[thatg20guy]

Originally Posted by dnjc

what color temperature did you get?

I'm debating between 5000K and 6000K right now...

I was under the assumption that CBI's only came in ~5500k color temperature which is what I got. I'm looking at the PowerBulbs website and see that there are a pair of Philips WhiteVision 6000K that I kind of want to try out. I hate when I drive next to a car with LED headlights because it makes my supposedly "pure white" xenon bulbs look yellow

[Arcades]

Originally Posted by thatf30guy

It's actually just 2 bulbs period! HID stands for high-intensity-discharge which means that in each bulb tube there's an inert gas (in our case Xenon) that facilitates an electric arc being created between two tungsten electrodes. I believe there are some salts inside the tube that evaporate because of the electric arc and create plasma to increase light intensity and output. The way bi-xenon's work, there's a shutter in the projector housing that covers half of the projector. If you ever notice a slight clunking sound when you flash your high beams, that's the shutter opening up to allow the entire projector to shine the light through.

Also a correction, I dug back through my email order confirmations and realized I actually ordered mine through PowerBulbs: https://www.powerbulbs.com/us/store/...1r/fitting/d1s

Oh neat okay.

Any idea on the duration of these light bulbs? If they would last as long as OEM?

I'm looking between the OSRAM Nightbreaker Unlimited and Philips Xenon WhiteVision.

Not sure if I want my light to be blue, would prefer a whiter color like my M4 LEDs.

Edit: looked at the other thread. I think I will end up doing OSRAM Xenarc CBI's. I thought because it looked blue on the website it would look blue in person but apparently that is wrong.

[zcspec]

When I wrote this DIY, I upgraded the OEM D1S bulbs to the Philips X-Treme Vision bulbs. These bulbs are whiter than OEM; 4800-5400K compared to 4300K. According to Philips, they state a 50% more light output. IMHO, it is not even close. I would say more 15-20% if that. The increase is so subtle that it's truly difficult to see a noticeable difference.
Again, I believe the weakness rest in the glass that BMW uses for it's projector lenses. There are aftermarket lenses you can retrofit in which will yield a much better cutoff and noticeably better light output. I just prefer not to rip my headlight housing apart.

For you guys considering the CBI bulbs, I ran those on my 2015 Audi and the color difference is noticeable. What was interesting, as the HID warmed up, you could actually see the color change. Light output was better as well.

[Arcades]

Originally Posted by zcspec

When I wrote this DIY, I upgraded the OEM D1S bulbs to the Philips X-Treme Vision bulbs. These bulbs are whiter than OEM; 4800-5400K compared to 4300K. According to Philips, they state a 50% more light output. IMHO, it is not even close. I would say more 15-20% if that. The increase is so subtle that it's truly difficult to see a noticeable difference.
Again, I believe the weakness rest in the glass that BMW uses for it's projector lenses. There are aftermarket lenses you can retrofit in which will yield a much better cutoff and noticeably better light output. I just prefer not to rip my headlight housing apart.

For you guys considering the CBI bulbs, I ran those on my 2015 Audi and the color difference is noticeable. What was interesting, as the HID warmed up, you could actually see the color change. Light output was better as well.

Thanks for that

I am probably settled on getting the OSRAM Xenarc CBI's D1S. My 3er is going through a comprehensive coverage right now so I cannot do this right away but once, hopefully, everything settles I'll buy and find a place to put them on since I am not the DIY type with these things.

My only worry is the duration of them compared to the OEM bulbs but I haven't seen anyone really complain unless it is from Amazon which, a lot of you have noted are fakes.

Go figure, thought i learned enough from the F8x side, still learning from the F3x side :P

[thatg20guy]

CBI's are the way to go! They do have a relatively long burn-in time of around 30-40 hours but they do become noticiable whiter. I would say the color temperature is a lot closer to the M4 LEDs - if you park behind a 3er with stock xenons, they actually look pretty yellow compard to the CBIs. I've been running mine for the past year and a half with no issues and I'm sure they'll last as long as OEMs since the stock xenon bulbs are also made by Osram

I've heard good things about Philips WhiteVision and they do look like they have near perfect replication of the LED color temperature. Found this video on YouTube of a guy comparing OEM and WhiteVision here:

