DTEC V2 Angel Eyes Review

[JLac]

I have always been intrigued with Angel Eyes on BMWs beginning from my days with the E36 and the various retrofit kits. I’ve had all the various kits from fiber optic angel eye kits to CCFL kits. I would say I have had a lot of experience with Angel Eyes in general. When I got my E92 M3, one of my first mods was upgrading the Angel Eyes. After seeing the large price tags on some of the Angel Eye upgrades, I decided to start off with 7500K GP Thunders. The color and light output were not near anything I was looking for. The GP Thunders were too dim and too blue for my personal liking. I then decided I was going to hold off until I found a cheaper used set of LED angel eyes. After a few months, I came across a used set of AngeliBrights V2. I would say the design is pretty nice with the AiBs; very well engineered (coming from an engineer). The color was much closer to my liking, slightly cooler than OEM HIDs, but not cool enough to look cheap or ricey. I have been pretty happy with the AiBs for about 2 years.

Recently as I was browsing the forum and various BMW related ads, I ran across the DTEC V2 Angel Eyes from E92-Lighting.com. As I was reading through the product descriptions and viewed the various product photos, I became intrigued with the product and decided to message Derrick from E92-Lighting.com. After a long conversation with my various questions, I decided I would pull the trigger on a set to compare with my AiBs. See the following link for product description:

http://www.e92-lighting.com/products...0W-1072-0.html

Now to my initial impressions. The kit looks very similar to the LUX kit with similar CREE LEDs. Everything was very nicely packaged and the design of the kit seems to be very well done. Installation was not as easy at the AiBs, but still not too bad. As I fired up the kit and compare them side by side with my AiBs, I notice the color temperature is roughly the same. Maybe slighter cooler with the DTEC V2s. I would say the color temperature is ~5800-6000K. There were no error codes or anything with the DTEC V2 Angel Eyes. As for light output, the kit is definitely brighter than the AiBs. I would have to say that they may even be brighter than LUXs (compared with my friends) 1200 lumens with the DTEC V2 kit vs 800 lumens on the LUX kit. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase and can honestly say it was an upgrade to the AiBs. E92-Lighting and Derrick were both exceptional to deal with as well.

If you guys are looking for a nice LED upgrade to the OEM halogen Angel Eyes, I would definitely look into the DTEC V2s. They are a nice bright LED angel eye solution at a great price.

Anyways, I've attached some pictures so you all can see for yourselves.

[XR_SIX]

Wow, the price is good. Im sold.

[JLac]

To clarify, the 3rd picture shows AiBs on both headlights. 4th picture shows AiBs on Left (Passenger Side) and DTEC v2's on the Right (Drivers Side). 5th picture shows DTEC v2's. Last picture shows AiBs. Pictures were taken at around 6PM on a sunny SoCal day.

[SchnellM3]

Any way you can get you and your friend with the LUXs together and take some sun shots?

[THE TECH]

Wow, they are much brighter than the AiB. I can't wait to see them in the sunlight to get a real idea of how bright they are.

[JLac]

I'll be honest with you guys, in direct sunlight these are not very visible, but no LED angel eye kit is. I can post some daytime pics after work tomorrow.

[THE TECH]

Originally Posted by JLac

I'll be honest with you guys, in direct sunlight these are not very visible, but no LED angel eye kit is. I can post some daytime pics after work tomorrow.

That's what I was worried about. Oh well. Guess we need to wait for the next generation of LED upgrades for something brighter.

[M3PO]

These, LUX, and AiBs are all the same. They suck.

[JLac]

I am not sure LUX are brighter. I've put my car side by side with my friend's car with the LUX kit when I had the AiBs and they were not much brighter. In comparison, the DTEC V2's were noticeably brighter from at 6 pm than the AiBs.

A disclaimer that I have is that I have coded my car to have full brightness at all times. I'm not sure if that makes any difference or not.

IMHO, AiBs, LUX, and DTEC V2s are all great LED solutions for an angel eye upgrade. It comes down to price, service, warranties, and color.

[aus]

Does coding the angels brighter work on these aftermarket LED's too?

[Moxie]

Originally Posted by JLac

I am not sure LUX are brighter. I've put my car side by side with my friend's car with the LUX kit when I had the AiBs and they were not much brighter. In comparison, the DTEC V2's were noticeably brighter from at 6 pm than the AiBs.

A disclaimer that I have is that I have coded my car to have full brightness at all times. I'm not sure if that makes any difference or not.

IMHO, AiBs, LUX, and DTEC V2s are all great LED solutions for an angel eye upgrade. It comes down to price, service, warranties, and color.

and customer service - I'd check the vender feedback forum prior to buying from E92-Lighting.com

[SchnellM3]

With the new OEM LED halos in the regular 3 and 5 did they just change the bulb inside or how the halos are illuminated? I haven't been able to find anything talking about how BMW actually changed them....

I had a new F10 loaner and took a look inside the headlight housing and the setup seemed similar to how out headlights are... Is it possible to use the bulbs out of those provided they're the same size??