Here is what I want: an improvement over the stock lighting (which is abismal) and I don't want to pay nearly 4 hundfrucken dollars that I could have spent on tires or a camber plates. I don't need blingy halos or any of that, I just want to see the road better as the days are getting shorter here. I want them to fit well (little gaps around lights) and to not fog-or very little. I don't want the plastic to be brittle and brackets to break.

I am leaning towards the Apexcone or Djauto units for just over 100 dollars.
Can anyone give me their experiences with these lights. IIRC, the Apexcone's come with bulbs but no pnp harness while the DJautos come with the pnp but no bulbs.
Please provide your experience, not hearsay or "my friend's grandma had DJautos and they sucked":D
Thanks guys and gals.
Post pics if possible, thanks.

I have apexcones and they came with the bulbs and pnp harness. They also havent fogged up on me once, and the plastic doesnt seem to brittle. Prior to owning the apexcones I had the depo 'gen4's' and the two seem to be on par with each other. I have not owned the djauto's so I will not comment on them. If you decide to go with the apexcones pm bimmer95 and he will answer all your questions.

Thanks, that is exactly the type of response I am looking for. Appreciate your input.

I just installed the DjAutos and I was in the same boat as you, I wanted better headlights without breaking the bank on money I could spend somewhere else. The DjAutos looked just like the more expensive ones and the improvement over stock was amazing. People talk about the Apexcone and DjAuto having sub-par projection, but I tell you, the light projection is just like my wife's Infiniti and my friends Acura, just not as white or bright, since I don't have HIDs. When I put both vehicles 25ft away from a wall, the projection is almost identical, except the Infiniti HIDs being whiter and brighter. What I mean is the line at the top of the light output was sharp, like a box.
For the money, you can't go wrong. A million times better than stock.

I can't comment on the Apexcone, but I was considering them as well. I went for the DjAutos because they were cheaper (BavToys) and had the PnP harness (You definitely want the harness). It took me about 30 minutes for the whole process thanx to the PnP harness. Get it.

BTW, I didn't have any problems with the plastic being too brittle or breaking off. I don't even know how somebody can break them. It is a simple straightforward install.

I put some silverstars for the lows and the Predator Xenix for the highs and they work just fine.

Thanks for your input rallyp, good to hear you are happy with them. This is getting hard to decide:)

DEPOs are good for me.. and sound nicer than djauto IMHO. (dj auto jus sounds retarded) same quality i heard tho

Otherwise, light quality still sucks without HIDs. Car looks more updated tho.

the DjAuto are a great value, they look like euro zkw downright to the velocity nipples at less then one stock headlight.
we sold a whole bunch of them and the fact you hear nothing at all about them can only be good sign.
that said if you can spring for the depo you will be very happy.

Thanks guys, anyone else?

I wish I could contribute my personal experience with either of the brands. I just wanted to note this is by far the most civilized, drama free discussion of different brands. the input given is substantiated and seems to come from personal experience without a strong sense of bias (obviously its still there...just not so damn annoying and blatant)

Chebimmer - I'm awaiting Projector46's (Depo's with Apexcone HIDs) - The price was very good esp. since I'm upgrading from old halogen to HID.. Granted, I could've spent the 500 on many other things, but like a lot of people have said, lighting is important..so since I was dropping the cash, might as well drop just a little more and get HID... jmo.... :devillook

My grandma had djautos and she said "them shits is wack son"

And she also said you need HIDs in order to see anything at night...

"Fo' sho, I'm gettin HIDs fo' sho" -grandma

cant go wrong with depo or if you really want cost efficient go DJ AUTO

Have you checked ebay? You can get some good deals on OEM stuff if you are patient.

I wish I could contribute my personal experience with either of the brands. I just wanted to note this is by far the most civilized, drama free discussion of different brands. the input given is substantiated and seems to come from personal experience without a strong sense of bias (obviously its still there...just not so damn annoying and blatant)

I agree, thanks guys.

Somebody's grandma is going to think I am whack:stickoutt I went with the DJautos, and here's why: someone I respect has them (VM M3) and especially the one year warranty; really appealing from Bavarian toys. Thanks Habbie.
Thanks for all of the help.
idblackz3, good to see Meridian is being spoken for:D.