And here's a good comparison of OEM and WhiteVision on a Mercedes ML350:

(skip to 1:17 for comparison)

[Arcades]

Originally Posted by thatf30guy

CBI's are the way to go! They do have a relatively long burn-in time of around 30-40 hours but they do become noticiable whiter. I would say the color temperature is a lot closer to the M4 LEDs - if you park behind a 3er with stock xenons, they actually look pretty yellow compard to the CBIs. I've been running mine for the past year and a half with no issues and I'm sure they'll last as long as OEMs since the stock xenon bulbs are also made by Osram

I've heard good things about Philips WhiteVision and they do look like they have near perfect replication of the LED color temperature. Found this video on YouTube of a guy comparing OEM and WhiteVision here:

And here's a good comparison of OEM and WhiteVision on a Mercedes ML350:

(skip to 1:17 for comparison)

Neat More to consider! Hehe.

PowerBulb is sold out of them currently though so that sucks.

[AWMSPORT]

Is there a specific way it insert the metal clip on driver side vs passenger side, (i.e in to left for driver or in to right for passengers? ) I have replaced the bulbs to an 8k and 12000k 2 different times and ND I was able to get the clip in , but this time around I am not able to ... I guess before was just luck, but now I'm frustrated. Lol

[GCinFLA]

Originally Posted by zcspec

This is a short DIY I put together for the replacement of the HID Xenon bulbs. I found a few DIYs for the halogen setup, but not one specifically for the Xenon's.

Here you go!

F30 D1S HID Bulb Replacement DIY

REMOVAL

1- Jack up the front wheel and remove it. (Although this step is optional, removing the wheel offers more space to work. Depending on your bulb preference, you want all the available space when dealing with $150+ bulbs.

2- With a flat head screw driver, place it into the top of the two plastic guide brackets and dislodge the splash guard. This will reveal the back of the headlight assembly.





3- Remove the round circle covering the HID bulb assembly. Be cautious as there are small “teeth” which act as resistance. More or less, you’ll end up snapping those teeth in half. You should now have full access to the HID bulb assembly.



4- The assemble is held in place by brackets. These brackets lock the bulbs and electrical connections in place. The way to unlock the bracket is to push the top of the bracket DOWN and to the LEFT. The following photo gives you an idea of how it’s held in and what you need to do to unlock it.

For reference, the bulbs were removed so that you could see the locking points.

LOCKED


UNLOCKED


5- Once the bracket is unlocked, disconnect the electrical plug from the bulb. Unless you have incredible finger strength, you’ll have to use a flathead screw driver to loosen the connection. It will then pull right off.







6- With the connection removed, you can now safely remove the bulb. I highly recommend using plastic/latex gloves when working with bulbs. You do not want any oily residual on the bulbs.

INSTALLATION

7- Installation is performed in reverse order. Insert the new HID bulb and plug the electrical connection on. Once it’s seated correctly, pull the bracket housing up and lock it back in place. Make sure it’s also securing the electrical connection.

8- Double check your work, button up all items removed, turn on the headlight to make sure the bulb works.

What happened to photos?

[zcspec]

I switched photo services and forgot to update the links. Sorry about that. Links corrected.

[zcspec]

Originally Posted by Supremeceas

Has anyone dealt with these bulbs, claims to be better than philips and osram

http://www.hidconcept.com/products/d...pack-of-2.html

I've had discussions with HID-Concepts about the DAMA bulbs and about the only thing better with these bulbs, is the color. They are not as bright as Philips or the OSRAM bulbs.

The main problem with the F30 projector setup, is the choice of glass BMW used in their housing. If you're brave enough to retrofit a better set of glass projector lenses, you'll get noticeably better lighting output.

[kaleb]

Just wanted to chime in and say thanks for the DIY/writeup. Always nice to see what I'm getting into before I do a project, even one so simple as changing bulbs.

FYI instead of removing the wheels, I turned them full lock (left or right depending on which side I was doing) and used a floor jack to raise the car about 2-3" on whatever side I was working on. It gave me tons of room to work without the hassle of removing wheels.

[Zkunze97]

How the hell do you release the bulb from the housing?! I feel like I’m gonna break something.

