#HID 9007 BIXEN VS HALOGEN INSTALL#

#HID 9007 BIXEN VS HALOGEN INSTALL#

If you want to be completely 'stock BMW' with your future xenon headlights, you'd need to install all the self-leveling hardware, but my guess is hardly anyone has ever done that.Īlthough some drivers with facelift halogen-projector units eventually install xenon bulbs in their projector housings, I've read that the halogen optics are not optimal for xenons (but I have no firsthand experience). Some of the better ones are equipped with clear lenses while the stock projector lenses on BMWs and other German makes tend to have Fresnel surfaces that diffuse the beam. If I were going to upgrade my headlights (again), I'd go straight to the facelifts with quality clear-lens bi-xenons and 50w ballasts burning 4300K or 5000K bulbs.īallast quality matters - cheap stuff can't be expected to give bright output.īulb color temp matters - 4100-4300K has the most light 5000K is considered to be the whitest light, and past that (6000K and up) the spectrum shifts further blue and looks cool to some but actually puts less light on the road.

Bi-xenon projectors in facelift housings are the current rage. The facelift xenons apparently have a better, sharper beam pattern with less glare (no reflector bowl behind them). Upgrade from 35w to 50w ballasts and then they are significantly brighter. Those xenon units were optional on pre-facelift 528s. The pre-facelift optional xenon headlights (low beam is a Hella xenon projector surrounded by a reflector bowl) like you see on older M5s are not that significantly brighter than a pre-facelift halogen with a good, bright bulb (4100-4300k Osrams).

Hid 9007 bixen vs halogen