LED rear indicator swap

jh_f30 · 04-22-2019, 01:57 AM

I'm not yet convinced that spending $350ish on a DEPO LCI taillight retrofit on my 2013 335i with 108k+ miles would necessarily be money well spent, so in the interim, I decided to give LED bulbs a try. Started out with the rear indicators because I wanted to go with ambers for a Euro-spec look and to see if there would be any issues with hyper flashing.

Picked up a pair off Amazon, admittedly, I went for a cheaper brand ($16 for the pair). Swapped them in less than 10 mins and coded via Bimmercode. So far so good. They are considerably brighter and have a much quicker response time to the flashes. Not sure if they're TOO bright, but I guess it doesn't really matter since I will probably never really see them from my driver's seat.

Billfitz · 04-22-2019, 07:06 AM

Don't care for the amber bulbs myself. Most LED sources recommend using red bulbs in red tail lights. Hyper flashing only happens if you don't code them to LED Activ. I changed mine for the faster reaction time and to reduce the current draw, to avoid the oft reported burnt out connector. I used these, they're brighter than stock, but not obnoxiously so:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1

I put the white version of those in the backups.

I put these in the brake lights:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Newman1 · 04-22-2019, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Don't care for the amber bulbs myself. Most LED sources recommend using red bulbs in red tail lights. Hyper flashing only happens if you don't code them to LED Activ. I changed mine for the faster reaction time and to reduce the current draw, to avoid the oft reported burnt out connector. I used these, they're brighter than stock, but not obnoxiously so:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1

I put the white version of those in the backups.

I put these in the brake lights:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Would you mind sharing how long you’ve had those bulbs in your car? I’ve heard of other iJDM bulbs not lasting very long, although they were for a different application.

Billfitz · 04-22-2019, 09:29 PM

Two years. I'd have preferred a Sylvania, Philips or Osram but at the time they didn't offer an H21W LED bulb. I don't know if they do now.

Newman1 · 04-22-2019, 09:46 PM

Good to hear. Thank you.

04-22-2019, 01:57 AM	#1
jh_f30 Lieutenant Colonel 1308 Rep 1,827 Posts Drives: 2013 335i Sportline Auto RWD Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Bay Area, CA iTrader: (2)	LED rear indicator swap I'm not yet convinced that spending $350ish on a DEPO LCI taillight retrofit on my 2013 335i with 108k+ miles would necessarily be money well spent, so in the interim, I decided to give LED bulbs a try. Started out with the rear indicators because I wanted to go with ambers for a Euro-spec look and to see if there would be any issues with hyper flashing. Picked up a pair off Amazon, admittedly, I went for a cheaper brand ($16 for the pair). Swapped them in less than 10 mins and coded via Bimmercode. So far so good. They are considerably brighter and have a much quicker response time to the flashes. Not sure if they're TOO bright, but I guess it doesn't really matter since I will probably never really see them from my driver's seat. __________________ 2013 F30 335i RWD ZF Melbourne Red ~Remus Sport Axleback~VRSF Chargepipe~VRSF Catless Downpipe~GPlus FMIC~HR Sport Springs~Active Autowerke OBD Flash Tune Stage 2~
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04-22-2019, 07:06 AM	#2
Billfitz Lieutenant General 8313 Rep 16,195 Posts Drives: '15 328iX GT Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: New Hampshire iTrader: (0)	Don't care for the amber bulbs myself. Most LED sources recommend using red bulbs in red tail lights. Hyper flashing only happens if you don't code them to LED Activ. I changed mine for the faster reaction time and to reduce the current draw, to avoid the oft reported burnt out connector. I used these, they're brighter than stock, but not obnoxiously so: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1 I put the white version of those in the backups. I put these in the brake lights: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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04-22-2019, 09:29 PM	#4
Billfitz Lieutenant General 8313 Rep 16,195 Posts Drives: '15 328iX GT Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: New Hampshire iTrader: (0)	Two years. I'd have preferred a Sylvania, Philips or Osram but at the time they didn't offer an H21W LED bulb. I don't know if they do now.
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04-22-2019, 09:46 PM	#5
Newman1 Private First Class 56 Rep 108 Posts Drives: F30 Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: PDX iTrader: (0)	Good to hear. Thank you.
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