[uber]

Hi guys, I wanted to post a reference for people trying to work on their DEPO headlights. I'm going to be opening these later today to black out the chrome housing and put a purple "demon eye" in.

Not really a DIY, but I hope it will help some people.




My thoughts on these lights:
They are surprisingly OEM looking. It's just that because the inner housing which hold the angel eyes and shroud are so big and chrome-y that it ruins the effect the angel eyes have. It makes the rings look blobby because the light reflects all around instead of having a crisp clean look.
It also seems as if there is not enough glue to reseal with. I think after I open these, they will need to be resealed with new sealant.

[uber]

Got the headlights open!


Used this method:


Heat gun on high for 12 minutes.

Took apart the headlights. You need to turn the aiming screws to the right until it pops out.



Masking for paint!

Surprisingly these depos are not bixenon, so the high beam reflector must be preserved.

Removing old sealant for the new sealant.


Took apart projectors to get the demon eye and shave the cutoff. More to come tomorrow.

[uber]

It's ready for assembly.

[Route 16]

Dominic where do I get the projectors? I like those ones because they're not aftermarket looking.

[uber]

Originally Posted by Route 16

Dominic where do I get the projectors? I like those ones because they're not aftermarket looking.

theretrofitsource.com

pick fx-r or h1 minis.

h1 minis dont require modification

fx-r projectors are a lot nicer, but require hollowing out the halogen bowl.

text me if you need more info jason. btw if you're looking for something not aftermarket looking, it depends on the shroud you get. if you get e46 shrouds, it looks pretty clean.

[ethanjoon]

The purple demon eyes are a nice touch. I've never seen purple before

[Wongway]

Just trying to get this straight.

You bought Depo's
Blacking out so you aren't reflecting light all over the place inside the headlights
AND replacing the projectors in them with Morimoto H1's?

(Sorry, not wholely familiar with these mods yet...)

So, you're painting the cutoffs inside the projector so they reflect back into the projector to make a non lit color?

What's your take on the build quality of the Depo's?

I've been debating about buying a set, but pretty gunshy since I'm wondering if they'll last as long as OEM's. I already figured they'd need to be opened up and resealed with something a bit more water proof.

[uber]

Originally Posted by Wongway

Just trying to get this straight.

You bought Depo's
Blacking out so you aren't reflecting light all over the place inside the headlights
AND replacing the projectors in them with Morimoto H1's?

(Sorry, not wholely familiar with these mods yet...)

So, you're painting the cutoffs inside the projector so they reflect back into the projector to make a non lit color?

What's your take on the build quality of the Depo's?

I've been debating about buying a set, but pretty gunshy since I'm wondering if they'll last as long as OEM's. I already figured they'd need to be opened up and resealed with something a bit more water proof.

Hi these are a set I did for my friend.

The reason I decided and convinced my friend to black out the shrouds is so that the angel eyes don't look "blobby" because they're being reflected around by the shroud.

The projectors have not been changed. They're stock depo (kinda crappy). Gonna do an h1 mini retrofit sooner or later for him.

About the painted cut off thingy... Sunlight shines into the projector and illuminates what I painted. You can't see it that will in the shade.

The build quality is alright... I noticed the plastic housing being more flexible than my oem lights.

You definitely want to open it up and seal it again... Wouldn't trust the seal. Get butyl windoweld from autozone or oreillys

[Route 16]

Originally Posted by uber

theretrofitsource.com

pick fx-r or h1 minis.

h1 minis dont require modification

fx-r projectors are a lot nicer, but require hollowing out the halogen bowl.

text me if you need more info jason. btw if you're looking for something not aftermarket looking, it depends on the shroud you get. if you get e46 shrouds, it looks pretty clean.

you have a link for the ones you're referring? you're the projector master
I don't need high performance ones though

[Wongway]

I'm guessing that the crappy cutoffs are probably designed for Halogen lights only then correct?
(It's what I've always suspected, but was looking for more confirmation/opinion on them)

If you get a chance, mind tossing up a picture of what the light output looks like on a garage?

Like I said, I've been debating on trying these out, but I'm beginning to think the light output is actually worse than stock halogens, and frankly, despite the looks, more money to get worse light is dumb in my opinion.

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by Wongway

I'm guessing that the crappy cutoffs are probably designed for Halogen lights only then correct?
(It's what I've always suspected, but was looking for more confirmation/opinion on them)

If you get a chance, mind tossing up a picture of what the light output looks like on a garage?

