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      05-27-2020, 10:50 PM   #1
JR_1979
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Aftermarket BMW X1 F48 LCI Style LED Headlights

Picked up a 2016 X1 Xdrive 28i for wifey. After getting it home and going through everything, I told her to turn on the headlights so we could check them out. It was then I realized not every BMW comes with BMW headlights. =/ Felt like I failed her.

After doing a bunch of digging around, I came across an aftermarket version of the new LCI style LED headlights. Marketed as being 'plug and play', a direct swap with the OEMs. Cost was going to come in way under any other options. Problem is there's literally nothing out there on these things, anywhere.

These are manufactured, or 'assembled', in China, and only available from sellers in China. So you're looking at an eBay purchase, or Aliexpress if you're the type that's into creating problems for yourself.

So we took the gamble. It turned out so well I thought I'd share here, in case someone comes along pondering the same option: Here's what you're going to get.







These are the original halogen headlights we were dealing with. Sorry if you have these, but they're whack.





Tape the wall to mark the beam height on OEMs. New units will have to be adjusted after installation.

*BUMPER COVER REMOVAL - I'll spare you, that's another thread*





New headlights were packaged well. Arrived in perfect shape. Generic box.





OEM headlights. VALEO brand.





OEM lenses.





OEM headlight weight. Approx 7 lbs, per my circa 1950 Sunbeam scale.





Aftermarket headlight brand. Surprise, surprise! VALEO housing, same as OEM.





Aftermarket headlight lens. Same as OEM.





I'd read comments in a forum somewhere, I believe here, about 'China grade plastic'. I'm pleased to say these are assembled using the exact same housing as the OEMs, VALEO brand.





Aftermarket headlights tipping in at just under 9 lbs. Assume the difference is being made up of all the LED and resistor components. Just want to show these aren't lightweight pieces of junk. They're every bit as quality as the OEMs.





Left side of pic is original halogen headlight, right side of pic is aftermarket.





Whoo-wee! Pretty special.





Really like how cleaned up these look; dropping the orange reflectors and leaving everything black and silver.






Even down to the BMW logo on the side


And...the final product:





I purchased the set from a seller on eBay named art_carlight, who was awesome from start to finish. If anybody's interested I can vouch he's legit and super easy to work with.

Here's a video of them in action. Hope all this info is helpful to someone out there.



Last edited by JR_1979; 05-27-2020 at 11:08 PM..
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      05-28-2020, 01:58 AM   #2
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Nice! The high beam is on the inner lights or only outside, like OEM?
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      05-28-2020, 06:48 AM   #3
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Nice! The high beam is on the inner lights or only outside, like OEM?
Thanks! Yes, high beam is inner light only. Standard headlight is outer.
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      05-28-2020, 12:04 PM   #4
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They look great! This is a great option for those cars without the led headlights. Can't stand the look of a bmw with halogens.
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      05-29-2020, 02:46 AM   #5
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Great stuff!

Could you give us a direct link ?
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      05-29-2020, 06:48 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by iceman7 View Post
Great stuff!

Could you give us a direct link ?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2Pcs-For-BM...0/184198417360

With everything going on in the world right now, shipping charges are outrageous, especially for huge boxes out of China. That should change soon, hopefully.
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      05-29-2020, 11:21 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by JR_1979 View Post
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2Pcs-For-BM...0/184198417360

With everything going on in the world right now, shipping charges are outrageous, especially for huge boxes out of China. That should change soon, hopefully.
Why don't they have this additional LED? Seen cheaper versions with those!

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      05-29-2020, 11:30 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by SDriver18i View Post
Why don't they have this additional LED? Seen cheaper versions with those!

Yes, that's the older style pre-LCI style headlight. Those can be picked up for a couple hundred bucks cheaper, and we considered it. Once I saw this new LCI style was available, decided that was going to be the way to go.

Now that they're installed I know it was 100% the way to go.
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      05-29-2020, 03:32 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JR_1979 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by SDriver18i View Post
Why don't they have this additional LED? Seen cheaper versions with those!

Yes, that's the older style pre-LCI style headlight. Those can be picked up for a couple hundred bucks cheaper, and we considered it. Once I saw this new LCI style was available, decided that was going to be the way to go.

