Aftermarket headlights

[BlackV8]

OEM headlights are so expensive, even used ones. Which aftermarket headlights look closest to the OEM ones? I know of two more reliable brand, Depo and Helix, anyone have pictures with them on the car? All e-bay have are just the headlights, don't know what they'll look like on the car. Thanks

[BimmerBreaker]

DJ auto are essentially a direct copy of OEM

[BlackV8]

Thanks BimmerBreaker, I forgotten about DJ Auto.

[bmv528ie39]

Who knows when they will be back in stock though

[AquilaBMW]

I heard they were no longer in production :-(

[edjack]

More than a few posters over the years have stated that the aftermarket assemblies are inferior in design and performance. Many find them satisfactory.

I gnashed my teeth for some time over this, and wound up with pre-facelift Hella HIDs. Satisfied with them.

[bfp9]

If you shop around you could likely find someone with some pre-facelift M5 headlights for sale that would probably be cheaper and in my opinion look better than the updated headlights. Otherwise you could always go to Umnitza. I don't think their products are as bad as everyone always says. I have one of their bumpers and it is fine quality and I have a couple of their lighting products and I haven't had any problems whatsoever. I have heard that it's not a bad idea to add some RTV sealant around the edges of the headlights when you get them to make sure moisture doesn't get in.

[BlackV8]

Umnitza is also expensive, I think my best luck would be to wait for some rich kids decided to upgrade there lights and sell the OEM for cheap.

[Stück]

The DJ Auto's are/were in fact the only thing close to OE style and appearance but they still left a lot to be desired in fit, finish, and styling to be anywhere near the original Hella's

The appearance is off quite a bit to anyone with a keen eye and the plastics/rubbers used in thier construction is seriously sub par compared to the OE hella's

Save yourself from having to do the job twice. Aftermarket likes are an upgrade over nothing. They all suck in different ways. Buy OE and refurbish them with new adjusters, projectors, lenses etc and get the best of the best.

[umnitza]

If you are in the Bay Area, drop by our store, you can take a look at the parts yourself if you wish.
We have all the parts in stock:
DJ (just an example one)
DEPO (for sale)
Euro Hella OE Xenon (for sale).


DJ Auto are going to be delivered. Production (a little scary to say this out loud) is progressing.
Drop on by.

[Stück]

Do you know if DJ Auto has any plans to rework the formulation of the rubber used on the bulb cover boots on the rear of the headlamp housing? As it stands in the climate I have down here I see them start to decompose within 2-3 years time. This is honestly the largest and only real problem with those lamps holding them back from use IMO. I've installed several sets and they really do look 95% the same as OE Hella on the outside once installed. Projectors are EH but really no worse than original, and certainly better than originals with tarnished reflector bowls (all of them at this point)

If anyone here has noted the small rubber eyebrows that seal the factory headlamps to the hood decomposing and getting all sticky, falling apart... the DJ Auto bulb covers do the same exact thing. Which is a pretty big problem for water/dust intrusion.

[RVAE34]

Just say no to Depo.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...light=Depo+E39

[WinterSportGuy]

Here are closeups of DEPO's bought from Umnitza with FX-R's.





And yes, these are DEPOs and yes they came from Umnitza. Having seen both the DJ Auto and DEPO's in person, neither is anywhere close to OEM in quality but I needed new lights asap as my OEM lights had broken adjusters and pointed straight down. I didn't have time to fiddle with my OEM lights, since it is my daily driver. I originally ordered DJ Auto's and received them (unmodified) and they were garbage. Here is a broken socket (out of the box like this):



And here is the ring separated from LED's (out of the box this way):



Not to mention the AE's are really dim -- here they are vs my OEM lights with the $99 LED upgrade:



So in the end, Depo's were the least of all evils. Now that I have a spare set of lights, will I refurbish my OEM's? Probably. Will I put them back on the car? I'm not sure, it depends on how the Depo's hold up.

As far as I can tell, there are two categories of lights -- OEM and Aftermarket, everything else is splitting hairs.

[umnitza]

The DEPO look good. Glad you are happy with them!

[RVAE34]

Wintersportguy, your inbox is full. I would be interested in buying your OEM lights with broken adjusters. Please PM me with a price.

[WinterSportGuy]

The DEPO look good. Glad you are happy with them!

So far, I'm very happy with them and definitely appreciate all the support you guys gave me !!! The install was very straight forward with the exception of the turn signal bulbs -- since my car is a 2002, I need to swap out the bulb carriers and associated wiring. Parts have been ordered from bavauto.com, just awaiting delivery. The beam pattern with the FX-R's is great, a nice clean cutoff so light is not spread everywhere and the Bi-Xenon feature is fantastic.

[umnitza]

Excellent Thank you for the feedback.

[BimmerBreaker]

Wintersportguy, your inbox is full. I would be interested in buying your OEM lights with broken adjusters. Please PM me with a price.

Ive got a pretty rough set from a car Im parting now. They are 03 lights though so unbakeable and halogen, but if interested let me know. Ill let them go for a song

[RVAE34]

I need the ones prior to the change in 02. My 03 M5 has great looking lights but the adjusters are broken. I may try and cut the lenses off by using a dremel around the perimiter and then epoxy them back together. But would like to get a backup set of the early 02 and earlier just in case. Since I haven't gotten a PM, I assume the OP isn't interested in selling his so I will keep searching. Thanks for the heads up though!

[BimmerBreaker]

contact cal45fan, last i checked he had half of the total OEM headlight production sitting in his garage

[RVAE34]

lol. Will do, thanks!

[Stück]

I need the ones prior to the change in 02. My 03 M5 has great looking lights but the adjusters are broken. I may try and cut the lenses off by using a dremel around the perimiter and then epoxy them back together. But would like to get a backup set of the early 02 and earlier just in case. Since I haven't gotten a PM, I assume the OP isn't interested in selling his so I will keep searching. Thanks for the heads up though!

You can change the adjusters through the back. I've done it several times. One is easy, the other (top) one is a pain but doable. If that is all they need you don't *need* to pull the lenses.

Obviously you can't do a projector retrofit though.

[RVAE34]

That's all I want to do in this car. I am trying to keep the 03 M5 absolutely stock. I am even going to remove the tint. I will search the forum and find the threads on it. Hopefully mine is the easier one b/c I have read the other is a royal PITA which is why I am more tempted to get another set. I wouldn't mind having an extra set regardless.

[Stück]

You'll want to replace both adjusters at the same time, even if only one is broken. The other will follow shortly. Just do them both.

[WinterSportGuy]

Wintersportguy, your inbox is full. I would be interested in buying your OEM lights with broken adjusters. Please PM me with a price.

Yeah, being a noob, I guess I only can get one PM at a time. Thanks for reaching out, but for now I'm keeping the OEM lights. the swap is so easy, I may even run summer and winter headlights once I fix them.

- - - Updated - - -

You'll want to replace both adjusters at the same time, even if only one is broken. The other will follow shortly. Just do them both.

Are the upgraded metal ones worth it? All my adjusters are broken, so all of them are getting swapped out. Thanks for the tip.