zaz

Hey guys, I got a '11 g37XS about 2 months ago and I've done a couple little things to it here and there. I was looking to have the headlights redone. I was thinking of an angel eyes setup (with the ability to do demon?), a local shop around me does them, here are a couple examples of what I was thinking:



Particularly the ones on the red sedan (w/o all of the rice-y stuff, just the headlights). He quoted me a large amount though, $750 CAD if I bring my car in and not just the headlights (which I'd prefer rather than fiddle around with it myself).

Now my question is, the current OEM headlights are honestly fantastic in terms of visibility and functionality. How much of it am I going to lose, and if none, what is there to gain in terms of that? Look wise it's a no-brainer. I just didn't know if I'd lose all of the other features the headlights seem to have.

Vizard_87

iTrader: (13)

I have quad halos so the inner fog lights are not there anymore but it's still the oem lights so visibility is not reduced. you can actually upgrade them

zaz

Oh man those look amazing! That'd be what I'm going for too. So how did you ask for those to be wired in? Are those your DRL? And at night the normal lights turn on? Or separate switches? Etc. Can you retrofit the demon eye into the projector we have?

Vizard_87

iTrader: (13)

The fog lights were removed and the halo wiring replaced it so when I turn the fogs on the halos turn on; everything else is oem. also the blue lights you see can be changed to almost 300 color varieties and i control that with an iphone app; they are called starry night halos and they are behind the halos. Hmm I'm not sure on the demon eye part as I did not do the headlight work.

zaz

So ideally I'd like to keep my fog lights as well. So can I ask how yours work when left on auto? During the day, you have regular headlights as my OEM would look but at night it's JUST halos or are halos and those blue lights for pictures/shows only?

Vizard_87

iTrader: (13)

I don't know how the sedan lights work but on the coupe lights I couldn't have the fogs and the inner halos. I've never had them on auto even when they were oem so I don't remember (at work right now) i can turn the halos on by themselves or turn them on with the oem lights but I can't turn the oem lights only it would have to be both

loganlhadley

Here's my set up. I still have OEM Visibility and Functionality. All I did was crack open the headlights, paint the housing gloss black, added halos - then reassembled everything.

Although... this just happened yesterday.. Not sure if it's on Morimoto's part or not... All other halos work fine, but I installed my new switchback driver and this happened. So I'll have to take the whole headlight apart again! Has anyone dealt with Morimoto's reliability?

zaz

So to turn just halos on, you have to switch to "night" mode or whatever?

So only difference was adding halos, nothing removed? In that case, how does your lighting system work? I basically wanted "effective" halos such as those that come OEM with BMW, but still retain our functionality. How does your control system work? Are halos used as night-time lights?

Thanks guys! You've been super helpful.

loganlhadley

First Question: I did not remove anything. I just baked open the headlights, painted the housings, and added the halos. The only "removal" was the process of taking the whole headlight apart (There's a few DIY's that show that process).



Second Question: I have my halos wired to an always hot switch. I have a switch in the cabin and I can turn the halos on whenever I please (even if the car is off). There's a driver connected to the halo's (came with my kit), to splice into the turn signals, so whenever I hit the turn signals - the halos flash amber. Other than that - the halos will stay on or off at the flip of a switch.


Third Question: I do not drive with my halo's at night, alone. There wouldn't be enough light output (even though they are hella bright).

zaz

So would you say having functional halos isn't really feasible? Maybe only as daytime running lights, but for night time, it's best to leave OEM lighting as-is, but do what you did so have a switch to flick those on even if the car is off or wire them in as turn signals?

loganlhadley

They're great as DRL's. Super bright, everyone can see them - I just wouldn't run them by themselves at night without your headlights... I don't think anyone does that for a matter of fact.


As far as the switch, I will attach a diagram that shows how mine is wired. You'll see the orange wire.. that is the wire that came with my Switchback Driver that you will splice into your turn signal. Not all Driver or Inverter comes with the Switchback function. You have to have halo's specifically for the switchback function, as well as the driver for it.

Vizard_87

iTrader: (13)

Yeah I don't think halos were designed to run on their own at night, mainly for looks i would say

zaz

Ahh, I see. That makes a lot of sense. So for DRL they would be perfect then, I would just have to get it wired in a way that when I'm set to auto, they are my DRLs but my night time lights are exactly the same as they currently are. Do you know if the halo turn signals are visible at night with the standard lights on?

loganlhadley

Yeah, I believe you can wire them to a DRL Relay, but don't quote me on that.. someone might be able to chime in and correct me if I'm wrong.


The turn signals are definitely bright enough to see at night, even with lights on. No worries there.

zaz

Perfect, thank you! I think I'll do what you did here and see if I can also toss in the demon eye. I'll talk to the custom lights place today after work.