Now that they're installed I know it was 100% the way to go.
At least it's a much cheaper way to go than sell your halogen X1 and get a new one with factory installed leds, as I practically did 😂😂
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      05-29-2020, 08:04 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iceman7 View Post
At least it's a much cheaper way to go than sell your halogen X1 and get a new one with factory installed leds, as I practically did 😂😂
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-BMW-X1-...kAAOSwNNVd7g4O
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      06-05-2020, 08:48 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JR_1979 View Post
Picked up a 2016 X1 Xdrive 28i for wifey. After getting it home and going through everything, I told her to turn on the headlights so we could check them out. It was then I realized not every BMW comes with BMW headlights. =/ Felt like I failed her.

After doing a bunch of digging around, I came across an aftermarket version of the new LCI style LED headlights. Marketed as being 'plug and play', a direct swap with the OEMs. Cost was going to come in way under any other options. Problem is there's literally nothing out there on these things, anywhere.

These are manufactured, or 'assembled', in China, and only available from sellers in China. So you're looking at an eBay purchase, or Aliexpress if you're the type that's into creating problems for yourself.

So we took the gamble. It turned out so well I thought I'd share here, in case someone comes along pondering the same option: Here's what you're going to get.







These are the original halogen headlights we were dealing with. Sorry if you have these, but they're whack.





Tape the wall to mark the beam height on OEMs. New units will have to be adjusted after installation.

*BUMPER COVER REMOVAL - I'll spare you, that's another thread*





New headlights were packaged well. Arrived in perfect shape. Generic box.





OEM headlights. VALEO brand.





OEM lenses.





OEM headlight weight. Approx 7 lbs, per my circa 1950 Sunbeam scale.





Aftermarket headlight brand. Surprise, surprise! VALEO housing, same as OEM.





Aftermarket headlight lens. Same as OEM.





I'd read comments in a forum somewhere, I believe here, about 'China grade plastic'. I'm pleased to say these are assembled using the exact same housing as the OEMs, VALEO brand.





Aftermarket headlights tipping in at just under 9 lbs. Assume the difference is being made up of all the LED and resistor components. Just want to show these aren't lightweight pieces of junk. They're every bit as quality as the OEMs.





Left side of pic is original halogen headlight, right side of pic is aftermarket.





Whoo-wee! Pretty special.





Really like how cleaned up these look; dropping the orange reflectors and leaving everything black and silver.






Even down to the BMW logo on the side


And...the final product:





I purchased the set from a seller on eBay named art_carlight, who was awesome from start to finish. If anybody's interested I can vouch he's legit and super easy to work with.

Here's a video of them in action. Hope all this info is helpful to someone out there.


thanks for sharing. Those turn out very nice. Congrats.
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      06-05-2020, 12:09 PM   #12
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Nice compromise from the full LED headlights being a lot less expensive and still look great!
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      06-12-2020, 06:55 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JR_1979 View Post
Picked up a 2016 X1 Xdrive 28i for wifey. After getting it home and going through everything, I told her to turn on the headlights so we could check them out. It was then I realized not every BMW comes with BMW headlights. =/ Felt like I failed her.

After doing a bunch of digging around, I came across an aftermarket version of the new LCI style LED headlights. Marketed as being 'plug and play', a direct swap with the OEMs. Cost was going to come in way under any other options. Problem is there's literally nothing out there on these things, anywhere.

These are manufactured, or 'assembled', in China, and only available from sellers in China. So you're looking at an eBay purchase, or Aliexpress if you're the type that's into creating problems for yourself.

So we took the gamble. It turned out so well I thought I'd share here, in case someone comes along pondering the same option: Here's what you're going to get.







These are the original halogen headlights we were dealing with. Sorry if you have these, but they're whack.





Tape the wall to mark the beam height on OEMs. New units will have to be adjusted after installation.

*BUMPER COVER REMOVAL - I'll spare you, that's another thread*





New headlights were packaged well. Arrived in perfect shape. Generic box.





OEM headlights. VALEO brand.





OEM lenses.





OEM headlight weight. Approx 7 lbs, per my circa 1950 Sunbeam scale.





Aftermarket headlight brand. Surprise, surprise! VALEO housing, same as OEM.





Aftermarket headlight lens. Same as OEM.





I'd read comments in a forum somewhere, I believe here, about 'China grade plastic'. I'm pleased to say these are assembled using the exact same housing as the OEMs, VALEO brand.





