# Upgrading the headlights on a 2001 325i



## sna77 (Jun 18, 2004)

What are my options for upgrading the headlights on my 2001 325i? I believe I have the stock headlights which are terrible... 

I've heard of "angel eyes." What are these? How expensive are they, and should I only buy BWM original ones?

Also, does adding fog lights help driving visibility? I dont have fog lights there now.. Are the 325's pre wired for the fog lights or would I have to wire them up if I bought the kit?

Thanks for the help, and recomendations!


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## Orient330iNYC (Jul 30, 2002)

sna77 said:


> What are my options for upgrading the headlights on my 2001 325i? I believe I have the stock headlights which are terrible...
> 
> I've heard of "angel eyes." What are these? How expensive are they, and should I only buy BWM original ones?
> 
> ...


1) get OEM HID projector headlights. www.bekkers.com
2) no such thing as OEM E46 angel eyes. they are aftermarket.
3) the prewiring may be there, but you need a new LCM switch to accomodate them. my 330i had them stock, so i'm guessing off the top of my head based on the retrofit kits i've seen.

BMW halogen reflector headlights are pretty good, i'd say some of the best. the halogen headlights on the honda accord i'm currently driving as a service loaner SUCK. maybe yours arent adjusted properly? whatever you do, do NOT get a HID retrofit kit that puts HID capsules into your reflector housings.
or i might hunt you down


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## sna77 (Jun 18, 2004)

OK,
A few dumb questions: 

1. HID stands for what?
2.Are you taslking the prewiring for the fog lights or for changing the headlights?
3. Whats the difference between the Xenon and the halogen's that come with the car? Is it a HUGE difference? I have a tough time seeing at night with the halogens?
4. Do you knwo of a site that does installation walk throughs? How tough is it?

Thanks!


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## Staszek (Jan 28, 2004)

sna77 said:


> OK,
> A few dumb questions:
> 
> 1. HID stands for what?
> ...


1. High Intensity Discharge
2. Fog Lights
3. Halogen is a gas that is burned when ignited. Xenon is a different type and needs a special ballast to run them. They are actually less watts then halogen (halogen 55w vs Xenon 35w) but burn much brighter. I think the bmw halogens are pretty good compared to other cars I have been in, but yea xenons make a pretty big difference its very noticable. I have been without my car for a week now and I really miss my xenons after driving a halogen car. 
4. They are plug and play you basically take out the old housings (4 bolts) and un hook the two plugs to the halogens and then install the new housing, plug the two plugs back in, install the 4 bolts and your done.

Now that is if you get the OEM one from bekkers. Umnizta sells aftermarket versions with angel eyes built into them. They are definetly cheaper then Bekkers and work just as well they are just not OEM. I have OEM on one car and Umnizta's on the other (called E46 Projectors) and they are just as bright and focused and its nice having the angel eyes too although I could live without them.

Pictures of the E46 Projectors with Xenons below


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## sna77 (Jun 18, 2004)

The picture you just showed is the "angel eyes" one? Is there a comparison of the OEM Xenons? 

It sounds like it might be worth it to shell out the extra $300 for the OEMs. Do I need any of the accessory's on bleeker's website for the OEM lights? 

I think this might be my weekend project!

-Steve


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## Clarke (Oct 21, 2002)

You need to be specific about what is terrible about the stock halogens to you.The cutoff pattern,the strength,the color?If it is the light pattern a xenon upgrade may dissapoint you.both have very distinct cutoffs(good).Not many folks think the halogens compared to most other cars are not among the best non HIDsWill good HIDs be better,yes but make sure there isn't something wrong with your current lights or night vision before investing unless it is a style thing. good luck either way!


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## Ace (Apr 9, 2004)

sound like you are just getting started at looking into this lighting upgrade....here's an article from e46fanatics.com, that really explains all the basics that you need to make an educated decision:

http://www.e46fanatics.com/features/feature.php?news_id=48

Stazek:

Can you tell me if the OEM Bekker's unit also requires a ballast? And could you also describe the difference between these 2 product in terms of light output/quality, fit/finish, and difficulty of installation? I have been considering the e46 projectors but just recently heard of the bekkers units and would appreciate your experience with both of them. Thanks!


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## Staszek (Jan 28, 2004)

I have never seen the Bekkers ones in person so I cant comment, but if they are exactly like OEM that you would buy at a dealer, then I have seen those. 

As for quality, really the E46 Projectors are very well made, the light output at least to my human eye seems the same, although mine are a bit dimmer since I have 6000K bulbs and the oems are 4300K (that I may switch out later but its not a huge difference) You can order the projectors with 5000K which will basically give you the same output as OEM. 

Now for the bad things about the Projectors. All Xenons need a ballast. THe OEM ballasts are a silver box that mounts right under the OEM housing, it fits in perfect and is really a part of the housing. 

The projectors have a ballast as well, but its not connected to anything so you have to mount it, although very easy to do, its not as integrated as the OEM. I hear though new versions may have it built in exactly like OEM

The other thing is that the projector on the OEM version says Xenon around the rim, the one on the E46 Projectors dont say anything, but thats not that big a deal.

All in all they are pretty damm close and I could not justify 
Bekkers OEM at $1200.00
Vs
E46 Projectors at $789.00 and the angel eyes built in.


