Well the details are worked out and I am officially a vendor at AZ, again . I wont have a thread in the vendor special section since I mostly specialize in 3G TL headlights. Please note that the trade-in program option wouldnt be available till I am done with the on going group buy.

Schedule for prices would remain the same as they are with the group buy, I have reworked the trade in option a bit though.

Cleared headlights-- $125
Blacked out/cleared-- $150
Color Match/Cleared-- $150 (member would have to buy a 12 oz can of color and clear coat and have it shipped to me from www.paintscratch.com)

Each set will come with a set of custom made washers to go around the ballast and create a perfect seal, these washers will replace the flimsy factory foam washers.

Trade-In program

Very simple and efficient way of getting this mod done. I have with me a few sets of 3G TL headlights that I can modify and send of to the customer and they can install them and send their headlights back to me. This way your car wouldnt be off the road for more than the installation time. For the time being the trade in option is only available for 04-05 TL headlights along with 07-08 base model headlights since those are the only ones I have, I will update the thread if I locate a set of Type S headlights and 06 model headlights.

Since the trade in program is time consuming there is a service fee of $25 on top of the above labor charge.

Customer will be responsible for shipping cost which I'd endure to send the headlights to them.

In terms of what can be done to the headlights, you have a few options beside just color matching, blacked out, cleared etc. These three mentioned mods are purely aesthetic rather than performance oriented.

ZKW swap

ZKW swap include swapping the fresnel TL projector lens with one from an 04 BMW 330 XI projector made by ZKW, hence the name ZKW swap.
I am sure you guys know how your headlights perform right now, following video shows how each projector will perform with the lens swap.


Video at 30 feet

Flicker affect at 10 feet

Video at 150 feet



At the moment I do not have any ZKWs, but if you provide me with a pair I'd install them free of charge.

ZKW replica lenses.

Due to the high price of ZKW clears recently the replica ZKW lenses were introduced to the market. A set can be bought for as much as $70 a pair from ebay, although these arent as good as the real ZKWs but they are eons better than the stock fresnel lens. Search for "ZKW replica lenses" on ebay.

Bulb upgrade

The fact is that the stock D2S HID bulb just sucks, they are made by Osram and they loose their intensity after 100 hours worth of use i.e. they color shift. Right of the box they produce 3200 lumens each and after color shifting the output goes down to as much as 2800 lumens. One of the best HID bulb present on the market is the Phillips D2S model 85122+ not to be confused with 85122. These bulbs are rated at 3400 lumens and are known not to color shift so they retain their output level. Just to take care of any ambiguity, these are not your smurf colored blue bulbs, osrams are 4300k and phillips are 4200k. I personally would NEVER recommend using a higher kelvin bulb since they are VERY poor in adverse condition driving.

HIDplanet.com is a very reputable and cheapest place on the net to buy a fresh pair of 85122+ bulbs. http://www.hidplanet.com/philips5000k.html
Note that the bulb is liste to be 5000k but it in fact is 4200, they havent fixed that fact on the website yet.

CCFL rings.

I'll install these free of charge if the customer provides a set. www.umnitza.com is the place to buy these from, I think they have an ebay store as well.

for details on my work and pictures kindly check the following thread.

Modified headlights group buy

Turn around time for the headlights depends on transit time, if you want them done sooner then I would suggest USPS Priority mail since it takes two days for them to get to me using USPS priority mail and its the cheaper way to ship compared to Fedex and UPS 2nd day delivery option. I can do a set in one day, so if I get your headlights today then most likely they will go out the next day evening. So the turn around time depends on how soon you want them and how much money you are willing to spend on shipping

If you have any questions then feel free to PM me. Also note that I dont do this for a profession, although I have been modifying headlights for about 8 years now , this is more of a hobby that is the reason why I chose to lower my prices from the last time I use to be a vendor. Work is guaranteed against leaking/fogging.

 

Nice- glad to see you continue your great work.

 

WOOOO! JnC is back

as soon as i pay off the minimum payments for this month, i'm jumping on this! finally after 4 years i will have cleared lights!

hey JnC you realize the ppl selling the ZKW replica are the old vendors that used to do the headlight clearing for AZ? retrofit source

 

NBP Color Match Blacked/ZKW/Angel Eyes =

 

Yup.

BTW the above mods are only suggestions, I am not trying to advertise anyone or anyones services. My idea of a perfect TL headlight is one with real ZKWs paired with phillips 85122+ bulbs In fact instead of getting fancy, I am just going to color match my personal TL headlights along with a ZKW swap and the new phillips bulbs .

