Space Grey... all cleaned and polished

[cam2801]

Inititally posted in these in the Australian sub forum but figured I should post here as well

Finally managed to get some to time to wash, polish and take some photos. Two weeks with our Space Grey baby and loving it. Although a rather annoying rattle has developed in the door.

[123D-M]

Very shiny. Space grey looks great with the 261M wheels.

Nice SP23 as well. I used to have a black hatch.

[ken@exoticstuning]

SG do looks great with those wheels combo....EURO headlights FTW !!

[ptack]

Looks great. I even like the stock grilles as opposed to shadowline. Great headlights and wheels. Stupid BMW
(for not offering those here)

[M3Newbie88]

Euro Headlights are so hot.. I swear it should come standard for "all" 1ers sold.. no matter where you are located in the world..

[Lester]

Originally Posted by 1LazyBmw

Euro Headlights are so hot.. I swear it should come standard for "all" 1ers sold.. no matter where you are located in the world..

That would be nice, however not legal in the USA. In order to meet US NHTSA FMVSS 108 rules, all vehicles sold in the USA must have Amber reflectors on the front, and red on the rear. Naturally, these must meet all kinds of specifications as to color and reflectivity. If BMW even sold spare Euro Headlights in the USA, they could be subjected to large fines (see L.A.Times story below).

That is why (my prediction) you are never going to see BMW or any after market Euro Headlights for sale in the USA. Not unless they were sold with a requirement to mount Amber reflectors on the front bumper corners that would meet the US NHTSA specification and be visible from the sides and the front.

In Canada, they are allowed by a regulation addendum (CMVSS 108.1), however BMW Canada does follow the USA and only offers the US NHTSA approved ones. The Canadian specifications CMVSS 108 are almost identical to the US FMVSS 108.

A few prople have purchased Euro headlights from friends overseas, and put them on - this will cost about $ 2,500 for the pair. If you do this, make sure to get the ones for left hand drive vehicles, as cars equipped with right hand drive have headlights that will aim incorrectly in Norfth America.

Please don't think that I don't like the Euro Headlights - I just wouldn't pay $2,500 plus go through the trouble to install them.

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16516

Background information - (stop reading here if you get bored easily.)

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 (FMVSS 108) regulates all automotive lighting, signalling and reflective devices in the United States. Like all other Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, FMVSS 108 is administered by the United States Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Canada's analogous regulation is called Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 (CMVSS 108), and is very similar to FMVSS 108. The primary differences are:
· CMVSS 108 requires daytime running lamps on all vehicles made since 1 January 1990, while FMVSS 108 merely permits DRLs
· CMVSS 108, through an adjunct called CMVSS 108.1, permits European Headlamps while FMVSS 108 prohibits them.
Both standards differ markedly from the ECE ("European") standards used in most other countries worldwide, not only in technical provisions, terminology, and requirements, but in format: Each European standard deals with only one type of device, while the single U.S. and Canadian standards regulate all devices.


Los Angeles Times article
Quote »
"Auto Products Wholesaler Fined $650,000
By John O'Dell, Times Staff Writer
A Southland auto accessories company has been fined $650,000 for selling thousands of substandard taillight assemblies popular with younger motorists, federal regulators said Friday.
American Products Co. of Corona is a major wholesale supplier of customizing and performance products to retailers including Pep Boys, Auto Zone and JCWhitney.com.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said late Friday that American Products had sold various models of replacement taillights with clear lenses or lens covers that failed to comply with federal safety standards.
American Products President Brian Torres said the $140-million-a-year company was targeted by regulators because it's the largest in a rapidly growing field. Some of the products were purchased from overseas suppliers, he said, and others "were manufactured under our interpretation" of regulations "that are 20 and 30 years old. Unfortunately, NHTSA challenged those interpretations."
In its statement, NHTSA said some of the company's taillight models were missing required side marker lamps or reflectors, and others replaced red lamps and reflectors with clear ones. In most cases, state and federal regulations require red automotive taillights.
American Products also sold "other noncompliant replacement lighting equipment" including clear corner and bumper lenses and kits to convert stock headlamps to brighter high-intensity discharge lamp systems, the agency said. NHTSA said it has ordered recalls of thousands of American Products parts since 1999. Information about the recalls can be found online at http://www.nhtsa.gov . Motorists with questions can call NHTSA's toll-free hotline, (888) 327-4236.

