DIY: Highbeam Headlamp Replacement / Upgrade

[jadnashuanh]

It is somewhat anomalous listing them as 80W bulbs if they are actually 40W! Anything equal or less than the original bulb wattage should work with the wiring, switches, or fuse, IF they are built with the proper bulb-out sensing so you don't get constant faults.

 

[NoMoreGas]

40 Watts/3600 lumens PER Bulb. Lower draw and more lumens per bulb. Halogens are no more than 1100 lumens per bulb. More efficient with way more light. Win win.

 

[jadnashuanh]

No problem...your original post said 80W, not two 40W bulbs, which IS likely to cause problems.

 

[NoMoreGas]

Many adverts on ebay/amazon display combined total wattage and lumens per pair of bulbs. One has to read very carefully and ask questions of the sellers. That said, the ones I showed as an example I actually have been using in my car for the past 8 weeks without any issues. They are much brighter than the original halogen which were, in my opinion, dangerously underpowered for where I live. In addition to the benefits of more light they are very well focused by the reflectors in the housing. In addition they have an approximately 30,000 hour life span which is about a 3.5 year life if they were constantly on. These bulbs will outlast the life of the BMW.

 

[sithsmith23]

hello

I've swapped over the full beam to 'whiter' bulb, no probs. Also got some LED's for indicators but seemed to have trouble of disconnecting/getting into the current bulbs. Did not seems as easy as swapping over the full beam and did not want to get too heavy handed...any advice/steps to access the indicator bulbs, I could seem to find a 'catch' to depress to release the connector.

ta

 

[I33t]

I replaced mine right after delivery but it was easy. I think they just pull out. The connector was stiff as I remember.

 

[CaptBreadbeard]

Oh, I see now. You put LEDs in the turn signals, not the main beams...

These Philips LEDs are to replace H11s. They aren't cheap, but Philips makes good bulbs unlike a lot of the LED junk out there.

http://www.xenondepot.com/h11-h8-h16-philips-Ultinon-LED-Bulb-p/12834unix2-h11.htm

On a side note, these are 9.3W bulbs vs. the 55W halogens. That's 18.6W for the pair vs. 110W or saving ~91.4W. Since the i3's battery is ~18.8kW-hr of usable capacity, for every hour of operation these bulbs would save 0.5% of the full capacity. At moderate highway speeds and given the range of the i3, that could add up to nearly 1% saved! Or a lot more in the city where the non-drivetrain power consumption will generally make up a larger percentage of the consumed power.

Even better still, they put out many more lumens than the standard halogens and a whole lot more than cheaper LED H11 replacements (saw some under 1200 lumens!).

Edit:
Decided to have more fun. At $0.10/kW-hr of electricity, using these bulbs would save approx. $0.01 per hour of operation (rounded up to assume charging losses). Average speeds, as far as I've seen for the average driver, are nearer 30MPH (total operating time, not average moving). 12k miles a years, yields almost 400hrs of operation per year. Thus, these bulbs save the average driver approx. $4/year. Or put another way, these bulbs pay for themselves after at around 540k miles of use. Hmm, that's going to take awhile...

 

[CaptBreadbeard]

Many monitoring circuits look for a certain load from the bulbs, and if the aftermarket bulbs are not configured right, the monitoring circuit can become confused. Often, you have to add a resistor in there to make that load look 'proper'. OFten, the details on how to do that are available on the website where you bought the bulbs. Some bulbs have that 'built-in'.

Don't have an i3 yet, but BMW uses CANBUS and if it's anything like their bikes (I have two), it may be able to code out the error. Resistors work as well, but it's more of a hack IMHO.

 

[CaptBreadbeard]

Not sure what I'm missing here...

H11 halogen bulb - 55W, about 525 Lumens, maybe 500 hours life (varies) - $20 each (rough idea)
H11 equivalent LED bulb, about 2400 Lumens (on average), thousands of hours life (one I was looking at claimed 25K-hours), instant on - $100+ each (more or less, depending on quality and color temp - some as much as $250 ea) IOW, price varies
H11 equivalent HID bulb, 35W versions, about 3000 Lumens, 15000 hours life (and free replacements on one I was looking at), take a moment to reach full brightness, about $50 each with the ballast. For most people, the bulb will outlast the time they have the car. You can say the same for the LED, but how many people would pull it back out to move to their next car to make use of it? probably nobody. With the traffic, I don't get a chance to use my high beams much anyway, but might consider upgrading for those times I am out of town and there is no traffic. Might save a deer and the car! Certainly will if I get a bulb die rather than just putting back a halogen.

