Got them in but there's a flaw in the lens of the right light.




Love the new look.

 

So this is my next planned mod when I get home and I have done some considerable research on the subject, here we go:


There are 3 different "projector housings" I have been able to find for the 1st Gen:


ECS sells the Helix https://www.ecstuning.com/News/R50_R...008/ES2763070/


Ebay sells the Spyder with halo and DRL leds in them
http://www.carid.com/2002-mini-coope...ts-264211.html


and this style is also found on ebay
http://www.dbrtuning.com/gruppi-otti...-r50/r53-01-06


now NONE OF THESE ARE FOR XENON!!!! It is important to note that you SHOULD NOT put xenon lights in these housings, they are for halogen or LED only. The reason is the projector is not designed for xenon output, it is focused for halogen light. You know this because there is a 30* "kick" in the dispersion of the light on the right side of the projector. If the projector is designed for xenon, it will not do this. This is important because you can potentially blind people on the right of you (say they are making a turn) and the light dispersion is not even (you will see like you have your High beams on to the right of the projectors.


ECS does a great job IMO offering a much better and brighter halogen/LED set up with their Zazza bulbs that look very clean and offer great output for halogens. Plus the aforementioned housings are designed with that type of bulb in mind.


Now if xenon is truly what you are looking for, then you have 2 options. Buy the OEM hella housings designed for xenon, or DIY a retrofit to existing housings.


The retrofit source has a nice universal kit that requires putting in their xenon projectors inside the halogen reflector (kind of like the Helix) then mounting everything to get a full bi-xenon kit. Here is the website:
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/

You can buy any size bulbs you need (some sizes have different advantages/disadvantages) because they have wiring harnesses that plug and play our H7 to another size bulb (or you can just go with H7 bulbs/ballasts)


Another projector/housing that was modeled after the R53/R56 is made by ijdmtoy, see here and called the ironman:
http://store.ijdmtoy.com/Morimoto-St...-projector.htm


Lastly, it is important to weigh your options with your high beams. You basically have 2 options:


Use the bi-xenon function in your new xenon projectors. Essentially there is a reflector that moves, allowing your xenon lights to fill the whole projector vs the portion used for your high beams. This mitigates the "warm up time" you would have if you used dedicated xenon lights for high beams


Use a halogen or LED in a high beam reflector or projector. I personally hate the look of the reflectors and when I am retrofitting my xenon, I plan on buying these hella halogen high beam projectors to use for my high beams. Seen here:


http://www.rallylights.com/hella-60m...mp-module.html


Again, if you buy any of these housings, make sure you use the correct bulb type for it.

 

I ended up ordering the Osram 65w and will see how these work.