Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

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Spang257
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Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Spang257 »

When it comes to anything but very basic DIY, I have fingers like pig's tits and I always manage to cock things up... :(

I have recently purchased a halo kit for my 2000 Z3 2.8 - not the full headlight replacement, you understand - just the 'upgrade kit'. My front lights need de-tangoing too, probably at the same time - and although I have received a lot of tips from people on this forum much more knowledgeable and proficient than me, I am scared witless to do it myself and cock it up...

Anyone in my neck of the woods willing to take it on? And if so, what would you charge? Or maybe you could point me in the right direction...

Thanks peeps... :dunce:
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seasurfer
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by seasurfer »

I did mine a while back, best change to the zed ive done and wished i had done it sooner. Will try find the link for you, back soon.
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by seasurfer »

hope it helps. Its dead easy to do :D pm me if i can help.

clicky

Mod Edit- found the link. Gazza
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ZedAintDead
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by ZedAintDead »

Gill,

How did you find night driving with the halos?

Im interested in doing this but wouldn't want to make night vision any worse than with the standard lights, but maybe that's impossible anyway! ;-)
Ive seen upgrade kits on ebay but if you could post a link to the ones you used that would be great.

Cheers!
theskippies
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by theskippies »

I'll also be interested in the link, the ones I've seen all 4 seem to be the same size, but looking at my headlamps I'm thinking the halos should be two different sizes
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by seasurfer »

Hi, the night vision was vastly improved. The original bulbs are shocking, they were like b*****y candles, but these are great. They were CCFL halos, will try and find the link. They were a bit fidly but we put them behind the lenses not in front, they didnt look at all good, but once you have the headlight open, you may aswell put them behind, they look a lot neater and look as if they belong there. In front of the lense they look out of place and untidy, just need to put some time aside to do it, but all easy to do.

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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by seasurfer »

Forgot to say, once in headlight, to remove the amber lenses, are just two srews - simples :D leave empty or put clear ones back in if you have them, but change your bulbs to the chrome ones, they are not visible but will blink orange when used. No point detangoeing then leaving your orange bulb there to remind you :D
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Gazza
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Gazza »

theskippies wrote:I'll also be interested in the link, the ones I've seen all 4 seem to be the same size, but looking at my headlamps I'm thinking the halos should be two different sizes
You will need them specific to a Z3, like you say, they are different sizes.
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seasurfer
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by seasurfer »

seasurfer wrote:hope it helps. Its dead easy to do :D pm me if i can help.

clicky

Mod Edit- found the link. Gazza


Thanks Gazza, i couldnt find it on here.
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ZedAintDead
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by ZedAintDead »

As always here, awesome peeps on an awesome forum, thanks!

Can't wait to see the missus' face when I pop the headlights in the oven! :lol:
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Gazza
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Gazza »

ZedAintDead wrote:As always here, awesome peeps on an awesome forum, thanks!

Can't wait to see the missus' face when I pop the headlights in the oven! :lol:

I did mine with a heat gun, just didn't feel comfortable using the oven :|
Gazza

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Spang257
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Spang257 »

Thanks guys - all very much appreciated.

As soon as I get a free weekend, I'll give it a whirl... My plan is halo kit and detangoing, so watch this space!

Thanks again...
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seasurfer
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by seasurfer »

ZedAintDead wrote:As always here, awesome peeps on an awesome forum, thanks!

Can't wait to see the missus' face when I pop the headlights in the oven! :lol:

Use someone else's oven, i did :D :D :D ............................. you;ll be fine.
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theskippies
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by theskippies »

Followed the cooking instructions and very happily installed my halo lights.
Thanks for the post
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g8jka
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by g8jka »

Did you put them infront or behind the lenses? I think all the new ones go behind, mine went infront
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theskippies
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by theskippies »

Hi, mine went in front. :D
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by seasurfer »

Any Piccies?
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g8jka
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by g8jka »

Which did you buy the ones of eBay? I thought only the older ones could go in front of the lenses? Get some pics up!
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theskippies
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by theskippies »

Hi
Here they are, not sure if I like them or not

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gookah
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by gookah »

theskippies wrote:Hi
Here they are, not sure if I like them or not

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Aaahhh.. looks like it's too late to get your money back, but they are not Z3 ones at all......

