All you wanted to know about the M3/M4 and 4 Series LED headlights

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by fun2drv

Xenons were a huge upgrade back in the day and the current generation of adjustable Xenons are much better than the fixed ones.

What is wrong with the LED offering?

Nobody is saying anything is wrong with them. People who have seen them or who have them on other cars are just saying that $1900 is an exorbitant amount for very little - if any - gain.

[Jaymax85]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

Nobody is saying anything is wrong with them. People who have seen them or who have them on other cars are just saying that $1900 is an exorbitant amount for very little - if any - gain.

+1 seems like a waste.

[dbrad]

no LCI tails on the new m3/4???? and if you go with xexon headlights no led turn signals??

[Saphirschwarz]

Yeah i would like to know if Lighting pack ( LEDs) include LED BACK turn signals. I've seen a video showing an F32 with LED back turn signal recently and it seemed pretty official.

( I know brake lights are still normal anyway - which is a shame form 1900 bucks)

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by dbrad

no LCI tails on the new m3/4???? and if you go with xexon headlights no led turn signals??

No LED tail lamps until LCI, and no....the xenons do not have LED turn signals.

Originally Posted by Saphirschwarz

Yeah i would like to know if Lighting pack ( LEDs) include LED BACK turn signals. I've seen a video showing an F32 with LED back turn signal recently and it seemed pretty official.

( I know brake lights are still normal anyway - which is a shame form 1900 bucks)

The F32 - just like the F30 - has LED light bars in the tail lamps, but does not have LED brake lights. The turn signals aren't LED either.

[JS919]

It can be said that buying a M6 over a 650i is a big waste of money as well.

I have an M5 with close to $30K in options. Most could be debated as a big waste of money or for that matter the whole M5 vs. a 535i could be debated as a big waste of money.

In my opinion I see an aesthetic and lighting difference between the standard xenon and LED headlights. I don't feel bad about spending $1900 and don't think it was a waste of money.

Quick story regarding LED headlights. - I picked up a friend at the airport Saturday night, he knew nothing about my car and I never said anything about the headlights. The first comment he says about my car is your headlights really light up the road. We were merging on to a five lane freeway with a lot of traffic. I said you ought to see the high beams, so I flash them once and about 5 cars hit their brakes simultaneously. None them were directly in my lane as I was on an on-ramp merge lane. Their is no doubt in my mind that if I had xenon headlights no one would have noticed me flashing my headlights once.

In the big picture all we are talking about here are cars so maybe we are all wasting our money not buying a nice Kia or Hyundai. They pretty much will do anything a BMW will do to get you where you need to go. At night from in the dark from 30 feet away you can't tell the difference anyways, so why waste your money on the BMW?

[jbockrd]

I like the LED setup in person. It looks sharp!!!

[HJMartinez]

I was very disappointed when they went back to standard bulbs on the F30s while the E90 LCI had LED rear turn signals (standard) and front turn signals (part of the xenon upgrade). I really liked the look on the E92s LCI LED brake, front and rear turn signals too (standard).

I'm all for improved driving feel when new generation vehicles are released, but without that advanced look that LED lighting seems to give off (aside from obvious advantages from standard bulbs), I feel that the F30 doesn't look as good as my 2009 E90. I've decided to wait it out until I see what the LCI update will bring.

I may just go with the M235i but wish it had the option to upgrade to LED headlights though!

[LSM]

Originally Posted by fun2drv

Xenons were a huge upgrade back in the day and the current generation of adjustable Xenons are much better than the fixed ones.

What is wrong with the LED offering?

They are great but for 1900 not worth it imo...

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by LSM

They are great but for 1900 not worth it imo...

Yes, worth is definitely a personal decision. I keep my cars a full model run, so I want technology that will not be outdated in 6-7 years. Performance ought to be at least as good as the xenons, and the slightly less power consumption and better visual looks are just icing on the cake. So for me, they are worth it.

[aajami]

Originally Posted by HJMartinez

I was very disappointed when they went back to standard bulbs on the F30s while the E90 LCI had LED rear turn signals (standard) and front turn signals (part of the xenon upgrade). I really liked the look on the E92s LCI LED brake, front and rear turn signals too (standard).

I'm all for improved driving feel when new generation vehicles are released, but without that advanced look that LED lighting seems to give off (aside from obvious advantages from standard bulbs), I feel that the F30 doesn't look as good as my 2009 E90. I've decided to wait it out until I see what the LCI update will bring.

