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| 05-05-2013, 12:54 AM | #1 |
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Another Spyder Headlights Install
Hi All,
After reading all the headlight threads for many months, I decided to take the plunge and get the Spyder headlights for my halogen equipped 128i. I decided to pair them with Morimoto 3five 5000k H7 Elite HID kit. The reason I didn't go with the prepackaged headlight w/ Xenon combo was because I wanted a quality retrofit HID kit. Now there are many many HID kits out there, so do your research but I'm definitely happy with these HIDs. Now back to the headlights. Build quality seems decent. The default LED AEs are not that bright in day time. They're definitely nice in low light (parking garage) and at night. If you want that new updated BMW daytime white AE look, you need to look elsewhere (i.e DEPO V2s or custom upgrade the rings to CCFL). For me, for the price of the headlights, I didn't mind. If you're considering Spyder headlights, you will know they have three sets of wires underneath the headlight and requires that it be tapped to some sort of 12V source (two sets are for the two AE rings, and one set is for the custom two little LEDs in between the rings). For me, I tapped it into the city light (the little small light inside the highbeam housing). Most people tap to city lights and remove the little bulb so it doesn't give you that yellow look. A couple tips that I wish I had known and hope to save you guys some time if you choose to go with Spyder headlights and Morimoto HIDs. Tip 1: You must connect all three sets of wires together on each headlight if you are to tap it to the city light wire or your car will report a bulb out error. Tip 2: When installing HIDs in projectors, the general rule is that the electrode should face down (6 o'clock). Obviously being a noob to HIDs I didn't know this at first and installed with electrode facing up. What happened was I got this electrode shadow to the ground that affects light output. What I found with these Spyder headlights is that if the electrode is in the 6 o'clock position, you don't get the nice crisp cut off. By twisting the bulb to the 4 o'clock position on the right side and the 8 o'clock position for the left side, I eliminate the electrode shadow and get the crisp cut off. HID bulb may vary slightly, so experiment til you get them just right. Summary: The Spyder headlights are decent quality for the price paid. Don't expect crazy output from the projectors. I think DEPOs are a bit better for light output and the V2 rings is probably worth the extra money unless you really like the look of the Spyders. Also not having to do any extra wiring is a bonus with DEPOs. Hope this review helps. And this thread is pretty worthless without pics. So here they are. Enjoy! Stock Halogens   Spyders   Side-by-side comparison  Installed. They're not that blue in person actually. It's a nice pure white.  Most important (which most people seem to not mention) light output and cutoff. This was taken before aiming.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Update June 02, 2013 Thought I'd add a few more pics of my installation... Underside of the spyder headlights most peeps like to know more about  The Morimoto H7 Elite Kit as it arrived...  Unboxed!  Recommended 7/8 drill bit by the Retrofit source, you actually need something a tad larger in diameter or you'll end up having to shave off the tabs like I did   HID Bulb secured through the drilled hole  Last edited by Ashock; 06-03-2013 at 12:10 AM.. |
| 05-05-2013, 05:00 PM | #3 | |
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| 06-04-2013, 02:19 PM | #6 |
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I have just the regular spyder headlights, I think they look miles better than the stock ones. Much cleaner looking without so much orange
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