BMW 1-Series Forum (F20) 135i - 1Addicts.com > Second Generation 1 Series Forum > 2012 BMW 1-Series Sporthatch (F20) Discussion > Standard lighting / bulb upgrade, Mtec Superwhites, no LED's
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      12-03-2012, 10:52 AM   #1
logiclee
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Standard lighting / bulb upgrade, Mtec Superwhites, no LED's

Ok Mikeysix already has a light upgrade thread running with a mixture of upgraded bulbs and LED's but with some canbus errors and a few wrong bulbs delivered.

Members have been asking for links and photo's so rather than hijacking mikeysix's thread I thought I'd do a thread with just the Mtec Superwhite upgrades and a couple from Osram.

So first a purchase list then photo's.

H7 Dip Beam... (Make sure you order H7 not H1)
http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/mtec-12...upgrade-bulbs/

W21W DRL
http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/mtec-38...t20-7440-pair/

H6W Sidelights
http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/mtec-h6...bs-sidelights/

These give a crisp white light. The H7's are an upgrade but not as good as the 100% better lights from Osram and Philips but they are good enough and look a lot better.

For main beam I've gone for Osram Nightbreaker+. Again these are H7 and best bet is ebay.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OSRAM-H7-N...item4cf203795e

To get rid of the orange reflection in the indicator and as the Supewhites give a slight blue reflection in the main lights I've ordered some Osram Diadem indicator bulbs.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PY21W-OSRA...item3cb9a7d9db

Lee

Last edited by logiclee; 12-03-2012 at 11:09 AM..
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      12-03-2012, 10:58 AM   #2
logiclee
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Some Photos then.

All shot when getting dark when cloudy and white balance set to cloudy. Obviously the setting of your monitor will change how the lights look.

All lights fitted, the Diadem indicators still show a bit of orange. The Mtec DRL's are quite blue



DRL's on They are a very crisp white



Some more on next post
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      12-03-2012, 11:05 AM   #3
logiclee
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Headlights on.

The side lights are cheap ebay superwhites not genuine Mtec. Buy the genuine Mtec for a better match. Again they are a very crisp white.


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      12-03-2012, 11:07 AM   #4
logiclee
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Full beam on. The Osram Nightbreaker+ are 10% whiter than standard bulbs but look yellow against the superwhites.




Cheers
Lee
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      12-03-2012, 03:53 PM   #5
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thank you, great post
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      12-04-2012, 02:50 AM   #6
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thanks for the info and pics!
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      12-04-2012, 04:49 AM   #7
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thanks - great post- what if we wanted super white all around?
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      12-04-2012, 08:17 AM   #8
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Great post.

Have these caused you any errors?

How easy are the bulbs to change over if your 'not much of a hands-on/pratcical' person?
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      12-04-2012, 10:55 AM   #9
logiclee
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iBeech View Post
thanks - great post- what if we wanted super white all around?
Just order two sets of H7 Superwhites as both dipped beam and high beam use the same H7 bulb.

Cheers
Lee
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      12-04-2012, 11:59 AM   #10
logiclee
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hufc2002 View Post
Great post.

Have these caused you any errors?

How easy are the bulbs to change over if your 'not much of a hands-on/pratcical' person?
These are all standard wattage bulbs, not LED's or High wattage bulbs so no errors. Exactly the same load as the standard bulbs so no difference to the standard bulbs as far as the cars ecu is concerned.

If you have small hands it's easy, if you have big sausage fingers you will struggle.

The hand book and instructions on the idrive have very good pictures for bulb changing so look at those first
The high beam, drl and side light you get at by removing a circular cover under the bonnet on the top of each light assembly.
The drl is a push in two tabs and pull out then the cartridge bulb is just a push fit.
The high beam is underneath that and is a twist and pull to get the housing out then a standard H7 push fit to change the bulb.
The side light is just a pull out to remove the housing and a baynet cap push and turn bulb.

For dipped beam and turn indicator you need the front wheels on full lock to get to the removable flap in the wheel arch.
Pull down the two top tabs in the flap and remove the flap. the tabs are very stiff.
You will then see another circular cover to remove. (A torch may help)
Now you can see both bulb holders and both are a turn and remove fitting.
The dip beam is standard H7 so is a push fit. The indicator bulb is a baynet bulb so a push, twist release.

It all sounds a bit hard but the pictures in the handbook really help.

Cheers
Lee
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      12-05-2012, 01:33 PM   #11
logiclee
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Now thinking about the rears.

The rear fog and reversing light lenses are both clear but the PR21W rear fog bulb is red which makes the reflector red.
I can't find a silver/chrome type bulb so this may have to be an LED replacement.

