Not many of you know me so i'll do a brief intro. I made this account way back in '07 because I dreamed of having my own E90 some day. I know all about them, the mods, the tuner wars, people getting banned, vendors coming and going, and 99% of the aftermarket products, I know. You can say I'm a lurker
till now! I just bought a AW E90 335i LCI white on black
** my pictures were taken with a Canon XSI on 18-55mm EF-S kit lens shot in fully automatic mode. No re-touching or post processing was done to the photos.
After a long dilemma from deciding on 8500k or 7500k, I finally took the jump for the 7500k reason being, its less blue and therefore has better visibility in the daylight. After only 10 days ( i live in Canada), I received the set of GP Thunders 7500k V2 from Derrick @ E92-Lighting.
Service and packaging:
Derrick is first class in customer service! questions are answered in a timely and prompt fashion. PM's are dealt with a professional yet friendly manner. My package safely arrived in a yellow bubble mailer and inside was the AE's in a plastic bag and a set of his business cards! If it weren't for his cards I won't ever know we share the same last name
Conclusion: 9/10
Product:
For the price i paid for them, let me tell you, their build quality exceeded my expectations and their results and light output is very nice, for the $23 dollars i spent. much more "attractive" or "catchy" than an M3 lip spoiler which is much more expensive. their results speak for themselves in the pictures below. I am not sure where these bulbs are built but if I have to compare the quality to OEM Phillips units, the GP's arent too far off, the only main difference i can spot is the different metals used. Only time will tell how long these bulbs will last me.
Conclusion. 8/10
Install:
Surprisingly, my LCI did not come with "warranty voiding" stickers that BMW later put onto newer cars that could have your warranty voided if you tamper with the lighting assembly of the car.
This is a relatively simple and straight forward install. After all, I never met a man who cannot change out a light bulb. However because of the tight and awkward location, this install needs patience and its a PITA to install. for the Driver side, you:
1) remove the finned weather cap by twisting
2)locate the yellow rectangular back of the H8 OEM bulb and turn it to the
left. use moderate force because it may be stubborn
3) carefully extract it out of the housing.
4) unclip the OEM bulb from the socket
5) replace with GP Thunder and carefully wiggle it back in the housing
6) push into the housing firmly giving it a good seal and turn it
right
7) confirm its not loose anymore and recap the finned cap.
I found the passenger side to be tighter and trickier to install. Everything is the same except for the turning direction of the bulbs:
1) remove the finned weather cap by twisting
2) locate the yellow rectangular back of the H8 OEM bulb and turn it to the
right. use moderate force because it may be stubborn
3) carefully extract it out of the housing.
4) unclip the OEM bulb from the socket
5) replace with GP Thunder and carefully wiggle it back in the housing
6) push into the housing firmly giving it a good seal and turn it
left
7) confirm its not loose anymore and recap the finned cap.
because the space is so tight in there, I managed to take some coloring off of the blue tip on the GP Thunders so Derrick, would this affect the performance and longevity of the bulbs? what is the blue coating for?
EDIT: Derrick's response to this:
Quote:
|
in regards to the blue coating, it doesnt really matter if you took a little bit off, its mainly just for the color and it doesnt affect the performance of the bulb.
|
many people ask why their bulbs are loose and leave it the way it is but infact, that is incorrect and may not give you maximum light output.
the Key tip is to have
patience and have small and
nimble hands. also don't forget to wear thin latex or plastic
gloves so you won't leave oils on the bulb.
install time: 45 minutes with cursing, sweat, and minor cut on the thumb.
Conclusion: 7/10
OEM Phllips H8 bulb (note the yellow rectangle marking)
GP Thunder about to be placed into housing.
Performance:
I am very satisfied with the way they perform. Yes It is dimmer than stock bulbs but that cannot be overcome because of the different color temperature they posses. Overall, I'd say the GP Thunder 7500k are dimmer than stock bulbs by around 15%. I'd gladly take this tradeoff for a whiter light while being still visible in the day, the cool and modern look at night, and for the value at only $23 bucks! why are people bothering with RD's...
I'm very pleased with the results!
Pictures do not do these 7500k V2's justice. Anyone with GP Thunders or any aftermarket AE bulbs can verify that. I can confirm, when at full power, these are pure white with a small hint of blue. Angles affect everything and therefore its hard to capture the true reality of the GP Thunders.
Conclusion: 9/10
Ignition OFF (GP Thunder VS OEM):
Xenon's ON, (AE's automatically dim) near perfect color match:
Ignition ON (AE's at full 14v power) both sides installed:
Thank you Derrick @ E92-Lighting!
Please feel free to post any questions or comments below!