[drapzzy]

Hi All,
It's me again and i wanted to just do a confined review on the gts tail lights as I just installed them 2 days ago. So just to get this off everybody's mind that might need to know this but it doesn't matter where you get it from whether if be from amazon (got it from Amazon for $389) or kies motorsports or Alibaba there all the same product just repackaged and charge a higher premium. There is also 2 version of the lights there is version 1 and version 2, you can tell the difference by looking at the scales and on the inner part of the light, the version one has 5 scales where the version 2 has 4 and there is also a line running in between them. Next is the review of the actual tail lights, I swapped mine out for the LCI ones and I can say that they are much brighter and the reverse lights are almost blinding at night which is a good thing in my opinion than the dim stock ones, Even though the LCI tail lights for the F30 are great this upgrade is definitely worth it.The only downside is during the day the turn signals are a little dim but it's not like you use em anyway let's me honest. Now I suggest doing the install yourself if you were thinking about taking it to the shop because that is what I thought but then gambled and did it myself. Know for the inner part of the tail lights there is clips that you must snap on to get the perfect fitment WHICH IS A PAIN TO GET IN AND TAKES TIME (Watch youtube videos they helped me out a lot), so don't give up. Also note once installed you will need to get Bimmercode to have the scales run as daytime running lights which is an additional 30$. Let me know if you have any other questions so that I can do the best to my ability to help you! Below is an attached video of the unlock sequence.

[vektorprime]

Nice! Do you have a video with the front too at night? I've seen other videos but yours look way brighter than I expected.

[drapzzy]

Originally Posted by vektorprime

Nice! Do you have a video with the front too at night? I've seen other videos but yours look way brighter than I expected.

You mean like the front of the car ?

[MagnusAG99]

Heres to anyone who wanna see how the version 1`s looks like. Personally i like this animation more, the absolute perfect animation would be the version 2 animations but without the "breathing" at the end. Sure its cool for when you unlock the car, but when you go thru a tunnel and the lights turn on the version 2`s animation is endless and usually never have the time to let the animation finish and turn fully on until youre out of the tunnel again. (Atleast here in Europe cars auto turn on their lights in tunnels, dont know about the rest of the world. Sure you could code the taillights to be on all the time as DRLs, but i personally dont see the point in that when theyre barely visible.)


During the night:

During the day:

[drapzzy]

Originally Posted by MagnusAG99

Heres to anyone who wanna see how the version 1`s looks like. Personally i like this animation more, the absolute perfect animation would be the version 2 animations but without the "breathing" at the end. Sure its cool for when you unlock the car, but when you go thru a tunnel and the lights turn on the version 2`s animation is endless and usually never have the time to let the animation finish and turn fully on until youre out of the tunnel again. (Atleast here in Europe cars auto turn on their lights in tunnels, dont know about the rest of the world. Sure you could code the taillights to be on all the time as DRLs, but i personally dont see the point in that when theyre barely visible.)

Thanks for showing the different versions

[Itogliano]

Starting to think about doing this. What's involved with the coding for the DRLs? You say you need Bimmercode, would it not be possible with E-Sys (which I already have)? And just to make sure I'm understanding correctly, if you don't do any coding, they will only turn on when the lights do, right? Coding is only if you want them on all the time

[drapzzy]

Originally Posted by Itogliano

Starting to think about doing this. What's involved with the coding for the DRLs? You say you need Bimmercode, would it not be possible with E-Sys (which I already have)? And just to make sure I'm understanding correctly, if you don't do any coding, they will only turn on when the lights do, right? Coding is only if you want them on all the time

Correct, I'm not sure about e-sys but all that it is in BimmerCode is the option "outer and inner light daytime running lights"

[Itogliano]

Originally Posted by drapzzy

Correct, I'm not sure about e-sys but all that it is in BimmerCode is the option "outer and inner light daytime running lights"

Gotcha, thanks. Looks like the 4 series lights are going for$750 unfortunately. Hopefully they'll come down to that $389 price eventually...

[drapzzy]

Originally Posted by Itogliano

Gotcha, thanks. Looks like the 4 series lights are going for$750 unfortunately. Hopefully they'll come down to that $389 price eventually...

