[CosmosMpower]

Originally Posted by ZPrime

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.

Thanks for the info, I was thinking about buying a set while doing ED and bringing them back to avoid shipping etc. Do you have the euro part numbers?

What does the switch do? Is there a function of the euro light that acts like a fog light (F1 rain light etc)?

Are the tail lights plug and play or do they require coding if you don't care about the fog light switch?

[ZPrime]

Euro tail lights work identical to US-spec (just with orange indicators), plug and play nothing else needed (Assuming you're going like year to like year, so LCI to LCI is a direct swap).

If you want to use the rear fogs, you need to code to enable them. Then you either need a European switch (with the dedicated button for the rear fog light, which also needs its own coding to not throw an error in the FEM), or you can physically remove your stock US-spec light switch, open it up, and cut some plastic away.

All of the actual "switch" components already exist inside the US-spec switch, they are just blocked with plastic. If you've coded the car so the rear fogs "Exist" as a function, then you can hack the plastic off the switch, and the US-spec switch can toggle the rear fogs.

The only thing you miss out by going this route is having the little icon on the button and the backlighting behind that button. So if you don't care about that stuff, save yourself ~$160 and just mod your stock switch instead of replacing it.

Part numbers and other info on the rear fog stuff here... I think the euro tail lights are in another thread in this section if you search.

[CosmosMpower]

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..

Do you have a pic without the blinkers being activated?

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by CosmosMpower

Do you have a pic without the blinkers being activated?

Here you go:

[CosmosMpower]

Originally Posted by Poochie

Here you go:

Thanks from the looks of it the only difference is when the blinker is activated then.

[ZPrime]

Originally Posted by CosmosMpower

Thanks from the looks of it the only difference is when the blinker is activated then.

Correct. You can't see any orange unless an indicator is on.

I'm guessing they actually aren't even orange - I suspect the indicator LEDs are straight up yellow, and they just blend through the red housing to create orange. But that's just a guess and would need to tear apart the light to know for sure.

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by ZPrime

Correct. You can't see any orange unless an indicator is on.

I'm guessing they actually aren't even orange - I suspect the indicator LEDs are straight up yellow, and they just blend through the red housing to create orange. But that's just a guess and would need to tear apart the light to know for sure.

The entire taillight appears [COLOR="DarkRed"]red[/COLOR] on the exterior of the fender-mounted light unit.

Inside the turn signal portion of the European taillight is a combination of [COLOR="DarkRed"]red[/COLOR] LED lights, a [COLOR="DarkGreen"]green[/COLOR] optical filter and the [COLOR="DarkRed"]red[/COLOR] diffuser (exterior plastic taillight cover) which creates an amber color turn signal.

On the US unit, it's [COLOR="DarkRed"]red[/COLOR] LED lights, a [COLOR="DarkRed"]red[/COLOR] optical filter, combined with the [COLOR="DarkRed"]red[/COLOR] diffuser; which emits the [COLOR="DarkRed"]red[/COLOR] color turn signal.

All BMWs with LED turn signals, [COLOR="DarkOrange"]amber[/COLOR] or [COLOR="DarkRed"]red[/COLOR], uses this hybrid light combination.

[mssVT98]

Originally Posted by Poochie

The entire taillight appears red on the exterior of the fender-mounted light unit.

Inside the turn signal portion of the European taillight is a combination of red LED lights, a green optical filter and the red diffuser (exterior plastic taillight cover) which creates an amber color turn signal.

On the US unit, it's red LED lights, a red optical filter, combined with the red diffuser; which emits the red color turn signal.

All BMWs with LED turn signals, amber or red, uses this hybrid light combination.

Given that it's the combo of green and red that makes the amber, would it be possible to install green LED bulbs in the pre-LCI US tails to create an amber signal? I don't even know if a green signal bulb exists, just curious if that would be a potential option, vs. importing Euro tails.

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by mssVT98

Given that it's the combo of green and red that makes the amber, would it be possible to install green LED bulbs in the pre-LCI US tails to create an amber signal? I don't even know if a green signal bulb exists, just curious if that would be a potential option, vs. importing Euro tails.

No, sorry, that wouldn't work.. It's going to look more reddish-orange, unlike the stock amber LEDs..

Some folks on the 2 series forum tried this experiment way before the Euro LCI was announced but was unsuccessful in making it look right..

I've notice the price of the Euro taillight slightly dropping.. They go for $225 each on eBay now, so that's better options IMO..

I paid almost $600 for everything when they now came out in the end of 2017, so you might currently be able to get a better deal.