My grandma had djautos and she said "them shits is wack son"

And she also said you need HIDs in order to see anything at night...

"Fo' sho, I'm gettin HIDs fo' sho" -grandma

:rofl:

- I dont have any yet but from what ive heard im def. gettng depos :) inexpensive and still sexy looking:)

I'm also shopping for Headlights. The ones that came with the car (one piece, chromes) will not cut it, but I don't want to spend 300+ also for a set up and this thread is helping me point to the right direction. thanks!

Yeah, uh, I would remove those, might be the ugliest light I have ever seen.

The depo's are pretty nice - very fragile though! I can't even remember how many little pieces have broken off (and have yet to find a glue/epoxy that will fix them.)

I've had 5000k prolumen HID's in my depo's for about 11 months, not very happy with them. I actually have fx35 projectors on their way ($225 shipped for everything, projectors, bulbs, ballasts/ignitors, and wiring harness)

Very excited to do the retrofit, especially with bi-xenon's. I use my high beams about 80% of my drive home (sometimes more) after work (2nd shift). Not to mention the high beams on depo's (and from what I hear, ZKW's also) SUCK.

I'm also shopping for Headlights. The ones that came with the car (one piece, chromes) will not cut it, but I don't want to spend 300+ also for a set up and this thread is helping me point to the right direction. thanks!

Glad to see that they're getting changed out! On anything non-JDM the look just isn't quite right, at least not when it's being changed from a 2-piece design. That, and I'm not big on chrome either. Anyways, I have the depos and haven't had any issues with the tabs breaking or anything, but if you don't plan to take your lights apart or go gorilla on them, then you'll be fine. The difficulty that most seem to have with them breaking tabs is when they are taking the lights apart because the plastic is relatively hard and inflexible, and so given any number of variables line up right, they can break even if you don't do anything wrong. I've taken mine apart a couple times without issues, and it seems like it is mostly the unlucky (like epj3, in this case) that have issues with them braking, but it isn't an isolated occurrence by any means. If you can't spring for the zkw that use a "higher qualiity" plastic that doesn't seem to brake as much (not the housing, just the tabs that hold it together; someone correct this if it's wrong), then the depos are the next best thing IMHO. I love mine, but I also have 6000k HID's that were installed at the same time, so I can't speak for stock to euro light output differences, although from everything I've read the projectors in the zkw/depo/djauto are all designed to utilize non-HID bulbs the best.

edit: just realized you already got the dj auto... maybe I'll wake up sometime today :). Best of luck with them, just take your time with the install and if you need help with the wiring let me know, it can get a little screwy. Ouri (habbie) is a godsend if you're installing them for the first time; he helped me out before I knew what I was doing, even though it was getting late :alright and I was becoming irritable :nono.

Glad to see that they're getting changed out! On anything non-JDM the look just isn't quite right, at least not when it's being changed from a 2-piece design. That, and I'm not big on chrome either. Anyways, I have the depos and haven't had any issues with the tabs breaking or anything, but if you don't plan to take your lights apart or go gorilla on them, then you'll be fine. The difficulty that most seem to have with them breaking tabs is when they are taking the lights apart because the plastic is relatively hard and inflexible, and so given any number of variables line up right, they can break even if you don't do anything wrong. I've taken mine apart a couple times without issues, and it seems like it is mostly the unlucky (like epj3, in this case) that have issues with them braking, but it isn't an isolated occurrence by any means. If you can't spring for the zkw that use a "higher qualiity" plastic that doesn't seem to brake as much (not the housing, just the tabs that hold it together; someone correct this if it's wrong), then the depos are the next best thing IMHO. I love mine, but I also have 6000k HID's that were installed at the same time, so I can't speak for stock to euro light output differences, although from everything I've read the projectors in the zkw/depo/djauto are all designed to utilize non-HID bulbs the best.

edit: just realized you already got the dj auto... maybe I'll wake up sometime today :). Best of luck with them, just take your time with the install and if you need help with the wiring let me know, it can get a little screwy. Ouri (habbie) is a godsend if you're installing them for the first time; he helped me out before I knew what I was doing, even though it was getting late :alright and I was becoming irritable :nono.

