LED Strip Lights on the 135i

[///M1]

Figured it’s time to set aside the performance mods for a change and do something cosmetic. Decided to focus on the front-end first. I had replaced my stock grill a while back with the non-gloss back. Next came de-ambering the corners (not done yet, what you see is a prototype sticker, the final which I should be getting later this week will be of better shape/coverage and color match). I also replaced the corner bulbs with the Philips Chrome ones (still light amber hence are street legal, but when not lit are silver).

I’ve been going back and forth with the idea of retrofitting the LED strip lights off the Audi S6 (in fact may still do so on my other car). They are just a hair longer (less than an inch) than the opening we have, it would have required some fabrication (brackets especially and perhaps cutting off a small piece in the bumper which I didn’t want to do). Lastly, they were a bit taller/thicker/heavier than what I ultimately chose and didn’t want any air flow disruption, especially on the passenger side where the oil cooler is.

The LED strip lights I went for are made by Hella, have a curve that pretty much mimics exactly the shape of the M-Technik front bumper, and are pretty slim, so air passes freely. There is a total of 9 LEDs in each, and as they curve and follow the natural form of the fender, they are super bright especially when seen under an angle (30-45 degrees). Which is what I wanted, as I don’t want to blind oncoming traffic. Even still, when seen straight ahead they remain bright. At night they serve as auxiliary/fog lights, as they illuminate the (near) side of the road where the xenons don’t have range.

I had my detailing shop help me out with the install, they made some quick brackets, in fact I sourced the strip lights through them as they had a big variety to choose from. We hooked them up to the DRLs, but I also incorporated an On/Off switch under the dash to switch them off anytime I want (e.g. police check points or other such places you don’t want added attention, etc.), even though they are fully road legal. I played with the idea of hooking them up to my Euro Fog light switch (which has buttons for both front and rear fogs), but it was gonna be too much work figuring out where it connects (finding both the harnesses and their correspondence in the LCM), so figured I’ll go the easier route.

I can’t wait to get rid of the stock yellow AEs, jumped on the Alpine HID AE group buy, so that should complement the look nicely and finalize my ‘face-lift’ project.

PS: sorry for the dirty pics, needed a wash badly but was gettiing late for day pics.

[1013mm]

i personally would not do any of these to my car, but i applaud your self efforts!

[MarkR171]

Originally Posted by jzhang

i personally would not do any of these to my car, but i applaud your self efforts!

x2, not my style, and I hate it on Audis too, but if you like it...

[///M1]

Thx for the candid thoughts guys, I realize it is very subjective and a matter of personal taste. I myself was unsure when I started, seem to like them more with each passing day, but I did make sure it is fully reversible. If I tire of having these, I can simply take them off with no trace left.

[ad78]

those will look insane on the R32

[jhuber]

looks good man, think would be a bit better if the strips could be a little dimmer, would go along with the headlights better but other than that looks good!

[wbg tom]

dimmer? once he gets the hid AE, full on brightness!

[BrokenVert]

Believe me it is hard to find the bus for the foglight switch. I've been trying to do it on and off forthe better part of a year with no luck.

Looks good tho

[///M1]

Originally Posted by ad78

those will look insane on the R32

I've seen a few on the VW R32, they do look cool. I was thinking however of doing it on the RS4, this is what they would look like (these are the S6 LEDs I believe)

[///M1]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

Believe me it is hard to find the bus for the foglight switch. I've been trying to do it on and off forthe better part of a year with no luck.

Looks good tho

Thx! Yeah, it is a PITA, plus I wasn't sure that even if I were to decipher it, I may need a dealer re-program visit (or maybe get some OBD warning light).

[bozola]

For me the Audi LED treatment is ok, but it's not as cool.
Different Audis have different setups.

IMHO angel eyes are cool cuz they say "BMW" no matter whether if you have 1,3,5,6,7 etc

[mshab356]

Originally Posted by ad78

those will look insane on the R32

I used to have a MK4 R32 and someone did that on the forums. Looked so badass!

[moczak]

Really like the LED setup, could you PM how you installed the Hella LEDs, I'm looking to do the same for my e92

[BMW86]

I like

[slim_e90]

Your amber covers look promising...

What material are you using for the final version?

If you make extras Let me know :-D

Thx

[Garduna]

I'm not a fan of any bmw having led strips. It is ur car tho and as long as you are happy with it, that is all that matters.

[EINSER M]

great stuff man, A++

[135iUSN]

R32.. .. . haha

Agree like the thought process, but its not balanced.. need to update the halo to LED, and if possible, turn down the lower LED's... too bright and maybe its just the pic..

[ORIGIN M.]

Not as cool as one might think... Now robbing your engine of much needed cooling!!

[Dackelone]

I am no fan of these LED lights either. ...looks like the EU ismandating them on new cars though. BMW does make a retrofit kit for older models...

These pics were taken at a huge BMW dealer in Munich...

[rmjames007]

I got these but in by Hendrick Independence Charlotte yesterday and I am happy with the results. It was a full day install so be careful of the labor rates. I really like what they did

[MuNkY6913]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

Believe me it is hard to find the bus for the foglight switch. I've been trying to do it on and off forthe better part of a year with no luck.

Looks good tho

I found the schematics for the fog light switch on my car about a year and a half ago. I did the fog light switch conversion and now have the rears but my car was never equipped with front fog lights. I traced the wires back to the footwell module and found a schematic for it because I wanted to use it to power the radar detector. I traced it to, I think, memory isn't the best, another footwell module. Then it came out of the back through a connector. The connector had something like 12 pins in it. The fog light controls were supposed to be in like pin 2 and 8, or something like that. My connector didn't have anything in those pin slots. I'm assuming that since it came from the factory without any of the hardware there isn't anywhere for wires to go so they weren't installed. It didn't say which pin was for power or how much so I put it all back together. I ripped so much stuff out from under the steering wheel for a couple hours trying to make it work. Eventually it beat me. It's out there somewhere though if you want it.