Headlight types help

[///Menace328i]

Ok..... I've been looking at what's out there... Holy crap it's alot of driffrent stuff, but the general stuff that I still don't understand is the following and I hope you can help me shed some "light" get it? "LIGHT"....

ZKW... zwhat!
DEPO...who?
Ellipsoid...when?
DDE

• Enhanced
• Plus

I also found this on ebay... you can add HID at a later time...
are these any good?
CCFL HEADLIGHT from eBay
These are HID Ready too
Holy crap, I can smell my brain cookin', CAN YOU SMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLL WHAT 3twenty8i IS COOKIN'!!!!
Sorry...
Help...

[bmw4life]

ZKW and DEPO are both brands of lights. ZKW is the best of the two. It's the only one that BMW has used on their cars. DDE is daylight demon eyes(angel eyes). I would stay away from ebay headlights. Are you not happy with the lights you have now?

[///Menace328i]

O i see... Well yes I'm happy with what I got, don't get me wrong... they are sick... specially at nite... i was just curious, about the CCFLs and the DDEs I heard that they were brighter and such, so you are saying that those eBay ones are crap? including the CCFL kits?

[bmw4life]

I really don't know....I have read around many forums and people always say not to buy headlights off ebay. I do know that some angle eyes are brighter than others. Check out umnitza. You can look at their pictures and see difference between plus and enhanced. Also you can see the difference in Depo and ZKW. Hope this helps.

[///Menace328i]

thanks for the help bro... one more question, the stock HL we have are what ZKW or DEPO, and we can open those up to install DDE ro CCFLs right? I dont have to buy a whole new assembly. how about taillights... safe? I seen a cool set that noone has yet...

[Rooz]

read my post, it helps a lot

http://www.unitedbimmer.com/forums/thread330.html

If not, well read this:

Ellipsoids: What are they? They are projectors, and OE in Europe. They increase lowbeam range 30%. There are 4 main manufacturers. Bosch and ZKW, which are OEM, Depo, which is aftermarket, and InPro, also aftermarket.

ZKW/Bosch are the best. They also cost the most. They are OEM quality. Virtually no problems.

Depos are second rate. They cost 50% less and occasionally fog. They also don't use as high quality glass on the projector, as the light output is not as good as ZKW. This does not make them bad though. They are still a tremendous improvement.

InPro. Bad Depos with ZKW price tag.

HID: High Intensity discharge. 3200 lumen output compared to halogens which are barely 1000. The kelvin temp. is also higher. OE HIDs fall between 4300K and 5000K. These are white. 6000K is white but slightly purple. As the Kelvins increase, the light becomes more purple. The lumens also decrease. HIDs are expensive for a reason. Do not buy crap. Invest good money in them. Phillips, Osram, Hella. Accept no other.

Angel Eyes/Demon Eyes: LEDs are bad. All others are virtually the same. Few members have them, so whichever looks brighter in the pic you are looking at is the brighter one.

This was a reply made by Umnitza in an other forum:

These are subjective and objective opinions, so take them for exactly what they are. You have your "OOO" <-- order of operations so here goes:

1) US Lights are on par with the original candle powered street lights in the late 1800s...a little hyperbole, but true.

Positives:
Cheap $120 for a pair new and $60 for a used pair.

Negatives:
Can't see
Bad Light dispersion
Incapable of using HIDs properly
Flimsy
Plastic
Fog up.

2) Generic Tawainese Ellipsoids (Depo (3 variants), DJ Auto (ZKW knock off), InPro). DJ Auto is the best of this group of Taiwanese lights.

Positives:
Cheap - $150-450 depending on options.
75-80% of the big boys (ZKW, Hella UK, Bosch)
Can be optioned up like any of the big boys - Plug and Play, HIDs, Stongard, leveling, etc.
Capable of including REAL DDE (DEPO ZKW-like, and DJ Auto ONLY)
For those wanting DDE (DEPO ZKW Like is the best for this because it has a sheild that keeps glare at bay and allows the DDE to shine without disappearing when the low beams are on).

