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HID Dipped Beam Bulb Replacement

Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 4:39 pm
by Flinders
X6 59 plate 35d. One of my dipped lights has stopped working so Im looking at replacements. Can anyone recommend a brand or k which gives a real good look and also good visability?

Do you have to replace them in pairs as I had to do with my Audi? Have checked price on Halfords and they are £51 each. I think the bulb I need is the D1S.

Re: HID Dipped Beam Bulb Replacement

Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 4:58 pm
by X5Sport
To be honest you would be good to stick with either Philips or Osram.  Cheaper lamps tend to have issues with focus as the arc is out of position.

You only have to change the one that has failed, though it is probably a safe bet to assume if one has gone, then the life of the other is limited as the running hours will be the same.

The Osram Nightbreaker range seems to get a good write up, along with the Philips X-treme family.  Don’t go too far above 5,000°K as they tend to go too ‘blue’.  4,300°K is standard, 4,600°K a bit whiter.

If you do change colour temp then you should change both.  D1S 35W is the OEM bulb type.

Re: HID Dipped Beam Bulb Replacement

Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 5:24 pm
by marti
I always use Osram nightbreakers ;)

Re: HID Dipped Beam Bulb Replacement

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 9:27 pm
by Flinders
Thank you. Looks like the sram night breaker the best option. I had seen some on eBay that were £19.99 for a pair but these were a brand I've never seen before so I will steer clear then!

I seem to be having a run of bulb problems at the moment!

Re: HID Dipped Beam Bulb Replacement

Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2019 12:01 pm
by Silentrunning
Bit late on this one as I only just got myself an e53 for the winter but this might be helpful for those of you wondering what bulbs to go for in the future.

My factory dipped beam xenons were very dim although a decent white colour. The halogen high beams looked markedly different -twice as bright but very yellow.

So I swapped both for Osram night breakers. Hb3 halogens on the high beam and d2s xenarc on the dipper xenon hid lamps. What a difference! Literally night and day.

Now both are a similar colour and you can see the old halogen dogs for comparison. Not cheap but then you get what you pay for, and I hate blueish looking headlights so these are spot on.

Also a pic of where the bottom t20 screw is to uncover the xenon connector. A bit of a pain to get at but not as bad as YouTube had led me to believe. Whole job took half an hour maybe this first time.

Re: HID Dipped Beam Bulb Replacement

Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2019 8:20 am
by X5Sport
I changed my Bi-Xenon lamps to Xenarcs a year ago and am very pleased with the result. Well worth it. A lot of E53 owners upgraded the 35W HIDs to 55W HIDs (you need new ballasts though as well).

Re: HID Dipped Beam Bulb Replacement

Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2019 9:53 pm
by Leslie
Might not be the bulb at fault , could be something else in the light but you won't know till you try another bulb :D