[idopullups]

Originally Posted by FKI

I'll let you guys know if I can get the cutoff any better. I honestly just wanted to share this guide so people can at least get the HID's install correctly in the first place. Here's what mine looks like so far:

Another update to my install, FKI if you havent figured out your projection issue yet you'll want to read this.

I had the EXACT same projection as FKI, with the ends of each beam flaring upwards in that little wing shape. Not terrible, serviceable even but I couldn't sleep at night knowing it COULD be better.

Facts:
You MUST use H7-B bulbs for this install
-the tab must be pointing down, the screws that hold the bulb in place are not centered on the bulb and this is the way the clips mount is with the tab facing down (H7-B style)

The bulb should slide all the way in until the metal H7 backing plate is flush against the inside of the housing
-more on this in a bit

FOR BOTH ME AND FKI THE MORIMOTO H7-B BULBS HAVE THE WRONG DIAMETER BARREL
-this is what is causing the 'bat-wing'


The cylinder/ barrel at the base of the bulb is supposed to slide snugly into the hole in the housing, this prevents the bulb from tipping up or down and thus ensures a good beam pattern. The barrel on the H7-B bulbs is too large by 1 mm.





Therefore the bulb won't slide all the way in, won't sit flush, and when the screws have tightened, the base of the bulb is pulled in and the tip of the bulb rises, causing the bad beam pattern.

I fixed this by carefully filing down the barrel until it would slide in snugly, and voila, beam pattern problems gone.





Its hard to see in the images but my beam pattern is now completely flat, and much brighter than before, with the hotspot located in the crux of the angled rise.

I am contacting the retrofit source and Morimoto about this issue. There is no way around it for us, we HAVE to use the H7-B due to the mounting system used in depo headlights.



Edit: Some may be confused about why I am comparing and H7-A to H7-B in the images above. I ordered H7-A's thinking that I may have the wrong bulb type and that was causing my issue. I test-fitted one without the euro adapter retaining clip (just letting the bulb rest in the housing metal tab up) and to my surprise, it slide all the way into the housing like a glove, and when tested the H7-A gave me a PERFECT beam pattern. Thus began my questioning as to why the A worked perfectly fine but not the B, hence the caliper measuring. To be clear you still CANNOT use H7-A's in DEPO headlights, the euro adapters do not allow it. The return wire (ceramic bit) MUST be on the bottom, and the metal tab must also be facing down, thus H7-B required

[navid0308]

Finally got these installed!!

[FKI]

Ok so I haven't logged into this forum for a few months (sorry to anyone who messaged me about and I didn't respond lol) but I'm glad that my post from almost a year ago now was able to help a few people! I've had no issues with the bulbs and am overall very satisfied with my purchase. Definitely an improvement over stock! I'd like to quickly touch up on a few things in case anyone in the future is browsing this forum and looking to install these.

1. You only need to purchase 1 pair of these (two bulbs) for the low beams. Before installing these I did switch out the hi beams to H7 Philips Racing Vision because I wanted my hi beams to have very high projection. Honestly I probably would have been fine with the stock H7 bulbs USR provides in the headlights when they are shipped to you. If I recall correctly, I don't think you would be able to install HIDS into the high beams anyway because they are held in by these spring clips. Plus the high beams are not accessible after installation of the headlights since the access hole is on the side of the headlight and is hidden after you put everything back together as opposed to the top of the stock headlights (pray our hi beams never burn out or need replacing anytime soon). Also, halogens are a lot better for high beams because of their scattered projection around the bulb as apposed to HIDs where the light is a bit more concentrated. YES this means your headlights will be a bit yellow but you WANT that since its much easier to see things in yellow light and projection will be a lot better. Plus how many times are people going to see you with your hi beams on? I guess you could stick some of those Philips H7 Diamond/Crystal vision if you want your hi's to closer match the while color of your eyes/lows. But doing that is pretty much going to render your hi beams useless since the output on "white" halogen bulbs pretty much suck in my experience. TLDR; only order one pair (two bulbs) of these HIDS for the low beams and keep the halogen bulbs in the hi's that are shipped to you OR change them out with higher projection H7 halogen bulbs before you install the headlights (such as Philips RacingVision).

2. idopullups seemed to have some great input on my last post. I realized later that you don't actually have to cut the rubber seal to get the adapter on, and you can actually release the wires from the plastic connector. Go figure. Also I agree that the H7 HID bulbss just aren't going to fit perfect in these Depos. Don't expect these to have amazing cutoff or pattern as in OEM xenons from BMW. I do however believe they are 100% worth the upgrade from the stock halogen housing.

3. idopullups also seems to have fixed the cutoff problem by filing down the barrel on the H7-B bulbs. Seems like some sort of production error on the morimotos. Honestly, I've been running these for a year any am not really pressed to take the bulbs out and file them down (I'm not constantly staring at my beam pattern against a flat wall all the time). The cutoff/angle is good enough for me, but definitely something to consider if your pattern is bothering you or you are installing these for the first time.

Anyway I hope these posts help people trying to install HIDs in the future. Let me know if you have anymore questions, I'll try to be more responsive this time and keeps notifications on Cheers!

[JOEYBMWBLUE]

Right-hand side rings finally died. I Gotta now buy a new set.

[BMW BRAD]

Originally Posted by JOEYBMWBLUE

Right-hand side rings finally died. I Gotta now buy a new set.

How long did they last?

[Ceane89]

[hakisalapaki]

I have the same problem with my H7 35W xenon bulbs.i have a terrible cutt off line.i will add 2 pictures and ask you guys for help how to solve this problem even its explained above i did not exactly know what to do,changing the bulbs with another brand with H7 B? i use Photon supreme 6000K.PS:I went already to an headlight adjusting service.I use a similar depo headlight as yours.But this headlight is an original BMW bi xenon headlight.the guy install it some how without modules with coding plug and play.For example i also cannot coding the halo brigthness with bimmercode.
thanks in advance.