Hi, I am new to the forum and have a question that I did not see answered on the forum. I would like to swap the stock headlights for a quality Angel Eye setup. Where should I go to find a good setup? It needs to be a good swap but cost is always a consideration. Any thoughts? Dan
Depo brand is not quality.They don't fit for crap and the ballasts burn out easily. Had a customer that paid us to do whatever we could to fix them and he ended up spending enough to buy better quality. Other than that, I know nothing.
I do have experience with Depo aftermarket lights, though not for an E36 M3. The E30 lights I received were of mixed quality. The lights are visually appealing, though obviously not of an OEM look due to using glass lenses, meaning it looks a lot clearer. I have been told that it looks a bit ricey, and I have to admit that after hearing that, I have been looking for OEM Smileys, though I can't seem to find any. Before that, though, I haven't really noticed the rice factor. The lighting is an upgrade from the stock headlights I had before. They were the basic, non-Ellipsoid headlights that came on some E30's. Bulbs are now H1's and are a bit better than stock. Unfortunately, however, the "quality" ends here. The Angel Eyes leave a lot to be desired. There are only four illumination points, at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock, and it's very obvious. These points are much more illuminated than the rest of the rings and look rather cheaply done. Not only that, you simply can't see the halos at all if there's daylight out, and the only times they look decent is at sunset, at night, or when there is an overcast. Otherwise, the halos are non-existent when on. The picture in my avatar just happens to be at sunset and because of the way the camera took the picture, it was the ideal lighting. Otherwise, they look like this: http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/...87 BMW 325e/?action=view¤t=HPIM1197.jpg And in case you haven't noticed, yes, the halos are ON and you can still barely see them, even in the SHADE despite the sunny day. Just recently, the connector broke off my left headlight assembly, causing my low-beam to not work. I currently have the wire connected to the headlight via alligator clips, which is the ghetto, cheap way of fixing it. I am less than impressed with the durability so far because of this wire issue. I've had the lights now for not even two years and already some flaws are showing. When it comes to Angel Eyes for an E36, the most popular route I've seen are buying the rings from Umnitza.com, or as a headlight set. These are the halos that are more white in color than the "natural" color that the new 3ers have. They look pretty cool and don't have the uneven lighting issues that I have.
I'd highly recommend getting ZKW or Bosch headlights. Apexcone or DDM Tuning can sell you the headlights with the angel eyes already installed for you. http://www.apexcone.com/e36zkwpr.html Or you can just call them and tell them what you want. One thing that bugs me about the cheaper headlights is that the turn signal seems to always fall out. You definitely get what you pay for when it comes to headlights. I've had mine on my e36 for about 6 years now. Phenomenal light output and quality. Also, be sure to get some Stoneguard or something similar to protect your lights from chips. I usually end up replacing mine every year or two just to keep it looking good.
