illegal or not...are ZKW or any euro lights illegal!

[m3f_granturism_8ebc90590f]

I came across a very interesting thingy, Bavarian autosport says that euro headlights ZKW, DEPO, ect. (ones with glass) are not DOT approved on the M3. So they are for offroad use only. So my question is for all you guys that have euro headlamps, how much heat do you get from cops if any. And have you heard any real concern about this. because I really would like to get ZKW's for my "soon to be" car...but I dont wan't to get in trouble with the law Thanks for any info on this.

[m3f_Edgy_592e912c16]

Grant:



Here's my understanding, interested to see the board chime in.



Technically true that all Euro lights are not DOT approved, BUT if you stay away from Euro + HID, you shouldn't have any hassles.



Anyone disagree? Umnitza, what's the exact legal situation?



Edgy

[m3f_PurpleM3Pursuit]

no one has said anything about my ellipsoids.. if ya ask me they just direct light better... even better than the OEM crappies.. i would say they are not dot approved because they didn't want to spend the money on getting them approved because that might raise the price alittle or something like that.. i wouldn't worry about it.. just get em.. they are hot.. no ? about it..

[m3f_99DakarM3_146594ecf1]

I doubt a cop would even notice - unless you were shining xenon in their face possibly

[m3f_03E36M3_956a950a08]

you should be less likely to raise attention by having your lights shine in the eyes of a cop HID or not. In Europe (correct me if I'm wrong I read about this a while ago) their signs are for the most part lit. Here in the US they aren't, so the DOT requires that manufacturers provide lighting solutions that throw MORE light randomly out to the sides and up... Euro lights should focus more of it on the road... at least that is my understanding.



Brandon

[m3f_99DakarM3_146594ecf1]

what i mean is that they arent aimed in the face of oncoming traffic - that might make a cop pull ya if he noticed they werent just your brights on ???



I was jut in Prague - no lit up signs there, or at least only a few not a majority



As far as DOT requiring throwing more light up - not sure about that. Wouldnt that be just like turning on high beams??



I thought the problem was that the xenons, HID's, or tever were shining a considerablly more amount of the light into the face of oncoming traffic - drive at an SUV with HID's and it'll blind you.



Not sure though - like I said before I doubt a cop would even check that unless you gave him a good reason.

[m3f_DSK M3/4_7bd32f4682]

i don't think german road signs are better illuminated than here, but who knows. yes, euro ellipsoids have not been DOT approved, so they are technically illegal. i have never had a problem. if you state does a vehicle inspection, it might be an issue, but it is pretty easy to swap in the old headlights. make sure you get plug-n-play ellipsoids though.

[m3f_beguile_5c88ac03e9]

I haven't had any issues yet (ZKW+DDE+HID). Of course I haven't taken the car to get it inspected w/ the new lights yet, but they are of very high quality. In fact, my understanding is that e-code is more strict that DOT and the ZKW's meet e-code specs... So while not approved officially by DOT, they should surpass the DOT's requirements. At least that's my understanding.

[m3f_astan100_7ef66fbe89]

The cops won't even notice your euros and most inspections aren't going to pay much attention.



Heck, most cops won't notice your HID's being weird if they are like 4xxx k brightness because that is OEM pretty much.



Cops aren't going to say, "Hey son, the e36 M3 didn't have available Xenons"



He'll just note that it is a BMW and figure it came from the factory like that.

[m3f_Ripped_Glutes]

One thing I noticed in many places in Europe (mostly France) was that a lot of gas stations had a board setup , kinda like a mini bill board, with a line painted across it. It was there so that you could adjust your headlight level.



At the time I thought it was just a coutesy, it was by the water and air pumps. But I also thought that how can one level be right for all cars? And how could you know that all lines on all boards were X height? I concluded at the time that like many things in Europe, there is not always an exact standard when it comes to certain things and they were just trying to make sure that your lights were pointed down rather than up into oncoming traffic.



Anyone else or any Euro's know what these boards are all about?

[m3f_BlkBimM3R_4c5ffa766f]

I thnk it depends on the cop.. but for the most part they won't pull you over solely on your lights unless it blared in their face or they already have you pulled over and they look for everything...



I was interested in getting the Euro lights w/ the HID's but was also concerned about shelling out the money for this mod, then being forced to take it off because its not DOT approved in addition to getting cited/ticketed.. so I put it off..



as some of you know.. I got pulled over for speeding several weeks ago (early January)... I have a Silvania Silverstar 9005 Conversion (9005 high beam bulbs in my stock low beam housings) and while being pulled over for being over 20 MPH over speed limit.. the cop decided to be an a$$ and tell me to rev my motor to hear if my exhaust was over the 95 db CA limit, and he also decided to to a walk around looking for front plates and looking at my headlights... he gave it a second look but didn't cite me..



probably thought it wasn't unusual for a BMW to have bright lights.. but he did look at my lights and front plate just to see if he could get me for another violation...



so it boils down to if the cop is a prick...

[m3f_Blackspeed]

Hello fellow Coloradian. I haven't got any flack at all for my Euro's.

[m3f_granturism_8ebc90590f]

Thanks for all the input! Hey Blackspeed do you have shop in denver/colorado springs that you take your car to?

[m3f_BMW MotorSport]

ZKW Euro Lights are by far the best ugrade to our E36M3's. I see it as an investment. Great lighting output too.

[m3f_BMW M Powe_4a2f6c10a0]

i have the ZKW/HID and havent gotten any resistance from the cops.



like astan said, they just figure a bmw came with HID. and if they dont, then in my case, with the 99, i can just argue that the new 3 came with HID, and so bmw started offering the late model 99 m3 with the HID as well.