Bill109

Greetings everyone,

i've decided to start researching my headlight options for my pre lci e60 for the fact my 4300k/yellowish bulbs are ugly, and i cannot stand them any longer :thumbsdown:

so its time to figure something out. i have looked through a bunch of threads trying to understand the steps to add xenons to your car as a lci model and i am understanding there is alot of coding that needs to be done by the dealer, and its a very technical, expensive process. anyways, by the time an hour has gone by, i have like 15 pages/ threads open. it seems a wild goose chase to understand the process imo, since from one thread to another its, "i've added a link for you, check out this thread"

Does a pre lci projecter exist? my e39 has projectors on it and it came equipped with high AND low beam 6 k hid's
- Is this possible to achieve with a pre lci vehicle? even if it is with the factory pre lci (non projector) headlights?

if i add 4 hid's for high/low beams in my headlights, i assume i need 4 ballasts?
the only hid's iv'e instaled were fogs on my e39 and it was one canbus style ballast per/ bulb.

i know this is beating a dead horse here, but i feel somewhat lost so far in the e60 "mod world."

help, and your time is very appreciated..
thanks in advance

nomis_nehc

First of all, a few factoids.

There are two types of headlights for pre-LCI, halogen and xenon. What you have, sounds like halogen.

Xenons come with projectors.

You can get xenon headlights, and convert your pre-LCI halogen to pre-LCI xenons, yes. However, if you want the adaptive functions to work, you are going to pay, as there are additional components to install to the rear part of the vehicle.

With that said, you can also just upgrade to LCI halogen headlights. LCI halogen headlights comes with a projector, and while it's not exactly DOT approved, many people just drop a kit in it and it works out pretty well.

Pre-LCI halogen to LCI halogen is not plug and play, as you have to make a conversion harness (or actually work on the wiring directly on the car). But in the end, I think it's a more attractive option than going to pre-LCI xenons.

sd_dracula

Actually for pre-LCI halogen to LCI halogen if you make the harness, it is plug and play then. I've done it and many other users also

nomis_nehc

Because you have to make the conversion harness, it's not called plug and play. If you buy the harness from someone, then yes, that would constitute what plug and play means.

Bill109

ahh, yes now that makes sense. i had no idea there were two types of pre lci headlights...

what i have are halogens. there are no projectors at all in my pre lci headlights.

so if i buy some pre lci with projectors, (i do not need the adaptive feature to work..) these have xenons, what is needed to do this transformation? are there error messages involved?

could you be so kind to give me some direction as to where i could buy some pre lci projectors with xenons?
am i looking at $1000-$1500 for these?
i had planned to just keep the non projector headlights,drop in four 6k hid's and add some orion v2's but would like to start with a projector base.
i now understand that it is actually possible..
now i just need to start searching for some new projector headlights...
thank you for the information.

Bill109

pre lci to lci conversion seems much to complicated and expensive for me at this time..

sd_dracula

Not really, because going from pre-lci halogen to pre-lci xenon is more expensive, the xenons aren't cheap, you need to modify your car harness, get some coding done, not plug and play.
Opposed to just buying a set (used) of lci halogens which are actually cheaper than pre-lci xenons (and look way better) and then spending ~$200 for the plug and play harness. No coding and you can always revert back when you sell (not easy to do with pre-lci xenons).



I did this a while back and look at the difference (not to mention how much better visibility you get at night)

nomis_nehc

Yah, honestly, in terms of labor involved, going to pre-LCI xenon would actually be more of a headache. I have never properly done the research on this, and I believe you can probably get away with not having to change out your light module since you are okay without adaptives, but there will definitely be coding involved.

With that said, I would say a set of used LCI halogen are pretty close in price with a set of pre-LCI xenons. Only cheaper if you happen to find a deal.

If you need someone to make you a plug and play conversion cable, PM me.

Bill109

i was thinking of going with the projector 60's form umnitza.
this should be as good as a result i can get for under $1000 with a good set of AE installed.
these have projectors and the option for xenons..
i'd imagine this would work nicely for me.

i will pm you if i can find a set of used lci halogens for a decent price.. alot of what is being discussed in this thread for me, is still slightly jiberish to me...

however, if you'd be willing to make a plug and play style harness, i will start to shop around.
- are both lci halogen and xenon acceptable for this car? or is back to yellow halogens my only option for an lci style headlight?


ive only had the car for about a month now and need to spend some more time on these forums.

thanks again.

nomis_nehc

Yes, from what is discussed in another thread, the "ProjectorE60" from Umnitza seems to be an option. I have no first hand experience with it, and so far, we've only had one member on the board to give feedback about it, so there's not enough aggregated consensus to recommend or advise against right now.

Using the conversion harness, plug and play is only for LCI halogen. As I mentioned above, if you want, you can just drop a kit in there to replace the halogen bulbs. Most members on here with LCI halogen have done this with favorable result.

In theory, it is possible to make an "almost" plug and play harness for the LCI xenons, however, it would still require you to have coding done, not to mention many other parts that are required to purchase (which you probably don't want to spend the money for). However, it would be the same thing as pre-LCI xenon where if you don't get the rear sensors and wiring, you will not have the adaptives feature work. Additionally, it will require you to upgrade to LCI tails as well if you do a proper upgrade. There is a way to do it without, but it is rather improper, and anyone that's willing to do it for you would be silly to offer warranty for the work.