Given the price/performance, why not an HID upgrade verses LED? Is it the on/off cycles? Some reach full color temp pretty quickly. If you want more light, you can get a 55W HID bulb for not much more and increase that output quite a bit. But, a nearly 60% power savings and 6x the lumens using a 35W version seems like a good compromise.

If I did lots of driving where I regularly used high beams, I'd probably go that route, and may just for the hell of it to try. Thoughts?

HIDs work for low beams which remain on, high beams not so much because they take time to come on. Also, the high inrush current and high-voltage of HIDs combined with the quality of some aftermarket kits often leads to less than ideal results...occasionally dangerous too.

 

[CaptBreadbeard]

Has anyone driven their LED conversions during the winter snowstorm yet to see if they ice up? This is something OEMs test LED headlights for, so I'm curious how they work in this car.

 

[alohart]

On a side note, these are 9.3W bulbs vs. the 55W halogens. That's 18.6W for the pair vs. 110W or saving ~91.4W. Since the i3's battery is ~18.8kW-hr of usable capacity, for every hour of operation these bulbs would save 0.5% of the full capacity. At moderate highway speeds and given the range of the i3, that could add up to nearly 1% saved! Or a lot more in the city where the non-drivetrain power consumption will generally make up a larger percentage of the consumed power.

The problem I have with your calculations is that an i3 is designed for city driving where high beam operation is rare. I drive on highways occasionally, but traffic is usually heavy enough that high beam use is possible only briefly. I know that other i3 owners drive in different environments, but I doubt that the percentage of distance driven with high beams on is significant making the power savings insignificant, especially compared with the cost of these LED lights.

I have had aftermarket Philips LED daytime running lights on our Honda Insight in Sweden for several years and can attest to their high quality. If I were going to replace my i3's high beams, I would certainly consider these Philips LED's.

 

[tiburonh]

Oh, I see now. You put LEDs in the turn signals, not the main beams...

These Philips LEDs are to replace H11s. They aren't cheap, but Philips makes good bulbs unlike a lot of the LED junk out there.

http://www.xenondepot.com/h11-h8-h16-philips-Ultinon-LED-Bulb-p/12834unix2-h11.htm

On a side note, these are 9.3W bulbs vs. the 55W halogens. That's 18.6W for the pair vs. 110W or saving ~91.4W. Since the i3's battery is ~18.8kW-hr of usable capacity, for every hour of operation these bulbs would save 0.5% of the full capacity. At moderate highway speeds and given the range of the i3, that could add up to nearly 1% saved! Or a lot more in the city where the non-drivetrain power consumption will generally make up a larger percentage of the consumed power.

Even better still, they put out many more lumens than the standard halogens and a whole lot more than cheaper LED H11 replacements (saw some under 1200 lumens!).

Edit:
Decided to have more fun. At $0.10/kW-hr of electricity, using these bulbs would save approx. $0.01 per hour of operation (rounded up to assume charging losses). Average speeds, as far as I've seen for the average driver, are nearer 30MPH (total operating time, not average moving). 12k miles a years, yields almost 400hrs of operation per year. Thus, these bulbs save the average driver approx. $4/year. Or put another way, these bulbs pay for themselves after at around 540k miles of use. Hmm, that's going to take awhile...

These LED bulbs from Philips are NOT suitable for replacing the high beam bulb in an i3. They are designed (and sold) as replacement for fog lights, not for high beams. They only yield 1200 lumens each (the 2400 figure is for the pair), and they don't spread at the right pattern for use as high beams. If the US version of the i3 actually had fog lights, these would be good bulbs for that, but they aren't right for use as high beams.