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## Orient330iNYC (Jul 30, 2002)

sna77 said:


> The picture you just showed is the "angel eyes" one? Is there a comparison of the OEM Xenons?
> 
> It sounds like it might be worth it to shell out the extra $300 for the OEMs. Do I need any of the accessory's on bleeker's website for the OEM lights?
> 
> ...


you may need to get the dealer to recode the ECU for HIDs or get relays/resistor packs to get rid of the headlights out message on the display when the headlights arent on. should be no more than 1/2 an hour of labor to hook it up to the MoDic

HID ballasts have a different resistance than halogen bulbs and will trip the bulb out indicator


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## Desertnate (Mar 11, 2002)

I'm surprised you don't like the halogen headlights in your car. I have the halogens in my E46 323i and they are the best non HID lights I have ever had in a car. I really like them...bright, nice pattern, very effective illiumination. 

I am also surprised your car didn't come with fog lamps. I think I may have only seen a total of 3 or 4 E46's EVER that didn't have the fog lamps and all of them were 323i's not the later 325i's. I always thought they were standard


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## sna77 (Jun 18, 2004)

Re: Halogens. My previous car was a 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee… I don’t know if the bulbs were that much brighter, or if it was just because I was higher up, but I could see much better in that car than my e46…

Re: Fog lamps. Besides fog lights, the car is also missing the following (which should be standard):
-	Trunk release button in the car (need to take keys out and use remote to eject trunk)
-	Rear fold down seats. I don’t get it? Why don’t they fold down? My Honda civic I had in high school had fold down seats… 
-	A rear antenna? I’ve seen a bunch of 99-01 with roof top antennas.. Mine has none other than the rear windshield one—which is useless with the defroster on (loud staticy noise)
-	A compass and thermostat. Again, my base model Grand Cherokee had them

As for the fog lights… Where would the button to turn them on be? If I bought the fog light kit, which I feel would help driving conditions, because it lights the lines of the road, how would I turn them on—or would it need to be wired?

Thanks for all the help everyone!


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## Staszek (Jan 28, 2004)

sna77 said:


> Re: Halogens. My previous car was a 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee&#8230; I don't know if the bulbs were that much brighter, or if it was just because I was higher up, but I could see much better in that car than my e46&#8230;
> 
> Re: Fog lamps. Besides fog lights, the car is also missing the following (which should be standard):
> -	Trunk release button in the car (need to take keys out and use remote to eject trunk)
> ...


I cant remember what year it is but yea there was no trunk pop on the early 323/325's I dont have one either. The rear antenna you talked about has nothing to do with the stereo, so really its useless, all E46 radio antennas are built in and they all suck. The folding seats were an option on the E46 Sedans in the US. Actually although I miss them sometimes, my car has 108k on it and not creaks or rattles, so I am thinking the extra rigidness that not having them provides is paying off in the long run. No E46 has a standard compass, you can buy a different mirror from a few places that have the compass and auto dimming built into it, but it was never a standard (also alot of cars dont have them, a Jeep is a Jeep meant for off road and camping where having a compass is much more necessary). Thermostat I am assuming you are talking about an external temp gauge, that comes with the OBC (onboard computer) that is located where your time and mileage are on your dash, if you have this feature (which was optional) the left blinker stalk will have a button for you to switch between features.

Now if you never had fogs you probably dont have the button either. Right under the knob to turn on the headlights there will be a rectangular button for the fogs. If that is not there then you have to buy a new LCM, (light control Module) that will replace that whole panel and give you the button that you need. I would look online in the classifieds here or on E46fanatics, or even ebay for the fog lights themselves. The dealer charges alot for them, and since many people have done bumper swaps which do not use the original fogs you should be able to find a used pair.

Good luck! :thumbup:


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## umnitza (Oct 8, 2002)

if we can be of assistance, let us know


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## sna77 (Jun 18, 2004)

I think the projector 46's are the way I'm going to go...

Now the questions... 

- They make 3 models:

Which do I want?
Projector46™ S w/ 6000K HIDs & DDE 
Projector46™ S w/ 5000K HIDs & DDE 
Projector46™ S w/ DDE (No HID) 

I'm a little confused as to the difference between them...

- Also, what does this mean: "however, testing will be continued to prevent "Headlamp Failure" messages from ever occurring."

- Does that mean the headlights will show as bulb out on the interior display?

- Are the headlights clear or smoke color? I put the clear turn signals on my '01 and love them in the rear, but they don't match the smoke color of the front headlights that well... I am considering looking for smoke colored turn signals on the front to match the BMW halogen color UNLESS of course, these are clear, and will match the clear turn signal.

- I ordered the fog light kit from Circle BMW for my car (I need to wire it up, with switches, etc). Are there bulb replacements that can make these more "driving lights" than fog lights?

Thanks!


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## umnitza (Oct 8, 2002)

sna77 said:


> I think the projector 46's are the way I'm going to go...
> 
> Now the questions...
> 
> ...


Thank you


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## sna77 (Jun 18, 2004)

- HID = High beams? SO the cheaper model has halogne high beams, and a Xenon regular bulb, correct?

- The 5000 vs. 6000: I Like the bluish display a lot, but is it easier to see with the blue than the white? I have poor eyes and seeing at nightime is hard for me... So I'm looking for whatever will be the easiest there...

- The Xenon fogs--does that just replace the bulb? Or do I have to replace the kit? Cn you send the link to that too please? Thanks!

Oh, and finally.. How hard is installation and how long should it take? I'm OK with following instructions, as long as there are pictures... hah!


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## Ty Vil (Dec 19, 2002)

send me an email to [email protected] I'll answer all those questions


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## Staszek (Jan 28, 2004)

sna77 said:


> - HID = High beams? SO the cheaper model has halogne high beams, and a Xenon regular bulb, correct?
> 
> *No HID Is high intensity Discharge and it is for the low beams, cheaper model has halogen as high and low, more expensive has HID low and Halogen High*
> 
> ...


Hope that helps


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