E39 Angel Eyes Upgrade

[Mikey_W]

Evening chaps,

Having just bought a 1997 540i for peanuts i've been thinking about some upgrades starting with the headlamps. I'm slightly confused, i've seen some on ebay, are the upgraded lights all xenons? Am i better off buying Hella's? How easy are they to fit? And finally how much should i be paying?

Cheers

[Fox-]

The only way forward is Hellas and no, they are not all Xenons. The ones on Ebay for about 300 quid are the ones you want.

[Mikey_W]

Fox- said:

The only way forward is Hellas and no, they are not all Xenons. The ones on Ebay for about 300 quid are the ones you want.

Thanks Fox, I'm guessing i could fit Xenons then with no problem even though my car doesn't have them fitted as standard?

[dave_s13]

No the xenon ones need the associated control gear ballast and they are in the region of £6-700 quid...or more!!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-E39-5-SERIES-XEXON-ANGEL...

The cheaper way of doing it is to buy Hella Halogen units (circa £300).....
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-5-Series-E39-Angel-eye-H...

Then, if you want a few more lumens buy a HID kit which is £50-£75.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-5-series-E39-HID-XENON-L...

Make sure you get the 4300k lamps or they'll look wrong.

Replacing the lamp units is a piece of pee, only snag is the air con pipe behind the offside lamp needs to be bent (very gently) out of the way. I found the halogens were sufficient but would suggest a HID kit or blowing a fair wedge on OE xenons would give the best result.

The original E39 halogen candles are utterly toss.

Oh and if you get a HID kit make sure it includes bulb holders as the ones in OE lamps don't fit. These things.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-x-BMW-E39-5-series-HID-XEN...

[Mikey_W]

dave_s13 said:

No the xenon ones need the associated control gear ballast and they are in the region of £6-700 quid...or more!!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-E39-5-SERIES-XEXON-ANGEL...

The cheaper way of doing it is to buy Hella Halogen units (circa £300).....
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-5-Series-E39-Angel-eye-H...

Then, if you want a few more lumens buy a HID kit which is £50-£75.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-5-series-E39-HID-XENON-L...

Make sure you get the 4300k lamps or they'll look wrong.

Replacing the lamp units is a piece of pee, only snag is the air con pipe behind the offside lamp needs to be bent (very gently) out of the way. I found the halogens were sufficient but would suggest a HID kit or blowing a fair wedge on OE xenons would give the best result.

The original E39 halogen candles are utterly toss.

Oh and if you get a HID kit make sure it includes bulb holders as the ones in OE lamps don't fit. These things.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-x-BMW-E39-5-series-HID-XEN...

Thanks Dave, thats the guidence i was looking for. I think I'll go for the Hella Halogen units & maybe the HID kit..

Cheers