Alrighty, I promised pics and stuff in another thread (on Bimmerforums), and am finally delivering. This is a very brief article about how I got mine to fit, and my plans to do it "right" as soon as McMaster gets me my stuff. I will make an official article on my site (
http://bmw.e30tuner.com/ ) once version 2 is complete. It will likely include most of the text found here, because I am a lazy SOB.
Tools & Parts:- Various drill bits, up to 3/4" diameter (1 5/16" for version 2)
- Hot glue gun (or silicone RTV for the patient people)
- Connector crimpers, the standard kind you find at Home Depot/Radio Shack
- Plastic-housed 3/16" spade terminal receptacle (female-side)
- Euro ellipsoid lights (no idea how it goes on the US ones)
- Apexcone 35W 4500K kit (+$25 lifetime warranty on bulbs & ballasts, seriously, do it)
- Some balls, you have to cut shit, and there is NO going back (pardon my French)
So, let's first look at what we start with. Yank the headlight units, it is easiest to do it off the car. You have a standard H1 bulb here.
The H1-based bulbs I got from the Apexcone kit (from understeer.com) obviously take a little thinking to fit in. The instructions that came with them must refer to H1 installations on cars that I have never seen. You are on your own here (well, I guess this will help).
There is a right way and a wrong way to do this. The wrong way is in the following picture. Fires are unlikely, but problems are to be expected leaving things exposed like this. You will be burning up fuses every 1/4 mile on a rough road like this. Getting the round end of the brown wire off is easy, you almost don't need pliers.
You will need to cut the internal wires. Sorry weekend-warriors, there is not really a safe way to do this without cutting them (you could always smoosh the round one onto the terminal and put plastic sheathing over them...but then you would be lazy). Anyway, go to Home Depot and drop the $0.97 on the shielded connectors. Here is where you will want those crimpers I mentioned.
You are probably wondering where that round grommet is supposed to go (the one on the bulb harness). Well, here is where you need some experience drilling big holes in plastic things that cannot be clamped. DO THIS IN STEPS! I promise you, the cap will be destroyed (and you will bruise your hands at the least) if you try to do all-out in any less than 5 steps. Drill the hole as perfectly centered as possible. If it is more than 1/8" off-center, you are going to have issues with the harness (next segment details it).
Here is a shot with the light cap locked-on all the way. Hmm...does not look like the grommet will fit (it can, but you better buy that warranty on the bulbs). I found it annoying that the wires are encased in a rubber relief that shoots straight off. Maybe other H1-using light fixtures are roomier...the E30 just likes to be a pain. Oh, and to get the stuff through the hole properly, you will need to yank the bulb-harness's power leads (spade-ends) through the grommet, then reinsert them after positioning the bulb wires through the hole. It is pretty easy, don't be timid about it.
So, once you have the stuff positioned right, I HIGHLY suggest using some non-conductive adhesive to secure the power connections to the inside. You do not want them moving around. Hot glue is fine, it is not like anybody sees inside here.
Here is the hokey part that has me talking about a Version 2. Since I want it waterproof, AND not damaging the wires I had to come up with a quick solution (unless I wanted to drive to work before sunrise with no lights). Yup, I stuffed the covers on without locking them. This bought me about 1/4" of room inside, which was plenty for the time-being. A little more hot glue and patience (as well as stuffing my pride under the sofa) got it water-tight. I now give you permission to snicker.
So, how do they compare? None to shabby, AND they still have the same beam pattern! No blinded drivers or wasted light, thankfully.
The under-hood installation is not the prettiest bit, but I am beyond the point where I care much. Once I finish version 2 I will modify the plastic covers that used to be in there and rid myself of that hot glue. My MAF converter module sits right where I wanted to put the ballast on the driver's side. Stupid MAF conversion.
For reference, here are the 2 bulbs. As you can see, the HID bulb's arc chamber is in the same position as the H1 bulb's filament. They really are exactly alike...the angle of the picture distorts it a little.