I may just go with the M235i but wish it had the option to upgrade to LED headlights though!

Who knows. BMW might offer an LED lighting option on the M235i when the F22 goes through its LCI.

[NightStalker]

Lol at people thinking it's a waste, if you don't like it don't buy it then.

Today day and age leds look much better visually and give it a striking appearance to the car as a premium look

Some obviously don't understand the advancements in technology and aesthetics

And for a premium car id expect to have LEDS..

[///M Power]

Unless you live in the rural where there is no street light, the $1900 option with the auto HB is not worth it. I rather spend it on a HK system or parking assist.

But eventually all cars will be running LEDs.....

[bmellion]

Have the LED's on both my M6 and X5M. Totally worth it on looks alone.

[3M TAPE]

LEDs are cheap these days, I don't know why BMW is charging more for this..

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by RSNGH

Lol at people thinking it's a waste, if you don't like it don't buy it then.

Today day and age leds look much better visually and give it a striking appearance to the car as a premium look

Some obviously don't understand the advancements in technology and aesthetics

And for a premium car id expect to have LEDS..

Actually it's quite the opposite.

Many of us have stated that it's the tech advancement and the aesthetic appeal that should hold the most weight in the decision, not the perception that the quality of light is better (..because it truly isn't).


P.S. Sooooooo, for all of the premium cars out there WITHOUT LED's, are they no longer premium by your standards?

[B-1Pilot]

I have xenons on my '13 335 and LEDs on my '14 M5. I will buy the LEDs on all future BMWs, period. They are just that good compared to xenons in my opinion... It's not just brightness-- its the beam shaping and the swath of light being thrown out.

Unfortunately, most of the features described in the link won't work automatically or exactly as described in the U.S. without coding thanks to archaic DoT regulations. Once coded, however, they are amazing. My high beams almost never completely turn off and I never manually switch them. At this point no matter when or where I drive, the car is able to determine the optimal lighting for the conditions.

[clbmw]

Originally Posted by HJMartinez

I was very disappointed when they went back to standard bulbs on the F30s while the E90 LCI had LED rear turn signals (standard) and front turn signals (part of the xenon upgrade). I really liked the look on the E92s LCI LED brake, front and rear turn signals too (standard).

I'm all for improved driving feel when new generation vehicles are released, but without that advanced look that LED lighting seems to give off (aside from obvious advantages from standard bulbs), I feel that the F30 doesn't look as good as my 2009 E90. I've decided to wait it out until I see what the LCI update will bring.

I may just go with the M235i but wish it had the option to upgrade to LED headlights though!

LED option on basic models would be nice but I expect that'll be a long way off given the standard halogens on 3 series and 5 until recent LCI. It doesn't seem to matter to BMW what other manufacturers offer as standard (unless it's Audi or Merc whom they always seem to be slightly ahead of in lighting terms).

I'd be surprised however if the F30 doesn't get an LED upgrade option with the LCI, but equally surprised if the 2 series does get the option.

[Blubaron79]

Are some of those LED features limited in the US still?

[EmArAsOnS]

Thnx for sharing.
Actually bought the LED headlights on my f11 without even seeing them.
Car manufactures already decided that LED is the way to go (whether we like it or not) so it is only a matter of time xenon will be a thing of the past (which was introduced in 1991 btw )
A whooping 3 grand the led costs here so 1900 is a bargain
:

[bunker]

Originally Posted by RealStig

Not worth $1,900, not even close to it. All the adaptive features are already available with xenons, they provide identical coverage. The rings around the lamps are also the same. Unless you are standing 2 ft in front of your front bumper at day time you can't really see the difference. At night you can, but then who is going to really care about that? I guess some people do.

so, when the Genie gave you 3 wishes, you asked for "unlimited wishes" didn't you...?

[NightStalker]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

Actually it's quite the opposite.

Many of us have stated that it's the tech advancement and the aesthetic appeal that should hold the most weight in the decision, not the perception that the quality of light is better (..because it truly isn't).


P.S. Sooooooo, for all of the premium cars out there WITHOUT LED's, are they no longer premium by your standards?

Yeah pretty much for my standards leds a must

& you just said it yourself decision is mostly weighed upon the aesthetics appeal & advancement..

Quality of light is subjective at the moment but this whole thread is subjective lol......