Changing xenon bulbs in F30

[humms]

the first time the HID xenon lights were turned on when i got my car more than a year ago, i realised how yellow the light was compared to my volkswagen golf. i thought it needed some burning in, but the light is still so yellowish! forget about stock, time to look for replacement bulbs.

my first choice was osram's CBI (cool blue intense, product code 66240) because it is highly recommended at 5000k and having the same lumens as stock bulb, at 3200 lumens. i think the stock xenon bulb fitted in bmw are rated at 4300k, therefore the yellowish tinge.

as you may have known, the higher the K (temperature), the whiter/bluer/purplish it'll be and the lumens will drop, therefore hampering visibility especially during rain or heavy fog. however, if you wanna look cool, you usually will opt for higher K, sacrificing the brightness / luminosity.

that's when Philips released their new xenon bulb in late 2012/early 2013 called philips x-tremeVision headlight bulb 85415XVC1 D1S 85V 35W. it is currently only available in europe.

product brochure: http://download.p4c.philips.com/files/8/85415xvc1/85415xvc1_pss_.pdf

the basic spec of the bulbs are:-
bulb type: D1S



• Voltage: 85 V
• Wattage: 35 W






Lifetime
• Life time: B3/Tc = 1500/2500
Light characteristics
• Color temperature: 4800±600 K • Lumens: 3200 ±450 lm

upon some research on the internet, the bulbs after burning in will produce about 5000 - 5400K with a lumens of 3200 - 3600. Therefore, this xenon bulb is being marketed by philips as 50% brighter than stock and at the same time providing more visibility and comfort to eyes (whiter light similar to daylight).

i bought my set at USD220 from europe, slightly more expensive than the osram CBI.

to access the left headlight cover, you need to turn your front wheels to the right, and vice versa.

i tried installing the lights earlier today, but i can't seem to remove the steel clips holding the xenon bulb in place in the headlight socket. tried to do some search on the internet and there's no images or videos showing how to unclip those steel retainers. anyone has any idea how to unclip it? else i would need to remove the entire wheel to really get a good view of the retainers.

any feedback will be appreciated!

 

[seancorr]

Sorry can't help you on this matter but agree on the yellowish light I have on my car too and can't help but notice other cars with xenon lights look better then ours. Even my other half noticed it.

 

[jarance]

Borrow a picture from e90post.com, you can remove the xenon bulb by disconnecting the wire spring.

 

[humms]

i can see that the clip is being removed from the top part..

quite tough to get a clear view of the top clip and how it's being held.. may need to remove the wheel to have clearer view of it..

 

[jarance]

try this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE6tSFjJGVE

 

[humms]

Thanks jarance for the YouTube video.. I'm able to remove it easily. Push down the retainers and while being pushed down, you need to move it to the left and it will just pop out..

To fasten it back, you need to push it in..

 

[humms]

removed the stock OEM xenon bulb, it is osram xenarc model no. 66144.

specs are as follow:-

colour temperature: 4100k
lumens: 3200

now i know why it's so yellowish.. because it's a 4100K bulb! most of the standard car manufacturers use 4300K as the standard temperature for their stock xenon bulbs.. why BMW is using a 4100K bulb is beyond me.

osram xenarc 66144

 

[seancorr]

Save cost I guess...?

 

[humms]

hm.. another case of short changing us? how much can they save..

 

[seancorr]

Ask their accountants and they will say its a lot! But seriously for the thousands and thousands of cars they will save a lot. I would call this substandard but they can still argue it's still xenon. In the end if we are not satisfied we can either retrofit or switch brands....sigh

 

[mrnaem]

u got pm TT

 

[Prot]

Any before and after pics?

 

[humms]

it's only slightly whiter and brighter.. rated at 4800k, not as white / blue as those 5500 or 6000k HID (with lower lumens though for these whiter / bluer / higher K bulbs)

it's quite hard for me to take before and after pictures (in terms of photography) because i would need a place with no intrusion of ambient lighting with all other variables being set) and also to set both before and after shots with pre-set exposure.. so ultimately without the proper place, i decided not to. another option is to fit the stock in one, and fit the new bulb in another and capture that shot, however, after doing some research, it's noted that you should not light up the bulbs with 2 different ratings at the same time.. so decided to be a no go as well..

if you really want whiter temperature, you should at least go 5000k and above.. the Osram CBI (cool blue intense) is a good candidate, it's rated 5500k if not mistaken..

 

[Prot]

it's only slightly whiter and brighter.. rated at 4800k, not as white / blue as those 5500 or 6000k HID (with lower lumens though for these whiter / bluer / higher K bulbs)

it's quite hard for me to take before and after pictures (in terms of photography) because i would need a place with no intrusion of ambient lighting with all other variables being set) and also to set both before and after shots with pre-set exposure.. so ultimately without the proper place, i decided not to. another option is to fit the stock in one, and fit the new bulb in another and capture that shot, however, after doing some research, it's noted that you should not light up the bulbs with 2 different ratings at the same time.. so decided to be a no go as well..

if you really want whiter temperature, you should at least go 5000k and above.. the Osram CBI (cool blue intense) is a good candidate, it's rated 5500k if not mistaken..

If you really want "bluer", you should have gone with Philips Ultinons. you will lose brightness and reach.

I am pretty sure that the color change for your new bulbs are not "that" different.

if you want brighter headlights, you should consider lens swapping.

 

[humms]

nop i don't want bluer, hence i've opted for the philips extreme vision. as mentioned in my post, the difference is not much, but better than original osram 4100 kelvin bulb. the extreme vision is rated at 4800kelvin and at the same bightness / lumens at 3200.

if i've gone for the bluer bulbs, i would need to sacrifice brightness because bluer bulbs usually rated at 2800 lumens. heck even my dive torch is rated at 2800 lumens.

so guys, safety first especially during heavy rain!

 

[Prot]

Agreed!

 

[shinjun]

removed the stock OEM xenon bulb, it is osram xenarc model no. 66144.

specs are as follow:-

colour temperature: 4100k
lumens: 3200

now i know why it's so yellowish.. because it's a 4100K bulb! most of the standard car manufacturers use 4300K as the standard temperature for their stock xenon bulbs.. why BMW is using a 4100K bulb is beyond me.

osram xenarc 66144

Save cost I guess...?

hm.. another case of short changing us? how much can they save..

I believe using different color temperature lamp will not benefit in terms of cost saving.

Same lamp type but just different color temperature will be the same price throughout.

This is my own opinion only, please don't take this seriously. I'm in lighting industry, at least that apply to me.

 

[Prot]

actually its cost saving. simply because industry standard is a specific color (say 4100K).

it would mean that, that bulb will be cheaper than say only niche to F30.

Economies of scale.

 

[shinjun]

actually its cost saving. simply because industry standard is a specific color (say 4100K).

it would mean that, that bulb will be cheaper than say only niche to F30.

Economies of scale.

To this, I agree. It make sense.

 

[humms]

sorry guys for the broken link pictures.. my server hosting got hacked by hackers from tunisia.. omg

will try to upload the pictures again soon!