For the indicators and brake light bulbs I'm thinking of trying Philips Vision Plus bulbs which are supposed to be 50% brighter and 50% quicker responding.
only £4.99 a pair on Amazon.

Cheers
Lee
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      12-16-2012, 12:20 PM   #12
GBR1
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Changed mine over, they look good! I got the MTech for the full beam as well and they dont seem as bright as the standard 1 but only drove for a couple of min so will see how they go..

Quick question is we have the height control in the car but they look like (and did before) that they need to be a touch higher, does anyone know if these can be adjusted manually somewhere??

Cheers

GBR1
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      12-16-2012, 12:31 PM   #13
logiclee
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The headlight adjusters are not visible, you have to put a 6mm allen key down a hole .

These are here. (Not my Photo)





One is for height and the other for left/right adjustment. My drivers side light is set too low but not got around to adjusting it yet.

Cheers
Lee
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      12-17-2012, 01:52 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by logiclee View Post
One is for height and the other for left/right adjustment. My drivers side light is set too low but not got around to adjusting it yet.

Cheers
Lee
The inside hole is for the height, they are handed ie. drivers side to tilt up is clockwise and passenger side anti clockwise..

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      02-13-2013, 03:47 AM   #15
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Ive finally got around to ordering a set of upgrade bulbs. For the time being, ive gone for 2 sets of Osram Nightbreaker Plus Limited/Gold Edition bulbs. I managed to pick them up for £19.98 at www.eurocarparts.com i also got 20% discount ontop of that as they have an offer on atm. I'll try to get some before/after shots up here for people to see, the gold edition claim to be whiter and brighter than the regular nightbreaker plus detailed at the head of this thread. Once they are installed, i might look into changing some of the other bulbs.

Heres hoping these are considerably brighter than the original BMW halogen bulbs. On a side note, i did call BMW to see if they did a bulb upgrade kit, which they do: but it retails at about £45 a pair of bulbs, so about £90 to do both dipped and main beam - stealers for a reason eh: i cant see them being any better than other bulbs on the market, yet least BMW acknowledge the standard bulbs are terrible
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      02-23-2013, 04:46 PM   #16
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Hey, so I finally got around to installing both the dipped and main headlights from osram, what a difference they have made. I have gone from what I can only describe as a dangerous set of dipped beams to a fantastic set of lights that throw soo much more light on the road now. I was out in the fog the other day, and putting the fog lights on didnt put anymore light on the road, whereas I was having to use them all the time with my dipped beams for normal driving. The osram nightbreaker plus bulbs definitely live upto the allegations on the packet . I then found my sidelight and DRL bulbs were too yellow in comparison, so I ordered the mtecs from logiclees post. Have had some problems with the sidelight bulbs not working when installing today, so once I have a full working set I will get some pics up. The DRL bulbs give a great crisp white light, slight blue tinge, they look very much like xenons for colour in the dark, very happy
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      02-23-2013, 04:56 PM   #17
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Fog lights are designed to work when you drive very slowly in low visibility conditions. The light range is short. If you use the fog lights when driving at normal speeds, you will have too much light close to the car. This will limit your ability to look ahead. If something shows up within the range of the fog lights when going 70+ km/h, it is too late to react anyway.
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      03-11-2013, 09:42 PM   #18
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2013 BMW 118i  [0.00]
Anyone knows tell me if is possible to buy the 116i Fog Lights Kit by web? i live in São Paulo, Brasil, and here the 116i comes without Fog Lights and BMW do not offer that item like an accessory and i didn't found it on Ebay. Sorry about my english. Great post Logiclee.
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      03-15-2013, 07:04 AM   #19
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just ordered the full mtec superwhites from above! havnt even got my car till next week but they look so much better in your pictures i couldnt wait!
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      03-15-2013, 11:53 AM   #20
logiclee
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scottyboy View Post
just ordered the full mtec superwhites from above! havnt even got my car till next week but they look so much better in your pictures i couldnt wait!

Good luck with your new car, I've just ordered another set of Superwhite's for the projector low beams on my Passat.

Cheers
Lee
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      03-18-2013, 11:41 PM   #21
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Great post. I've just ordered the lot for my 125i... and it hasn't even arrived yet! (Pick it up next week)
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      03-19-2013, 02:37 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by logiclee
The headlight adjusters are not visible, you have to put a 6mm allen key down a hole .

These are here. (Not my Photo)





One is for height and the other for left/right adjustment. My drivers side light is set too low but not got around to adjusting it yet.

Cheers
Lee
Your drivers side light is set low on purpose as to not blind on coming traffic- which it will if raised
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