[pkancel]

The low beams in Halogens, are these the H7 or H8s on the F30?

[Thackers]

H7s...ive just fitted Osram Night Breaker Unlimited this evening...

H8s are the fogs...I'm changing those tomorrow

[casualDIYer]

Originally Posted by Thackers

Tried to replace the low beams today ..Not easy - removed the twin catch cover and round blanking plate but could only physically see one of the halogen housing clips.

I need to buy that hydraulic jack sharpish and remove the wheel to beable to see properly...

I had the same issue. Turn wheel, take off access panel, remove headlamp access cover (carefully since it has small plastic tabs that are easy to break), then press backup metal clips to remove bulb. The problem is, since you can't see what you're doing, putting in the new bulb is a challenge.

I found taking off the wheel was a lot faster than feeling around to get the bulb back in. One thing to note, the metal clips that hold the bulb, while 'flexible' can be difficult to bend back into place. Only bend back the clips as much as needed to remove the bulb. When the new bulb is placed back ensure the bulb is flush with the housing and the bulb is pointed straight. There should be no play once the bulb has been placed in the housing and secured with the clips.

Good luck.

[molotok]

Had these bulbs operating on my E90 since August 2013 (i.e. >18months with no issues). Overall they work visibly better than standard halogens from the factory, but don't expect miracles. I think the following image is a good representation as to what one might expect:


In my subjective experience these bulbs give the brightest solution if you want to stay within the vehicle power harness specifications (55W limit). I think there are very few stock halogen-equipped cars on the road that produce similar or better brightness output (inlcuding projector halogen variants). I don't include ghetto HID conversions in this comparison.

The Xenons remain far superior to any halogen solution. If I was to give standard halogen a rating of 1 and Xenons a 10, the performance halogens would land at a rating of 3 in terms of overall road illumination coverage. It is a significant improvement but not nearly enough to get to Xenons.

These bulbs also produce a very subtle artifact in reflector housing: the small imperfections in light intensity are amplified so you are more likely to notice un-evenness on the ground (like darker streaks). I bet most folks wouldn't notice as this is a very minor effect that has no practical disadvantages. I just wish BMW would at the very least offer projector housing as standard instead of the ancient reflector tech.

The performance bulbs are indeed the same as Philips X-Treme Vision (printed labels I read on BMW bulbs stated it was made by Phillips and I believe they had the same manufacturer part number as Xtremes). It is however, possible that QC for BMW parts is a bit better, producing more consistent results in brightness levels while allowing them to last a little longer - I am speculating on this, but my experience with OEM vs BMW parts tends to agree with this (it's just that in most cases the difference is negligible).

Overall I'd say they are worth the 70$ to me as they still work after 18months of extreme Canadian weather and they do provide better visibility.

I get to sit in my friends E90 who also has standard halogens and notice the difference very quickly.

[Thackers]

Originally Posted by molotok

Had these bulbs operating on my E90 since August 2013 (i.e. >18months with no issues). Overall they work visibly better than standard halogens from the factory, but don't expect miracles. I think the following image is a good representation as to what one might expect:


In my subjective experience these bulbs give the brightest solution if you want to stay within the vehicle power harness specifications (55W limit). I think there are very few stock halogen-equipped cars on the road that produce similar or better brightness output (inlcuding projector halogen variants). I don't include ghetto HID conversions in this comparison.

The Xenons remain far superior to any halogen solution. If I was to give standard halogen a rating of 1 and Xenons a 10, the performance halogens would land at a rating of 3 in terms of overall road illumination coverage. It is a significant improvement but not nearly enough to get to Xenons.

These bulbs also produce a very subtle artifact in reflector housing: the small imperfections in light intensity are amplified so you are more likely to notice un-evenness on the ground (like darker streaks). I bet most folks wouldn't notice as this is a very minor effect that has no practical disadvantages. I just wish BMW would at the very least offer projector housing as standard instead of the ancient reflector tech.

The performance bulbs are indeed the same as Philips X-Treme Vision (printed labels I read on BMW bulbs stated it was made by Phillips and I believe they had the same manufacturer part number as Xtremes). It is however, possible that QC for BMW parts is a bit better, producing more consistent results in brightness levels while allowing them to last a little longer - I am speculating on this, but my experience with OEM vs BMW parts tends to agree with this (it's just that in most cases the difference is negligible).

Overall I'd say they are worth the 70$ to me as they still work after 18months of extreme Canadian weather and they do provide better visibility.

I get to sit in my friends E90 who also has standard halogens and notice the difference very quickly.

My f30 came with the Phillips BMW performance bulbs but I upgraded to the osram ..better IMO.
13 months in to date.!

[molotok]

Originally Posted by Thackers

My f30 came with the Phillips BMW performance bulbs but I upgraded to the osram ..better IMO.
13 months in to date.!

Hmm Interesting. I don't remember looking at the Night Breakers before. Do these bulbs produce any blue hue? I think I generally avoided any bulbs with blue coating. I read enough posts to gather that the coating tends to reduce the actual light output despite looking whiter which only appears brighter when you look at the light source itself. I believe the BMW performance bulbs are <4000K colour temperature. How would you say OSRAM Night Breakers compare to BMW Performance lights in terms of colour? Do they manage to stay within the warm white colour range?

I gathered from your post you find their intensity stronger than BMW Performance bulbs. Can you please comment whether they approach the HID territory and blind the oncoming traffic being placed in reflector type headlight housing? I am really looking to improve the night illumination rather than aesthetics while avoiding the HID path as much as possible.

If they really are not that far from BMW performance colour and produce more uniform road coverage without scattering much above the cut-off level, I think I know what I'm buying next

[K320]

I have the PIAA 4k.
IMO better that those.

[casualDIYer]

Originally Posted by Kendroz

I have the PIAA 4k.
IMO better that those.

I have PIAA 4k as well. Really like the colour. Unfortunately had to suffer retail rapeage. Needed them ASAP so i didn't have time to get them from Amazon