Lighting / bulb questions for X1 with halogens. LED parking lights?

[lilysdad]

Hi,

I'm a new owner trying to get rid of my yellow halogens and have a few questions.

1. Is there any consensus on the best H7 bulbs that are white but don't burn out quickly? I'm leaning towards the Osram Nightbreakers but I'm wondering if they are white enough.

2. Best white H8 fog replacement bulb as the options seem more limited in terms of H8 selection.

3. Will an LED wedge bulb (194/168) cause any error codes or issues (for the parking light above the high beam bulb)? If so, will a "canbus approved" LED bulb work? Anyone have an LED bulbs they can recommend that you've used?

Thanks for any feedback.
Brian

[lilysdad]

Hmmm, pretty dead in here. Maybe I need to post in the E90 forum.

[kiloTHREE]

Originally Posted by lilysdad

Hmmm, pretty dead in here. Maybe I need to post in the E90 forum.

Most of us have HID's.
I honestly didn't know the X1 came without them in the states.

[lilysdad]

Originally Posted by kiloTHREE

Most of us have HID's.
I honestly didn't know the X1 came without them in the states.

My first BMW without HIDs.

Xdrive28is with HIDs are surprisingly hard to find in the Southeast.

[MVested]

Originally Posted by lilysdad

My first BMW without HIDs.

Same! The halogens are surprisingly effective. I just picked up a CPO 2015 28xdrive on Monday and am currently researching my HID retrofit options. If there are any recommendations, they'd be greatly appreciated!

[jd__m4]

Originally Posted by lilysdad

My first BMW without HIDs.

Xdrive28is with HIDs are surprisingly hard to find in the Southeast.

Same here in the Northeast- when I was looking, plenty of 28's, very few 35's. Seems like 28's rarely have the HID's, while 35's they're much more common.

Originally Posted by MVested

Same! The halogens are surprisingly effective. I just picked up a CPO 2015 28xdrive on Monday and am currently researching my HID retrofit options. If there are any recommendations, they'd be greatly appreciated!

I've found quite the opposite- the factory halogens are pretty poor IMO.

Regarding retrofits, there's a thread going a few posts down. We're pretty limited in terms of what's available on the aftermarket scene.

[MVested]

Reading through the retrofit you mentioned.

Has anyone done an oem retrofit?

[jd__m4]

Originally Posted by MVested

Reading through the retrofit you mentioned.

Has anyone done an oem retrofit?

I'm in the process of doing so, just waiting for the LED modules to come in (you can see my posts in that thread regarding it). It requires some re-wiring, which can be done insight the headlamp housing, and some coding. It's not too difficult.

[Vidgamer]

Originally Posted by lilysdad

Hi,

I'm a new owner trying to get rid of my yellow halogens and have a few questions.

1. Is there any consensus on the best H7 bulbs that are white but don't burn out quickly? I'm leaning towards the Osram Nightbreakers but I'm wondering if they are white enough.

I put Philips Xtreme Power (Xtreme Vision might be an equivalent) in a couple of cars. The replacements were brighter and slightly whiter, but still look like yellow-ish halogen. This is probably the best replacement if you just want "better light" and not "whiter light".

Philips makes a blue-tinted bulb that will give a whiter light, but the output will be reduced.

Use of a non-halogen bulb will probably not be "street legal". Whether that matters depends on your locality. Using a simple kit to substitute a different type of bulb will have a different throw-pattern to the light, and may not work well.

2. Best white H8 fog replacement bulb as the options seem more limited in terms of H8 selection.

I saw that Philips offers an LED fog option. I guess the regulations are different for the fog/driving lights? I would be tempted to go this route, but don't know if it would clash with the main headlights, even if you used blue-tinted ones.

3. Will an LED wedge bulb (194/168) cause any error codes or issues (for the parking light above the high beam bulb)? If so, will a "canbus approved" LED bulb work? Anyone have an LED bulbs they can recommend that you've used?

Thanks for any feedback.
Brian

The only interior light I replaced was the trunk light. The description said it was canbus-safe, and it has worked fine. Very bright LEDs.

Unfortunately, my car seems to be missing harnesses for some of the interior lighting that is available in upgraded models (footwell lighting, puddle lights..), so I dunno if I want to do anything else.