Lighting (February 2008)

The Z3 based cars came stock with a less than optimal lighting setup. Several years ago I added a foglight setup (Optilux fogs), which definitely improved things, but still left something to be desired.

Over the years I've watched others retrofit projectors from various mfg's into their BMW headlight housings. I've also watched companies offer less than plug and play solutions, which seemed to perform OK, but in my mind took away from the classic simple design of the Z3's headlights. These days there are plenty of low dollar plug and play options available via eBay, however once again I have not been impressed with the look or the performance of these lights.

Knowing that the best answer for me was an OEM retrofit, I just never wanted to take on the tedious project until now. As far as winter projects go this has got to be one of the best, as you spend next to no time on a cold garage floor.

The pics to the right take you through the steps I took to retrofit Acura TSX projectors into my stock headlight housing. The bracket design was based off of bimmerforums member Sledgie's original design. My design used fewer bends and attachment points; however the overall shape of the bracket has remained the same.

As for bulbs and ballasts, I went with an Apexcone slim 55w kit and 4500k D2S bulbs that I purchased through www.understeer.com. I also picked up their relay harness to be safe, install was a breeze.