 

oh yea also retrofit source JnC is also selling the lights for almost half price i think, unless it's a scam

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PAIR-...spagenameZWD1V

you think that's legit? they're selling both 85122 and 85122+ and the difference in cost is 3 bucks on their site.

 

^^ Those bulbs are used . Problem with used bulbs is that they could be a mismatch, i.e. with unknown hours and from different cars. That is the reason why I suggest getting a fresh NIB pair.

 

haha sorry to bug you so much, but you think these are just as good or better than the Kaixen one's that ppl have been using?

 

^^ Not trying to bad mouth another vendors product but I think it has been discussed before as well. Kaixen is for people who want the bluish light output, blue does not mean brighter. As I stated earlier the phillips 85122+ bulbs are the BRIGHTEST 35 watt HID bulbs on the market. Just to give you an idea Phillips 85122+ are rated at 3400 lumens where as the phillips 6000k Ultinons are rated at 2400 lumens . Kelvins (color) and Lumens (brightness) are both inversely proportional. To put it in perspective a typical Halogen bulb is rated at 1200 lumens.

 

oh ic, thanks, yea i never really thought about upgrading my lights until today, should've just searched it up and read the old posts.

thanks for taking the time to type the extra info

 

What is exactly does it mean when it is "color matched"?

Can you do color match NBP, Angel Eyes, Cleared, and tinted all in one?

What would be your suggestion for a NBP? And how much would it be total for my request?

TIA

 

i'm down I will need a month but I will def. support you bro.

 

Check the link in my first post for color matched headlights, color match would be when I paint the internals to match the body color. As far as price, well you'd have to get the paint from the above link which would be close to $30 shipped, angle eyes would be from umnitza, i think they go for as much as $200, my labor would be $150

BTW here is an example of color matched headlights, these are Lembowskis Polished metalic metal colored headlights ( I think thats what the name of the color is).

 

If I have an NBP and wanted to "black" them out, would there be a noticeable difference as opposed to color-matching the NBP? Thanks for your help JnC!

 

oh WOW that looks AMAZING.....AM color matched Headlights FTW!!

 

Let me know when you have some 05's we can trade for! Interested in a blackout

 

Think you would be willing to...
Colormatch a set of o4 headlights to NBP [or just black them out], swap the stock diffusers to Lights' custom diffusers [if they are produced] or smoke the diffusers... while upgrading to ZKW lens with the colormod?
I ask because so far I've seen a lot of your work done with cleared corners... [which look good, don't get me wrong]--but personally I like the diffusers there as amber or smoked [but still able to shine amber when in use].

Personally.. I'm contemplating the umnitza angel eyes, not sure if I should rock the single angel-eyes in each headlight as it'd be practically impossible to see when my lowbeams are on...

Oh yeah.. looking forward to the trade in program! Guess I'd have to wait a while lol.

 

Can I be the first on the list to get the Type-S lights if and when you get an extra set? This is my everyday car, so I would have to do the trade-in option as I couldn't be without my lights. I have a 2008 TL Type-S that I would want to have done.

As far as being cleared, black, lens and etc I will have to decide on that. I can do that while I am waiting for a set of the Type-S to come in.

Couple quick questions....on the ZWK lens....why is it when I look at the videos...the lights on the garage door or whatever it is seems to be level on the beam, then at one spot it angles up to another level? Is that normal? Is that how they are supposed to be? I may also consider some of the other mods as well such as the upgraded bulbs.

Thanks for any info you can provide and I would love to do this if you can get a set of the 08 Type-S lights.

 

Yeah the light looks 'angled up' because that's the way the cut off is for o4-o5.. maybe o6. I think the cut off was changed for the newer models, I might be wrong. So... yes that is normal and yes that is how it's supposed to be.

 

^^ Agreed, for most 04s and some 05s the cut off was DOT step where as in from some 05+ it is DOT slope

DOT step

______________|''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' ''''''

DOT slope

______________/''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

 

Thank you for the example. I am just curious, what is the point of this? I mean they look cool, but what is the reason or point BMW would do this? Sorry if these are dumb questions...still learning...lol.

Also let me know about the Type-S lights as well and if that would be an option.

 

Well, BMW didn't really do that [or maybe they did]. The TLs headlights are designed like that.... it's the housing for the headlight--not the projectors themselves. If I can I'll take a picture for you with my spare headlight.
I'm going to be honest--I am not exactly sure why the cut off is like that instead of say.. completely straight.

 

It's so the side closest to on coming traffic is slightly lower = less likely to blind someone on the road at night.

