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2Addicts | BMW 2-Series forum BMW 2 Series (F22) Forum BMW 2 Series Coupe and Cabriolet (F22/F23) General Forum Halogen headlights replacement

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      02-24-2018, 10:27 AM   #1
2013alpinewhitem5
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Halogen headlights replacement

Hey guys,

I just picked up 2017 230i and it has halogen headlights instead of xenon!

Is there any place that offer bi-xenon headlights swaps or do modifications? Or LED lights replace? I live in Torrance, California.

Thanks !
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      02-26-2018, 12:15 PM   #2
Maynard
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Options exist, but they are what most consider unrealistically expensive. Run a site search and you can find some postings on aftermarket units. Swapping in all the factory pieces is prohibitive unless you have '5-Fingers-Auto' supplying your parts . Good bulbs are very cost-effective. And don't neglect aiming them - most (perhaps all) of these were coming over set way too low (I thought my xenons were crap until I got them sorted out and aimed right).
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      02-26-2018, 01:34 PM   #3
tripitz
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I looked into this question when I was purchasing a car. I specifically did not buy one car I liked as it had Halogen headlights. The retrofit can be very expensive as it goes beyond just the headlights, which are not that bad. I decided it was not worth the effort. As it is so expensive, I never found a definitive view as to how to do it. It will be a bit of trial and error when it comes to wiring requirements and how to get the leveling mechanism to work.

I wish it was as easy as just buying BMW headlight unit...
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      02-26-2018, 01:48 PM   #4
Ron Jeffries
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I think an ECU may need recoding as well to deal with the different values coming back from the lamps.
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      03-03-2018, 03:41 AM   #5
BimmerDoctor
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There’s a guy on Instagram based out of Miami called OSSDesigns who does a whole retrofit of headlights.

I got it done myself but I do agree, too expensive and not worth losing the car for what can be longer than a week
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      04-09-2018, 01:17 PM   #6
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can I just buy an oem xenon headlamp and replace the original one?
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      04-09-2018, 07:11 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cjy1997 View Post
can I just buy an oem xenon headlamp and replace the original one?
They sell a Non-Adaptive Xenon OEM set up you can purchase and retrofit. It's compatible and require way less hardware and cost than retrofitting the "Adaptive" version of Xenon. Let me know if you need helping finding the part numbers.
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      06-21-2018, 08:18 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Poochie View Post
They sell a Non-Adaptive Xenon OEM set up you can purchase and retrofit. It's compatible and require way less hardware and cost than retrofitting the "Adaptive" version of Xenon. Let me know if you need helping finding the part numbers.
I am interested in this, can you give me the link to their website?
thanks
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      06-21-2018, 08:43 PM   #9
3rdcoast228i
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maynard View Post
Options exist, but they are what most consider unrealistically expensive. Run a site search and you can find some postings on aftermarket units. Swapping in all the factory pieces is prohibitive unless you have '5-Fingers-Auto' supplying your parts . Good bulbs are very cost-effective. And don't neglect aiming them - most (perhaps all) of these were coming over set way too low (I thought my xenons were crap until I got them sorted out and aimed right).
Yep mine are low also.
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      06-22-2018, 05:07 AM   #10
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You could save a lot of money by not driving at night.
Honestly, does anyone know what the difference is in coverage between a static halogen and a static xenon headlight system on this vehicle? Is it knowable?
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      06-22-2018, 06:56 AM   #11
aaaaah
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Last I checked the full xenon headlight assembly was about $1000 per side.
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      06-22-2018, 07:33 AM   #12
Maynard
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Yes, I've seen replacement 12v bulbs in the auto store labeled 'xenon', but a true xenon system is an HID, much of the cost is in the ballast and supporting hardware (and IIRC there is a capacitor in there with enough juice in it to really hurt or kill you, so be cautious if you are taking units out of cars in a salvage yard).
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      06-22-2018, 07:46 AM   #13
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I looked into this for my car but it was unreasonably expensive. If you're looking for a pair of new (or good condition) xenons, they're going to go for quite a bit. You also have to get all the coding and potentially rewiring done if you're putting in adaptive headlights.
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      06-22-2018, 08:44 AM   #14
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I don’t want adaptive headlights, just white halos. I know it sounds really dumb but I have owned 4 bimmers without realizing halogen was an option BMW used, even after buying this car I didn’t realize I had halogen until a couple of days later. To me it’s mostly the look, it just looks so cheap and lame.
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      06-23-2018, 10:02 AM   #15
dradernh
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Quote:
Originally Posted by morphomeman View Post
You could save a lot of money by not driving at night.

Honestly, does anyone know what the difference is in coverage between a static halogen and a static xenon headlight system on this vehicle? Is it knowable?
1) That's how I've chosen to approach the problem. However, I'm at an age now where driving at night is no longer advisable anyway.

2) While not specific to the F22, this Car and Driver piece may shed some light upon the situation: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/mo...m-1916-to-2018
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