks for the help guys, very much appreciated! I will order them soon, but will have to wait until it gets warmer to install them.

Cheers!

[Dark_Knight_335]

I hear you brother...we're in for one of the worst winters in recent memory- stay warm!

[TheEd]

To answer 55w bulb on a 35w ballast, the previous owner of my other car left 55w bulbs on the OEM 35w ballast. The result? The bulbs only operated at 35w and the color wasn't quite what was advertised for the bulb.

[nydog]

Have you tried adjusting (raising) the angle of the headlights? I felt the light output on my 07 wasn't what it should be until I made the adjustment.

[thatdudejim]

The Osrams are 35W so I should be fine with the original ballasts. I haven't tried adjusting the headlights. I looked up a guide on the forums but when I opened my hood the knobs weren't there. They might be auto-adjusting but I will check again later on in the week. I would really like them to be brighter though as on my motorcycle I have 6000k bulbs. Going back down to 4300k isn not the same. Appreciate all the input and advice though!

[Alan335Xi]

Originally Posted by thatdudejim

So I'm looking at a bunch of D1S bulbs. I found that OSRAM and Sylvania are basically the same company. These seem really good quality but the prices are all over the place.

There's this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-High-...ords=osram+d1s

And then this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-Silve...ords=osram+d1s

They look the same! But there's a $75 difference! I tried looking up OSRAM bulbs but only found expensive ones. Does anyone know a good site to buy them? I looked on eBay but I know there are some fakes out there.

Also trying to keep a budget of ~100-120.

Thanks!

One of my OEM xenon is out so I've done a fair amount of research and also found a huge variation in price because of the chinese manufactured knock-offs. I'm also leaning towards the Osram Xenarc (Sylvania) 66144 as found here:
http://am_application.osram.info/publish/index_en.html
looking into XENARC 66140XNB (though there may be a trade-off for longevity).
http://catalog.myosram.com/zb2b/b2b/...browserminor=5
3 things I can share with you:
1. for your future part scavenging reference this is a good link
http://realoem.com/bmw/select.do
2. The bulb temperature 4150K vs 5000K affects the light color not the intensity or output which is measured in lumens. 4000K is bright white (hint of yellow) 5000K is brilliant white (hint of Blue) and 6000K is bluish, above that turns purple.
3. OEM 4150K is 3200 lumens. Sources I've found say that as the color temp increases, lumen output (brightness) actually decreases.
Hope any of this helps.
Cheers.