Yeh or neh? E46 LED

thepharcyde

thepharcyde

thepharcyde

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Joined
17 Mar 2004
Posts
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Raised this before, but do these rear LED set look okay. Cannot justify the expense of OEM including getting the car to a dealers to get the reflash for the bulb warning.

But before I hit the buy it now, when the indicators flash on the OEM, do all the LED's light up as the ones below dont look like the top ones do?

a.gif
 
Yeah, I'd do it - be very careful if you're getting off eBay though - there are some right shockers on there.

I'd spend the money on 2nd hand OEMs, but I think there are some decent replicas kicking about now.
 
Don't do it!

The non OEM ones are nowhere near as bright and the fitment isn't great, I read and enquired about DEPO and Eagle eyes ones before I settled on OEM ones. I'm glad I did after comparing mine to aftermarket ones I've seen at BMW meets. Speaking to Teddy (SSDD Motorsport) he told me that all the coupe ones are rubbish and even offered me his last set for £50, as long as I didn't return them!

Also as you've noticed, you get things like some of the LEDs not lighting up, and have a read of BMWland or e46fanatics at the amount of people that still get bulb out warnings.

I just wish you could see my OEM ones so you could see the difference between them and that animation.

Edit: I found a pic of when I fitted mine, LED on the left, old type on the right - even these pics don't do the brightness justification:
led3.jpg
 
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you don't have to go to the dealers!
Try your local specialists (ring around and see if anyone has autologic)
My local charges £30+VAT for 1 hr with his diagnostic gear.

Cheaper than BMWs £60-130
 
You can get an OEM set for about £200, if you can live with the bulb warnings then no need to get them flashed for a while, although your foglight might come on when you brake.

I wouldn't risk an aftermarket personally, and I really researched this about a year ago. The fact that some of the LEDs don't even light up in that German set would put me off, anyone that notices you have LEDs will realise they are fakes.
 
If you can afford a £15,000 car I'm sure you can afford the £200-£300 to replace the rear lights PROPERLY.

OEM or dont bother, it'll stick out like a sore thumb if you get fake ones.
 
[TW]Fox;10068638 said:
If you can afford a £15,000 car I'm sure you can afford the £200-£300 to replace the rear lights PROPERLY.

OEM or dont bother, it'll stick out like a sore thumb if you get fake ones.
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It's about safety too, rather than just cosmetics.
 
Aftermarket LED lights can look ok(ish)... for the 1 to 6 months before they condensate up on the inside and the LED's start failing.
 
when I did the e39 i seen all the cheap kits. just dont. Go for the oem like I did they fit perfect and took the guy an hour for front and rear. :)

you will love them once done on the e46.
 
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