What is the deal with headlight eyebrows??

[Jonemw]

Various posts and other info seem to indicate these were added for 2011. Some dealers have also said this. Well, I have a 2011 135i with lci tail lights,
n55, and various other 2011 indicators etc, but do not have eyebrows.
Car went in service in January of 2011, and I never even knew there was a change until last year. Was it a running change? Was it for 2012, and not 2011? I am sort of ambivalent about them, so don't really have a preference, or is my car just a screw up that has left over lights?

[Harlequin]

There were two LCIs for the 1er Coupe/Vert.

The MY10.5 was the switch to the N55, DCT, and Dumbo Ear side mirrors.

The MY12 added the LCI Tail Lights and the Headlight Eyebrows.

Many Pre-12 models have the LCI tails becuase they are a popular, cheap, and easy retrofit.

The Headlights are not cheap so you won't find many retrofits of those being done.

PS: Your's is an MY10.5 and someone has retrofitted the tail lights.

[potxoli]

first i heard of the difference in side mirrors with N55. Is there a comparison shot floating around? Tried to google one and did not find anything

[MightyMouseTech]

Tried looking as well and could not find anything. The later mirrors appear to be about double the size though.

[Harlequin]

Pre LCI:




MY10.5+ Dumbo Ears:



The Dumbo ears are horrible... I replaced the ones on my 135i with the 1M Mirrors:

[Chandon]

Originally Posted by Harlequin

Pre LCI:




MY10.5+ Dumbo Ears:




The Dumbo ears are horrible... I replaced the ones on my 135i with the 1M Mirrors:

I don't really mind the dumbo ears, they look okay. But headlights for me is a different story, the eyebrows completely change the look of the car, it's a must have

[potxoli]

Originally Posted by Harlequin

Pre LCI:



The Dumbo ears are horrible... I replaced the ones on my 135i with the 1M Mirrors:

wow. I never knew this. My car is a 2011, build date 9/2010. I have the dumbo ears but no eyebrows. That might make it super-rare

[Harlequin]

Sorry... That pic is actually of the MY12 refresh... It gets the dumbo ears and the eyebrows and the LCI tails.

If you have dumbo ears and no eyebrows then you have a MY10.5... Fairly common...

[Nugget]

I don't mind the dumbo ears. I have the dumbo ears and old lights, but retrofitted the blackline LCI tail lights, which are a massive improvement IMO. Not that fussed about the front lights.

[Stohlen]

Originally Posted by viciousgook;*****358

I don't really mind the dumbo ears, they look okay. But headlights for me is a different story, the eyebrows completely change the look of the car, it's a must have

I think this goes both ways. Some people love them and retrofit for a thousand dollars or whatever, but for me they don't look nearly as good on the non-M models. I'd sell them and buy the old ones if I had them.

[FredrikM]

Originally Posted by Harlequin

The Dumbo ears are horrible... I replaced the ones on my 135i with the 1M Mirrors:

Five days ago i bought my fourth BMW, a Jet black 2011 125i Coupe with Dumbo ears. How hard was it to replace the side mirrors? I have done it before on my E46 330i and it was quite a job to do.

[Harlequin]

Originally Posted by FredrikM

Five days ago i bought my fourth BMW, a Jet black 2011 125i Coupe with Dumbo ears. How hard was it to replace the side mirrors? I have done it before on my E46 330i and it was quite a job to do.

Not hard at all....

Remove the A-Pillar triangle - this can be done without removing the door card.
Undo 3 bolts.
Disconnect 1 cable.

Reverse.

[FredrikM]

Originally Posted by Harlequin

Not hard at all....

Remove the A-Pillar triangle - this can be done without removing the door card.
Undo 3 bolts.
Disconnect 1 cable.

Reverse.

Brilliant!! On the E46 i had to remove the door card and a tweeter located in the a-pillar triangle who was attached to a part going all around the window frame.

All i have to do now is to decide what mirrors to purchase.

[MightyMouseTech]

Funny, I actually prefer the big dumbo ears. I think they suit the car better than the small ones, and they are much more functional. Test drove several used 1ers before I ordered mine, and was not really happy with the size of the mirrors. I was surprised and happy to see the bigger mirrors when I picked it up.

[Simon_135i]

It doesn't bother me whether it's the smaller or larger side mirrors. I did end up replacing the mirrors with the wide view version (from eBay) and thought that they were a major improvement as far as function goes.

The m3 look is pretty nice, and I would of done it but invested in the CF covers and decided to stay with that.

[jkoral]

Originally Posted by Simon_135i

I did end up replacing the mirrors with the wide view version (from eBay) and thought that they were a major improvement as far as function goes.

+1. I prefer the look of the smaller side mirror and the factory wide angle mirrors from BMW is a big improvement.

[IK6SPEED]

i got a set of lci headlights for sale if anyones interested