Review: Depos vs DJ Auto vs Apexcone vs ZKW

[bmwsmurf]

Thought I'd post some thoughts I had on all the ellipsoid options for our cars now. My experience has been strictly with E36s. I've played around with quite a few of these now having access to 3 E36s so here goes:

1) Original OEM halogen headlights: the insurance companies would raise our rates if they knew how bad these things were.

2) ZKW (Halogen only). These are the best made of the pack, but are pricey. Easy to install. The light output on these coupled with a pair of Silverstars is quite strong. In fact, I had for a while one ZKW installed on the driver side and one Depo/55W installed on the passenger side, and the difference is not as much as you would think. I wish I had taken some pics.

3) Depo with DDM 55W ballast: These supposedly have the weakest tabs of all three. However, when installing I managed to actually partially break one of the clips on my corner OEM light instead of the headlights. Go figure. The glass on the Depos are crystal clear. Very beautiful. My gripe with them is that there's way too much lettering on the glass and that they are a very tight fit to install. Be careful or you'll scuff your paint. One of the ballasts makes a slight noise when it first comes on, and I have the dreaded Low Beam Failure warning. I suspect the LBF problem affects ALOT more E36s than you think with HID. I bought these with 4500k and they are pretty close to OEM white. Anything above 4.5k-5.k will probably have some blue in it, which I personally dislike. Colors don't match up 100% on the two sides, but close enough. Overall, very happy.

4) Apexcone with DDM 35W ballast: I actually haven't installed these yet still due to laziness. But, I can tell you that I had these side by side next to the Depo and the difference in clarity with the glass was, to me, very significant. So much to the point that I'm considering buying a set of Depos to replace them. Obviously this can be pretty subjective, but if it is true that the tabs are weaker on the Depos and you can live with that, I would highly encourage you to dish out the extra $25 for the Depos. However, if you bought the Apexcone and installed them and never saw the Depos or ZKWs, you probably would be none the wiser. Plus the glass is not polluted with a ton of different markings like the Depos are and they are not only dirt cheap but have a lifetime warranty.

5) DJ Auto: These are very similar to Depos.. I never installed these either (only have one side). I personally prefer the Depos over DJAuto.

[compactdisc]

Very helpful.

I think I'll go Depo

[EThirtySicks]

thanks for the summary
i'm trying to decide what lights to get and this helped

[Derouteur]

I was thinking about dropping my apexcone for some depos also. I have the Apexcone + ddm 4500k and I don't feel like I have more light on the road. I see a bunch of cars on highway shooting way further than I do, and WITH HALOGENS. I'm kind of disapointed. I am considering a TSX retrofit but after I get the DEPO. I'll post picture later tonight of the cut off. I cannot get them straight flat and I worked on them a zillion hours, I went from desperation to resignation ...

[eLegg]

output pics and beam pattern pics would be VERY HELPFUL. DO IT. Someone needs to have a headlight showdown.

[roarf]

I was thinking about dropping my apexcone for some depos also. I have the Apexcone + ddm 4500k and I don't feel like I have more light on the road. I see a bunch of cars on highway shooting way further than I do, and WITH HALOGENS. I'm kind of disapointed. I am considering a TSX retrofit but after I get the DEPO. I'll post picture later tonight of the cut off. I cannot get them straight flat and I worked on them a zillion hours, I went from desperation to resignation ...

If you're going to do a retrofit, just keep the Apexcones. They have more pliable (less brittle) plastic than Depos.

IMO, DJ Auto > Depo. DJ Autos have the pliable plastic like the Apexcones and decent projectors like the Depos. Here's a couple shots of DJ Auto beam pattern....

Lows and fogs:



Lows only:

[98DakarM3]

what roarf said!

you will be happier doing a retrofit in the apexcone because you don't have to deal with the brittle plastic

[Derouteur]

Here is the pics of my setting. I think it is too narrow. I feel like I have the same amount of light as my old US headlight + Philips Crystal Vision Ultra ... and I took the pics at the same spot.





US Spec + Philips Halogens Crystal Ultra

I'm really disapointed in fact

[MTRD3]

If you're going to do a retrofit, just keep the Apexcones. They have more pliable (less brittle) plastic than Depos.

If you were not planning on doing a retro fit and wanted to projection & glass from a Depo with the more durable plastic tabs/rear housing of the Apexcones, could you just take the plastic section off a set of Apexcones and put it on the back of your Depos? Kind of like a mix and match, so you would have Depo lights, projectors and glass, enclosed by Apexcone rear plastic housing with their stronger tabs?

T.I.A.

[roarf]

If you were not planning on doing a retro fit and wanted to projection & glass from a Depo with the more durable plastic tabs/rear housing of the Apexcones, could you just take the plastic section off a set of Apexcones and put it on the back of your Depos? Kind of like a mix and match, so you would have Depo lights, projectors and glass, enclosed by Apexcone rear plastic housing with their stronger tabs?

T.I.A.

That I'm not sure of, hopefully someone else can chime in here. My guess is not likely, I'm guessing they probably use different mounting points for the chrome bezel and projector. Do you already have a pair of both of those headlights?

