[roma3]

Originally Posted by muniz_ri

It may help to first glue the adapter and the bulb mounting plate together to make it easier to twist them onto the headlight housing.

Please be careful with glue - I know a couple guys using glue inside there headlights caused damage. As the glue heats up it creates fumes that then can damage/haze the plastic lens and/or reflector.

[phabmasta]

Originally Posted by muniz_ri

Yes, both the adapter and the bulb mounting plate need to be twisted
and secured into the headlight housing first. The bulb then screws into the mounting plate and adapter.

It may help to first glue the adapter and the bulb mounting plate together to make it easier to twist them onto the headlight housing.

FWIW, just did mine (2017 F30) and for the life of me I could not get the adapters to fit perfectly on both sides. One side would fit all the way, the other just barely latches behind the torx screw. Was a PITA, even with wheels off. Are there adapters that are better than others? I went with these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[ragenitro6]

Originally Posted by phabmasta

FWIW, just did mine (2017 F30) and for the life of me I could not get the adapters to fit perfectly on both sides. One side would fit all the way, the other just barely latches behind the torx screw. Was a PITA, even with wheels off. Are there adapters that are better than others? I went with these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got those same adapters
I only tried once and didn't spend a whole lot of time but I couldn't finesse them in with those adapters either
I didn't remove the wheels which probably would be easier but the other issue I ran into is the LCI halogens have this weird flange type thing that the tip of the halogen bulbs fits right into and the LED's I got (auxbeam) wouldn't fit into this flange so I bent it a little, luckily I got the halogen bulb back in there but if you look up close from the outside of the headlight you can see where I bent it some
Why would BMW ever do such pathetic headlights is beyond me - I get it that it's all about money, but good grief
Worse case is they should make it much easier to even just change a dang light bulb even if you're stuck with halogens - they don't make changing them easy at all...smh
If I'm going to go through all the trouble of having to take the wheels off and spend a ton of time just trying to get an LED in there, I may as well just get better headlights for all that trouble
Sure, the light output may be better even IF I'm able to get LED's in there, but changing them in the future will be no bargain and they're still just going to be crappy looking halogen housings from the outside
Oh well.....I'm now in the mindset of just not caring anymore about the headlights
They are what they are - so, I can spend $2K to get something legit or I can just stop worrying about it and spend the $2K on something else lol

[sjreid]

Good thread - so what lamps are people buying now?

The Amazon ones linked are not currently available -

Aukee H7 LED Bulbs, 50W 6000K 10000 Lumens Extremely Bright CSP Chips Conversion Kit Replacement Low Fog Light

[sspade]

I want someone to prove with pics that LED bulbs can be installed on an LCI F30 with halogens.

We know that the pre-LCI housings are easy to swap LED's into (done it personally) but had difficulty when trying on my LCI. The housings are DEFINITELY different than my prior F30.

[phabmasta]

Originally Posted by sjreid

Good thread - so what lamps are people buying now?

The Amazon ones linked are not currently available -

Aukee H7 LED Bulbs, 50W 6000K 10000 Lumens Extremely Bright CSP Chips Conversion Kit Replacement Low Fog Light

This is what I installed:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[phabmasta]

Originally Posted by sspade

I want someone to prove with pics that LED bulbs can be installed on an LCI F30 with halogens.

We know that the pre-LCI housings are easy to swap LED's into (done it personally) but had difficulty when trying on my LCI. The housings are DEFINITELY different than my prior F30.

I'll get some pics up after work, but yes I got them installed in my 2017 320i, only issue being those adapters not fitting very nicely.

[sspade]

Originally Posted by phabmasta

I'll get some pics up after work, but yes I got them installed in my 2017 320i, only issue being those adapters not fitting very nicely.

Let us know the exact ones you used please. I bought these and they definitely did not fit the Morimoto 2stroke 2.0 for my 2016. I used the exact same bulbs on my 2014 (old style halogen housing) and they literally snapped right it without any struggle whatsoever.

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/h7...APT?quantity=1

[phabmasta]

Originally Posted by sspade

Let us know the exact ones you used please. I bought these and they definitely did not fit the Morimoto 2stroke 2.0 for my 2016. I used the exact same bulbs on my 2014 (old style halogen housing) and they literally snapped right it without any struggle whatsoever.

