Adding LED rear turn signals and brake lights - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

MAH · 30th July 2001, 06:31

I am replacing the rear bulbs for the turn indicators and the brake lights with LED's that fit into the same sockets. They are not cheap, but they will really match the LED light bar that we have for the regular lights. I will let you all know what the price and the source is as soon as they come in. Email me if you want it sooner.

BTW, replacing the bulbs in the foglights with PIAA Super White almost HID color light bulbs was a major improvement. They were $84 but well worth it and they do come very close to the color of the HID's. The bulb number is 9006 in case you were wondering.

Mark

atomic80 · 30th July 2001, 07:32

please do let us know about that! I went to a bmwcca event earlier today here in Seattle and I saw a Z8! Those things have neon turn signals and they looked awesome to say the least!

Have you thought about going the HID route? I did that and the color matches very well!

Jason

Stallion M5 · 30th July 2001, 10:57

Mark,
You paid $84 for 9006 bulbs replacement? You should've talked to me first.

I can get you much cheaper and it's not even a group buy.

MAH · 30th July 2001, 16:58

Quote:

Originally posted by atomic80
please do let us know about that! I went to a bmwcca event earlier today here in Seattle and I saw a Z8! Those things have neon turn signals and they looked awesome to say the least!

Have you thought about going the HID route? I did that and the color matches very well!

Jason

Jason,

I thought I would try the non-HID route first because of the price. We do not use the foglights very much in Southern California for real fog( not that that stops every single car with them from keeping them on all the time, even during the day), so I opted for the less expensive route. I am pretty happy with the results. It is not a dead on match, but really close. I will keep you updated about the rest of the LED replacement bulbs.

Mark

Mark

MAH · 30th July 2001, 17:05

Quote:

Originally posted by Stallion M5
Mark,
You paid $84 for 9006 bulbs replacement? You should've talked to me first.

I can get you much cheaper and it's not even a group buy.

Adrian,

I was in a local Harley shop and they had a PIAA display. I could not resest. I know, you would have gotten them for me for $40. Please don't tell me that even if it is true. BTW, I would recommend making this simple change to everyones car.

FYI, there is only ONE screw necessary to remove the foglights. DO NOT PLAY WITH THE ONE TOWARDS THE OUTSIDE EDGE. The only one you want to deal with is the on the inside edge of the light. Refer to the manuel, it actually is correct. Naturally I did not do this till after I messed up the leveling of the light and almost broke the leveling screw!

Mark

AndyMenard · 30th July 2001, 17:15

Adrian,

I was going to do the real HID replacement but after hearing about Mark's bulb replacement, I think I may opt for just going with better bulbs for now. I actually don't drive my car much at night...and I would rather keep that extra $500-600 available to do other "performance" upgrades instead.

I will email you so you can place an order for me. Also, I would like to get those "silvervision" bulbs to replace all of my turn signal bulbs.

MAH · 30th July 2001, 17:32

Quote:

Originally posted by AndyMenard
Adrian,

I was going to do the real HID replacement but after hearing about Mark's bulb replacement, I think I may opt for just going with better bulbs for now. I actually don't drive my car much at night...and I would rather keep that extra $500-600 available to do other "performance" upgrades instead.

I will email you so you can place an order for me. Also, I would like to get those "silvervision" bulbs to replace all of my turn signal bulbs.

Andy,

Not to take anything away from the silvervision, but a very light coat of silver high temperature paint really does the trick for hiding the yellow color. Try one and keep the other in and compare. I did not notice a brightness difference with a light coat. You can always take the paint off if you do not like it.

OK Adrian, sell him the bulbs

I'm in on the 8th Andy and will be there until the 13th. Lets get together.

Mark

JimC · 30th July 2001, 17:53

Could you post some pictures of the LEDs in action? Thanks JimC

Stallion M5 · 30th July 2001, 18:49

Quote:

Originally posted by MAH

Andy,

Not to take anything away from the silvervision, but a very light coat of silver high temperature paint really does the trick for hiding the yellow color. Try one and keep the other in and compare. I did not notice a brightness difference with a light coat. You can always take the paint off if you do not like it.

OK Adrian, sell him the bulbs I'm in on the 8th Andy and will be there until the 13th. Lets get together.

Mark

Mark,
I thought if you spray that bulb, it would effect the illumination greatly. Just like the way Steve M's blinkers, he sprayed those and could barely see the signal light.

Absolulely, let's get together when Andy is in town. Please let me know ahead of time as far as the date goes.

Andy,
I believe the "Silvervision" comes from England and the best way is to order them directly through their site (unfortunately I forgot the site but you can look it up easily under search). Last time they were offering 2 pairs of those for around US $43 including shipping and handling.

As far as the PIAA fog light replacement, let me look it up exactly how much it costs but I know for sure it's under $84.

atomic80 · 30th July 2001, 18:54

Andy,

The only reason why I elected to spend the extra money to put on the HID bulbs in the foglights is because it gets pretty dark here in Seattle especially when it rains! I need all the light I can get!!!

I would do it all over again given the chance! It looks awesome! Pictures just don't do it justice. For some reason whenever I take pictures it doesn't turn out the way it looks up close in real life.

I may replace the highbeam bulbs with PIAA superwhites though so if there's a good price to get those, Adrian...let me know too! I don't know what bulbs those use though? I think H7's?? One thing though about those is that it's a PAIN trying to remove those!

Jason

MAH · 31st July 2001, 17:21

Adrian,

You are correct about the bulbs not illuminating as well if you apply too heavy a coat of silver paint. I did that exact thing the first attempt, but I removed the paint with some turpentine and reapplied. I put the lightly painted bulb back in the car and turned on the energency blinkers to