Hey thanks, i will shoot you a pm if I need some help. Installing tonight.

epj3: How do you retrofit FX35 projectors into ours?? My wife's FX35 has the best projectors I've seen in person. If I could have those on my 328i??? Let me know.

Update for anyone interested:
The lights (DJauto ellipsoids) arrived 3 days after I placed my order, well packaged, I might add. $154 shipped with bulbs and pnp harness.

I installed the lights on saturday. The process took me about an hour and half, mostly because I kept dropping nuts, screws and sockets down into the engine bay--fat fingers:) The process is easy otherwise.

The lights look great, making the car look much less dated, they fit well (better than OE units) are not brittle and light up the road much better, its really nice seeing the road in front of me. The high beams are very effective as well.
Adjusting the lights is also easy. They were too high at first and I fixed that with no problems using the adjusters.

My only complaint is that the left turn signal is a little loose in the fitting, not to the point where it comes out, just not as tight as the other side. This is minor and I think it can be fixed by zip tying it in place, a popular fix for the notorius problem.

So far, I can report that I am very happy with my choice, as they are exactly what I wanted; a cheap, useful headlight upgrade for lighting.

if you watch ebay you can pick up dj auto/ zkw which are supposed the same and of oem quality for less then ive seen depos, i just ordered some so i cant speak on the quality dont have em yet

edit - i see you already got some, im not even sure if mine come with harnesses :( where did you order yours?

if you watch ebay you can pick up dj auto/ zkw which are supposed the same and of oem quality for less then ive seen depos, i just ordered some so i cant speak on the quality dont have em yet

edit - i see you already got some, im not even sure if mine come with harnesses :( where did you order yours?

The pnp harnesses were included in my order from bav toys. That is what's nice about ordering from them, you are provided with all that you need and you just install them using instructions found on this very forum. Very straight forward. I had a great experience.

I ordered my Apexcone Ellipsoids with DDE Plus halo's and 55w race 8K HID kits last week, and should have them this week, so I'll post my thoughts and pictures once they are on. I went with Apexcone because their rep seems good and the price was right. I spent around $390 shipped for the entire setup, which if I recall -- is cheaper than ZKW ellipsoid housings alone.

For better night vision you need either more wattage or HID. That's the jist of it.

Anything else is lighting wise is akin to adding an intake to the engine to increase performance. There "may" be some, but mostly not worth mentioning.

I ordered my Apexcone Ellipsoids with DDE Plus halo's and 55w race 8K HID kits last week, and should have them this week, so I'll post my thoughts and pictures once they are on. I went with Apexcone because their rep seems good and the price was right. I spent around $390 shipped for the entire setup, which if I recall -- is cheaper than ZKW ellipsoid housings alone.

you always get what you pay for.... it never fails :lol

I'm running the 55Watt 5000k ApexCone Race HID kit in the ApexCone headlights. Everything that was needed for the install was included.

The setup is great for the price and I'm very pleased. I was never much of an HID guy until they became affordable. I was amazed with the headlights for being $120.

Regardless of people making comments like "you get what you pay for", I installed my Apexcones with 55w 8000k kits today and they are pretty damn nice for what I paid. In fact, I got more than I had expected (after hearing certain people say they were junk), so I'd have no problem recommending them to others.

I too, received everything needed to do the installation, and it went off without a hitch. The only problem I ran in to was the passenger side wiring being reversed which was my fault since I installed the wiring harnesses outside of the car, and only tested the drivers side pre-installation. I ended up rushing as it was getting dark, so I didn't test the passenger side first, but it only took 30 seconds to switch the wires and fix the problem.

So yeah, just pay attention and you should have no problems :)

Regardless of people making comments like "you get what you pay for", I installed my Apexcones with 55w 8000k kits today and they are pretty damn nice for what I paid. In fact, I got more than I had expected (after hearing certain people say they were junk), so I'd have no problem recommending them to others.

what were you expecting since youve never had another ellipsoid headlight? im pretty certain that if you went with Depo youd love the cut off and beam pattern much more. enjoy your headlights