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E85 Aftermarket Headlights - A new option?
- Lucidnonsence
- Newbie
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2014 4:46 pm
- Location: Deep Darkest Devon
E85 Aftermarket Headlights - A new option?
Over the years and after owning 4 Z4's ( E85 & E86 ) angel eye headlights have have alwasy been something that everyone wanted.
Why oh why did'nt BMW do angel eyes from new? Anyway, I know they have been made for halogen cars for years, but recently a few have started to appear for factory Xenon cars? Is this a new thing or I am reading the product listing incorrectly?
Has anyone who has a 03-06 pre LCI E85 with factory xenons every tried these?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006 ... ry_from%3A
Why oh why did'nt BMW do angel eyes from new? Anyway, I know they have been made for halogen cars for years, but recently a few have started to appear for factory Xenon cars? Is this a new thing or I am reading the product listing incorrectly?
Has anyone who has a 03-06 pre LCI E85 with factory xenons every tried these?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006 ... ry_from%3A
E30, E46, E61, E85, E86, E93
F07, F13, F15, F21 M140i, F40,
R53s, R56 JCW, F56 JCW
G05, G06 & G29M40i
i3, i8
F07, F13, F15, F21 M140i, F40,
R53s, R56 JCW, F56 JCW
G05, G06 & G29M40i
i3, i8
- steve69
- Member
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2023 6:53 pm
- Location: Bristol, UK
E85 Aftermarket Headlights - A new option?
I've not fitted, but i've got a set of 2Xcite's pre-facelift angel eye headlights on order right now: https://2xcite.co.uk/products/bmw-z4-an ... ghts-black
Looking at the listing and the photos of the back of the unit, I reckon you've found their Taiwanese supplier, they look identical to me! The images are at slightly different angles, but all the details are spot on the same I reckon.
They don't seem to have a xenon HID offering though, which is interesting..
S
Looking at the listing and the photos of the back of the unit, I reckon you've found their Taiwanese supplier, they look identical to me! The images are at slightly different angles, but all the details are spot on the same I reckon.
They don't seem to have a xenon HID offering though, which is interesting..
S
- Lucidnonsence
- Newbie
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2014 4:46 pm
- Location: Deep Darkest Devon
E85 Aftermarket Headlights - A new option?
That's what I thought : the 2Xcite ones. But they were always only for halogen cars and NEVER for OEM Xenon
E30, E46, E61, E85, E86, E93
F07, F13, F15, F21 M140i, F40,
R53s, R56 JCW, F56 JCW
G05, G06 & G29M40i
i3, i8
F07, F13, F15, F21 M140i, F40,
R53s, R56 JCW, F56 JCW
G05, G06 & G29M40i
i3, i8
- steve69
- Member
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2023 6:53 pm
- Location: Bristol, UK
E85 Aftermarket Headlights - A new option?
Purely hypothetical but I imagine BMW shipped a lot more halogen motors than xenon, I guess 2xcite may have decided only to import and brand halogen units to fit demand?
- Lucidnonsence
- Newbie
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2014 4:46 pm
- Location: Deep Darkest Devon
E85 Aftermarket Headlights - A new option?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006 ... 21im%21%21
Been speaking to these guys about the headlights and they do offer a Xenon version! And they say they will fit! Not sure if these are the 2Xcite ones or not??
Been speaking to these guys about the headlights and they do offer a Xenon version! And they say they will fit! Not sure if these are the 2Xcite ones or not??
E30, E46, E61, E85, E86, E93
F07, F13, F15, F21 M140i, F40,
R53s, R56 JCW, F56 JCW
G05, G06 & G29M40i
i3, i8
F07, F13, F15, F21 M140i, F40,
R53s, R56 JCW, F56 JCW
G05, G06 & G29M40i
i3, i8
- solo_the_lad
- Member
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Tue May 02, 2023 8:20 pm
- Location: Colorado, USA
E85 Aftermarket Headlights - A new option?
I built my own angel eyes/ brows which turned out pretty nice. You'll notice there is only a single ring on each side, which is because the high beam shroud area is not very accommodating for a halo because of its sloped shape. I also got some larger high quality halo's that are pretty thick, and they covered too much of the inside beam path of the high beams. After a ton of cutting and melting of plastic, reshaping, etc, I was able to get a single halo to fit straight and flush, on the low beams. It was a very involved job and these headlights are very difficult to remove the inside components, its like Tetris in there. They are hardwired to the battery, with a relay wired to a fuse tap to come on automatically. I hardwired them after originally attempting to wire them to the headlights themselves, which failed. They are switchback halo's technically, but the ECU did not like the new addition whatsoever, even after some programming attempts from a third party company. Thus I decided to bypass the switchback function and just use them as halo's
3.0i z4, every aero mod on the planet, stage 3 intake swap + tune. Remember guys, you can't fail if you don't try.
- steve69
- Member
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2023 6:53 pm
- Location: Bristol, UK
E85 Aftermarket Headlights - A new option?
Nice work on the lights. Since putting on the 2 xcite angel eyes i wish i went diy, quality is very 'cheap chinesey' imo.
That body kit looks mad! Is that a custom job? Looks like the Japanese e85 kit?