Negatives:
Cheap plastics (All)
Can easily break during disassembly for installation of DDE
Thinner lower quality refractory lenses.
Thinner outer glass (not DJ Auto).
Ugly (certain variants of DEPO that arent' ZKW-like).
Include invisible, low quality angel eyes (DEPO variants and InPro).
Fog up easily (InPro)
Have refractory lenses that can melt (only INPRO)
Lower quality projectors (All)
Lower quality reflectors (All)

3) German Replacements, OEM Quality (ZKW, Bosch, Hella Original, New Hella OptiXXX). The best here is whichever you want to suit your needs.

Positives:
Generally it's been acclaimed that the original Bosch and Hella units in the EU were superior in build quality and projectors. They are hard to find now and more expensive.

All include leveling of some sort - it's preconfigured, but not pre-installed.

All include bulbs (low, high, city), all are H1 (except the latest Hella).

All do a great job of getting the MOST out of your HID setup.

All can be optioned up - PnP, Stongard, Leveling (not from us), and even HID.

All are available and easily installed with DDE Lightning or DDE Lightning Enhanced (hey, if you want no sales, then create one of your own threads )

Only approved headlights located in the ETK (not Hella Opti...the new ones).

Sold primarily by vendors you can trust - BavAuto, TurnerMotorsport, etc.

Hold their value the best (buying a ZKW 2 years ago in our initial group buys for $360 shipped, still lets you sell them for $350 today). No other product holds its value as well provided good care and maintenance.

Negatives:
Cost (generally $350-1400)

[///Menace328i]

AAAAAAAAWWWwwwwwwwwww me likes the enhanced ones... how much do those run... and stay away from eBay one... right? gimme a price range on those... the "Cool and Crisp" look

[Rooz]

ok, I bought my ZKW's with DDE Enhanced for: $549.00 from Umnitza
http://www.umnitza.com/product_info....roducts_id=123

$50 less than what they go for

[///Menace328i]

you gotta update that sig pic bro... show 'em off!!! you got the thin one right not the super duper bright one.

[Rooz]

^^ right I didn't like the look of the + ones, well, they aren't on my car yet becauwe they are supposed to arrive here tomorrow, for some reasons, Umnizta delayed my shipped for a week an a half. But once i get them on, I'll def. upgrade the sig.... .

But excuse me for asking, but didn't you just recently buy new headlights?

[Spieluhr]

I have DDE Plus, see signature. I love the look of them, and just like Rooz said, ZKW is the best and the ONLY way to go when buying headlights from what we have found. I had a pair of DEPO's and the quality was considerably lower (fog, broken cover, etc.).

and in answer to your question, yes you can open teh stock headlights but it is NOT recommended. It required putting them in teh oven to melt the glue and often times they don't go back together as nicely. Plus the addition of the ellipsoid headlight is phenomenol, as I'm sure you know with your new headlights.

[Rooz]

Originally Posted by Spieluhr

I have DDE Plus, see signature. I love the look of them, and just like Rooz said, ZKW is the best and the ONLY way to go when buying headlights from what we have found. I had a pair of DEPO's and the quality was considerably lower (fog, broken cover, etc.).

and in answer to your question, yes you can open teh stock headlights but it is NOT recommended. It required putting them in teh oven to melt the glue and often times they don't go back together as nicely. Plus the addition of the ellipsoid headlight is phenomenol, as I'm sure you know with your new headlights.

Ahhhhh quite teasing me, lol God, I can't wait until mine get here... lol

[bmw4life]

Originally Posted by 3twenty8i

how about taillights... safe? I seen a cool set that noone has yet...

I just got mine red/clear taillights from ebay...I hope the quality is ok, they are made by depo.

[Rooz]

^^ pics needed

[delmarco]

These are the best headlights money can Buy 6K HIDs wrapped around a sexy ass ZKW glass shell projector headlight!!!!
Not even my girlfriend's pop's $115,000 M. Benz S55 AMG plastic headlights can compare