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Z3 HID Retrofit

Author : Ian Lam Posted on : 25/11/2004
Model : BMW, Z - Series Category : Lights - Headlights
 
Parts used:

2x Brand new ECE E36/7/8 headlights (BMW part#82-19-9-418-037 $369 from http://www.circlebmw.com/, thanks Clintjg)
2x 3M X-pel headlight protector film ($50 from http://www.umnitza.com/)
2x X5 fluted plastic lens – 3” projector opening ($35 from classifieds at http://www.hidforum.com/)
2x Valeo H7 ECE Xenon projectors - 5.5” L x 4” W x 3.5” H, with 2.5” lens diameter ($190 from http://www.hidforum.com/)
2x Philips D2S 85122 4300k bulbs with custom H7 base (reused from my previous Z3)
2x Philips LVQ-212 ballasts (again, reused from my 1.9L Z3 way back in 1999)
1x custom wiring harness with 2x automotive relays and 2x 15A fuses
1x 1N4005 diode (radioshack part# 276-1144, thanks JonM)

Miscellaneous:

Dremel with assorted cutting accessories
JB Weld (this stuff will bond anything!)
Various HomeDepot nuts and bolts (8-32 x 1 or 1.5” machine screws)
Soldering iron, taps, heat shrink, electrical tape etc.
12v battery booster (not necessary, but excellent to do test aiming indoors)
oven thermometer

N.B. There are other suitable projectors that could be used include those from Bosch single and Bi-xenon (Audi TT and E46), Valeo D2S DOT (NA Audi A4), S2000s, and maybe even Hella Bi-Xenons (E-class, Audi A6). The Hella Bi-Xenons will definitely be a tight fit since they are one of the largest projectors out there. Where can you find them? Ebay, classified forum on http://www.hidforum.com, and any autowrecker/body shops.

Steps involved:

There are many instructions already on the web on how to take apart the Z3 headlights. The method I followed was to preheat the oven at 225 F calibrated using an oven thermometer. While, the oven is warming up, remove both 9006 and 9005 bulbs, screws, rubber gaskets, and the seven metal retaining clips. Once a stable 225 F temperature is reached, cook the lights for 10 minutes which softens the butyl tape enough to easily remove the front clear plastic lens with a butter knife or flathead screwdriver.


With the front lens off, move onto the rear assembly which is held together by the same butyl tape and 5 plastic retainer latches (top (2), the side (1), and the bottom (2). Reheat the headlight to soften the tape for 5-10 minutes and carefully pry off the rear assembly.


With the headlight removed, dismantle the reflectors from the rear housing by popping off the two aiming tabs (mine were white tabs on top of black pillars with a rotating ball on top). Be careful when removing the lower one, as it breaks easily. If it breaks, don't worry, some JB Weld can repair it with no problems.


Take measurements of the projector and do your best to try to center your it in the middle of the reflector. Remove metal piece on the reflector (I believe this helps create the halogen beam pattern) by cutting both posts.

The following step is one of the two most tedious tasks in this DIY. The location of the projector is key in its overall light output performance; you don't want it to be recessed back to far which results in a loss of foreground light, or too far forward (protrudes through the front of the trim bezel). Take your time aiming the projector by using levelers and, unfortunately, trial and error.


You want both headlights to look roughly the same, so any degree rotation off, will translate into a crooked beam pattern. This will not be so evident if you are using DOT xenon projectors since their cutoffs are not as razor shop as their ECE counterparts (with some exceptions e.g. S2000).

After aiming it, I bolted the projector in place and shimmed it so that it is aiming a little higher up (they naturally aim low for some reason). Once bolted in place, loctite the bolts, and JB Weld the projector to the reflector.


As you can see, there's a lot of custom fabrication involved. The trim ring is one of the most important pieces to fabricate as it not only creates an OEM look to the headlight, but also masks any possible straight light coming from the projector openings. I had conceptualized two different designs for my headlights. One that is based on the X5 (classic BMW ellipsoid look) and the other on the e46 (the new generation of BMW’s headlight designs). Either choice would result in an OEM-look which is what I personally prefer. If I had to do it all over again, I would probably go with the e46 design as I like the newer look of it. The problem is that I could not easily find these bezels.

X5:


E46:


The X5 bezels have a 3” opening for the projector, which is 0.5” bigger than the Valeo projector I used. This did not pose a problem as I blocked out the stray light using aluminum foil. You can use practically anything to create a shroud as long as it can sustain high temperatures. It is important to use an expoxy or some kind of adhesive (in this case, JB Weld) that can withstand high temperatures as the headlights do get pretty hot over time.

The stock E36/7/8 headlight lenses are actually glass. I originally thought they would be plastic, so reaming out a 2.5” would be easy. But since I don’t own any kind of tool that could cut a circle in glass, this all worked out for the better. The X5 lenses are plastic and easily manipulated with a dremel. As you can see, I shaped it identically to the OEM lens so that they sit perfectly flush in the stock location in the headlight assembly


  1. OEM on top, custom X5 bottom left, OEM X5 bottom right


  2. OEM retaining clip and JB Weld holding X5 bezel in place


  3. Inside front Z3 headlight assembly


  4. X5 lens fitted to Z3 headlight assembly and Valeo projector




Reassembly is the same as taking the headlight apart just reversed. See above steps.

I installed a set of 3M Xpel headlight protector film to protect all this hard work…cheap insurance is all I can say.


Finished Product:


The rear will be sealed borrowing from the X5 design, yet again!


Wiring:

You can run your xenons off the stock OEM headlight wiring harness, but I strongly recommend against this as you can severely damage your stock wiring harness or other electrical components. This is well documented in the Z3 and other cars retrofitting xenons using the stock wiring. Please use a separate wiring harness that powers the ballasts straight from the battery via relays. Using the advice of JonM, I also added a diode to prevent the electrical gremlins that may occur (i.e. dead light switch/dash lights/cluster.

1N4005 diode (radioshack part# 276-1144, thanks JonM)


My custom wiring harness


Wiring schematics for our Z3 cars (thanks goes to Herman from Automotive Lighting FAQ)
http://faq.auto.light.tripod.com/


Miscellaneous Pictures:

Beam Pattern: (1 headlight)


Blue flicker
 

Pictures

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Click on the thumbnails to see larger images.

 


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