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      06-01-2020, 02:54 PM   #1
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Is the executive package worth getting for laser headlights?

I see many don't have it, but they look really good.
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      06-01-2020, 03:17 PM   #2
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I have it, no regrets. I would like to get the lights coded so they can function as intended.
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      06-01-2020, 03:18 PM   #3
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Only reason I cared to get them is because I like the DRL better on the laser lights.
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      06-01-2020, 03:35 PM   #4
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I would say other than the DRL's there is not much benefit with the executive package. That being said, I had to have it and love them! But as the user above said, I would also love to get them coded to work as intended.
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      06-01-2020, 03:45 PM   #5
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I have laser lights for 2 reasons - because the DRL look better and after coding anti dazzle, they perform way better at night illuminating areas that weren't before (like the right shoulder of the road etc).
They aren't really brighter, just work more effectively
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      06-01-2020, 05:15 PM   #6
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IMO yes, the IIHS rating for the non laser lights is abysmal. The LEDs in the G20 are worse than the HID or LEDs from the F30, better than halogen tho. The DRL/low beam of the LEDs is indeed less bright than the one of the lasers. There are enough threads to search through on this forum (here or here).

Also, as others have said they do look much better on the car visually and if you do get the lasers, get them coded for the anti-dazzle high beams, best feature for night driving.

Last edited by Flamingi; 06-01-2020 at 05:24 PM..
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      06-02-2020, 03:01 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Burrcold View Post
Only reason I cared to get them is because I like the DRL better on the laser lights.
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      06-02-2020, 06:04 AM   #8
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+1

Even without coding out anti-dazzle, the Laser lights are terrific, lighting things up so much better & they follow your steering well
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      06-02-2020, 04:44 PM   #9
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Are they able to be coded to work correctly creating "no light" channels for cars in front of you? My 2017 M4 was able to be coded correctly and was amazing, but they took away that ability on the 2018 and I only have a semi correct version of it where they sort of move, but definitely don't have the start light cut offs for cars in front of me that my 2017 was able to have.
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      06-02-2020, 05:58 PM   #10
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      06-02-2020, 07:59 PM   #11
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Do the laser lights do away with high beams? How does the anti-dazzle feature work in the US spec? Does it have the tunneling effect?
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      06-06-2020, 06:52 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hokiedood View Post
Do the laser lights do away with high beams? How does the anti-dazzle feature work in the US spec? Does it have the tunneling effect?
hokiedood ,

Even with laser lights, still have high beams. Basically, as I understand it, the anti-dazzle "dumbs down" the laser to 1/2 of the European range due to US regs. Even with that they are terrific, particularly since they move as you turn
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      06-06-2020, 07:19 PM   #13
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Even in US spec I like them much better at night if you live rural
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      06-08-2020, 09:01 PM   #14
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Yes!!!
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      06-09-2020, 12:33 PM   #15
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I'd say yes, but only if you're willing to code them properly and get full capabilities out of them.
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      06-09-2020, 09:19 PM   #16
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Sounds like some of you might believe you’re experiencing laser lights when you’re actually running on the LEDs. The lasers are high beam only, and they turn on about as frequently as Halley’s Comet passes Earth. You can’t control when the lasers come on. I can honestly say I’m not sure if they’ve ever turned on or not in my X5.
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      06-09-2020, 09:21 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RSnic View Post
hokiedood ,

Even with laser lights, still have high beams. Basically, as I understand it, the anti-dazzle "dumbs down" the laser to 1/2 of the European range due to US regs. Even with that they are terrific, particularly since they move as you turn
The lasers are the high beams but only if the car allows it. Otherwise your low and high beams are LED. It’s the LEDs that are turning, not the lasers. Anti dazzle also does not mean what you think it does. In sum, the lasers are very close to worthless. The biggest value is that it makes the headlight assembly look cool aside from that dumb ass warning label.

You didn’t think BMW was actually going to give you laser lights in 2020 did you? In 3-4 years they’ll make “super lasers” an option, and the current lasers will become standard. “Super lasers” will be advertised as “laser headlights that emit light when it is dark outside.”

Last edited by The J-Man; 06-09-2020 at 09:29 PM..
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      06-10-2020, 07:16 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The J-Man View Post
Sounds like some of you might believe you’re experiencing laser lights when you’re actually running on the LEDs. The lasers are high beam only, and they turn on about as frequently as Halley’s Comet passes Earth. You can’t control when the lasers come on. I can honestly say I’m not sure if they’ve ever turned on or not in my X5.
That is correct, you have LED low and high beams and the lasers turn on additionally to the LED high beams if there is no other traffic (neither in the same nor the opposite direction) and above 70km/h (iirc). On my X5 I can tell if they are turning on, and it happens - well - whenever the situation explained above allows it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by The J-Man View Post
Anti dazzle also does not mean what you think it does. In sum, the lasers are very close to worthless. The biggest value is that it makes the headlight assembly look cool aside from that dumb ass warning label. outside.”
Just to set things straight. There are three light options: LED, LED with cornering lights and Laser. The normal LEDs are just that: on, off nothing else. The cornering lights will turn with you into the curves as well as light up a corner when turning. The lasers then add BMW selective beam/anti-dazzle.

