BMW E36 Blog

 
Hi Guys,

If you’ve seen my car before (here it is BMW E36 318is), you’d know that I’m using aftermarket headlights and although I think these headlights look great, there’s a huge problem with them that is becoming more and more annoying every day. The problem is the headlights plastic lenses. They started to look dirty and old and no matter how I tried to clean them (I’ve even tried to wax them), they’ll revert back to the ugly-old-looking headlights which is clearly started to annoy me very much.

I’ve decided that I should ultimately switch back to stock headlights, but the problem is that I don’t want to lose the angel eyes and the HIDs. So, I started digging to see what options I have and to make some comparisons between the different headlights + their options that are available at the moment. I may write about these soon.

While doing that, I found this great tutorial about BMW E36 headlights and HIDs. So, I thought you guys (the BMW E36 owners) should watch this. It’s definitely helpful although a little bit long… I won’t keep you for so long, so, you go a head and watch it.

IMPORTANT: The BMW E36 Blog is on Facebook now. Please become a fan by pressing the “Like” button below the 4th video.

Have fun 🙂
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BMW E36 Blog: The Ultimate BMW E36 Information Source.

It has been some time now since I decided to upgrade my lighting system to use HID. Last week, I decided to go ahead and did a quick search and found a HID system that is being sold at Amazon under the name Xentec. Honestly, they seemed like they’re a respectable company and the product looked good too, so I ordered my 6000K HID from them.

I received the package yesterday and it looked like this:

After I removed all the parts from the box, it looked like this:

Honestly, they looked good and I was expecting the best out of this brand. So, I didn’t waste any time. I installed the HID system in my car (there’s a DIY about how to install the HID in your car here and BTW, you don’t need to use any relays). Everything went great and the car looked like this:

So, I was very happy with the result and the HID color was just fantastic. Looked OEM. So, I went home and decided to write a post about this company and to recommend it to you, the readers of the BMW E36 Blog. I also decided to shoot a video of how it looks at night and about the visibility. So, I waited until it became dark and went to the car to shoot the video.

I was shocked to find out that the left light didn’t turn on. First, I thought the problem was in the wiring, so, I checked everything and couldn’t find any problem. Finally, I discovered, after some diagnostics, that the left Ballast has failed. Can you believe that? it didn’t work more than half hour and it’s already dead.

I’ve replaced that ballast and now everything looks awesome, but I’m still worried the other ballast will fail really soon. I hope not though.

Bottom line… don’t go with Xentec. I’m sorry, but a ballast that can’t serve more than half hour is just rubbish.

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.

These are the 3 most common xenon HID lights available for the BMW E36. Check them out. Which one do you prefer more?

6000k Xenon HID

8000k Xenon HID

10000k Xenon HID

BMW E36 Blog: The Ultimate E36 Information Source.