Yea I've noticed that, My assumption for that is that they just came out not to long ago and they mimic the original GTS tail lights which is for the 4 series chassis (M4 GTS) so it requires a little more retail then the 3 series ones

[homeryen88]

Thanks to the OP for starting this thread. I've also just installed this, so I'll add in my $02. as well.

GTS OLED Style Tail Lights Amps Up the F30’s Rearside Head-Turning Quotient

My car is a 2014 335i. Had this installed 6 months ago (installed Mar; today is Oct). And after 6,000 miles of testing it out, I do like this upgrade! In a nutshell, these tail lights provide both an aesthetic bump as well as greater visibility.

Now, let me share my POV:
I Purchased It Here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08RNFBRVP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Obvious Observations:
1. Fit is flush for my 2014 335i (pre-LCI).
2. These GTS OLED Style tail lights are indeed much brighter/more noticeable than the OEM tail lights.
3. Sequential turn signals, IMHO, are also more noticeable than the OEM blinkers.
4. If you have Bimmercode (as I do), you can program these lights (as with the OEM lights) to work as DRLs and they can also be coded with the Brake Force Display (that’s where the brake lights strobe during hard braking).
5. Gotten several comments on its "cool factor".
6. Does not come with any install instructions, but there are several good DIY videos out there on YouTube (although I took my lights to the local Best Buy for installation).
7. Definitely improves the F30s rearside look. See pic for side-by-side. In the pic below, car on the right has the new lights (plus a roof spoiler). BTW, you can find plenty of other blogs/vlogs that show these lights when on; I’m just adding a side-by-side pic as I had not seen one previously.
8. $440 (at the time of purchase) is an incredibly competitive price versus what you’ll find at other popular mod retailers like Bayoptiks (currently $575 for a slightly different version) and Kies Motorsports (currently $650).

What about Those Rear Fog Lights?:
If you look closely, these lights do include rear fog lights (located above the reverse lights, but see pic for schematic). But, how do you turn them on?

Unfortunately, the cars sold here in the US do not come with the correct headlight switch. You’ll have to look around to find a “European Headlight Switch” (and the correct one).

NOTE: there are also blogs/vlogs on how to enable the “dummy” button on the existing headlight switch (such as this one: https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1480018 and also this one: http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=877278) allowing you to save yourself the $160 to purchase a new one, but I just liked the look of the European switch better.

European Headlight Switch:
While forum members do advise you to find a deal on Ebay, I just decided to purchase a new one ($160) through ECS Tuning:
http://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-european-bmw-parts/european-headlight-switch/61319265303~oeb/

This particular switch is suitable with cars that have fog lights, rains sensors, and xenon lights (which is what my car has). It did take 3 months for this European Headlight Switch to arrive at my door.

NOTE: shout-out to forum member WagonHo as he does include an illustration of the various headlight switches in the F30 universe (see the thread for "What Did You Do to Your F3x Today?", post #10635 on page 484 within this thread). If you have a switch that is different than the one that ECS Tuning sells (and they only sell that one model), my recommendation is to call someone from www.getbmwparts.com (they seem to be able to procure anything).

Anyway, it’s now just a matter of removing the existing OEM headlight switch (and popping off the surrounding plate); unplugging a wire; re-attaching that wire to the ECS European headlight switch; and inserting the new ECS switch (the surrounding plate will easily reattach) into place. For visual perspective, look at those abovementioned posts about the “dummy” button.

OH, you will also need to code this new setup so that the rear fog lights will actually turn on.

Again, I have always used BimmerCode for my car’s coding needs. And although I’ve seen a few blogs on this procedure, I’ll include the step-by-step directions below:

I also communicated with support@bimmercode and they verified this to be current (as of this writing).

I am going to detail every step (and there are 16 of them) because I am a dummy when it comes to stuff like this, so consider this “Coding Rear Fog Lights ON for Dummies” (like me).

