M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => Exterior => Topic started by: AlpineRob on August 11, 2011, 07:39:47 PM
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Hey guys,
anyone have any experience or heard about aftermarket smiley headlight kits, generally found on ebay.. they look nice but im sure there is a catch..I remember i bought after market fog lights once..and they were rubbish..even broken when i got them in the mail..
Example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E30-SMILEY-ELLIPSOID-PROJECTOR-EURO-Headlights-M3-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQfitsZMakeQ3aBMWQQhashZitem1c1d82e51eQQitemZ120754201886QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories
thoughts?
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Hey,
in my opinion your worries about quality are in place. But you can try it, and if it goes bad (for exemple bad water resistance), you can use parts from it (nice lenses) to renovate BOSCH headlights:)
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Can't recall where I heard it, but IIRC the Chinese stuff needs a bit of work before it's ready for the street. Usually the glass sealant is very low quality.
They're $180 though...that's a bit steep. Check these out (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E30-M3-BOSCH-ELLIPSOID-EURO-HEADLIGHTS-SMILEYS-/220816394810?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3369aeca3a)...for ~$240 you can have the real deal, genuine Euro-spec smileys. Hella H4's reflectors are still available new as well, here they are for $67 each (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Hella-Headlamp-Conversion-Lamp-5-3-4-Dia-H4-55-60W-/390332670284?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5ae1a3e14c). They have an excellent beam pattern but can't be used for HIDs. Be sure you get the LHD units...the RHD ones will put the beam "wedge" on the wrong side.
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Can anyone who has swapped out their OEM headlights for these tell us if there was a difference in lighting? I had smileys on my Italian car and I wasn't very happy with them, but the reflector surface wasn't in the best of condition even after I cleaned them.
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I swapped out OEM for the H4 Hella E-codes on another e30. I've sold it since or I'd post some pics. I was very pleased. I've heard that the Autopal copies (Indian-made?) are adequate as well.
The NA DOT ellipsoids I have now aren't clean enough to compare yet. I have to open them up & re-seal them to get a good comparison. The reflectors on NA DOT ellipsoids usually are in better shape than the E-code Euro units.
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i have smileys in my car and i havnt seen a big difference in lighting but they look better and when you put HIDs in them they look great. ill have to dig a pic up .
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here is a pic (http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd465/318is1506/2011-10-11100118-2.jpg)
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i dont have smileys but i did buy these about a year ago and i love them no trouble so far except i get the finger since they so bright cause of the 8K HID but the fact a i can see so far and wide is worth the finger... i just give it right back http://www.stealthauto.com/Products/1985-1991-BMW-E30-3-Series-Quad-Angel-Eye-Projector-Headlights-Black-Housing-(Pair)__E30LHL-BLK.aspx (http://www.stealthauto.com/Products/1985-1991-BMW-E30-3-Series-Quad-Angel-Eye-Projector-Headlights-Black-Housing-(Pair)__E30LHL-BLK.aspx)
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I bought ones from dtmfiberworkz and worked great and looked also I got smoked ones and the cutoff of gods in projectors and everything worked great had the for about a year till I got backed into
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I have a '91 318i and am about to change my sealed beam lights for NA ellipsoid units. Smiley units seem great but I question the quality since true European versions are insanely expensive. Any thoughts on the better units to accept an HID upgrade.
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I have a set of NA elipsoidial lights and housings that I will sell you for $150 plus shipping. Let me know.