Lux H8 Angel Eyes Review and Feedback

bplant13 · 05-10-2013, 11:10 PM

We all hate the yellow, stock angel eyes. Especially when the xenon HIDs are on, which just accentuate the fact that BMW was too cheap to pay attention to the daytime running lamps.

Never fear, LUX to the rescue. Well, if you're like me, with a North America, petrol e90 LCI Xdrive; be prepared for a tough job ahead. It took me 4 hours, as there is no room at all behind the access hole to get your hand in. At first I tried taking a wheel off and removing the plastic molding behind the wheel, but it took me taking bits out of the engine bay before I could get my hand in behind the headlamp assembly to put the LED bulbs in.

After all that pain and effort, was it worth it? They certainly look better, but after driving by so many new F30s and new X3s, they still could be a lot brighter, especially in sunlight... Here's some pics of the end result, while I'm happy with the upgrade over stock, I was expecting more for the $230 plus time and frustration.

Feel free to share you're own frustration or successes...

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Rosetta Stoned · 05-11-2013, 03:02 AM

Looks great. For the money it's worth it, not sure about the time/effort though. I'd like to do the same on my pre-LCI so ill have to find out for myself. You saying they aren't as bright as stock or just you thought they'd be much brighter but are still at least brighter than stock? Did you do anything with the fogs?

Blubaron79 · 05-11-2013, 07:44 AM

Took me 30 minutes, but I have skinny fingers

AddictedToBavarian · 05-11-2013, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blubaron79

Took me 30 minutes, but I have skinny fingers

The installation is different from our E92s. You can't just fiddle around with the bulb to install it on an E90.

bplant13 · 05-11-2013, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosetta Stoned

Looks great. For the money it's worth it, not sure about the time/effort though. I'd like to do the same on my pre-LCI so ill have to find out for myself. You saying they aren't as bright as stock or just you thought they'd be much brighter but are still at least brighter than stock? Did you do anything with the fogs?

Here's some engine bay pics. I had to remove 3 bolts on each side to at least move the circled parts out of the way. As you can see from the last pic, there's no much room. The LUX install PDF doesn't mention any of this.

zipstic · 05-11-2013, 09:43 AM

I just installed them in my e92 a couple weeks ago and overall I'm very happy with them. Yes, it would be nice if they were a little brighter in direct sunlight, but I knew what I was getting myself into due to the design of the OEM lighting housing.

That looks like a PITA to install in an e90. It took me 30 minutes.

OT: How do you take a good pic of the lights like the OP did? Mine always turn out like the one below. Me = Photography fail!

Das_Stig · 05-11-2013, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zipstic

I just installed them in my e92 a couple weeks ago and overall I'm very happy with them. Yes, it would be nice if they were a little brighter in direct sunlight, but I knew what I was getting myself into due to the design of the OEM lighting housing.

That looks like a PITA to install in an e90. It took me 30 minutes.

OT: How do you take a good pic of the lights like the OP did? Mine always turn out like the one below. Me = Photography fail!

think it has something to do with the quality of cam, though i'm not sure

zipstic · 05-11-2013, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Das_Stig

think it has something to do with the quality of cam, though i'm not sure

Are you trying to say my iPhone isn't a high enough quality camera?

I'll have to try again with my regular camera.

Kalidian · 05-11-2013, 10:08 AM

Yea it took me 45 min and a LOT of cursing to install the v3's in my e90. My car is a 328 too so there's even less stuff in the way than OP had and I still struggled.

bplant13 · 05-11-2013, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zipstic

OT: How do you take a good pic of the lights like the OP did? Mine always turn out like the one below. Me = Photography fail!

The problem with cameras, even the $5000 DSLRs, is that they can't capture the same dynamic range that the human eye does. So to take a good pic, you need minimal contrast in the picture (overcast days work best for most types of photography), but in this case, because the lights are bright, a bright background will be ideal to help balance the exposure.

The first pic (Stock vs Lux) was actually done with my iPhone 4S, and had bright background, but the lights were in the shade.

The second pic was taken with my DSLR, but it is actually the merge of 3 shots taken at different exposures. Programs like Photomatix are great for this type of work, often called HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography. Do a search for HDR groups on flickr and you'll see what I mean.

05-10-2013, 11:10 PM	#1
bplant13 Private First Class 9 Rep 105 Posts Drives: '18 340i Sport w. MPPSK Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Dallas iTrader: (0)	Lux H8 Angel Eyes Review and Feedback We all hate the yellow, stock angel eyes. Especially when the xenon HIDs are on, which just accentuate the fact that BMW was too cheap to pay attention to the daytime running lamps. Never fear, LUX to the rescue. Well, if you're like me, with a North America, petrol e90 LCI Xdrive; be prepared for a tough job ahead. It took me 4 hours, as there is no room at all behind the access hole to get your hand in. At first I tried taking a wheel off and removing the plastic molding behind the wheel, but it took me taking bits out of the engine bay before I could get my hand in behind the headlamp assembly to put the LED bulbs in. After all that pain and effort, was it worth it? They certainly look better, but after driving by so many new F30s and new X3s, they still could be a lot brighter, especially in sunlight... Here's some pics of the end result, while I'm happy with the upgrade over stock, I was expecting more for the $230 plus time and frustration. Feel free to share you're own frustration or successes...
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05-11-2013, 03:02 AM	#2
Rosetta Stoned Second Lieutenant 99 Rep 254 Posts Drives: 2022 M3, 2023 X3 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver CO iTrader: (2) Garage List 2023 BMW X3 M40i [0.00] 2022 BMW M3 Competi ... [0.00]	Looks great. For the money it's worth it, not sure about the time/effort though. I'd like to do the same on my pre-LCI so ill have to find out for myself. You saying they aren't as bright as stock or just you thought they'd be much brighter but are still at least brighter than stock? Did you do anything with the fogs? __________________ MINE: 2022 M3Cx, Sky Grey, Driv/Exec/Park/Laser 1/26 Ordered, 4/26 Prod, 5/4 Assembly, 5/9 Port, 7/11 Transit, 8/3 Port, 8/18 Dealer, 8/25 Delivered WIFE: 2023 x3 m40i
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05-11-2013, 07:44 AM	#3
Blubaron79 Brigadier General 1435 Rep 4,724 Posts Drives: 2021 M340i xDrive Join Date: May 2009 Location: PA iTrader: (0)	Took me 30 minutes, but I have skinny fingers __________________ Current: 2021 M340i xDrive Previous: '18 340i xDrive; '15 335 xDrive; '14 435i xDrive; '09 335 E92 xDrive
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05-11-2013, 09:43 AM	#6
zipstic Major 484 Rep 1,188 Posts Drives: 2008 e92 335xi Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Minneapolis iTrader: (1) Garage List 2008 335xi Coupe [10.00]	I just installed them in my e92 a couple weeks ago and overall I'm very happy with them. Yes, it would be nice if they were a little brighter in direct sunlight, but I knew what I was getting myself into due to the design of the OEM lighting housing. That looks like a PITA to install in an e90. It took me 30 minutes. OT: How do you take a good pic of the lights like the OP did? Mine always turn out like the one below. Me = Photography fail! __________________ http://www.ishopwheels.com
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05-11-2013, 10:08 AM	#9
Kalidian Lieutenant 8 Rep 514 Posts Drives: AW '09 E90 328xi Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Toronto iTrader: (0)	Yea it took me 45 min and a LOT of cursing to install the v3's in my e90. My car is a 328 too so there's even less stuff in the way than OP had and I still struggled.
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