ucsbwsr

I couldn't resist cutting my headlights open. The oem light output is terrible, the angel eyes are a joke, and who likes cookie-cutter chrome?

I sourced most of the parts from TherRetrofitSource.com, I used them for an FX-R retrofit in my E39 a few years back with great results, the company has expanded their product range and refined experience for their customers. Also if you are a sucker for deals make sure to check out their clearance section, both my STI-R lenses and Mini H1s were "b-stock".

Here are the goods:
- OEM Bi-X Projector. lens swapped with STI-R spaced 8.7mm
- MH1 Projector
- 9006 HD Relay
- Morimoto 35w DSP ballast
- Morimoto 5Five 5k bulbs
- DDM 55w ballast, 5k bulbs
- E9X Orion V2s Customized: circuit boards cut, wiring flipped.
- High Temp Black and Aluminum paint

Notes:
- I don't think the STI-R lenses are absolutely to best for this application, TRS recommended using D2S 3.0 lenses which are usually sold as a whole projector not individual lenses. The optic details could not be shared so I can't confirm their performance but if anyone goes this route, get the D2S lenses and report back, I am led to believe they will NOT require spacing.
- The STI-Rs have a dissipating beam cutoff at greater widths BUT my setup does create quiet a bit of blue/intensity light at the cutoff. Although it does not serve a functional purpose it is widely known for being cool by everyone from high-school kids running 8k hid bulbs in halogen housings to automotive lighting aficionados.
- Since the MH1s are located in a fixed housing, my headlights are now adjusted by tilting the actual housings themselves, thankfully the adaptive headlights will compensate with auto-leveling.
- I wanted to wire my MH1s into my fog light wiring so I could run the projectors individually if desired, since I have an oem M5 front end I think some of my wiring harness may have left with my regular bumper, I will look into this further.
- There is not a lot of info out there about headlight retrofits since most people don't cut open their oem E6X headlights and the companies who do this service for a fee were not helpful, they either never responded or said they were not willing to divulge information so be prepared to research a ton and spend a few days to creep your way through this project.
- Light output is insane, I can't wait to get some better bulbs into the equation.


Hope this inspires someone,
Evan

Here we go...


I can't imagine to the poor German that designed this...


Workspace.


Tuning the oem projector.


STI-R left oem right


Chrome stripped off the shrouds.


Painted Aluminum


The original design. I didn't like how the inner shroud looks so large when painted a solid color (non-black). It visually weighs the headlight in an odd way.


V1


Love this photo


Frosty!


The spacer that saves the day.


MH1 in angel eye bowl.


Orion V2s after I got my hands on them.


Getting there...


All butyled up for resealing. This is the color combo I ended up with.


Sealed up.


Make sure to polish your headlights, before:


After:


Completed:


Cars and Coffee SF


With some white on white


Orions at night


Beam shot

rice_rocket88

Wow

jdmek998

Damn that's nice!

audiophool

Impressive. So how did you open the headlight housing?

ucsbwsr

A dremel with a larger cutting disk.

tonyb635

Very nice!

Hi5Mils

would u be willing to do this for $$$ and shipping fees if so please PM me

stel_i79

great pictures

what type of radiator its that one?
it better then OEM one?
its PNP?
THX U

ucsbwsr

Thanks for the kind words.

It is actually an intercooler and an aftermarket one. It is meant for a 335i but I retrofitted it to my E61. It is not PNP and it is much better than stock, almost x2 efficient.

Here is how I fit it: How To: Fit a 7" VRSF Intercooler to your E6X N54 chassis - N54Tech.com - Your Source for International Turbo BMW Racing Discussion

Evan

ucsbwsr

Here are a couple additional beam shots.