DTM Angel Eyes
#11
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Location: Sunrise, FL
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My Ride: 530i base model
Model Year: 2006
#12
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Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: New Jersey
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My Ride: 2006 m5
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As a long time lurker, I decided it's time to share something with you guys. Recently I decided that instead of switching to an F10, I was going to make my E60 the best it can be, at least visually.
So I started with wheels, disk brakes, and now I just finished the headlights which is what I want to post about, so here it goes.
I fell in love with the E92 DTM headlights the first time I saw them and I decided I want those on my BMW. I got these "horseshoe" (i believe they are called around the net) rings with signal function from a guy in Hungary. I'm sure you can find these on ebay or aliexpress, just make sure you get the right size for the E60.
![](https://i.imgur.com/BzBI0Jr.jpg)
After cracking open the headlights, the long process of fitting & fiddling started.
![](https://i.imgur.com/twflzEH.jpg)
My headlights aren't that great, so I decided that if these angel eyes ever failed or something, I would just get new headlights, so i painted over the stock angel eyes and their supports.
![](https://i.imgur.com/qS1kYwm.jpg)
Tested the wiring/brightness
![](https://i.imgur.com/Jya3hPV.jpg)
Used a leveling laser to line up the bottom. The housing floor is not level.
![](https://i.imgur.com/vPV9iRH.jpg)
Same laser used to mark the masking points
![](https://i.imgur.com/1MQmaDn.jpg)
--
![](https://i.imgur.com/0a4mVCY.jpg)
Then came the part where I least expect to have any trouble, masking the top of the rings. I didn't want to cut them, as I don't have any knowledge of electronics or how LEDs work, and I was affraid that removing a LED might take out adjacent ones too, so I thought I would just black out the top. The bad news was that the paint I used, didn't properly cover the edges of the rings, so light would leak there. Then I tried a can of plastidip which somehow malfunctioned, lost pressure and I got sprayed in the face with some matte black dip. Good thing it was peelable.
Anyhow, for me the solution was teflon based wire shrink-tube, as seen below.
![](https://i.imgur.com/AW6mU47.jpg)
Those paint leaks were taken care of.
I then made a tiny plastic support to raise the outer edge of the inner ring. The rings are glued with epoxy to the housing and the inner ones also have a screw to hold them in place in the top inner side. Also mind that the inner ring doesn't fit on top of the original angel eyes like the outer rings do, that's why they are further up front. Even to get them there, sanding was involved.
![](https://i.imgur.com/h8EB6Mj.jpg)
Here are some closeup shots of the closed headlights. Please mind that the phone's camera doesn't always sync with the LEDs frequency so cutoff lines in pictures and flickering in video may appear. Something to do with vertical scan, i don't know.
![](https://i.imgur.com/zocdLLW.jpg)
--
![](https://i.imgur.com/8sT2Si9.jpg)
--
![](https://i.imgur.com/XBElMMD.jpg)
And here are some edited pics:
![](https://i.imgur.com/M3dzVEd.jpg)
--
![](https://i.imgur.com/G39jAOR.jpg)
Even though this was't an easy mod, everyone can do it with just a little patience, common sense, measuring 10 times and glueing once. I say this because this is the first car mod I have ever attempted, and even though there were a few things I might have done differently, I am very pleased with the result.
So here is a little pro/con list about the DTM angel eyes:
+ very bright, even in direct sunlight
+ looks
+ cool turn signal function (i'll post video)
- 3 second delay from last turn blink to white light
- when I startup the car they blink for some reason even with the headlight switch to off
- every time I signal, I get a position light error
The signal issue can be resolved by cancelling it, as I wired it so that I can disable it without removing the headlight.
So I started with wheels, disk brakes, and now I just finished the headlights which is what I want to post about, so here it goes.
I fell in love with the E92 DTM headlights the first time I saw them and I decided I want those on my BMW. I got these "horseshoe" (i believe they are called around the net) rings with signal function from a guy in Hungary. I'm sure you can find these on ebay or aliexpress, just make sure you get the right size for the E60.
![](https://i.imgur.com/BzBI0Jr.jpg)
After cracking open the headlights, the long process of fitting & fiddling started.
