[turbocomppro]

My car does have the ambient lighting. However, on the doors, it only lights up the open door handle. I can also change the light color to white or orange. I’ve seen some pics where the plastic strip also had lights underneath. I know there are aftermarket options but I think there was a factory option because the aftermarkets are very bright while the factory one is very dim. I think mine was the first year of the LCI as mine was still labeled 328 instead of 330. Maybe they changed the lights in the later LCI years?

Can anyone confirm?

[jmg]

Originally Posted by turbocomppro

My car does have the ambient lighting. However, on the doors, it only lights up the open door handle. I can also change the light color to white or orange. I've seen some pics where the plastic strip also had lights underneath. I know there are aftermarket options but I think there was a factory option because the aftermarkets are very bright while the factory one is very dim. I think mine was the first year of the LCI as mine was still labeled 328 instead of 330. Maybe they changed the lights in the later LCI years?

Can anyone confirm?

I honestly don't remember if my 328i had ambient lighting. Look under the door trim just above the arm rest to see if there is a light strip there. It might just be very dim and can be brightened a bit with the instrument cluster dimmer on your dash. You can also code it to be independent of that dimmer then set it to max in iDrive. In all honesty it's not that bright.

There are aftermarket plastic strips that basically catch the light and have it visible. Basically the plastic trim lights up and you will end up seeing a bar of light if that makes sense. Here is it installed in my F80. It's not terribly bright, but it improves the interior a bit.

[turbocomppro]

Originally Posted by jmg

I honestly don't remember if my 328i had ambient lighting. Look under the door trim just above the arm rest to see if there is a light strip there. It might just be very dim and can be brightened a bit with the instrument cluster dimmer on your dash. You can also code it to be independent of that dimmer then set it to max in iDrive. In all honesty it's not that bright.

There are aftermarket plastic strips that basically catch the light and have it visible. Basically the plastic trim lights up and you will end up seeing a bar of light if that makes sense. Here is it installed in my F80. It's not terribly bright, but it improves the interior a bit.

Mine definitely does not have lights under there. And yeah, I saw the inserts and that’s what got me browsing for them. But man, just strips of plastic for $63... talk about gouging... gonna go with that 9 color aftermarket one and will likely get the strips as it makes it look like the G20.

[eff32fl]

I have an LCI F32 and the OEM lights aren't very bright either. Those plastic strips help focus the light so it's more visible but brightness remains the same.

If you're interested in changing the colors of your ambient lighting while making it brighter (or just making it brighter) there's a German company that sells replacement LED modules that are super easy to swap out. It provides a different color and white combination instead of amber/white and they also offer the standard amber/white combination. I've bought from the company and done the swap myself and bought the blue/white modules. They were supposed to come out with a replacement module for the LCI radio trim, but I've yet to see it released unfortunately. They're super bright but you can lower the brightness within iDrive of course if you'd like.

For the door ambient lighting strips (need 4 of these):

https://www.benzinfabrik.com/de/led-...htung-fuer-bmw

For the floor board (need 2 of these):

https://www.benzinfabrik.com/de/led-...htung-fuer-bmw

Check out the thread at the link below for more info and pictures.

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...5&postcount=62

[turbocomppro]

Originally Posted by eff32fl

I have an LCI F32 and the OEM lights aren't very bright either. Those plastic strips help focus the light so it's more visible but brightness remains the same.

If you're interested in changing the colors of your ambient lighting while making it brighter (or just making it brighter) there's a German company that sells replacement LED modules that are super easy to swap out. It provides a different color and white combination instead of amber/white and they also offer the standard amber/white combination. I've bought from the company and done the swap myself and bought the blue/white modules. They were supposed to come out with a replacement module for the LCI radio trim, but I've yet to see it released unfortunately. They're super bright but you can lower the brightness within iDrive of course if you'd like.

For the door ambient lighting strips (need 4 of these):

https://www.benzinfabrik.com/de/led-...htung-fuer-bmw

For the floor board (need 2 of these):

https://www.benzinfabrik.com/de/led-...htung-fuer-bmw

Check out the thread at the link below for more info and pictures.

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...5&postcount=62

Holy shit! I just took a look again and it does have the lights under the strip! It’s so freaking dim I never realize it’s there!!! The settings in iDrive is at max and it’s dim as hell... I got the 9 color NBT one from aliexpress and the diffuse strips on Amazon... I’ll update after install... crazy after 5 years never knew it had lights there...

[aardate]

Originally Posted by turbocomppro

Holy shit! I just took a look again and it does have the lights under the strip! It’s so freaking dim I never realize it’s there!!! The settings in iDrive is at max and it’s dim as hell... I got the 9 color NBT one from aliexpress and the diffuse strips on Amazon... I’ll update after install... crazy after 5 years never knew it had lights there...

Just FYI. Even if the setting in Idrive is set to
Max. The ambient lighting inside the door trim does dim along with the instrument cluster. So if you have your instrument cluster dimmed through the control next to the lights auto/on/off then most likely your ambient lighting is dimmed.

