Upgrading OEM HID Headlights, what are the options available??

[SQ13]

2001 single Xenon can be upgraded to Bosch Mini projectors and have a bi-xenon option added. Lightwerkz does this.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CYB_yc8p4Ju/?igshid=YzA2ZDJiZGQ=

That’s awesome, thanks! I’ll reach out to them.

[0-60motorsports]

So what are the G5's actually? what is the difference between the G5BRT and G5R?

[antknee]

Sad to think i can’t even remember the last time i drove my M3 at night. And this used to be my daily at one point :-/

[c watson]

My 01 needs a lighting upgrade. G5BRT looks good..hopefully it can be used on the single xenon 01s.

2001 single Xenon can be upgraded to Bosch Mini projectors and have a bi-xenon option added. Lightwerkz does this.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CYB_yc8p4Ju/?igshid=YzA2ZDJiZGQ=

[thegenius46m]

My 01 needs a lighting upgrade. G5BRT looks good..hopefully it can be used on the single xenon 01s.

Dont see why not. Literally all the internals change but I would reach out to clarify.

[SQ13]

My 01 needs a lighting upgrade. G5BRT looks good..hopefully it can be used on the single xenon 01s.

[thegenius46m]

Lightwerkz g5brt conversion with oem shrouds is oem+ and a substantial upgrade. This is my sedan but I just had the same setup built for my M3. All low beams pictured for output













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[dukeofchen]

Agree with others that upgrading the bulbs first is a good first step, then see if you want to upgrade projectors.

I DIY'd the G5-R retrofit a couple months ago, and upgraded the no-name bulbs the PO had with Osram CBIs at the same time.

The retrofit is a finicky process with the dremeling you have to do to get the alignment right / flush. Definitely not something I'd want to do again, so having someone like Lightwerkz do it is probably worth it unless you enjoy that kind of stuff.

But the light output has been a huge improvement, sharp cutoff and a nice hotspot. Unfortunately I can't speak to how much of that is coming from the bulb upgrade vs. the projectors, and if I had to do it again I probably would have gone with CBBs instead of CBIs, as the color is nowhere close to blue or even white / blue, and more of a white / yellow.

I still have some light output to claw back though, my lens covers are completely pitted and have some fading. Hoping for a slight change in color output when I get around to refinishing those.

[usdmej]

I would not go LED.

anybody know what components (or lack thereof) are needed to switch to LED? i remember someone posted on here that there was weight savings to be had by switching to LED low beams


LED low beam brightness hasn't caught up to what HID aftermarket can offer but it looks like the MLED 2.0 projectors are a step in the right direction towards bridging the gap

[K-Dawg]

I find the stock projectors with Nightbreaker Laser bulbs and clear lenses to be fairly effective at putting usable light on the road. The warmer color temp is better in wet conditions. I also have halogen highs on with bi-xenon coded. What are you trying to achieve?

Lightwerkz has a few different adapter brackets: https://lightwerkz.net/collections/r...t-brackets/BMW

I would not go LED.

[nuc1]

Why is a 55w ballast not good for the long term? The heat they generate?

Yes.

Mike

[0-60motorsports]

I have the Lightwerkz Retrofit on my car with nigthbreakers and love it.

[toy4to]

What is your setup?

My retrofit was done many years ago. Cesar did the work: Infiniti FX projectors with TSX lenses.

[bmw m3 s50]

I have a Lightwerkz retrofit on my car. I love it. Super sharp cutoff, very bright and focused. Compared to stock, it's night and day, literally.

What is your setup?

[bmw m3 s50]

E46 M3s with non-ZKW headlights (which is all of them as far as I know), do not have issues with burnt bowls. That being said, running a 55W ballast would not be a good idea in the long run.
Currently I run Osram CBB (5500-ish Kelvin bulbs with ZKW-R lenses (non-fresnel lens). Stock ballasts and igniters (21 years old). Much improved lighting. Also have Morimoto LED fog lights that match the CBB’s pretty well.
Compared to my Tundra (RX350 projectors w/ CBBs, Morinoto mini HB dedicated high beam and Morimoto fog lights), the main difference is distance (more for the Tundra), hotspot (better on the Tundra) and a much less well-defined cutoff (which can be good or bad depending on what you want).
if you really want some extra light, check out the retrofitsource.com and/or lightwerks.com. Both are trusted names in the retrofit hobby. Caesar is the owner of Lightwerks. Standup guy. I *believe* he sells a bracket to mount G5R projectors to the e46 Bosch/Al OE projectors. You could also check out the FB group headlightjunkies. Lots of info there.

Edit:
And I agree with poster above: swapping in a new set of bulbs is the easiest and best bang for the buck. They aren’t cheap, though. You would need D2S bulbs. A bit of a pain to swap based on our cars design.

Mike

Why is a 55w ballast not good for the long term? The heat they generate?