![](https://i.imgur.com/twflzEH.jpg)
My headlights aren't that great, so I decided that if these angel eyes ever failed or something, I would just get new headlights, so i painted over the stock angel eyes and their supports.
![](https://i.imgur.com/qS1kYwm.jpg)
Tested the wiring/brightness
![](https://i.imgur.com/Jya3hPV.jpg)
Used a leveling laser to line up the bottom. The housing floor is not level.
![](https://i.imgur.com/vPV9iRH.jpg)
Same laser used to mark the masking points
![](https://i.imgur.com/1MQmaDn.jpg)
--
![](https://i.imgur.com/0a4mVCY.jpg)
Then came the part where I least expect to have any trouble, masking the top of the rings. I didn't want to cut them, as I don't have any knowledge of electronics or how LEDs work, and I was affraid that removing a LED might take out adjacent ones too, so I thought I would just black out the top. The bad news was that the paint I used, didn't properly cover the edges of the rings, so light would leak there. Then I tried a can of plastidip which somehow malfunctioned, lost pressure and I got sprayed in the face with some matte black dip. Good thing it was peelable.
Anyhow, for me the solution was teflon based wire shrink-tube, as seen below.
![](https://i.imgur.com/AW6mU47.jpg)
Those paint leaks were taken care of.
I then made a tiny plastic support to raise the outer edge of the inner ring. The rings are glued with epoxy to the housing and the inner ones also have a screw to hold them in place in the top inner side. Also mind that the inner ring doesn't fit on top of the original angel eyes like the outer rings do, that's why they are further up front. Even to get them there, sanding was involved.
![](https://i.imgur.com/h8EB6Mj.jpg)
Here are some closeup shots of the closed headlights. Please mind that the phone's camera doesn't always sync with the LEDs frequency so cutoff lines in pictures and flickering in video may appear. Something to do with vertical scan, i don't know.
![](https://i.imgur.com/zocdLLW.jpg)
--
![](https://i.imgur.com/8sT2Si9.jpg)
--
![](https://i.imgur.com/XBElMMD.jpg)
And here are some edited pics:
![](https://i.imgur.com/M3dzVEd.jpg)
--
![](https://i.imgur.com/G39jAOR.jpg)
Even though this was't an easy mod, everyone can do it with just a little patience, common sense, measuring 10 times and glueing once. I say this because this is the first car mod I have ever attempted, and even though there were a few things I might have done differently, I am very pleased with the result.
So here is a little pro/con list about the DTM angel eyes:
+ very bright, even in direct sunlight
+ looks
+ cool turn signal function (i'll post video)
- 3 second delay from last turn blink to white light
- when I startup the car they blink for some reason even with the headlight switch to off
- every time I signal, I get a position light error
The signal issue can be resolved by cancelling it, as I wired it so that I can disable it without removing the headlight.
How come the inner can't fit flush with the OEM housing? Too large of a ring? Would a smaller ring for the inner address this? They look dope. The only thing I wouldn't do would be blacking out the tops of the rings.
#13
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Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: New Jersey
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My Ride: 2006 m5
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I'm also looking for a good tutorial/DIY on how to cut these headlights open and seal them up afterwards. That's the part that worries me the most.
#14
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Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Romania
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My Ride: E60 525d
Model Year: 2004
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MAD PROPS ON LEVELING THE SQUARE BOTTOMS!!!! I've been thinking about this mod but the only thing that drove me away from the square bottoms is that every set I see done, there's always one (inner or outer) that seems crooked. I'm glad you took the time. And shared the solution with us.
How come the inner can't fit flush with the OEM housing? Too large of a ring? Would a smaller ring for the inner address this? They look dope. The only thing I wouldn't do would be blacking out the tops of the rings.
How come the inner can't fit flush with the OEM housing? Too large of a ring? Would a smaller ring for the inner address this? They look dope. The only thing I wouldn't do would be blacking out the tops of the rings.
I tried using paint to black out the tops, but I couldn't get it thick enough on the edges and light would bleed out. If you know what products to use, paint is an option, but I didn't, and I wanted to finish the project ASAP.
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