Just introducin myself..

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SocalTY

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I picked up my 06 325i alpine white the other day, and already I'm thinking what I should start with first. I was thinking tints are numero uno, then maybe a pair of eibach springs, changing the xenons to 8000k, then the chrome rims.

Side question, I never had xenons before and dont know much about how exactly it works but to up the factory bulbs to a 8000k bulb, is it just a matter of plug n play? Would someone have a reliable site that I can pick these up from? Thanks!
 
MrElussive

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Hey there, welcome to the forum. Post up some pictures if you get the chance!

If you want to change the Xenon bulbs to 8000K, you just need to buy a pair of D2S 8000K bulbs (35 watts each) and you just swap them out like ordinary Halogen bulbs. The factory bulbs are 4300K and provide the most illumination onto the road. As you increase the color temperature, the less illumination you'll get. Just keep this in mind when deciding among 6000K, 8000K, 10,000K, etc. bulbs. Also, the factory xenon bulbs will get more "blue" the more you use them.
 
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epj3

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8000k you won't see shit.

As light color increases, output decreases.

3K, 3K, 4K, 4K,
5K, 5K, 6K, 6K,
8K, 8K, 10K, 10K,
12K, 12K, 3K, 3K


aka the higher the color temperature, the dimmer the lights. ask bahnstormer about this, he even got pulled over for his 3k lights being too bright.
 
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SocalTY

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Is the illumination that bad? I heard 10,000k was really pushing it, 12k just forget it. So i thought 8000k would be right in the middle with losing some illumination in exchange for some color.
Im starting to think twice about it now if its really that horrible. Thanks for your input so far
 
MrElussive

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SocalTY said:
Is the illumination that bad? I heard 10,000k was really pushing it, 12k just forget it. So i thought 8000k would be right in the middle with losing some illumination in exchange for some color.
Im starting to think twice about it now if its really that horrible. Thanks for your input so far
Click to expand...
Some companies sell a lot of 8000K bulbs to the BMW guys and they absolutely love the color. It is really all personal opinion...the good part about Xenons is that the illumination is a couple times brighter than Halogens, so even 8000K will be better than that. If you really want more blue, 6000K bulbs would be the way to go....that will completely get rid of the "whiteness" of the stock bulbs which you probably do not like.
 
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SocalTY

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I like the hue of 6000k. Wish I could see the difference in person cuz if its not much of a difference(other than a slight hint of blue), then spending the $$ for it seems unjustified IMO
 
MrElussive

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6000K will have a really nice blue color to it and you will not sacrifice much lighting performance. Standard 4300K bulbs produce around 3200-3200 lumens of power and I believe 6000K bulbs produce around 2700 or 2800 lumens. In comparison, the average Halogen bulbs produce only around 1200 lumens. You will not be taking much of a performance hit by going with 6000K bulbs but it will be there.

You are right, the best thing would be to see it for yourself, but that's the problem with upgrading bulbs...you're basically going out on a limb and hoping for the best.
 
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epj3

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MrElussive said:
Some companies sell a lot of 8000K bulbs to the BMW guys and they absolutely love the color. It is really all personal opinion...the good part about Xenons is that the illumination is a couple times brighter than Halogens, so even 8000K will be better than that. If you really want more blue, 6000K bulbs would be the way to go....that will completely get rid of the "whiteness" of the stock bulbs which you probably do not like.
Click to expand...
Wrong, light output ISNT always better. An 8k xenon will output less USEABLE light than a decent halogen becuase the very cool color offsets the warmer colors, such as the green plants on the side of the road and the yellow line.
 
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B M W

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Well it's a bti more complicated than that. Mainly includes the visual perceivable light compared to the amount of light blocked out under a curve. Honestly im not goign to get into details about it and bore you guys so ill just say 8000K really isnt as bad as some members onhere are saying. It does look pretty cool and does give you a really good light output, but I personally wouldnt do it. My favorite is 6000K. I have projecetors now and ill be eventually upgrading to 6000K HID's myself. I know about a dozen people who have upgraded their variety of cars to HID's and 6000K really doesnt sacrifice much light while still maintaing a very modern and bright look. After that ill be upgrading my fog to yellow 3000K HID's (not just film which actually decreases light output).

My recommendation is 6000K. Awesome color and another great thign is there are a large variety of angel eyes on the market for your car that would have color matched 6000K "look" halos.

A AWESOME site for all your lighting needs is www.umnitza.com and www.jlevisw.com

Jlevi does a lot of hte fabrication and production for umnitza. Both are awesome sites!

Which eibach springs were you going to get? I see you just got a new car so your struts are brand new. I wouldnt recommend you just upgrade the springs. This can be dangerous. Usually upgrading just the springs causes the struts to wear out much faster, but since yours are new I dont hink youll need to worry about that in the near future. What you should worry about is the fact that the spring rates ont he new springs are not matched to work with your stock struts and this can be very dangerous as far as handling goes. Please upgrade the shocks too for your own safety.

Im not a fan of chrome rims, but to each his/her own.

Good Luck.
 
Section_8

Section_8

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Welcome aboard!

^ ^ ^ What he said - I would always recommend a spring/shock replacement together, unless you go with 'tuned' springs designed to work with OEM shocks (have not had experience with them as yet). I would suspect 'tuned' springs are just 'shorter' springs with the same tension as a OEM spring (thus will work with a OEM shock/damper setup) - BUT that's just speculation. I do know their 'drop' is less than even a standard 'pro-kit' setup from the big names like Koni/H&R.

Tuned springs are like going to a NFL football game and leaving before the 2nd quarter is over. Why did you even go? Oh, for the hotdogs.... [:D]
 
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