[Uncledanny6]

Originally Posted by ZPrime

I ordered a pair of LCI / Euro tail lights from Schmiedmann (based in Denmark), and I'm now being asked to fill out a customs form that I don't have the slightest clue how to answer. I suspect the concern is that the lights don't have "DOT" stamped on the side somewhere... but neither do thousands of other knock-off chinese crap tail lights that people put on their cars every day.

Anybody else run into this garbage? Fucking government overreach...

Nothing to do with DOT.
No laws against owning or collecting a car part - unless it's made of weapons grade plutonium

[amancuso]

Originally Posted by ZPrime

Good luck... I haven't found anybody in the US that carries much stock of Euro BMW parts, especially not for a newer car.

Also, they are a little disappointing, at least on the M2. Not nearly as orange as you'd expect. On video / camera, it comes out almost the same... Although I didn't do any shots of the two installed side by side, and that might have helped a little bit with a comparison.

Very noticeable IRL though. Video doesn't do them justice. I have the same ones, got them within 2 days of owning my M2. Modifying the stock switch for the rear fogs was the easiest thing I've ever done. Didn't even need to remove it from the dash.

[ZPrime]

I imported the actual Euro switch because I wanted the button to light up and have a logo on it. I get weird about that kind of thing sometimes...

[amancuso]

Originally Posted by ZPrime

I imported the actual Euro switch because I wanted the button to light up and have a logo on it. I get weird about that kind of thing sometimes...

I do too, but you have to choose your battles when you've got six cars to care for/modify.

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by amancuso

Very noticeable IRL though. Video doesn't do them justice. I have the same ones, got them within 2 days of owning my M2. Modifying the stock switch for the rear fogs was the easiest thing I've ever done. Didn't even need to remove it from the dash.

The Euro amber turn signal color scheme looks pretty on point to me..

I also put in an unreasonable bright LED reverse light bulb, when backing up; I can light up the skies..

You can code the reverse light mapping to come with your [COLOR="Green"]welcome lights[/COLOR], when you unlock your doors.. Very practical..

Hands down, the Euro LCI tail light swap was my most satisfying mod..

[AndrewC1989]

That's weird, I ordered my euro tails from schmiedmann as well and didn't have to do any customs paperwork

[Zugspitze]

Originally Posted by andrewc89

That's weird, I ordered my euro tails from schmiedmann as well and didn't have to do any customs paperwork

Can you share the part numbers?

[AndrewC1989]

Originally Posted by Zugspitze

Can you share the part numbers?

https://www.2addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1405431

[amancuso]

Originally Posted by andrewc89

That's weird, I ordered my euro tails from schmiedmann as well and didn't have to do any customs paperwork

Me too. Must be random customs searches. Lucky OP.

[Zugspitze]

Originally Posted by andrewc89

https://www.2addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1405431

Thanks.

[samsamdar]

Originally Posted by Poochie

The Euro amber turn signal color scheme looks pretty on point to me..

I also put in an unreasonable bright LED reverse light bulb, when backing up; I can light up the skies..

You can code the reverse light mapping to come with your welcome lights, when you unlock your doors.. Very practical..

Hands down, the Euro LCI tail light swap was my most satisfying mod..

Could you take a pic of your backup lights please? Thanks!

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by samsamdar

Could you take a pic of your backup lights please? Thanks!

It's difficult to capture how it truly looks without the camera obscuring the photo.. But trust me, it's way brighter than anything that would be allowed from the factory, yet still looks classy..

I listed the details for the bulb I use below, you can purchase it on Amazon or EBay..

For coding the reverse light bulb as the [COLOR="Green"]Welcome Lights[/COLOR], change the parameters below under the [COLOR="DarkRed"]REM[/COLOR] module to [COLOR="Navy"]HARD ON[/COLOR]..

[AndrewC1989]

Originally Posted by samsamdar

Could you take a pic of your backup lights please? Thanks!

I have them too, they're great. Very white and very bright. Much better than stock.

[ZPrime]

Originally Posted by Poochie

For coding the reverse light bulb as the "Welcome Lights", change the parameters below under the REM module to "HARD ON".

Why oh why would you want to do this?

This is the same bullshit that basically all GM cars have - it is super annoying.

If you have the only car in the parking lot, no big deal.
But in a busy parking lot - you can't tell if a person is actually about to back out of a parking spot or not, because the damn GM cars turn on their reverse lights when they are unlocked.