[gatorfast]

Looks great! Why does BMW give the entire world different wheels than the US? Makes no sense to me...

[cam2801]

Originally Posted by ptack

Looks great. I even like the stock grilles as opposed to shadowline. Great headlights and wheels. Stupid BMW
(for not offering those here)

Thanks.

Space Grey is one of the few colours where the standard grill does look better than the shadowline version. And as for the wheels, the 261Ms look great and given the amounts of brake dust produced are mercifully easy to clean.

[Lester]

Originally Posted by gatorfast

Looks great! Why does BMW give the entire world different wheels than the US? Makes no sense to me...

Marketing. In order to get the great prices that the USA gets, I'm sure they had to negotiate cutting corners on options to keep the pricing down. The 261M wheels are most likely $100 per car more expensive than the 264's. Mutliply that times 10,000 cars..... you get the idea. Since the base prices are much higher elsewhere, it is not as important to keep the costs in line.

[ORIGIN M.]

OH my it looks good. Congrats!

[T330]

[ptack]

[quote=Lester;307526]That would be nice, however not legal in the USA. In order to meet US NHTSA FMVSS 108 rules, all vehicles sold in the USA must have Amber reflectors on the front, and red on the rear. Naturally, these must meet all kinds of specifications as to color and reflectivity. If BMW even sold spare Euro Headlights in the USA, they could be subjected to large fines (see L.A.Times story below).


This might change. As part of the bailout, the US Gov may amend some of those requirements to allow EU approved equipment into the US. This would save the big three lots of money by allowing them to import thier Euro offerings with less rework. Most of the regulatory differences are meaningless anyway.

[cam2801]

Originally Posted by #1

OH my it looks good. Congrats!

thanks

[cam2801]

I have to admit I do laugh at the description "Euro" lights... they are default indicators for BMW every where EXCEPT US, Canada and other who follow US standards... which means the vast majority of BMWs markets use the clear indicators....

And I have to sat they look heaps better and I would love to see the research that made someone decide that coloured lenses are more effective that coloured bulbs...

[135i_TT]

you did quite a good job sir! lookn clean!!

[Luvmybmw]

Very NICE!

[Lester]

[quote=cam2801;308386]I have to admit I do laugh at the description "Euro" lights... they are default indicators for BMW every where EXCEPT US, Canada and other who follow US standards... which means the vast majority of BMWs markets use the clear indicators....[quote]

Yes - anything with clear or white reflectors/lenses is referred to as "Euro" - complying with ECE (Economic Comission for Europe) Regulations/standards. It is not currently possible to produce a single car design that meets both ECE and FMVSS approvals, but it is growing easier as both sets of regulations evolve. Given the size of the U.S. vehicle market, and differing marketing strategies in North America vs. the rest of the world, many manufacturers produce vehicles in three versions: North American, rest-of-world (RHD) and rest-of-world (LHD).

[cam2801]

Yes - anything with clear or white reflectors/lenses is referred to as "Euro" - complying with ECE (Economic Comission for Europe) Regulations/standards. It is not currently possible to produce a single car design that meets both ECE and FMVSS approvals, but it is growing easier as both sets of regulations evolve. Given the size of the U.S. vehicle market, and differing marketing strategies in North America vs. the rest of the world, many manufacturers produce vehicles in three versions: North American, rest-of-world (RHD) and rest-of-world (LHD).[/QUOTE]

The irony is that both the US and Canada are members of the ECE. In the case of the US since the ECEs inception in '47 and Canada since the mid '70s.

That means the said same US regulators have access to the same planning data/statistics as the European regulators and have the same input into the ECE regulations as any other member of the commission - yet in the case of indicators choose their own path - net result - ugly amber indicators :wink: