E46 Angel Eyes Comparison - Generic to Orion V2

[sharpx]

Hopefully this will help other E46 fans get the best AE kit from the start.

Most photos taken by point-and-shoot cameras do a VERY bad job of accurately demonstrating the TRUE brightness and gaps of the different kits on the market. Typical photos make the LED AE's appear as CCFL continuous light rings and falsely brighter than they actually are.

Here's a fast shutter speed photo comparison of Generic LED AE's (Khoalty "Premium"/Orion Lite) to Umnitza Orion V2 AE's.

Take note of the poor fitment & appearance of the Generic LED AE's. The ring diameter is larger.

Installed Comparison @ 1/180s:

Generic LED (Khoalty/Orion Lite) @ 1/350s:

Umnitza Orion V2 @ 1/350s:

Generic LED (Khoalty/Orion Lite) close-up @ 1/500s:

Ring Comparison of Generic (top) - Umnitza Orion V2 (bottom):


The design and material quality of the generic rings do not come close to the Orion V2 rings. Not only does the wider diameter of the generic rings affect fitment and appearance; the generic rings feel flimsy, rattle, and have thin/weak clips.

[danewilson77]

And these are the Weisslichts....just for comparison sake.

[liquiddawn]

Thanks for the comparison! I've been looking at angel eyes for an upgrade and had the Orion V2's in mind. However, I have halogen bulbs so I think I need to replace my entire headlight to get all of the beauty out of the Angel Eyes. Can anybody recommend any good headlights? I found ones I really like at ECS tuning that come with the projector and angel eyes already. They're about 300 bucks, I'm leaning towards getting those.

[sharpx]

And these are the Weisslichts....just for comparison sake.

In your first photo, the camera's shutter speed is @ 1/250 and the angle is different. This results in an inaccurate comparison to my photos in regards to brightness, gap size, and fitment.

[umnitza]

We offer the Projector46s which are equipped with Orion V2, the value for our headlight combination is exceptional when you factor in the canbus system for no error operation.

As for the comparison, thank you - we've said all along - "Weiiislicht, Khoalty's, Orion lite, eBay, all the same stuff" the only difference is the Orion V2.

Hopefully the debates will end.

[Jesse M]

Sexellent. I had the V2's on my E36M. Bright as hell even in the day. I want to get a set for the ZHP but I can't seem to find anything that fits correctly with the facelift coupe?

[danewilson77]

Nice photos, but your camera's shutter speed is way too high and the photo angle is different. This results in an inaccurate comparison to my photos.

Ahhh....I'm in the wrong thread. This is the photo critque thread. Its a point and shoot bro. I point...it shoots. It's not inaccurate. What you see in the photo, is the way they look in real life.

[sharpx]

Ahhh....I'm in the wrong thread. This is the photo critque thread. Its a point and shoot bro. I point...it shoots. It's not inaccurate. What you see in the photo, is the way they look in real life.

I have seen many WeissLicht LED AE's at meets; the LED's are not continuous at that closeness. From what I understand, the WeissLicht LED AE's are the same thing as the Khoalty Premiums and Orion Lites.

Camera shutter speed significantly impacts the appearance of lights. With point & shoot cameras, it is often set automatically by a sensor. Photos of lights are often not comparable what is seen in-person.

[chefsboss]

Here's my angel eyes when I unveiled them to my peeps in the hood"

[bms72586]

o snap.......forget HID's i want what ^he^ has

[nike001]

who cares

Umnitza always says theirs are better. I don't care, wanna know why?

Look in the pictures how big and bulky they are. They look fake and out of place. The thinner generic ones look better on the car and they look like they were made to be there. The huge, thick umnitza ones look like just that... an angel eye made by some company that you had to put in there.

[danewilson77]

I have seen many WeissLicht LED AE's at meets; the LED's are not continuous at that closeness.

I dont follow....but its your thread. Its all good. I don't see any gap, when they are on...and only get compliments on them, and they have a lifetime guarentee....and they look great....and I have never had a problem with them...

[kayger12]

In your first photo, the camera's shutter speed is @ 1/250 and the angle is different. This results in an inaccurate comparison to my photos in regards to brightness, gap size, and fitment.

How exactly did you determine his shutter speed? Metadata hiding somewhere that I don't see?

[M0nK3y]

How exactly did you determine his shutter speed? Metadata hiding somewhere that I don't see?

You can pull up the photo data with proper software:

Orion V2s

[sharpx]

Look in the pictures how big and bulky they are. They look fake and out of place. The thinner generic ones look better on the car and they look like they were made to be there. The huge, thick umnitza ones look like just that... an angel eye made by some company that you had to put in there.