Aftermarket headlights tipping in at just under 9 lbs. Assume the difference is being made up of all the LED and resistor components. Just want to show these aren't lightweight pieces of junk. They're every bit as quality as the OEMs.





Left side of pic is original halogen headlight, right side of pic is aftermarket.





Whoo-wee! Pretty special.





Really like how cleaned up these look; dropping the orange reflectors and leaving everything black and silver.






Even down to the BMW logo on the side


And...the final product:





I purchased the set from a seller on eBay named art_carlight, who was awesome from start to finish. If anybody's interested I can vouch he's legit and super easy to work with.

Here's a video of them in action. Hope all this info is helpful to someone out there.


Hi

This looks awesome. I've been toying with this idea for a while. Did you replace any of the bulbs or use what you had??
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      06-12-2020, 07:22 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by link_sy View Post
Hi

This looks awesome. I've been toying with this idea for a while. Did you replace any of the bulbs or use what you had??
The bulbs you're looking at in the pics and video were included with the headlight. I've since upgraded all of them since the turn signals were halogen and the headlights I felt could be brighter. Have to keep in mind the company manufacturing the headlight doesn't include any bulbs, so any bulbs you're getting are chosen and included by the seller. Obviously they're going to look for budget options.


The headlight projector housing takes a D2H bulb, typical for HID bulbs but a rare size for LED. I went with these, one of the few options but they're great and twice as bright as the bulbs the headlight came packaged with:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PNF2PTF

The base actually ended up being a little thinner than the D2H, but I was able to slip a rubber washer around it to beef it up. Fits nice and snug in the housing. Another option is to find a true D2H bulb, or even go with HID, which have a ton of options in this size.

Turn signal bulbs are PY21W, same as OEM. I went with these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RMX2XK6

Also upgraded all the rest of the exterior lighting to LED:

H8 Fogs: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GKPR452

H11 High Beams: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XP1GG13

1156 Brake lights and turn signals: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H6VLWX2

1156 Reverse light: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H6WSL4R

None of this stuff is necessary, obviously, but quality LEDs will last a lifetime, and I wanted to have bright, high quality bulbs all around.
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      06-13-2020, 04:29 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JR_1979 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by link_sy View Post
Hi

This looks awesome. I've been toying with this idea for a while. Did you replace any of the bulbs or use what you had??
The bulbs you're looking at in the pics and video were included with the headlight. I've since upgraded all of them since the turn signals were halogen and the headlights I felt could be brighter. Have to keep in mind the company manufacturing the headlight doesn't include any bulbs, so any bulbs you're getting are chosen and included by the seller. Obviously they're going to look for budget options.


The headlight projector housing takes a D2H bulb, typical for HID bulbs but a rare size for LED. I went with these, one of the few options but they're great and twice as bright as the bulbs the headlight came packaged with:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PNF2PTF

The base actually ended up being a little thinner than the D2H, but I was able to slip a rubber washer around it to beef it up. Fits nice and snug in the housing. Another option is to find a true D2H bulb, or even go with HID, which have a ton of options in this size.

Turn signal bulbs are PY21W, same as OEM. I went with these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RMX2XK6

Also upgraded all the rest of the exterior lighting to LED:

H8 Fogs: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GKPR452

H11 High Beams: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XP1GG13

1156 Brake lights and turn signals: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H6VLWX2

1156 Reverse light: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H6WSL4R

None of this stuff is necessary, obviously, but quality LEDs will last a lifetime, and I wanted to have bright, high quality bulbs all around.
Thanks for the feedback. If you're going through all that trouble, makes sense to do it right. I upgraded to Philips X-tremeUltinon H7 bulbs and hoping I would be able to still use them.
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      06-13-2020, 07:10 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by link_sy View Post
Thanks for the feedback. If you're going through all that trouble, makes sense to do it right. I upgraded to Philips X-tremeUltinon H7 bulbs and hoping I would be able to still use them.
Unfortunately, no. These take a D2H base for the low beam, and H11 for the highs.
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      06-16-2020, 06:34 AM   #17
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Did you find dificult removing the front bumper? Any hints? I bought this Led headlights and planning on doing this.
Thanks
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      06-16-2020, 07:09 AM   #18
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Did you find dificult removing the front bumper? Any hints? I bought this Led headlights and planning on doing this.
Thanks
Awesome, you're going to love them!