 

right on the dot.

and in case any of you have NOT been on the receiving end of a oncoming TL....just hope you never have to go up hill while one is coming over the hill....even with stock lights, i was blinded pretty bad

 

JCL622 I hope so!! I once got annoyed of this dude who kept his highbeam on.. and even though I had the autodim in the rearview on.. it was still bright as hell and the roads were really bumpy! [he drove an SUV where it's headlights were practically leveled to the mirrors]. I let him go ahead and gave him my highbeam... don't know if it reached through his window though lol.

Here's a reference image, Starbuck. I hope you can see the image though... I just quickly took a snap without looking at what I was focusing at. Tried to help you out with photobucket edit.. Okay nevermind for some reason what I circled and added isn't showing up.



edit: Sorry in advance to JNC if I'm cluttering up the thread.

 

haha poor komodo; yea we get raped by SUV headlights all the time.... when my dad is behind me in his GL i cant see anything even with autodimmer on.


and yea we should keep this thread clean for JnC....not that he has to worry, as soon as this start's rolling, it's gonna flyyyyyyy lol

 

As soon as the gb is over with I am so doing the trade-in. Thanks JnC! My tint film cover ghetto fab headlights just aren't up to par with the rest of my car.

 

What would it take to get/Cost for the foam ballast gaskets?

 

Question. So you're saying that the Philips 85122+ are brighter and last longer than the stock Osrams? But they are slightly lower on the Kelvin scale? 4200k. Would this mean they are whiter? or more yellow than the 4300k Osrams? I have upgraded to the Philips Ultinons I love them. Would the 85122+ be a better upgrade for light out put? what would the color be? White white? or more yellow white? THanks

 

Not really unless you get real close and try to figure it out .


Will do



Black them out, install the defuser, ZKW that sounds good . BTW you dont color mod the TL projector, it kills the output stock TL with ZKW FTW.





Are you having fogging problems with your headlights?


Yes they are the brightest OEM D2S 35 watt bulbs on the market and they are known to not loose their intensity and yes these will be a bit yellower than your stock Osrams especially if your car is a few years old. Osrams are yellow when they are brand new and loose that yellowness over their age and get whiter and dimmer.

 

Do you know time frame when you are going to be a vendor again? I would like to get your services to have mine blacked out + zkw+ angel eyes on mine.

 

I am one . I just wont have the official vendor thread in the black market section plus the title, if I wasnt a vendor then this thread would have been long closed .

 

this is very tempting......

 

Ahh I see, Well maybe I should of rephrased my question differently. Are you currently going to to other headlamps right now? Although you are still working on that group of people who signed up for your service?

 

I actually just swapped in different headlight housings this past weekend. Due to fogging in last set (crappy set off ebay). I read that the foam ring was a possible issue, and mine were looking and feeling old. So when i washed the car and had a tiny bit of fogging i figured this has to be the last thing i need to change.

Do you have any pics of the new beefy gasket?

 

Well I have one set of 07-08 headlights for the trade in program and 2 sets for the 04-05 trade in, I think I will devote 1 set of the 04-05 to the group buy and one set for here . So yeah members with 04-05 TL can do the trade in program.

JJaber contacted me a week or so ago about this first so I guess he is first in line.

 

Oh I didn't know about the color-mod thing killing the stock output. Hahah nevermind that then! Thanks for the reply! I can't wait =D
If you need a spare driver's side headlight---I have one here that'll be shipped out in mid July.

 

Would the lights for the regular TL 07-08 be the same as the 08 Type-S lights? I would like to do the trade-in option if I can make sure they are the same as the 08 Type-S, or if you can get a set...thank you.

 

Hey JnC......

This is what I want my headlights to look like on my 08 Type-S. I wasn't sure what all is done to the lights, but I knew how I wanted them to look so I thought I would post an example and some might be able to tell me what was done to the lights....





I love the first picture with turn signal light is blue looking. I am not sure though if that is a Type-S light or not. The second picture is though. But instead of the amber light in the second picture, I would like for them to be like the ones in the first picture. So the second picture, but with the turn signals like the first one.

I know the lights are cleared, but what else has been done? Angel Eyes? Also do these seem to have the ZWK lens? If not I would like those done as well. I like the looks of the Angel Eyes, but if I have that done, can I get the ZWK lens as well?

Thanks for any help....

(Also thank you to the owners of the pictures and cars above to be used as a reference)

 

To answer your questions for JnC
The first pic are most like o4-o5 or o6 headlights. I forgot who the owner was though [shame on me]. The turn signals are blue like that because they are using what is known as a switch-back-led. It's a bulb that shines a specific color---and when you engage your turn signals it will flash amber.
Also yes you can get the Umnitza Angel Eyes with the ZKW lens.
As for if the images have ZKW lens--I'm not sure.