All the LED AE brands don't look OEM up close. Either go CCFL or none at all to look stock. Most drivers don't analyze our cars up close... and wouldn't know the difference anyways.

The new E90 series coupes and verts have very bright white angel eyes... so the E46 LED AE's mods don't seem out of place as much now.

I dont follow....but its your thread. Its all good. I don't see any gap, when they are on...and only get compliments on them, and they have a lifetime guarentee....and they look great....and I have never had a problem with them...

I'm not surprised you're happy with the Weisslicht AE's. Many owners are on these forums and others. Every kit has pros and cons.

The generic's fitment issue and brightness were not good enough for me.

Even my photos do not compare to how the AE's look in-person... that's why BMW meets are the best way to determine what kit really appeals to the shopper.

How exactly did you determine his shutter speed? Metadata hiding somewhere that I don't see?

Google's Picasa show's the camera used and settings in the editor.

[TerraPhantm]

Anyone have proper pics of the EAS Aurora AEs? From what I've seen they're superior to both the Orion V2s and the EAS Weisslichts, but they're expensive. Spending an extra $50-100 is worth it to me though if I get a better product (though it does piss me off that all of these rings cost maybe $10 to produce). What bothers me the most about the Orion V2s is that the rings are significantly smaller than the other brands; it just looks weird to me.

[umnitza]

All the comparison photos have been shown here:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...4&postcount=47

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=968411

[sharpx]

Anyone have proper pics of the EAS Aurora AEs? From what I've seen they're superior to both the Orion V2s and the EAS Weisslichts, but they're expensive. Spending an extra $50-100 is worth it to me though if I get a better product (though it does piss me off that all of these rings cost maybe $10 to produce). What bothers me the most about the Orion V2s is that the rings are significantly smaller than the other brands; it just looks weird to me.

I was on the fence about buying Auroras. The Aurora's gaps appear smaller, but the LED's are weaker and the clips often break.

The smaller rings of the Orion V2's are just the right size for them to appear as continuous rings when looking at them straight on. Every generic's ring is cut-off by the headlamp shroud when looking at them straight on (as seen in OP photo #1).

[danewilson77]

Even my photos do not compare to how the AE's look in-person... that's why BMW meets are the best way to determine what kit really appeals to the shopper.

I know exactly what you're sayin here. Mine look even better in person.

[G. P. Burdell]

Anyone have proper pics of the EAS Aurora AEs? From what I've seen they're superior to both the Orion V2s and the EAS Weisslichts, but they're expensive. Spending an extra $50-100 is worth it to me though if I get a better product (though it does piss me off that all of these rings cost maybe $10 to produce).

I have no complaints about the EAS Auroras after over a year of operation.

Please note that my opinion is limited to the rings, mounting clips, and resistor packs, as I did not install the supplied wiring harness or retain the stock connectors. I installed my own harness and replaced all of the connectors with dust- and splashproof ones.

[eee4666]

Not having angel eyes is the new angel eyes.

[sharpx]

Not having angel eyes is the new angel eyes.

Yeah right.

[2kBMW3Series]

I know exactly what you're sayin here. Mine look even better in person.

This.^

Weisslicht ftw....

[TerraPhantm]

I was on the fence about buying Auroras. The Aurora's gaps appear smaller, but the LED's are weaker and the clips often break.

The smaller rings of the Orion V2's are just the right size for them to appear as continuous rings when looking at them straight on. Every generic's ring is cut-off by the headlamp shroud when looking at them straight on (as seen in OP photo #1).

IMO the Auroras (and the orion V2s) are already too bright. I'd probably have a rheostat in there, and control the brightness based on the state of the headlights; kinda like how the OEM BMWs have it (AEs are bright when headlights are off, and dimmed when headlights are on).

The broken look doesn't bother me, since you can still see the ring when looking at other angles. The gap between the ring and the bowl on the Auroras does bother me though. I think I'll wait until someone makes an OEM-style fiber-optics ring. Supposedly the E65 rings are the perfect size for the E46 headlights, so if one can device a proper mounting mechanism, that'd probably look pretty sweet.

[sharpx]

This.^

Weisslicht ftw....

The Weisslicht, Khoalty, and Orion Lites are the SAME GENERIC LED AE PRODUCT...

Orion Lites (1 yr warranty) - $59
Khoalty Premiums (no warranty) - $50
Khoalty Premiums (1 yr warranty) - $90
Weisslicht LED (1 yr warranty) - $99 @ jlevisw