I reckon you've got to jump on modding up the foglights next
That body kit looks mad! Is that a custom job? Looks like the Japanese e85 kit?
I reckon you've got to jump on modding up the foglights next
- solo_the_lad
- Member
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Tue May 02, 2023 8:20 pm
- Location: Colorado, USA
E85 Aftermarket Headlights - A new option?
Thanks mate, yeah I'm glad I went DIY, the goal was to keep it looking OEM as possible with the headlights. And yes its all a totally custom aero kit, mostly parts I make out of carbon, some retrofitted and modified, etc. Agreed on the foglight, not really sure what to do with them though. Considering just getting some yellow LED's...steve69 wrote: ↑Sat May 25, 2024 12:06 pm Nice work on the lights. Since putting on the 2 xcite angel eyes i wish i went diy, quality is very 'cheap chinesey' imo.
That body kit looks mad! Is that a custom job? Looks like the Japanese e85 kit?
I reckon you've got to jump on modding up the foglights next
3.0i z4, every aero mod on the planet, stage 3 intake swap + tune. Remember guys, you can't fail if you don't try.
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- Newbie
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- Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2019 4:55 pm
E85 Aftermarket Headlights - A new option?
Just to chip in here, I ordered replacement lights from Spyder in the US (although I suspect all the various versions come out of the same factory). Having moved to France from the UK with my Z4M, I wanted to change my original Xenon lights which weren't in a great state for something more suitable for driving on the right in Europe. OEM Xenon replacements now seem to be 1000 GBP per side now, hence my reason for taking a punt on Spyder. Their website clearly states there are Xenon and Halogen compatible versions although all versions ultimately have a Halogen output regardless of the OEM spec and should be plug and play. However my Z4M is currently at the garage and the mechanic is saying these units definitelty won't work with the Xenon wiring loom in the car. I've double checked my order with Spyder and I definitely ordered the items than said they were for Xenon equipped cars, so maybe I got sent the wrong versions. In the meantime I would be interested to know of anyone who has successfully fitted any non OEM replacement units to a Xenon equipped car. As a temporary solution, my mechanic has restored my original OEM Xenon lights and refitted them, so not a complete bust, but the performance is really poor with the blanking plate down although interstingly ok to get through the French Controle Technique road worthiness test
- Lucidnonsence
- Newbie
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2014 4:46 pm
- Location: Deep Darkest Devon
E85 Aftermarket Headlights - A new option?
The spyder ones seem to be the same as the xcite and seem to be the same as the new ones i found on aliexpress. Interestimg that both Spyder & the ones on Ali BOTH say there are two versions: OEM xenon & OEM Halogen. So my question would be the same as JulesW above:
Has anyone replaced OEN xenons with anything other than OEM xenons?
Has anyone replaced OEN xenons with anything other than OEM xenons?
E30, E46, E61, E85, E86, E93
F07, F13, F15, F21 M140i, F40,
R53s, R56 JCW, F56 JCW
G05, G06 & G29M40i
i3, i8
F07, F13, F15, F21 M140i, F40,
R53s, R56 JCW, F56 JCW
G05, G06 & G29M40i
i3, i8
- kis
- Lifer
- Posts: 4556
- Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2016 2:33 pm
- Location: Surrey / West Sussex Boarder
E85 Aftermarket Headlights - A new option?
I've had aftermarket on the e46 and thought great, plug and play angel eyes, brand new etc. Lasted about a year, although I was doing circa 20k miles pa back then. As above, the quality isn't great considering what you pay for them.
Assuming yours are in bad shape, but still functional I'd recommend a cut & shut mod. James (IamOrion) did a post a few years back now. But that's the steps I've followed. I've seen halogen headlight prices drop recently on ebay to as little as £100 per unit. If you source good condition halogens you can transfer the internal xenon parts over. Or now you can even get new replacement lens units from ebay and the like. Worthwhile keeping OEM and modding/refurbishing - IMO.
Assuming yours are in bad shape, but still functional I'd recommend a cut & shut mod. James (IamOrion) did a post a few years back now. But that's the steps I've followed. I've seen halogen headlight prices drop recently on ebay to as little as £100 per unit. If you source good condition halogens you can transfer the internal xenon parts over. Or now you can even get new replacement lens units from ebay and the like. Worthwhile keeping OEM and modding/refurbishing - IMO.
My E85 Z4 3.0i SMG
BMW Family History (past and present):
1 Series - E87
3 Series - E46 Coupe, E46 M3, E90 (x3)
4 Series - F36, F82 M4
5 Series - E34 (x2), E39
7 Series - E32
X5 - E53, E70
X6 - E71
BMW Family History (past and present):
1 Series - E87
3 Series - E46 Coupe, E46 M3, E90 (x3)
4 Series - F36, F82 M4
5 Series - E34 (x2), E39
7 Series - E32
X5 - E53, E70
X6 - E71
- steve69
- Member
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2023 6:53 pm
- Location: Bristol, UK
E85 Aftermarket Headlights - A new option?
Seems worth saying at this point, selling a clean set of oem halogens fit for modding for £200
Listed on Ebay or our sales section
Listed on Ebay or our sales section