Headlights lens: other options besides pricey OEM

[MarcoPolo]

googling just leads to old threads and usually they refer to khoalty which is out of business. is there an updated brand or suggested brand of headlight lens. mine are pretty shot so i want to replace them.

the brands i have found are:

URO
Bosch
Magnetii Marelli
Automotive Lighting

from what i understand, the lens are identical whether halogen or Xenon (correct me if i'm wrong). fwiw, i have an '06 running an HID retrofit from the retrofit source.

URO seems to be the cheapest @ ~$45 from autohausaz but want to be sure fitment and quality is spot on.

appreciate any insight.

[Andy2424]

https://www.retrofitlab.com/en/bmw-3...eadlights.html

I have had very good experiences with this kit

[heinzboehmer]

I've had the uro parts on my car for about two years. No fitment issues, but the included gaskets were clearly not made for the headlights. They were just a long strip that I had to cut down to size. However, no water has gotten in, even with the car driven in the snow.

FCP says OE is magneti marelli, so I would just get those (although it looks like they don't include the gasket).

[simon_c]

Bumping this old thread to see if we can find what the OEM headlight lens actually is.

ECS tuning showing automotive light is OEM: https://www.ecstuning.com/b-automoti...3128382192~al/

Can anyone confirm? My current lenses say Bosch on them.

[PSUEng]

I think we need to find other parts sellers; I'm currently working on a purchase with two, overseas. Prices are much better than our choices here in America. I'll post up once I have a successful transaction.

[EthanolTurbo]

The ones on Ebay are really good, only about $40-50.

[simon_c]

Can someone confirm the lenses with the lines are for xenons?

[BlueBimmers]

Andy2424 - waking up to ask - good fitment of the new projectors? And no wire splicing needed? TIA.

[Riley]

As far as halogen vs xenon lens go I believe they are different.
Im pretty sure the reason there are multiple part numbers is due to the lens being made of different grades of material because halogen bulbs give off way more heat then the xenon bulbs do.

[elrichmeister]

Replaced my lenses last year with ebay lenses just to try them out since its a much lower price. They are now yellowing, will be replacing them with OEM lenses soon.

[PSUEng]

At what point is everyone replacing lenses? As in, how bad (yellow, pitted, etc.) are they when replacing? Mine are original, have some spotting and I think RHS lease has some moisture in it. However, overall not terrible but I'm sure if I held up fresh lenses to them, I'd be able to see how great new ones would look. With prices continuously going up, I'm thinking of doing mine. On the other hand,, with prices going up, ...maybe mine are good enough. What to do.

[discoelk]

I ran eBay ones on my old zhp sedan and they looked great after 3 years of an outside parked car. Obviously the coupe ones are different so ymmv.

[Slideways]

At what point is everyone replacing lenses? As in, how bad (yellow, pitted, etc.) are they when replacing? Mine are original, have some spotting and I think RHS lease has some moisture in it. However, overall not terrible but I'm sure if I held up fresh lenses to them, I'd be able to see how great new ones would look. With prices continuously going up, I'm thinking of doing mine. On the other hand,, with prices going up, ...maybe mine are good enough. What to do.

I'm ok with some pitting. It's going to happen if you actually drive the car. I'd replace them once they start yellowing, heavily pitted or cracked. Moisture tends to be caused by the seal or one of the lens guide tabs gets caught between the lens and the housing when reinstalling the lens.

OEM is only 60-70 bucks - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...pe-63128382192

They say non-Xenon, but RealOEM shows the same lens part number for both halogen and Xenon.

[PSUEng]

I'm ok with some pitting. It's going to happen if you actually drive the car. I'd replace them once they start yellowing, heavily pitted or cracked. Moisture tends to be caused by the seal or one of the lens guide tabs gets caught between the lens and the housing when reinstalling the lens.

OEM is only 60-70 bucks - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...pe-63128382192

They say non-Xenon, but RealOEM shows the same lens part number for both halogen and Xenon.

When I enter my VIN, I see -565/566 as the lenses for "vehicles with xenon" under the "single components for headlight" group. Clicking into "Single parts, xenon headlight" group is contradictory in that it shows the -191/192 numbers you list. Strange.

[Slideways]

When I enter my VIN, I see -565/566 as the lenses for "vehicles with xenon" under the "single components for headlight" group. Clicking into "Single parts, xenon headlight" group is contradictory in that it shows the -191/192 numbers you list. Strange.

The CSL shows both 191/192 for both those categories.

On ECStuning, the 565 and 191 lenses look identical with the 3 lines going across the lens.