I debated doing another thread on the front bumper removal, but just didn't have the time. I'll try to point out a few things that might be helpful.

The first step is to remove the trim around the wheels. In order to do this, you have to drill out the plastic rivets. Using a small drill, go right through the center. This will allow the front of the rivet to fall off. After the entire trim piece is removed, you'll be able to fish around and find the back of the rivets that fell inside. Sounds extreme but it's really not. This will be the only part of the process that's a little tricky. Keep in mind you'll have to pick up some replacement plastic rivets when you're done. No biggie.

After that it's really just a matter of working your way around and removing all the screws/bolts attaching the front bumper cover to the vehicle. Will be a big help having a second person to help pull the bumper off as it's pretty big and awkward for one person. I didn't bother removing all the wiring and separating the entire bumper cover, just pulled it forward and sat it on a dolly.

For the headlights themselves, there's 4 bolts you'll need to remove. Three are clearly visible, one is located underneath the headlight, you'll locate this coming in from the rear of the headlight housing. That one's a little tricky but once the cover's off and you look at the bottom of the headlight, you'll see exactly where it's mounted.

Once you get that far, the rest will be a breeze. Get the new headlight into place and get the 4 bolts snug, but not tight. Enough play in them to make adjustments. Once it's positioned how you like it, tighten the bolts. Reverse your process putting the bumper cover back on.

All of it is completely doable by anyone with a set of sockets and a screwdriver. Bring some patience and do it on a day with some nice weather, it's a fun project and nothing back-breaking involved.

Here's a video that I found helpful going in just to get my head wrapped around the location of the bolts.


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      06-16-2020, 07:26 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JR_1979 View Post
Awesome, you're going to love them!

I debated doing another thread on the front bumper removal, but just didn't have the time. I'll try to point out a few things that might be helpful.

The first step is to remove the trim around the wheels. In order to do this, you have to drill out the plastic rivets. Using a small drill, go right through the center. This will allow the front of the rivet to fall off. After the entire trim piece is removed, you'll be able to fish around and find the back of the rivets that fell inside. Sounds extreme but it's really not. This will be the only part of the process that's a little tricky. Keep in mind you'll have to pick up some replacement plastic rivets when you're done. No biggie.

After that it's really just a matter of working your way around and removing all the screws/bolts attaching the front bumper cover to the vehicle. Will be a big help having a second person to help pull the bumper off as it's pretty big and awkward for one person. I didn't bother removing all the wiring and separating the entire bumper cover, just pulled it forward and sat it on a dolly.

For the headlights themselves, there's 4 bolts you'll need to remove. Three are clearly visible, one is located underneath the headlight, you'll locate this coming in from the rear of the headlight housing. That one's a little tricky but once the cover's off and you look at the bottom of the headlight, you'll see exactly where it's mounted.

Once you get that far, the rest will be a breeze. Get the new headlight into place and get the 4 bolts snug, but not tight. Enough play in them to make adjustments. Once it's positioned how you like it, tighten the bolts. Reverse your process putting the bumper cover back on.

All of it is completely doable by anyone with a set of sockets and a screwdriver. Bring some patience and do it on a day with some nice weather, it's a fun project and nothing back-breaking involved.

Here's a video that I found helpful going in just to get my head wrapped around the location of the bolts.


Awesome, thanks, very very helpfull. I will begin my project soon. I received my led headlights on Monday.
Really apreciate it. I will take some pics and let you know.
Thank you
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      06-16-2020, 07:32 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnyredgtr View Post
Awesome, thanks, very very helpfull. I will begin my project soon. I received my led headlights on Monday.
Really apreciate it. I will take some pics and let you know.
Thank you
You have to! Post some pics in here, can't wait to see them! I'm doing a bunch of upgrades to this X1, but these are still the best decision I made. Love, love, love them.
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      06-29-2020, 05:28 PM   #21
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Coding

Did you need to code for led headlights? How did you do this? Thank you!
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      06-29-2020, 08:13 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by dojowelsh@verizon.net View Post
Did you need to code for led headlights? How did you do this? Thank you!
They are 'plug-and-play', no coding needed. No errors, simple swap out for the OEM headlights.

Different sellers have different bulb setups, some ship with halogen turn signals. Upgrading these to LED is a simply process using BimmerCode.
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