[turbocomppro]

Originally Posted by aardate

Just FYI. Even if the setting in Idrive is set to
Max. The ambient lighting inside the door trim does dim along with the instrument cluster. So if you have your instrument cluster dimmed through the control next to the lights auto/on/off then most likely your ambient lighting is dimmed.

Yeah it’s maxed as well. I think it’s because I have the black interior. Just absorbs all the light. But I see that it’s uneven as well as there’s only a single light source instead of the whole strip lighting up like the aftermarkets.

My wife got the G20 and I was so jealous of the ambient lighting... lol

[jmg]

Originally Posted by turbocomppro

Yeah it’s maxed as well. I think it’s because I have the black interior. Just absorbs all the light. But I see that it’s uneven as well as there’s only a single light source instead of the whole strip lighting up like the aftermarkets.

My wife got the G20 and I was so jealous of the ambient lighting... lol

The whole thing should be lit up. Maybe it went bad? Those plastic strips will help, but it's not going to be as bright as the G series.

[turbocomppro]

Originally Posted by jmg

The whole thing should be lit up. Maybe it went bad? Those plastic strips will help, but it's not going to be as bright as the G series.

The whole thing lights up. But since it’s only a single light source and the strip is only a diffuser, it gets dimmer and dimmer towards the rear. And all 4 doors are like this. It was so dim that I never knew it was there for the whole 5 years I had the car! Hope the aftermarket ones fixes that. Combine with the rip off diffusers from Amazon hopefully can somewhat replicate the G20.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by turbocomppro

The whole thing lights up. But since it’s only a single light source and the strip is only a diffuser, it gets dimmer and dimmer towards the rear. And all 4 doors are like this. It was so dim that I never knew it was there for the whole 5 years I had the car! Hope the aftermarket ones fixes that. Combine with the rip off diffusers from Amazon hopefully can somewhat replicate the G20.

Lol don't feel so bad. Same thing happened to me in my first F80. I didn't know they were even there!

[sqwinny]

I installed these. They are super bright. Better than the plastic strips. They Work well with the I drive settings. Easy install, just takes some patience. Matches the LCI radio trim as well. I have them set at below 1/2 brightness all the time.

Interior Car Lights, Car LED Strip Light Upgrade 2 Colors Car Door Panel Ambient Light Fit for 3 Series F30 2013-2019 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08K3HQLD3...6ZQ4E221FPF0RC

Install video + brightness.

[turbocomppro]

Originally Posted by jmg

Lol don't feel so bad. Same thing happened to me in my first F80. I didn't know they were even there!

Thanks buddy. I’ll report back once I get everything installed... probably in a month since it’s shipping from China.

[turbocomppro]

Attachment 2764959

Originally Posted by sqwinny

I installed these. They are super bright. Better than the plastic strips. They Work well with the I drive settings. Easy install, just takes some patience. Matches the LCI radio trim as well. I have them set at below 1/2 brightness all the time.

I got the ones where you can change 9 colors from Aliexpress. Still on its way... but I did get the Amazon plastic strips and they work OK on the stock lights. Hopefully the aftermarkets will really make these pop.

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by turbocomppro

My car does have the ambient lighting. However, on the doors, it only lights up the open door handle. I can also change the light color to white or orange. I’ve seen some pics where the plastic strip also had lights underneath. I know there are aftermarket options but I think there was a factory option because the aftermarkets are very bright while the factory one is very dim. I think mine was the first year of the LCI as mine was still labeled 328 instead of 330. Maybe they changed the lights in the later LCI years?

Can anyone confirm?

My 14 Pre-LCI Sport Line definitely has ambient lighting underneath the plastic trim strips on the doors, but it's pretty faint. Post LCI loaners I have had seem to be brighter. I can choose White (Sport) or Amber (Classic) lighting; but the Amber is even harder to see than White (my interior is black).

[turbocomppro]

Finally got everything done. It is very involved and at least 8 hours of work but the end result is, well, see for yourself.

It is much brighter than stock. Visible in day time. All controlled through iDrive. Minor coding which is very easy if you’ve coded before. The color displayed in iDrive is wrong though and I’m trying to figure out if I can change the color names... the last color is interesting as it slowly cycles through the spectrum. Together with the $63 Amazon diffusers (collector?), it looks very classy and professional. But god damn it’s a lot of work... total about $250 spent.

[turbocomppro]

Also, what’s great is that it’s on even if you don’t have parking lights on. It turns on when you open the door, and stays on about 30 seconds after you close it.

The kit: https://a.aliexpress.com/_mqxmkP6

The Amazon diffuser: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SG65LWJ...p_mob_ap_share

[eff32fl]

Looks good! The blue is a nice deep blue which seems rare with the Chinese products (usually a light "ice" blue).

[jmg]

Wow that looks pretty good! Any night shots? Any humming while it's on like the other Chinese kits? I wish this was around sooner so I could have enjoyed it with F30 and F80!

[turbocomppro]

Originally Posted by jmg

Wow that looks pretty good! Any night shots? Any humming while it's on like the other Chinese kits? I wish this was around sooner so I could have enjoyed it with F30 and F80!

No humming no noise at all. This is at 1/3 brightness. Full brightness is too bright.. Wife’s car was next to the mine in the garage so couldn’t open the door all the way...