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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums Regional Forums UK Converting Halogens to LED's......strange experience. Anyone done this successfully?
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      12-04-2019, 02:27 AM   #1
Jezzario
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Converting Halogens to LED's......strange experience. Anyone done this successfully?

Hi...help!
I have a 2012 530d with halogen headlights. Upgraded to **up to 150%** brighter halogens and still the beam was pathetic.
So after researching, went with LED bulbs. The 'conversion' kit variety.....canbus.
You'd think job done, but the beam was awful. Max 10m visibility. I was shocked. Played around with the alignment but no improvement.
So I was wondering if anyone has successfully upgraded their halogen bulbs to LED bulbs using the standard halogen headlight unit?
I am looking for a combo of a whiter light (5000-6000k) and a big improvement on the range of the beam.
Thanks in advance guys
Jez
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      12-11-2019, 05:14 PM   #2
Sp123
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I saw some osram bulbs or Phillips bulbs which had greater output than halogens giving a xenon type of look but not sure if led output
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      12-16-2019, 03:07 AM   #3
Jezzario
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Thanks for your feedback. Yes, seems the Osram 'Night breaker Unlimited' and the Philips 'Race Vision' come out top for halogens. LED's seem to be a bit of a quagmire. Too many variants and (according to a recent YouTube review of 300 LED's) they will all work slightly differently with each headlight unit you install them on.
For now I'm trying a pair of spurious quality bulbs from some company called 'Ultra'. Blue bulb, high power beam and a whopping £8.19 from Eurocarparts! Light colour is 5000k and is definitely a far superior look to standard. Strength of beam is comparable with the '150% brighter' marketed bulbs. I'm sticking with this these until I can get some better idea with LED's. I don't think I'll entertain HID's due to the legalities.
If I get any further with a more conclusive answer I'll post an update for anyone that's interested. Meantime, I'm still open to anyone's advice from first hand experience.
Cheers
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      12-24-2019, 07:16 AM   #4
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need to get proper led bulbs, what bulb did you opt for? Do your research as not all led bulbs are good. big led chips dont work as they're not concentrating light. Watch youtube videos talking on the beam patterns on led bulbs.
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      12-31-2019, 08:21 AM   #5
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Opted for a set I saw someone roadtest on YouTube....on an F30 I think. They are branded as 'N7'. Checked specs fro me an Amazon listing: 30w per bulb, 3200LM per bulb and 6000k colour. Youtube dude had a much brighter beam so got them. No good, as I described. The beam angle is 360 degrees....which on reflection could have something to do with it I guess. Have watched countless videos on reviews. Main conclusion was that it depends on what bulb reacts best with the specific headlight unit. It all led to my asking if anyone had used a set that worked with the f10 standard unit. I think that's the only way forward. I can just about survive with the current bulbs for now.....
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