Hello I'm a newbee to the forum,

I have a '88 M3 that I bought with a HID kit in it, however, one of the bulbs went out b/c the base split off from the bulb. Anyhow, I am looking for a replacement bulb. My car is 9006 in halogen fitment, can I just get a replacement osram or phillips xenon bulb or do I have to get one that is rebased? Also, my lights are the projector type, so what would be the best type to get the D2R or D2S and 4100K or 6000K? I believe I have the 4100K in there now, but they dont seem that bright. Is that b/c the projector is messing up the light beam? I read a little about ECE lenses, is that a option for me? Finally, where is the best place to buy these Osrams or phillips brand new?

Thanks for any help in advance!

You are in a situation that many retrofit kit owners end up in: A kit of totally or partially unknown manufacturer has been working for a year or two. Then a bulb, ballast, or some part of wiring harness breaks. The reason it fails can be many, it does not have to be the bulb that was the culprit. Its all (wiring, ballast and bulb) connected togther, if one link fails, the rest will wear out faster.

I would at least advise you to buy a set of new bulbs, because of color matching. If u like 6000K or 4100K is a matter of taste, most people use 4100K because of more and better useful output.

However, they may fail prematuraly because of other issues you have. Most HID kits (bulbs/ballast/connectors) are frigile to water, chemicals, dust, mechanical wear, and electrical miswiring because they are not protected like an OEM install would be. Conclusion may be that you would have to start over with a more OEM like HID setup (possibly from another car), or if you don't think it is worth to spend $500-1000, then consider put back the old halogen bulbs.

hope this helps. This is basically a conclusion over what is covered in detail in the faq.

Nicely said Herman...