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/h7...APT?quantity=1

I went with these bulbs:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and these adapters:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As I mentioned before it was a pain to get the bulb and adapter to sit. The color on the bulbs is not nearly as blue as pic shows, phone just cant handle it. Hope this helps.

[sspade]

Thanks man, very much appreciated. The adapters that you used look similar to the ones I have... which leads me to believe that the Morimoto bulbs were the issue.

Still have the adapters, will have to try a slimmer bulb body like the one you linked.

[phabmasta]

Originally Posted by sspade

Thanks man, very much appreciated. The adapters that you used look similar to the ones I have... which leads me to believe that the Morimoto bulbs were the issue.

Still have the adapters, will have to try a slimmer bulb body like the one you linked.

Good luck! If your adapters work nicely can you post back? I may want to replace mine just for peace of mind.

[boyerizm]

Originally Posted by sspade

Let us know the exact ones you used please. I bought these and they definitely did not fit the Morimoto 2stroke 2.0 for my 2016. I used the exact same bulbs on my 2014 (old style halogen housing) and they literally snapped right it without any struggle whatsoever.

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/h7...APT?quantity=1

Nice. So with a Pre-LCI do I need the Euro adapter to snap them in?

I'm looking at the Morimotos as well..not sure about the Amazon offerings being so cheap.

[Billfitz]

The Amazon offerings come from China. So do Morimotos and Weisslicht, despite what their names imply. For a successful result ignore the advertising and use what someone else has used and recommends.
I didn't use adapters. I did secure them with high temp RTV, as the stock mounting clip wasn't designed to hand the weight of an LED. https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1377259

[boyerizm]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

The Amazon offerings come from China. So do Morimotos and Weisslicht, despite what their names imply. For a successful result ignore the advertising and use what someone else has used and recommends.
I didn't use adapters. I did secure them with high temp RTV, as the stock mounting clip wasn't designed to hand the weight of an LED. https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1377259

Glad you've had good luck with them!

Man, I'm not sure I want to dremel the housing though :/

[Billfitz]

Worried about your warranty? After wasting a couple of hours trying to work through the wheel wells with the wheels off and the fender liners removed I finally did what BMW should have done in the first place and put access covers on the top of the low beam housings. After doing that installing the bulbs took all of fifteen minutes.

[boyerizm]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Worried about your warranty? After wasting a couple of hours trying to work through the wheel wells with the wheels off and the fender liners removed I finally did what BMW should have done in the first place and put access covers on the top of the low beam housings. After doing that installing the bulbs took all of fifteen minutes.

Naw, well out warranty, it's a 2013.

I was debating actually removing the assembly and doing a projector retrofit. But this looks like it would be a royal pain in the ass to do well.

Most likely I'll follow your advice and just dremel in access. Thx again

[romcsibacsi]

thank you for sharing this

[roma3]

Originally Posted by sjreid

Good thread - so what lamps are people buying now?

The Amazon ones linked are not currently available -

Aukee H7 LED Bulbs, 50W 6000K 10000 Lumens Extremely Bright CSP Chips Conversion Kit Replacement Low Fog Light

Well I have sold the car but I sold it with the Katana H7 mini inside.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/3sJg2BW and they worked very well.
On to an X5 for me - Halogen reflectors are not an option for me anymore.

GL with your headlights all!

[roma3]

Thread revival
Posted a video on this topic for those still working out issues with their headlights

will update original post with video as well

Good luck everyone

[roma3]

Has anyone tried these?
https://amzn.to/46qmzU4
10k reviews on Amazon!

[Billfitz]

I can't recommend fan cooled LEDs. It's a weak point in their design. Besides, you don't need the super high output of LEDs that require fans. You might not want it either, if you get pulled over for having headlights that are too bright.

[Frankly30]

Passive cooled LED bulbs barely get any brighter than original halogens. Fans don't just simply break down, at least not if you buy from a reputable brand (Phillps/Osram).

If possible i'd suggest just fully replace the headlight with some plug&play solutions like from the newer full LED HL from Depo or Aokeding. You'll get a proper beam pattern and overall much better brightness and in theory longer lasting life. I've had bright LEDs bulbs that never lasted more than a year.