[soulrebel]

I bought my depos and never turned back. I love them

[Derouteur]

I wish someone could post its DEPO projector at night, anyone ? So an Apex/Depo Hybrid would be much better ? Anyone with this "mod" ? I was considering a TSX retrofit but it is SOOOoo expensive and time consuming, unless someone is willing to do it for me at a fair price

[MTRD3]

That I'm not sure of, hopefully someone else can chime in here. My guess is not likely, I'm guessing they probably use different mounting points for the chrome bezel and projector. Do you already have a pair of both of those headlights?

Hi, I have a set of Depo's which the tabs broke on, instead of buying new Depo's I thought I might try this. It might be the best of both worlds and it is not like I will spend more as I would buy the Apexcones to facilitate this instead of a new set of Depo's. I do not want to "rig" the broken Depo's on (sorry, call me picky) which is why I thought to consider this.

[EricP]

Digging up an oldish thread...... I am interested in a bit more input and possible comparison between DJ Auto and DEPO's for use with a 4500k 35w HID kit.

I wanted to go with DJ Auto lights, but I am concerned about the quality of the adjusters. I understand the DJ Auto headlights edge out the DEPO's in projector quality and more pliable plastic that is less prone to breaking the tabs that hold in the corner lights, but everything else swings towards the DEPO's.

What's the verdict about the adjusters on the DJ Autos? Success/failure stories? Any input would be much appreciated.

[themadrussian]

Thought I'd post some thoughts I had on all the ellipsoid options for our cars now.

Not even close to all the ellipsoid options... the more common ones, sure.

In order of quality, output, and fitment:
Bosch (H1) [excellent output, best quality]
Hella (H1) [excellent output, best quality, less clean in appearance]
Hella CELIS (H7) [excellent output, ugly as sin]
ZKW (H1) [good output, almost exact replica of Hella H1, excellent quality]
DEPO (H1) [decent output]
DJAuto (H1) [decent output]
DEPO P36 (H7) [decent output, ugly as sin]
Apexcone (H1) [mediocre output]
BavToys (H1) [mediocre output]
All the terrible eBay ellipsoids (H1 or H7, I assume) [terrible output, ugly as sin]

[wolfgang20878]

What is the maximum bulb wattage you would try on any of these lamps without worrying about melting something. I'd like to put 80- or 100-watt high-beams.

[themadrussian]

What is the maximum bulb wattage you would try on any of these lamps without worrying about melting something. I'd like to put 80- or 100-watt high-beams.

100W is too much, IMO. The stock wiring isn't meant to handle that. 80W should be the highest you go.

[M3Alpine99]

Hella Celis is so ugly rofl

Wasn't that like the 1000 dollar chrome Hella projectors or whatever?

[themadrussian]

Hella Celis is so ugly rofl

Wasn't that like the 1000 dollar chrome Hella projectors or whatever?

The halogen version is ~$700. The HID version (which comes with auto-leveling motors and OEM ballasts and all that) sells for ~$1300. The halogen version comes with a chrome or a black housing, the HID version only comes with a chrome housing.

[M3Alpine99]

Yah those are them. Those are horribly ugly.

roflmao

The light output was great!

[RabidChimp]

Thanks for the insight.


I take it one of the better places to buy ZKW buckets is from BAV toys, or are there other suppliers that are recommended?

[themadrussian]

I take it one of the better places to buy ZKW buckets is from BAV toys, or are there other suppliers that are recommended?

As far as I can tell, BavToys and Umnitza are the only vendors left that sell new ZKWs for less than $650.

[Swerve]

Digging up an oldish thread...... I am interested in a bit more input and possible comparison between DJ Auto and DEPO's for use with a 4500k 35w HID kit.

I wanted to go with DJ Auto lights, but I am concerned about the quality of the adjusters. I understand the DJ Auto headlights edge out the DEPO's in projector quality and more pliable plastic that is less prone to breaking the tabs that hold in the corner lights, but everything else swings towards the DEPO's.

What's the verdict about the adjusters on the DJ Autos? Success/failure stories? Any input would be much appreciated.

I've got DJ Autos and find the light output of my ddm 35W HID kit to be pretty good, but I also have a broken tab (had to zapstrap the corner light to the headlight mount on the upper rad support) and I do find the adjusters to be bad. They're a pain to adjust, but once it's done, it's done.

[gekko16]

I'm very happy with my DJAuto headlights. Great construction, very clear glass (a lot clearer than the set of Apexcone headlight I saw on another car) and good enough output for me.

[Jim85IROC]

My apologies for digging up an old thread, but I've got some specific questions on Depo vs. DJ Auto.

This is going to be a custom installation into a completely different car (my 85 Camaro specifically). I'll be cutting away most of the black housing, so my main concern lies with the quality of the glass, the quality of the projector, and the quality of the rest of the housing that holds the visible parts. I may consider a TSX projector upgrade in the future, but that would be only as budget allows. The breaking tabs for the turn signal lamps is a non-issue with me.

So... just in terms of glass quality, projector quality, high-beam reflector quality, and overall appearance, which prevails between DJ Auto and Depo?

Next... I'm a bit confused on the pics of the Depos that I'm seeing on ddm's site. First is this one:


And then this one:


To me, between the two, the entire reflective area looks completely different. Are these two different styles of Depos?

Thanks for helping a guy that's just completely unfamiliar with most of this!