They should look like this:

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This link shows the shape, linky
Z3 ones are horseshoes, not rings, and two of the lights are a larger horseshoe than the other two.
Also they are a lot larger diameter than the ones you have fitted. I think yours look more like the Z4 size, which are 80mm diameter rings.
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theskippies
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by theskippies »

Yeah, I'd seen both types on zeds.

Longer term plan is for projector halos so I've live with them for now :D
Dino D
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Dino D »

Anyone know where you can get the correct halos (as per the grey car pictured) but in a more period halogen colour (by that I mean not on the HID style blue colour, more like the original halos that came on the e39).
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by janijoeli »

Hi mate,

Do you mean the yellowish white ones, as the ones on the left?
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They were available on eBay a while ago and advertised as "orange", even though they were just like the aforementioned left ones. However the seller stopped selling them. Reason might have been poor reliability: Of the kit that I got, one ring had to be replaced because it was a lot dimmer than others, the replacement was broken, and eventually when I finally got a working replacement, a smaller halo started failing. :head: Then I just gave up and bought headlights with blueish white halos already installed (as per my sig).

So either reliability is the issue, or just availability: After a lot of searching, I found a seller on aliexpress.com (Chinese ebay kind of site) who sold "yellow" halos and ordered them, but they didn't have them in stock after all. They asked to either change the order to white halos or cancel it, which might suggest that the yellows are no longer available. :(

If you can find some yellowish whites, please let me know as I would really want them as well!

Cheers,
Jani
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Dino D
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Dino D »

Yes that is the type I am after. I guess blue white is more popular hence they all selling that now...
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Southernboy
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Southernboy »

The blue/white ones are fine if you change the lightbulbs you use to something like Phillips Diamond Vision. They are very white compared to the OEM standards, but not a higher wattage. Also, if you're going to the trouble of de-tagoing the OEM headlights, some plastic polishing of the inside of the OEM headlight cover will make a huge difference to the light emitted through that plastic cover.

I have been looking at the choices between the aftermarket projector lense + halo headlight, and de-tangoing the OEM headlight fitting. Having had the aftermarket projector fitted in my last Z3, I think I'm going to retain the OEM's this time round and spend some effort in polishing the inside of the OEM cover until it is super clear and then fit the Z3 specific halo's.

If you look up Seasurfer's post on de-tangoing and fitting halos to the OEM headlights, she describes the process fairly well. Also, she included a small aside which specifically dealt with the positioning of the halo. She made a small modification to the inside of the OEM headlamp so that the halo wouldn't actually position in front of the OEM reflector as much as around it....I found that an interesting comment, and when I do get around to doing mine, I will certainly pursue her idea. It made sense to me and considering some of the pics I've seen of halos fitted to OEM units, it's a must do to avoid having them look "very aftermarket" and amateurish. I think her "signature" is a pic of the headlights of her Z3... :wink:
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by janijoeli »

I personally prefer to have the halos in front of the inner lenses rather than behind. The lens obfuscates the halo somewhat and IMHO makes it look a bit "hazier" - I prefer the halos to be sharp. They are a pretty snug fit and don't look awfully aftermarket unless one knows that they are not original... They indeed are slightly off-centre as can also be seen from my sig. A bit of dremeling like Seasurfer did would cure that, but it's again something that only the most eagle-eyed ones would notice unless explicitly looking. :)

Someone had done headlights with halos AND custom-fitted HID projectors. They looked great but I cannot remember where I saw them.. Somewhere on this forum, most likely. :D
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Southernboy »

"Normal is overrated"
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by janijoeli »

Very interesting read. Informative and concise. Now I want HID projectors... :D
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Southernboy
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Southernboy »

........... yes and Bi Xenon too.. :D
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by bertiejaffa »

