D3 BT, Angel Eyes LED upgrade

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Paulb
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D3 BT, Angel Eyes LED upgrade

Post by Paulb » Wed Apr 29, 2015 10:34 pm

I've always thought the 'yellow/golden' colour of the angel eyes on the D3 BT LCI (non xenons) didn't fit in with the car... so I did some digging and found these babies.

http://www.horizonleds.co.uk/oem-led-ap ... ld-edition

Fitted them today, first side was interesting finding all the bolts to remove the inner wheel arch splash guard then how to remove the existing lamps (once unscrewed they twist out), but the result is a fantastic change.

It turns the Angel Eyes in to more of a running lights style angel eyes.

Pics to follow
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Paulb
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Post by Paulb » Wed Apr 29, 2015 10:45 pm

Pics are when one side has been done.

Image

New
Image

Existing
Image


Image
Nothing to see here.... move along in an orderly fashion please!
E91 D3 Bi-turbo Touring #004 - (sold)
E46 B3 3.3 Saloon #032
F31 D3 Bi-turbo Touring #172
Mk1 Focus RS #516
Mk3 Focus RS Heritage #8 of only 50
and a 1987 Sierra RS Cosworth (currently being restored)

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Post by Cybermush » Wed Apr 29, 2015 10:55 pm

Thats mighty impressive, I always thought the original angle eyes were a bit of a disappointment.

They seem to have a hell of a heatsink on the back on them, how hot do they run?? :shock:

And did you really manage to fit them in 10 mins as advertised?? :roll:

Trevor.
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Paulb
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Post by Paulb » Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:14 pm

An hour for the offside (first one) - 20mins for the second one.

The longest part of the fit is getting the inner wheel arch splash guard off and back on again. No doubt it would be done in 10 mins with an impact gun for the wheels and an electric drill with no.8 bolt socket attached.

I've never had the wheels off mine (myself) let alone taken any of the inner wing plastics out. If someones done it before they'll find it very easy.
Nothing to see here.... move along in an orderly fashion please!
E91 D3 Bi-turbo Touring #004 - (sold)
E46 B3 3.3 Saloon #032
F31 D3 Bi-turbo Touring #172
Mk1 Focus RS #516
Mk3 Focus RS Heritage #8 of only 50
and a 1987 Sierra RS Cosworth (currently being restored)

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Post by John_C » Thu Apr 30, 2015 10:28 am

I was tempted to change mine, but the faff of doing it put me off.

They look incredibly bright, 20W is a hell of an output for an LED light. Definitely looks crisper than the orange glow from the originals.
2010 D3 BT #97 - Sold
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sward
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Post by sward » Thu May 07, 2015 4:09 pm

This looks good. Do you really have to remove the inner wing splashguards (I have done it in the past so I know how), because when I needed to change the OEM bulbs for the Angel Eyes a few years ago, I did so through the access hatch on the top of the headlights (Xenons) in about 10 mins. Do these LEDs simply swap out for the OEM bulbs or is there more to it?
Regards
Simon

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Post by Sunnyville » Thu May 07, 2015 7:11 pm

A nice upgrade :D
I changed my standard bulbs to some Lux ones the day after i bought her as I took them out of the 320D coupe i was driving, a nice subtle change.
Anyway I didn't have to take any wheel arch guards out etc and changed them via the access panel on the top of each headlight. Not sure what models or year of cars you can do this on though as my 320D coupe was a 2007 and the D3 BiTurbo is a 2008 58 plate?
Still a very fiddly job through the top access panels though believe me! prepare for a few cuts on the hands :roll:
Worth it though :D
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Paulb
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Post by Paulb » Fri May 08, 2015 12:22 am

With Xenons it's fairly easy to do via the top access, sadly mine isn't Xenon equipped and the access panel in the wheel arch liner is just too tight to get a screwdriver in to undo the hexhead screws holding the angel eye bulbs in place.
Nothing to see here.... move along in an orderly fashion please!
E91 D3 Bi-turbo Touring #004 - (sold)
E46 B3 3.3 Saloon #032
F31 D3 Bi-turbo Touring #172
Mk1 Focus RS #516
Mk3 Focus RS Heritage #8 of only 50
and a 1987 Sierra RS Cosworth (currently being restored)

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Post by Hodge » Fri May 08, 2015 8:29 am

That looks far better, always thought the original output for angel eyes of that era look like the alternators not charging in a 1960s style. Well done much better.

Cheers
Mark Hodge

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sward
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Post by sward » Sun May 10, 2015 7:25 pm

Thanks Paul. I did get some cuts when I changed the OEM bulbs, but it is still a far easier job than getting access via the wheel liners. Well, in fact, that's perfectly easy, just time consuming!
Regards
Simon

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