Need bluish bulb to match my DDE's: help!

[Techti]

I just bought ZKW Euroellipsoids with DDE Enhanced from Umnitza and installed them today. They look great except that the DDE's are bluish and the headlights have the usual yellowish tint. Can anyone give me any advice on what bulbs I can get that will look slightly bluish in color? Someone recommended Farenheit brand bulbs to me. Any thoughts on those? Please help! Thanks!

[Techti]

Also, one more thing...I found some bulbs online but they seem to all be 100W...the lights that came with the ZKW's are 55W. If I put 100W bulbs in there am I going to melt anything or blow fuses?

[DustenT]

Also, one more thing...I found some bulbs online but they seem to all be 100W...the lights that came with the ZKW's are 55W. If I put 100W bulbs in there am I going to melt anything or blow fuses?

I had the same problem a while back. I purchased a HID low beam kit off of ebay for $300/shipped. They are beautiful! I got the 5500k kit. I will post some pics when I get some more time.

[DustenT]

Also, one more thing...I found some bulbs online but they seem to all be 100W...the lights that came with the ZKW's are 55W. If I put 100W bulbs in there am I going to melt anything or blow fuses?


Don't use 100w bulbs, you will melt something. Stick with 55w bulbs if you aren't going to do a HID conversion.

[Techti]

I agree that HID's are the way to go...but in the meantime while I have no money, do you have any suggestions to make things match better?

[Billan]

Do not get the Vizu bulbs from Umnitza. They look very close to HID but have a terrible light output. These bulbs also started to melt my connectors even though they are stamped 55w. Three months later they both burned out. I am currently running the Phillips Silverstar lights until I get a HID kit in the spring. These are great compared to the Vizu bulbs, and have a very white output.

[Techti]

Billan, do you think they are white enough to blend in well with the bluish tint of the DDE's?

[Billan]

Billan, do you think they are white enough to blend in well with the bluish tint of the DDE's?
As you can see in the pic below I also have DDE's. They are not a perfect match but much better than stock. You can tell the color difference between my fogs and the standard bulbs on the E30 next to my car. They are the Silverstar H1 ST bulbs not the cool blue ones.

http://www.crotchcricket.com/Car/15E30E36.jpg

[maurolin]

how about bulbs for the clear corners?? i don't like amber.. and I have HId's any suggestions?

[Billan]

how about bulbs for the clear corners?? i don't like amber.. and I have HId's any suggestions?
They also make a silver\blue bulb that blinks amber for your blinkers. I am not a huge fan of the blue look behind my clears so I stuck with the stock amber bulbs. It is illegal to run anything other than bulbs that blink amber in the front.

http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/HighPerformance/SilverStarSignal/default.htm

[DustenT]

Billan, do you think they are white enough to blend in well with the bluish tint of the DDE's?


Here are some pics of my HID kit (6000k) at night. They match the DDE extremely well. I will get some pics during the day, if the sun ever comes out.

http://www.318ti.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=277&sort=1&cat=500&page=1

Check out the rest of the pics in my gallery also.

[gadgetphreak]

Dusten -

Where did you get that Gauge pod tray shown in your gallery?

I am totally diggin' on that...

[DustenT]

Dusten -

Where did you get that Gauge pod tray shown in your gallery?

I am totally diggin' on that...

I made it. It holds three 2 1/16" gauges. I am actually thinking about selling it, with the gauges. Right now it has a boost gauge, oil pressure gauge and an air/fuel ration gauge. Let me know if you want it, make me an offer.

[bimmer95]

There's no match for true HIDs, all the fake halogen knock-off look yellow in comparison. Of course once you upgrade the low beam, your foglights end up looking yellow, but that's easily corrected by installing an HID in your foglights too ;)

My wife's 318ti with halogen vs. my M3 with 6000K Xtec HIDs
http://www.understeer.com/images/store/halogen-vs-6000k.jpg

My wife's 318ti with 5000k Xtec HIDs vs. my M3 with 6000K Xtec HIDs
http://www.understeer.com/images/store/5000k-vs-6000k.jpg

I don't have any pics of my M3 since I upgraded the foglights to 6000K HID. It's very bright and looks amazing though.

5000K has a cyan hue and matches the DDE Lightning halos very well. The halos are actually rated as 8000K, but I wouldn't recommend running that blue of a HID kit as usable light output is considerably lower.

[Techti]

bimmer95, how low is the light output on 8000K? If its still comparable to the H1's I have in there now I'd rather just keep the same light output and get the perfect match. Are they a lower output than H1's?

[bimmer95]

bimmer95, how low is the light output on 8000K?
8000K Xtec HIDs would be a lot brighter than H1 bulbs, ~2600 lumens versus ~1500 lumens. I'd really recommend 5000K instead, they're 3000 lumens and their hue still matches DDE Lightning halos nicely.

The issue with the bluer light isn't how "bright" it is, but how well it lights up the road in inclement weather conditions. The shorter the wave length, the lesser its effectiveness in shining though rain. The shorter waves are easily scattered causing glare instead of lighting the road ahead. So basically, if you live in Phoenix, 8000K would be just fine, but not so much if you live in Seattle.