I’ve had plastic OE headlights, ZKWs, DJ Autos, and DEPOs in my E36. My favorite setup is my current headlights. They’re DEPO Gen 4 that I opened up and retrofitted some Morimoto FXR 3.0 projectors in. If you’re handy with DIY work this is well worth it. The light output is incredible. Driving on the freeway at night, I light up the road in front of me considerably better than most 2020 and newer vehicles.
I ordered a Depo drivers side unit. It came yesterday and I installed it today. Quality and fit and very good. The bulb out warning light on the dash eventually went out.
I’ve been running depos for like 1.5 -2 months now. They’ve been holding up great. Love them.
Get something OEM-equivalent, DEPO black housing headlights are a popular option. Most brands should be similar enough if you stick to OEM-style, but DEPO is the only brand I personally have experience with.
Oem is the best option, you can find deals on eBay or online sometimes, second best is depo aftermarket brand replacement headlights, not as good quality but the price is right.
The Depos came with H4/H1 and I upgraded to LED. The new reflector design is much better than factory and give it a fresh look. They would be "ok" with H bulbs but the LEDs def throw better light.
I currently have on my car a set of depo/helix smoked angel eye headlights. One of the adjusters on the passenger side light has broke. The headlights themselves are in good shape, i would rate them about 7 out of ten. there are some nics in them from the previous owner being a daily driver, that seems to be the only problem minus the broken adjuster mechanism.
fitment is shit just stay stock.
I used clear silicon around the whole housing and i still get some moisture problems...
The reason why the output is crappy is that even though the DEPO lights look pretty much the same on the outside, they basically just copy the original headlight design and don't do much at all with the actual optics, that's why even with your OEM bulbs the output still looks like crap.
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