[Billfitz]

When you see how much brighter the fogs are than the headlights the Diamond Visions won't be around for long. I did the fogs first, so if they didn't work well it wouldn't be a major problem. They convinced me to do the low beams, with LED, which convinced me to do the high beams with LED. This was after I had already truly upgraded with 65w off-road halogens that were much brighter than stock.

[XCMTB]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

Thank you Bill - installing the LED's now - it's daytime but already seem brighter.

Due to the insane number of H7 LED choices (and so many of the ones mentioned in posts not being available now...), I’m wondering if you can tell me /link which H7s you are using for the low beams? Would be much appreciated.

[Littlebear]

https://bulbfacts.com/led-kits/chart/

[90SLOWE]

Just installed Depos from USR with morimoto elite HIDs - 5500 35W. Couldn't be happier with how it looks and the difference in night driving

[johnung]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

When you see how much brighter the fogs are than the headlights the Diamond Visions won't be around for long. I did the fogs first, so if they didn't work well it wouldn't be a major problem. They convinced me to do the low beams, with LED, which convinced me to do the high beams with LED. This was after I had already truly upgraded with 65w off-road halogens that were much brighter than stock.

Hey Billfitz
I'm losing my marbles reading through posts so I thought I'd ask the guy who knows. My '15 335ix has xenon lights that don't seem all that bright. A buddy said that bulbs get weak and the fix is is to replace with upgraded xenon bulbs. Not sure if that's an easy replacement or bumper off.
Would LED headlights be a substantial upgrade to xenon? I'm assuming there's a Depo upgrade or something available. What would you do to get the best lighting for night driving? HaHa! My wife and I are getting old and want to be able to make it home at night. Thanks!

[Billfitz]

I'm not personally familiar with zenon, so I don't know if a bulb switch would help. Going to LED bulbs would be a major change, because the mountings and wiring are totally different. Going to a new LED lamp would entail a new wiring harness, so that's a lot of work as well.
It may be possible to switch to a higher output bulb, but the last place I'd trust for that information is any source that makes or sells bulbs. I'd want to see third party test results that show the measured lumens output of various options. Some bulbs may claim to be brighter, but 35 watts is 35 watts.

[Steakpizza]

Originally Posted by 90SLOWE

Just installed Depos from USR with morimoto elite HIDs - 5500 35W. Couldn't be happier with how it looks and the difference in night driving

Looks good! How was the install? I know absolutely nothing about headlights lol. Would I need to buy the bulbs they recommend too?

[nWinter]

Originally Posted by nWinter

UPDATE

The LED bulbs work well but I still have to code off warm/cold checks.

UPDATE
The "Headlight Malfunction" message use to pop up when I would drive my car during the day, so the headlights would normally be off, after about 10 minutes of driving. That message would never appear at night because the headlights were actually on. Fortunately, this message does not appear at all anymore and I never had to code it off. The headlights still work as they're supposed to and I'm hoping the lack of this message meant it sorted itself out over time and not something negative I have yet to discover.

[Billfitz]

Maybe the iDrive just said 'screw it' ? I'd be more concerned if they're blinking when off, as that will also happen if the warm checks aren't coded off. You'd have no way of knowing, since you can't see them from the drivers seat.

[nWinter]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Maybe the iDrive just said 'screw it' ? I'd be more concerned if they're blinking when off, as that will also happen if the warm checks aren't coded off. You'd have no way of knowing, since you can't see them from the drivers seat.

In daytime, they blink on start up but I haven't noticed them blinking while I drive. I haven't been looking for them to blink while I drive anyway since I basically wrote this issue off once the error message went away. The only way I can tell is from the reflection of the object in front of me, so a storefront window when parked or somebody's bumper while driving. I'll keep an eye out but my attention is on the road for obvious reasons.

[Billfitz]

The blink on start up is the cold check. Blinking after the engine is running is the warm check.

[StrawberryFresca]

Originally Posted by Littlebear

https://bulbfacts.com/led-kits/chart/

Nothing factual about a website that claims a $150 LED kit (10% off if you use Bulbfacts' discount code) will make a halogen low beam reflector outperform a BMW i8 laser high beam by more than 25%.

[Littlebear]

Originally Posted by StrawberryFresca

Nothing factual about a website that claims a $150 LED kit (10% off if you use Bulbfacts' discount code) will make a halogen low beam reflector outperform a BMW i8 laser high beam by more than 25%.

They surely aren't bible, but you can get some useful info from the site.
If you are stuck with F30 halogens, the info can help.

Murf

[fazi13]

Originally Posted by Littlebear

They surely aren't bible, but you can get some useful info from the site.
If you are stuck with F30 halogens, the info can help.

Murf

I went with Nineo H7 on Amazon. They’re really good. I tried another set and they were way worse. Super loose beam pattern. Nineo were recommended on some 45min comparison which I forgot the link. The Nineo led ballasts were 2x the size of the crappy ones. The beam pattern has a very nice fairly sharp cutoff so you don’t blind people.
Compared to my dad’s 535i with xenon it’s like 85% there.

Also make sure to get 2 sets, high and low beam. And rotate them to be perpendicular to ground. The H7 can spin 360 once installed to get the right beam pattern