 

[jadnashuanh]

It can get messy...US DOT rules require any bulb used on a car on the exterior to be marked with the DOT stamp, and that can only happen if the light dispersion and intensity is correct for the application. Very few LED aftermarket bulbs are qualified, even if they actually fit. Those that do, tend to be a lot more expensive than those that don't. Not that someone is likely to get out a photometer and actually measure, but there IS a difference. The resulting beam pattern and brightness levels may be ineffective for the intended application either by not being the proper spread, uneven illumination, or spots that are too bright or too dim. Uneven illumination, regardless of the color temperature, can produce eye strain, and potentially make you miss something in the field, and can be problematic. Just 'looking good' is not enough!

 

[uter]

Today, I installed the LED blinker and these LED high beams bought off of eBay, H8 H9 H11 White 6000K 4000 LM High Power Cree-XML2 LED Bulb Fog Driving Light.

It's a significant difference. I'm really pleased and very appreciative of the instructions on how to change them out.

 

[GodFollower]

God follower, are these the lamps you purchased?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K61CG5U/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687442&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00L8GCDLE&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1JPZX7VJ4AD6D1DWP7BD#customerReviews

You commented on BF that the led bulbs covered more horizontal area than the oem units. Can you elaborate a little more on their reach in front of the car vs the oem bulbs?

Thanks.

Sorry for the super late reply, I did not see your question on here.

The housings and bulbs look very similar, although the packaging is different. Could be the same light repackaged.

They do go out further, although not as far as the low-beam LED line. A rough guess would be ~200 yards of usable light? Over what I would consider the ~125 yards from the factory halogens.

Oh! And 8 months in, still no failures on the LED bulbs from either the turn signals or the high beams

 

[i3Rocket]

Hi guys,

I would like to thank to everyone who has contributed to this thread. I
Every time when I was behind someone with my turn indicator I saw it in reflection and I didn't like it too much. When it comes to high beam is as you stated. Yellow beam focused on one spot straight forward, but reach is almost no longer than regular beam. just different color ant that's it.

Anyway I decided to buy high beam and amber lights in LED technic. I have received amber lights today and there is a difference. To summarize 3 key changes:
1. Amber light is now in the same color as turn indicator on side mirrors.
2. It turns on and off at the same time as turn indicator on side mirrors
3. It somehow illuminates whole space in the turn indicator itself.

Below please find two videos that I have made as comparison before and after. I need to point out that iphone camera does some sort of light adaptation automatically, so in reality it looks even bigger difference.

Before:
https://youtu.be/JdglZBvLQAQ

After:
https://youtu.be/k77yZLYXb1s

I have also ordered LED high beam. I found one for 50$ and have 6000K and 3600lm each. I havent received it, but will try to make some photos to show the difference.

 

[timf]

Thanks for bumping this thread. It sounds like a very easy and desirable mod, so I've gone ahead and ordered the turn signal and high beam LEDs. For less than $80 retail, I don't know why BMW feels the need to cheap out on these light bulbs when everything else is already LED.

 

[jadnashuanh]

FWIW, nearly all of the LED aftermarket bulbs you can buy, while you can get them to fit, technically, are not legal for use in the USA on public roads! The manufacturer of the bulb(s) must run color temperature, brightness, and coverage (light projection pattern) on them to be legal and then be marked with the DOT symbol. Very few have done this, and those tend to cost more. So, what you'll often end up with is a light pattern that isn't as smooth or have the specified brightness levels. That does not mean that it won't fit and turn on, and probably last a long time, although that can be in question, too. You may need to deal with the light monitoring circuit to fool it from reporting a bulb out, but that's fairly easy if you know what you're doing. Every factory light assembly is certified to pass the DOT requirements, and only with (where possible) DOT approved bulbs. If it's a sealed assembly, the whole assembly would be certified and marked. Not that it is likely to happen, but technically, using bulbs or assemblies without that marking is justification to fail a vehicle safety inspection. Every inspector I've ever dealt with just verified that the lights turned on when they should.

 

[DinosM]

Will this work in replacing the ugly yellow halogen lights:

Starnill LED Headlight Conversion Kit - All Bulb Sizes - 72W 6600LM COB LED - Replaces Halogen & HID Bulbs (H11)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WX0VSQK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

Thanks

 

[jadnashuanh]

I think you're risking things by going to a higher wattage bulb than the original unless they're listing the combined wattage, not the individual bulb.