Please, leave that option turned off, anybody else who parks in the same lot as you will be thankful.

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by ZPrime

Why oh why would you want to do this?

This is the same bullshit that basically all GM cars have - it is super annoying.

If you have the only car in the parking lot, no big deal.
But in a busy parking lot - you can't tell if a person is actually about to back out of a parking spot or not, because the damn GM cars turn on their reverse lights when they are unlocked.

Please, leave that option turned off, anybody else who parks in the same lot as you will be thankful.

The idea is to light up the area around you and since the reverse light is the brightest, whitest light available at the rear of the vehicle. Plus it cost nothing to implement and is fully legal, so they use that bulb..

This feature use to be active on the 7 series until not too long ago.. That's how I knew it was code-able..

And beside, to that annoying person watching you walk to your car, stalking for your parking spot ANY light on your vehicle that illuminates would be thought of as a 'reverse light' to them..

So what should they have done to light up the area in the dark as a safety and security measure?

[ZPrime]

This is why the other lights come on! They're plenty bright in a dark lot, IMO.

The reverse lights signal to other drivers that a car is in reverse. Having them come on when the car is not in reverse is a bad idea. This is why I hate all of the GM/Cadillac/Chevy cars that think it's a great idea for reverse lights to come on immediately when the car is unlocked.

Example: you're driving through a parking lot, and suddenly you notice reverse lights. You now aren't sure if this person is paying attention, so you have to drive cautiously, just in case they start to back out of their spot without looking and hit you.

But then you see that there isn't even anyone in the car, it's just a stupid Chevrolet and someone unlocked it from across the parking lot.

It's supremely frustrating. Reverse lights are for reversing, full stop.

[AndrewC1989]

Originally Posted by ZPrime

This is why the other lights come on! They're plenty bright in a dark lot, IMO.

The reverse lights signal to other drivers that a car is in reverse. Having them come on when the car is not in reverse is a bad idea. This is why I hate all of the GM/Cadillac/Chevy cars that think it's a great idea for reverse lights to come on immediately when the car is unlocked.

Example: you're driving through a parking lot, and suddenly you notice reverse lights. You now aren't sure if this person is paying attention, so you have to drive cautiously, just in case they start to back out of their spot without looking and hit you.

But then you see that there isn't even anyone in the car, it's just a stupid Chevrolet and someone unlocked it from across the parking lot.

It's supremely frustrating. Reverse lights are for reversing, full stop.

+1

Super frustrating in a busy parking lot.

[twin fed]

I just did the Euro conversion yesterday. Besides the LCI upgrade (for me), the orange blinkers are fantastic. They look so much better then the red. And the LED makes a HUGE difference. I too installed LED reverse lights to complete the look.

[Peasley]

Originally Posted by ZPrime

I wanted orange turn signals, as they are demonstrably safer. Since I actually use mine, I'm all for making them stand out more in hopes that other distracted idiots on the road notice.

Red turn signals are dangerous, silly, and should be illegal (like they are in Europe).

OMG this!
Everytime I travel to the states I am baffled by the red turn signals. Depending on the car they are sometimes incredibly difficult to see!!

[DrKevM5]

Thanks for the LED information

[CosmosMpower]

how much were the euro tail lights and the switch? I may grab a set when I'm doing ED on my M2C in Jan

[ZPrime]

Originally Posted by CosmosMpower

how much were the euro tail lights and the switch? I may grab a set when I'm doing ED on my M2C in Jan

Tail lights - ~$225 each, so around $450 for the pair
Euro Switch - ~$160
Schmiedmann charged some bogus $17.something "foreign transaction fee" which is bullshit since they charged my card in Euros (expecting this, I used a credit card that doesn't hit me with a foreign transaction fee)
Shipping was ~$75 (given the size of the package and the speed it was shipped, that wasn't horrible TBH)

I was then charged ~$55 by US customs.

I don't think there is any point to trying to buy the stuff in Europe, because from what I understand, you cannot put it into the car and use that to ship it over. They require it to be empty for transport. Kind of lame, because what if you wanted to buy some European souvenirs and throw them in the back seat to get "free shipping"?

Also, the European light switch will throw an error in your Front Electronics Module (FEM) that may cause you headaches at the dealership.

It also still requires coding to work anyway - just replacing the switch doesn't make the rear fog lights function. You can get the rear fog lights to work with the US-spec switch if you dremel/clip the little plastic bits on the blank button, too. You just lose out on having the rear fog icon backlit in orange down there on the switch module.