1. Enter BimmerCode (turn it on; tell it what kind of car you have; let it boot up) and at the main menu, tap the option to enter the Front Electronic Module menu

2. Enter Expert Mode (toggle switch is in the upper right).

3. You’ll now enter a menu where you’ll see a bunch of options denoted by 4-digit numbers. Touch 3060 (LceMaster).

4. Scroll down to NSL_VERBAUT. Tap to enter that function.

5. Set it to “Verbaut”.

6. Hit OK. Then hit the back arrow (upper left) to go back to the menu with the 4-digit numbers.

7. Hit CODE (upper right) and let it do its thing (only takes about 5 seconds).

8. Return back to main menu and now enter the Rear Electronic Module menu.

9. Enter Expert Mode (toggle switch is in the upper right).

10. As with before, you’ll now enter a menu where you’ll see a bunch of options denoted by 4-digit numbers. Touch 3063 (LceLampMapping2).

11. There are a lot of menu items here, but you’ll scroll about ¼ down this page to this option: Mapping_Nebelschlussl_L_output

12. Tap that. You’ll see that it’s likely defaulted to “off”. But, you’ll want to touch “nsl_l” and hit OK.

13. Now, scroll a bit further down to go to: Mapping_Nebelschlussl_R_output

14. Tap that; It’s likely defaulted to “off”. But, you’ll want to touch “nsl_r” and hit OK.

15. Then hit the back arrow (upper left) to go back to the menu with the 4-digit numbers.

16. Hit CODE (upper right) and let it do its thing (only takes about 5 seconds). Upon completion, it will say “coding complete”

17. Now, cross your fingers and hit that rear fog light button!

I would say that it took me (a non-DIYer) about 30-40 minutes to remove the OEM headlight switch and to insert the European headlight switch as well as to code it successfully. I’ve also included a pic of my dashboard now that the mod has been completed. Look at the blue arrow to see the new workable button; look at the yellow arrow to see the new indicator light for the rear fog light.

Again, it’s a really nice mod/upgrade to amp up the rear-side head-turning quotient as well as your tail’s visibility. I do like it, and I think it to be worth the ($440 + $165) $605 investment.

Mod On!

[Itogliano]

Great procedural write up. I really should code in my rear fogs... maybe this weekend

[mike@x-ph.com]

[gameson]

Just checking. Does bmw offer oem version for this gts tail light for sale? If so, how much, and the part number?

Thank you

[drapzzy]

Originally Posted by gameson

Just checking. Does bmw offer oem version for this gts tail light for sale? If so, how much, and the part number?

Thank you

Not for the 3 series for the 4 series they have them from the original gts m4 cost about 7000 dollars

[gameson]

Originally Posted by drapzzy

Not for the 3 series for the 4 series they have them from the original gts m4 cost about 7000 dollars

[drapzzy]

Originally Posted by gameson

thats bmw for you but to be fair the original ones are real OLED and the replicas are LED but its really hard to tell the difference

[SZeRo_PT]

Didn't know these existed, kinda wish I didn't see this

[drapzzy]

Originally Posted by SZeRo_PT

Didn't know these existed, kinda wish I didn't see this

Yea, they have been out for almost a year, completely change the look of the car I love them on my car

[IRaevsky]

greetings to all from dying russia

In November aliexpress sent me another version of these taillights. I think it's a fake-fake. i paid the same as vland for them but it look much worse and have cheap animation

https://youtu.be/_2EruxIkAT0

and it have BMW OLED written on the side

[NorthDallasBMWowner]

I installed the VLAND tail lights and they work great but I am getting a message on my BMW info system that there is a problem with my taillights. How do you solve this?

[G.Newt]

Originally Posted by NorthDallasBMWowner

I installed the VLAND tail lights and they work great but I am getting a message on my BMW info system that there is a problem with my taillights. How do you solve this?

You need to code out the bulb checks. Use something like Bimercode for $30.

[Onizukachan]

Originally Posted by Itogliano

Starting to think about doing this. What's involved with the coding for the DRLs? You say you need Bimmercode, would it not be possible with E-Sys (which I already have)? And just to make sure I'm understanding correctly, if you don't do any coding, they will only turn on when the lights do, right? Coding is only if you want them on all the time

Esys is more powerful than BimmerCode, so yes, anything they can do you can. And more.