Brighter M3 angel eyes?

[rye m3]

Discussing on another board that the '11 M3 got stiffed in the angel eye department - the E90/92 got upgraded angel eyes with light from LEDs. They are nice and white, but not bright enough to be cop magnets. The customary upgrade is the HID install with ballasts and a cost of about $300. The LED solution should be much more efficient (less heat and less electricity). Anyone done an install from an non-M3 car? Is it possible with factory parts?

[Cal@Sonic MS]

Just go with LUX H8 V3. They are the best PNP solution for the E9X M3.

[tom @ eas]

Look into the AIBs, they have the brightest LED and most uniform light distribution.

[SUB-ZERO]

Originally Posted by rye m3

Discussing on another board that the '11 M3 got stiffed in the angel eye department - the E90/92 got upgraded angel eyes with light from LEDs. They are nice and white, but not bright enough to be cop magnets. The customary upgrade is the HID install with ballasts and a cost of about $300. The LED solution should be much more efficient (less heat and less electricity). Anyone done an install from an non-M3 car? Is it possible with factory parts?

I just ordered a set of LUX....they are supposed to be very bright.

-SZ

[J08M3]

hahahaha.... he come the sharks

[rye m3]

Originally Posted by Cal@Sonic MS

Just go with LUX H8 V3. They are the best PNP solution for the E9X M3.

Uh, you sell 'em? Just add the link, you're website is too complicated.

[rye m3]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

Look into the AIBs, they have the brightest LED and most uniform light distribution.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is not an LED light source. It is a Xenon or HID light that generates a ton of heat and needs a ballast that also generates heat. The heat sink arrangement they use probably works to diffuse the heat, but this is not the same as an LED solution that would run completely cool. I believe the new BMW OEM halos are LED. The aftermarket should be quick to adopt this. Come on guys, I'm waiting! At less than $100, these will blow out!

[Cal@Sonic MS]

Originally Posted by rye m3

Uh, you sell 'em? Just add the link, you're website is too complicated.

Just PM Marc@LUX. You can find him on the vendors section. Our new site will be up soon

[rjd598]

lux are the way to go...dont doubt it unless you wanna drop $$$ on oss design

[geneatals]

LED bulb swap: Lux8 ( http://luxangeleyes.com/ ) or the AiB's

Complete ring modification with LED rings: OSS or LS3 ( http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...&highlight=ls3 )

HID: Alpine, or if you can code or access to someone who can code you can skip the needed ballasts and just buy HID bulbs


***all have been discussed way too often, do yourself a favor and spend some time searching and researching on your own...a long and good place to start:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151144

GL

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by rye m3

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is not an LED light source. It is a Xenon or HID light that generates a ton of heat and needs a ballast that also generates heat. The heat sink arrangement they use probably works to diffuse the heat, but this is not the same as an LED solution that would run completely cool. I believe the new BMW OEM halos are LED. The aftermarket should be quick to adopt this. Come on guys, I'm waiting! At less than $100, these will blow out!

AIB's are definitely LED based, this allows the headlamp compartment to remain cooler as HIDs emit an extravagant amount of heat.

Here's an image of the AIB assembly:



The heatsink seems a bit oversized, but is proper to the LEDs being used in order to allow the LED to remain at proper temperature and not dropping in output due to insufficient cooling (as seen in most eBay kits from overseas).

Systems are 100% PnP, no coding or special tools are needed for installation.

[saeedg48]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

Look into the AIBs, they have the brightest LED and most uniform light distribution.

venders pm me please

[LuxAngelEyes]

Originally Posted by Cal@Sonic MS

Just PM Marc@LUX. You can find him on the vendors section. Our new site will be up soon

Yup, we make and sell the LUX H8 V3 angel eyes. If you do some searching there are plenty of comparisons of the LUX angel eyes vs the AIB setup. I will let you make your own decision based on user feedback.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...hlight=aib+lux
http://e90post.com/forums/showthread...hlight=aib+lux

[Templar]

I went with the LUX version and love them. Super easy to install and no issues. Plus I like not having anything out of the headlamp housing.

It is tough to make a decision because all of the pictures you see here can be "fixed" to show the product in a different light. It's best to try to check it out in person or go off of some user photos.

I originally had the Alpine HID kit. It was crazy bright and looked really good, however over concerns of the heat inside the headlamp housing from the HID's and the lack of support I had from them regarding an iDrive error I was getting, I decided to toss it and go with something a bit easier.

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by saeedg48

venders pm me please

Absolutely - you have PM.

[Miami M3]

Get the OSS setup or don't waste your time and money at all. Just got mine back from Luis yesterday and they are head and shoulders above anything else. They're the only ones that will look as good as (if not better than) the new LED angels that BMW put in all the other 3 series cars.

[kouhii]

LED's do not generate less heat.
They can run very hot due to high current.

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by kouhii

LED's do not generate less heat.
They can run very hot due to high current.

LEDs will always run cooler than a standard halogen bulb or HID.

The use of a proper heatsink as shown in my previous post will keep the LED happy and emitting maximum output.

[kouhii]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

LEDs will always run cooler than a standard halogen bulb or HID.

The use of a proper heatsink as shown in my previous post will keep the LED happy and emitting maximum output.

Yes Tom, the heat sink will keep the LED's cooled but have you ever test them in temperatures in excess of room temp? Let's say +50C or +85C? I assume the LED manufactures can guarantee those specs. Not doubting the design safety but I am wondering if there are proper specs disclosed?

Also for LED's to run bright they need a heat sink or else it will melt itself in an enclosed environment. The current needed to light these LED's are insane.

Standard low beam HID's run at 35W of power, so that equals to ~2.9A (P=I*V) of current with 12V DC. I assume the rings run at a much lower current.

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by kouhii

Yes Tom, the heat sink will keep the LED's cooled but have you ever test them in temperatures in excess of room temp? Let's say +50C or +85C? I assume the LED manufactures can guarantee those specs. Not doubting the design safety but I am wondering if there are proper specs disclosed?

Also for LED's to run bright they need a heat sink or else it will melt itself in an enclosed environment. The current needed to light these LED's are insane.

Yes, they were in full testing in 2008 for approximately 1 year before being released and have been in my M3 since 2009 with no issues, even on later 2011 models with FRM3 and early 2007 non-M models which were problematic in the past in the development phase.

AIBs also have a 3 year warranty included with each kits - longer than the competition, and possibly more than most have owned their M3s.

The AIB project is very interesting, as their head engineer main project is replacing airport runway lighting with LED fixtures, and a proud e92 owner - a large part of which made this project come alive.

[LuxAngelEyes]

LED's do run cooler initially, but their maximum running temperature depends on the environment they are in. 1 watt of heat dissipation will eventually reach a very high temperature if they are in a sealed environment and the heat can not escape.

But in general, LED's do run cooler, but either way it is nothing to worry about anyways.

[Maseroche]

Running LUX and I can't be happier! As bright as you'd want them to be IMO.