[PhuX99]

What do you guys think of the Osram CBH 6000k? Anyone tried them? I have the CBI installed currently but it’s not as white/led like. Any suggestions?

[zcspec]

Originally Posted by Zkunze97

How the hell do you release the bulb from the housing?! I feel like I’m gonna break something.

Take a look at the photos in my thread as I've shown how the bulb clips are held in place.

[zcspec]

Originally Posted by PhuX99

What do you guys think of the Osram CBH 6000k? Anyone tried them? I have the CBI installed currently but it’s not as white/led like. Any suggestions?

Phu, if you go with the 6000K temperature bulb, it will provide you with more of a blue hue, but at the cost of light output. In my experience, 5000K temperature is probably the best combination of color and light output.

[PhuX99]

Originally Posted by zcspec

Phu, if you go with the 6000K temperature bulb, it will provide you with more of a blue hue, but at the cost of light output. In my experience, 5000K temperature is probably the best combination of color and light output.

Thanks for the reply zcspec, I have 5500k morimoto and they look good. They are not as bright as the Osram CBI 5500k but the temperture difference in the light is like night and day. Which bulbs do you guys think are the best? Philips WhiteVision gen2 5000k?

[zcspec]

Originally Posted by PhuX99

Thanks for the reply zcspec, I have 5500k morimoto and they look good. They are not as bright as the Osram CBI 5500k but the temperture difference in the light is like night and day. Which bulbs do you guys think are the best? Philips WhiteVision gen2 5000k?

Morimoto is not joke. I've had experience using them in retrokits, bulbs, etc and they are indeed, a quality item.
For an upgrade, I went with OSRAM Night Breakers as the rep told me they would offer the best light output. When I first installed them, I was unimpressed. Coloring was definitely whiter, but my visual impression wasn't too positive.
Over the months of use, as indicated by OSRAM, the bulbs started to break in and became brighter and more white. Before the holidays, a buddy of mine with a Cayman parked next to me with his headlights on. He made a comment how much whiter and brighter my lights looked compared to his. Of course I had to let him know I had upgraded my bulbs.
It wasn't until I removed the bulbs and replaced them with the OEM units that I really appreciated them. The light and color output, was truly night and day.
Hope this helps!

[PhuX99]

Morimoto is not joke. I've had experience using them in retrokits, bulbs, etc and they are indeed, a quality item.
For an upgrade, I went with OSRAM Night Breakers as the rep told me they would offer the best light output. When I first installed them, I was unimpressed. Coloring was definitely whiter, but my visual impression wasn't too positive.
Over the months of use, as indicated by OSRAM, the bulbs started to break in and became brighter and more white. Before the holidays, a buddy of mine with a Cayman parked next to me with his headlights on. He made a comment how much whiter and brighter my lights looked compared to his. Of course I had to let him know I had upgraded my bulbs.
It wasn't until I removed the bulbs and replaced them with the OEM units that I really appreciated them. The light and color output, was truly night and day.
Hope this helps![/QUOTE]
Thank you

[Daggers]

Originally Posted by zcspec

3- Remove the round circle covering the HID bulb assembly. Be cautious as there are small “teeth” which act as resistance. More or less, you’ll end up snapping those teeth in half. You should now have full access to the HID bulb assembly.

Just done this today.

FYI this round cap simply twists about 30 degrees and releases easily. No breaking of anything required

6k CBI’s now installed

[lkstaack]

Originally Posted by zcspec

This is a short DIY I put together for the replacement of the HID Xenon bulbs. I found a few DIYs for the halogen setup, but not one specifically for the Xenon's.

Here you go!

Thanks for the DIY, it was a big help.

[IK6SPEED]

FWIW, because of the way human eyes see colors with cones and rods (Google it) Human Eyes are much more sensitive to Green than Blue.

The higher the Kelvin, the more blue is in the light, which results in in less vision for humans.

So there is a point where the higher the kelvin color for lights, the less beneficial it is.

Also the reason yellow for fogs were used for decades (look where yellow is between green and red and opposite blue), though that has since been disproven when it comes to fog lights.

Note: Numbers below in blue are wavelength which are somewhat the inverse of Kelvin.

[n9740b]

Interesting info....thanks