Ok.... Just to throw my 2 penneth into the mix... when I bought my Z3 it had normal lights with the orange indicator (this was the only remaining tango on the car though after the previous owners mods). Having seen some of the journals on here I decided that I definitely wanted to have them changed somehow. In the end I opted to buy brand new after market projectors with halos fitted like these, I really like how it makes the car look much more modern and gives it a far better look (IMO)....
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This is how the halos look when they are on - I wired them into the ignition (with advise from Gookah) so that they come on all the time when the engine is running and are therefore independent of the side lights (even though the side lights are on in the pic :head: )

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However, I have to say that during normal daylight hours, the halos are not visible at all - they only become visible when twilight comes round which is disappointing as I was hoping they were going to be more like my A5 which has great all day running lights.
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Talking to G8jka - the reason the halos on the new unit are dull is because of the version of halo that they are. The aftermarket retrofit halos/angel eyes that seasurfer has fitted are apparently 4x brighter than these. So IMO the best solution would be the new aftermarket projector units, but maybe with them "cooked", separated and better, brighter halos retrofitted to them..

Has anyone ever done this (or found a way of making the halos in the new units brighter)?
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Southernboy
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Southernboy »

..... after reading the article on HID / Xenon / projector/ Bi Xenon lighting, I'm now convinced that to do this the right way...ie. get the professionals to do the conversion / installation. :wink:
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bertiejaffa
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by bertiejaffa »

There is definitely an opening in the market for retro Z3 lights that look modern but also have bright running halos..... if only we had an entrepreneur on this site.... :roll:
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Southernboy
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Southernboy »

I sent a message to "The Retrofit Source" last night...asked them to design a retrofit Bi Xenon projector system for my Z3...They have all the kit - I hope - I'd like to see what they come back with.
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Dino D
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Dino D »

I recall chatting to a guy in the US who was retrofitting e46 projectors and zenons to Z3 headlights. I think it was around $500 plus shipping (you provide headlights,ballasts and bulbs).
It was on one of the Z forums or maybe bimmerforum but I need to check.
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Southernboy
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Southernboy »

...$.500. a bit more than simply using the after market halo / projectors available off the eBay... It would have to be seriously good at that price, and from what I've read on "The retrofit source" website, I would hope to get something top of the equipment range for less than half that figure....even if it means I have to de-tango myself and do the fitting / wiring up etc.
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Dino D
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Dino D »

It looked great as if it was factory (well it is sort of as used e46 projectors).
It also didnt look more modern than the rest of the car. The aftermarket kits I have seen so far all have the round bits too small and equal size which puts me off as well as the super shiny chrome inside the headlight.

With enough time and patience you capsule probably do the e46 projectors yourself...maybe a project to add to my list!


Edit to say found the links- there are a few on Bimmerforum.
Just google e46 Z3 projector and it should come up.
Bi11
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Bi11 »

Shantybeater made a set of bixenon headlights for his z3m, which look very oem. If you read his thread the details are there, but the parts cost over £325 plus the original set of headlights, not to mention the time he put in to it.
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Southernboy
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Southernboy »

Thanks for the reference to Shantybear Bi11....Just spent a good 1/2 hour reading.... He used TRS, which is the guys I've sent an email to...so guess I'll be going down that road sometime soon... :wink:
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Southernboy
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Southernboy »

Here's the link to TRS. They sell a kit suitable for The Z3 for $315.00. This excludes shipping duties etc etc... The Kit contains everything required to do a Bi Xenon retrofit...
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/comple ... t-d2s.html
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Dino D
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Re: Z3 Halo Kit - Who can fit it?

Post by Dino D »

Southernboy wrote:Here's the link to TRS. They sell a kit suitable for The Z3 for $315.00. This excludes shipping duties etc etc... The Kit contains everything required to do a Bi Xenon retrofit...
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/comple ... t-d2s.html
Just looking at their halos and wondering if they would look right as it looks like they only sell full circle ones and they use led's so will look very obvious.(ie tacked on) when not in use?

The lights themselves look interesting.
Don't need bi Zenon here in UK though, roads are too poor to be going fast at night!
Would be good for the country roads in SA though!
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