This means high beam is turned on while there are still other cars in front of you and the high beams are selectively turned off exactly where the other cars are. You can see this effect really good in this video. Notice how the high beam stays on the entire time around him, so you can see everything and at the same time don't dazzle him. The laser light is the very bright spot right in the middle, that reaches about 200m farther than the LEDs, in this video the street is quite curvy so you can't see it very well, but it is noticeable in real life. The lasers are just another bonus on top. For me, besides the look, the anti-dazzle function is the selling feature of the lasers.

If you go with normal LEDs you do not have that feature. So I highly suggest to get the lasers. To get the full feature working you will have to code the EU anti-dazzle lights. I'm not 100% sure which features you will loose if you don't code them.

Last edited by Flamingi; 06-10-2020 at 07:21 AM..
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      06-11-2020, 12:23 PM   #19
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To clarify for those in the US - you will receive the least functional laser headlights possible. You aren't able to control them manually, and they will very rarely turn on unless you are going over approx 40 mph for a sustained period on a VERY dark road with ZERO other cars. When they do turn on, you will probably not notice anything. They will also NOT have anti-dazzle functionality like the video Flamingi shows above. Truly, the only value you are getting is a better looking headlight assembly.
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      06-12-2020, 02:41 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flamingi View Post
That is correct, you have LED low and high beams and the lasers turn on additionally to the LED high beams if there is no other traffic (neither in the same nor the opposite direction) and above 70km/h (iirc). On my X5 I can tell if they are turning on, and it happens - well - whenever the situation explained above allows it.



Just to set things straight. There are three light options: LED, LED with cornering lights and Laser. The normal LEDs are just that: on, off nothing else. The cornering lights will turn with you into the curves as well as light up a corner when turning. The lasers then add BMW selective beam/anti-dazzle.

This means high beam is turned on while there are still other cars in front of you and the high beams are selectively turned off exactly where the other cars are. You can see this effect really good in this video. Notice how the high beam stays on the entire time around him, so you can see everything and at the same time don't dazzle him. The laser light is the very bright spot right in the middle, that reaches about 200m farther than the LEDs, in this video the street is quite curvy so you can't see it very well, but it is noticeable in real life. The lasers are just another bonus on top. For me, besides the look, the anti-dazzle function is the selling feature of the lasers.

If you go with normal LEDs you do not have that feature. So I highly suggest to get the lasers. To get the full feature working you will have to code the EU anti-dazzle lights. I'm not 100% sure which features you will loose if you don't code them.
Most of the people here are in America. American cars have the anti-dazzle feature disabled.

Paying $2100 for cooler looking DRLs seems insane to me. It's not like the adaptive LED DRLs don't look good.
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      06-12-2020, 05:26 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by upsidedownfunnel View Post
Most of the people here are in America. American cars have the anti-dazzle feature disabled.

Paying $2100 for cooler looking DRLs seems insane to me. It's not like the adaptive LED DRLs don't look good.
Well, as I and everyone else have said you definitely want to get it coded. Also, it's not $2100, but only $1200 more and you also get gesture control and automatic low/high beams (offtopic, but you don't get automatic low/high beams with the LEDs in the US? In Germany it's a €160 option with the LEDs).

Additionally, even if you don't get it coded, the light of the low/high beams of the laser lights are brighter than the low/high beams of the normal LEDs or LEDs with cornering light. A quick look into the IIHS rating will confirm that.

I'd say it is a worthwhile investment. Also, like does it matter if the car is $49k or $50k? You don't even have a lot of options in the US anyway... (Just for comparison, my X5 has almost 50% of the base price in options on top; €83k base and as spec'd it was €117k)

Last edited by Flamingi; 06-12-2020 at 05:34 AM..
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      06-12-2020, 01:05 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flamingi View Post
Well, as I and everyone else have said you definitely want to get it coded. Also, it's not $2100, but only $1200 more and you also get gesture control and automatic low/high beams (offtopic, but you don't get automatic low/high beams with the LEDs in the US? In Germany it's a €160 option with the LEDs).

Additionally, even if you don't get it coded, the light of the low/high beams of the laser lights are brighter than the low/high beams of the normal LEDs or LEDs with cornering light. A quick look into the IIHS rating will confirm that.

I'd say it is a worthwhile investment. Also, like does it matter if the car is $49k or $50k? You don't even have a lot of options in the US anyway... (Just for comparison, my X5 has almost 50% of the base price in options on top; €83k base and as spec'd it was €117k)
The package is $2100 in America. Everything else that comes with it is useless. gesture control? Does anyone actually use that or feel that it's better than steering wheel controls? Auto high beams might be worth it, but they are ripping you off if that's all you're getting for that much money. Don't get me started on self parking. I've had it on multiple cars, it's a pointless purely software feature that no one who knows how to park uses ever.

Also, the laserlight low beams are exactly the same as the adaptive LEDs. Laserlights do not come into play in America unless you use high beams. If you actually look at the IIHS ratings, the low beam ratings and projection charts are identical. The only difference is that high beam is slightly weaker on the adaptive LED cars.

A $50k-$60k luxury car with a $2100 option package that requires an additional paid coding session as soon as you buy it? As an enthusiasts and DIYer, I have no problem coding it. But many people are still paying to have this done and many who want to do it still are not able to get it done or aren't very impressed by the results. Some believe the brightness is lower than the EU car even with it enabled. You have to pay close attention to which comments are from Americans and which are from Europeans.

https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...1569980&page=7

Last edited by upsidedownfunnel; 06-12-2020 at 01:13 PM..
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