i hate to be the guy who asks the same question, but i will try to put a differrent spin on it. i want the E36 headlights, however i want them to be chrome backs, not black.i have a white car, and i think that the chrome would look better. does anyone know of a place to find a true "projector" style headlight for the Beemer.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33710

umm, ebay?

 

Do a search on Ebay motors for 88-89 CRX Headlight. They will work, and the color combinations are endless. I know this cause I was bored one day at the boneyard. I noticed the CRX headlight looked like it might fit. I set the lamp in the maxima's headlamp location and it looked damn good. Try it yourself next time you're sourcing parts.

The APC style (Here) is probably what u r lookin for.

 

Do these headlights really make a big difference during night driving conditions? I noticed that the bulbs are regular 9005's in some of them, and H4's in others. Maybe I'm missing something, but these seem to be stock bulbs you're putting in there. How do these headlight assemblies make a difference in night-time driving with stock bulbs in them?

And once you've installed them, can they be adjusted like the stock ones can so that properly aim the light beam? I love the way they look, but if I can't see sh#t any better than with the stock ones, what good is this mod?

I know plenty of you have done it, and are trying to do it, so I'm sure you've got something to say about it. I just noticed that when I looked at the items for sale. I realize that it does say you can put real HID Xenon gas bulbs in these headlight assemblies, but I'm curious to know who among us has gone that far with this, or did you have to?

- Playing the Devil's Advocate...

peace2u

 

Do e36 lights just bolt right into our cars? What else is involved?

 

pit5bull, i think what makes the e36s so much better than the stock ones is the housing...not sure if its the aiming, the cover, or the location, but from pics ive seen it is true.

 

yes you have to modify both the housing and the radiator support. i did mine start to finish in 2 hours. yes you can see ALOT better. why, beats me. my 93 has stock lamps and i cant see a thing at night, the 89 has the e36's with "hyperwhite"
bulbs"(which are actually not as bright as the stock hella 9005's) and i can see 100x better.


post some pics of this maximaon20s, i got them too, but we're not the first( well, i think i'm the first in the US)

 

I think it's because the E36 lights project onto the road surface in a much better pattern than the stock Maxima housing. It is one of the minor "flaws" (for lack of a better term) on the 3rd gen. The light pattern is crap for seeing at night.

This is just a theory, but I think they made the car, then just put the glass headlights in where they fit, without designing the headlight beam pattern. Just look at the housing -- it's kind of long and odd shaped for a single bulb without any interior angles in it to make the beam straighter. Look at the best fog/driving lights you can buy. They are perfectly round, perfectly oval or rectangular with perfect 90 degree angles. The Maxima housing has none of these attributes.

 

I dont understand the whole 90* thing.

I just have stock lights with cool blues and pilot fogs and I'm happy. The headlights throw light far away and I use the pilots as fill.

 

dude, can't you tell the difference in lighting driving the 5th gen and your 3rd gen?

 

Hahahaha yeah, Actually I completely forgot about it. I love the 5th gens setup but still, I'm not really going to complain about mine. I dont understand the whole 90* thing.

 

9004 + idiot maxima reflectors = non-existant lighting.

BMW e36 bulbs and refectors are 10x better. And these are still crappy halogens.

Do some reading on headlight types and reflectors

 

OK

So what you guys are basically saying is that the projector headlamps are the technological breakthrough in night visibility, and that the stock 3rd Gen headlamps are at a disadvantage, no matter what bulbs are in them, because it's like comparing a flashlight to a lazer beam. I can understand the logic behind that.

My question is, though, after doing all the modifications to install them, will you be able to adjust them once they're on? I mean, are you modifying the stock housing in which the stock headlamps are housed so that the e36's can be adjusted like the stock ones can (with those damned adjusters that never seem to move like they're supposed to), or can the projector within the e36 headlamp assembly be adjusted independently within the headlamp assembly? I'm all for technology and whatnot, but I don't want to go through the trouble of spending upwards of $200 buying them, spending the 2hrs+ installing these babies, then still wind up hitting oncoming traffic in the beak and still not be able to see ahead of me because they're not aimed correctly...

Also, does the "Halo" effect do anything more than just look wicked at night? And are the e36's better than the Honda ones?

peace2u

 

i would say stock e36 look and fit better than civic headlights.

and if you use the e36 brackets you can still adjust them. put it this way, even with them pointing way up( mine were like that for a while until a friend pointed out that i was blinding him, you still see 100x better

 

The only chrome ones i've seen look kinda cheap. Even the Hella ones just don't look right. Thats just my opinion though.

 

yo shavedmax, i got the same prob with the pointing the beam properly....it looks like i'm high beamin'....i can clearly see the road signs.lol.thats gonna be corrected this weekend when i go to the sound show in riverhead.

 

the problem with pointing them down IMO is that then the top end of the headlight sticks too far past the hood. ever since i put the xenon like lights in it i can still see better than stock, but dont blind anyone

 

crx lights fit our max? new concept to me?

 

http://procarparts.com/

has some chrome projectors