Like I said, I've been debating on trying these out, but I'm beginning to think the light output is actually worse than stock halogens, and frankly, despite the looks, more money to get worse light is dumb in my opinion.

Don't bother unless you are modifying them. Depo projectors are junk(I think they are designed for hid's just not very well designed.) I had bought a set to modify but I found a set of lci xenons so I returned them. The lci xenons made a huge improvement over prelci halogens even though they are still stock for now.

[Wongway]

Originally Posted by bmw325i

Don't bother unless you are modifying them. Depo projectors are junk(I think they are designed for hid's just not very well designed.) I had bought a set to modify but I found a set of lci xenons so I returned them. The lci xenons made a huge improvement over prelci halogens even though they are still stock for now.

I've been waffling over that exact scenario. However, LCI Xenons in the U.S. all have adaptive lights, and;
a) Not interested, it's just one more failure point I don't want to get in to long term &
b) Another added expense where all I'm interested in, is better light output.

I have been debating on searching out Canada's or Germany's version of ebay's and sourcing LCI Xenons that are non-adaptive. Though I wonder if that's an even bigger headache...

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by Wongway

I've been waffling over that exact scenario. However, LCI Xenons in the U.S. all have adaptive lights, and;
a) Not interested, it's just one more failure point I don't want to get in to long term &
b) Another added expense where all I'm interested in, is better light output.

I have been debating on searching out Canada's or Germany's version of ebay's and sourcing LCI Xenons that are non-adaptive. Though I wonder if that's an even bigger headache...

Mine are adaptive. I bought everything needed to make the adaptive feature work but I didnt use it and I probably won't since the headlights light up road perfectly without moving. The cornering light still works.

[LocDawgg]

I bought depo headlights, scrapped the projectors and replaced with morimoto mini h1 from TRS. Blacked out headlights and corner turn signal. Replaced angel eye rings with LED angel eye rings. Outcome = Perfect.

[uber]

Originally Posted by Wongway

I'm guessing that the crappy cutoffs are probably designed for Halogen lights only then correct?
(It's what I've always suspected, but was looking for more confirmation/opinion on them)

If you get a chance, mind tossing up a picture of what the light output looks like on a garage?

Like I said, I've been debating on trying these out, but I'm beginning to think the light output is actually worse than stock halogens, and frankly, despite the looks, more money to get worse light is dumb in my opinion.

The light output is good. You just need to get HIDs.

[Wongway]

Originally Posted by uber

The light output is good. You just need to get HIDs.

Light output with HIDs on a halogen lamp can be good. What I'm curious about is whether or not it's scattered, or focused. Whether or not you can actually visually see the hotspots, or not.

[uber]

Originally Posted by Wongway

Light output with HIDs on a halogen lamp can be good. What I'm curious about is whether or not it's scattered, or focused. Whether or not you can actually visually see the hotspots, or not.

I'm not too sure on what you mean, but I found a a picture from google searching...
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=455740

Maybe that'll help. I mean if you're going halogen lamp -> depos it's a worthwhile upgrade. If you put HIDs in halogen reflectors you'll be lighting up the night for sure, but at the expense of other drivers.

[Wongway]

What I mean is... when you shine your lights on in front of the garage do they look like this...

That above image is how a bad projector looks. The lights can be bright, but fuzzy, unfocused. (as you can well see) You can also see the hotspots and the scattering of the light.


On the other extreme, if you were to do something like put a high quality Morimoto H1, you can get very sharp defined cutoffs so you put the light where you need it (so to speak) and not scatter it everywhere and blind the heck out of oncoming drivers, like this pic below...


So, what I'm curious about now, is what do those Depos look like when put up against a garage or fence or whatever.

[uber]

Originally Posted by Wongway

What I mean is... when you shine your lights on in front of the garage do they look like this...

That above image is how a bad projector looks. The lights can be bright, but fuzzy, unfocused. (as you can well see) You can also see the hotspots and the scattering of the light.


On the other extreme, if you were to do something like put a high quality Morimoto H1, you can get very sharp defined cutoffs so you put the light where you need it (so to speak) and not scatter it everywhere and blind the heck out of oncoming drivers, like this pic below...


So, what I'm curious about now, is what do those Depos look like when put up against a garage or fence or whatever.

Ahhh, here's a link to some review of it. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=642728

I'd say if you go depos, pick up a minih1 projector and retrofit it. It'll be easy.