[peter11]

I have read (I think) every post in the various laser light threads. My car is USA spec. I paid the $$$ for laser lights. I think I correctly understand that the laser lights will fire up when traveling more than 37 mph, on a very dark road, and when you have the automatic headlights engaged. I have tested the car on a very dark road (which means the auto high beams are already on high) and expected that when I reached about 37 mph that I would notice the lasers fire up. I don't seem to see that. I took my car to the dealer for other service and asked if they would check them. There response was, yes, you have laser lights (pointing to the headlights). They had no idea how they worked. When I told them what the manual says they were perplexed and useless. I am at the point where I will write a letter to BMW to get some clarity on this issue.

For those of us who have NOT coded the car, can you say definitively that you see the lasers fire up (and down) as you move through the 37 mile per hour speed threshold? To me that would be the only way to know that they are on and working. Just saying that the lights are bright and you think they are on is not really answering what I am looking for. And as far as I know, there is no dash indicator light that shows that the lasers are on (suspicious I would say).

My cornering lights did not work when the car was new (common issue) and they did fix that. I am suspicious that Laser does not work either.

[Caramel]

In the US, laser lights are mainly for the looks. Don't expect a real difference in how well the road is lit.

[hyde]

Last time I got my X5, I sprung extra for LED lights. I got fooled into thinking I will have that magic lights that create a tunnel for other cars, and they do all the things BMW advertised, only to find out they were horribly limited by coding and hardware, and the end result was that people kept flashing me because they were too bright even at low beams, and they had this really weird light spread that made my E70 lights look much better.

I don't know about the G05's standard LED lights, if improved anything, but last time I was a fool to pay extra for lights that were limited by BMW and USDOT, and I got worse looking lights when I sat on the road side by side with a Toyota or Honda with their sharp cut off of their lights. I wish I could find my old pictures, they must be here somewhere in E70 vs F15 light threads.

Illumination-wise, I think they were definitely whiter and made road signs pop more, but it looked like a mess. I wonder if people who get Laser lights have any similar complaints?

[wifesbimmer]

Originally Posted by Caramel

In the US, laser lights are mainly for the looks. Don't expect a real difference in how well the road is lit.

I highly doubt that the laser lights are "mainly for the looks." Can someone enlighten us on how they exactly work?

[mynewx5]

The laser lights per se are overrated IMO, but you also get cornering lights, full halo DRL's and sleeker turn indicators which both look 100% better than the standard LED package.

[jad03060]

The functionality of the laser lights varies radically based on which country you are in. With their full capability, they will adjust the distance they project and can create notches to prevent the light blinding people in the same lane, or as one approaches, while illuminating literally around the sides of the vehicles ahead and approaching. This may change, as there was a rule change, supposedly effective on 12 October 2020 that allowed some adaptive light functionality in the USA. The previous rules required a simple hi/low beam switch and would not allow it to be adaptive (other than self-leveling).

Hopefully, BMW can change the light's function with an OTA update, but otherwise, it may take some coding ourselves to achieve what other countries have already out of the box.

[MystroX5]

Yea, differences is very noticeable with my laser lights on. Drive on a open highway in a somewhat foggy night and the difference is unbelievable. Independent highway safety tested them and the laser lights were the only BMW lights that got a good score. Multiple threads on this topic and testing.

[X5 45e]

The lasers only work with high beams. Low beams are the normal led lights.

So laser functionality is only when outside the city in the dark and above a certain speed (60 km/h) and as mentioned by others country specific.

For me they work well on dark country roads and the adaptive part works good on the highway. But so did the adaptive LED's on my g32.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by peter11

I am suspicious that Laser does not work either.

Depends on what country you're in - in the US they're mostly meaningless and therefore, here, BMW no longer offers them in the 7-series and unless the new NHTSA October changes stop the trend, laser lights probably won't be available on any USA BMW.

There are many comparisons out there, and most (fair tests) show US laser-light performing no better than good ole halogens, and many times worse. That said, it's pretty hard to do scientific comparisons (though many have tried with measuring lines, etc).

This lady does a compare at 7:45 in her video of the X5 vs other video footage (FWIW):



Net-net is, in the US they're mostly for looks, but you can re-code them and there may be changes coming sometime soon once we have confirmation of the NHTSA changes that would make me regret not getting them.

7:45 for laser light comparo:

Decent dealer overview here if you want a kind-of "voice of BMW" on laser lights:

[peter11]

Just to be clear, does anyone see a difference when they cross the 37 mph threshold in the USA? The video that GrussGott posted, suggests that the difference should be notable. I recall a video that MystroX5 (I think) posted a while back and while I recall he was amazed by the lighting that I don't recall whether that video showed the lights coming on (and off) at 37 mph so one could really see the difference. Long story short, there is no discernable difference in my car (although the lights are very bright) so I wonder whether they even work. In theory the high beams include both the standard lights PLUS the laser so it should be noticeable.

[bluecusion]

Originally Posted by peter11

Just to be clear, does anyone see a difference when they cross the 37 mph threshold in the USA? The video that GrussGott posted, suggests that the difference should be notable. I recall a video that MystroX5 (I think) posted a while back and while I recall he was amazed by the lighting that I don't recall whether that video showed the lights coming on (and off) at 37 mph so one could really see the difference. Long story short, there is no discernable difference in my car (although the lights are very bright) so I wonder whether they even work. In theory the high beams include both the standard lights PLUS the laser so it should be noticeable.

I see mine working everyday on backroads, its very noticeable on mine. Not sure how anyone would miss it if they are on. They are super bright.

[Mjbmw1]

You have to have auto highbeam pushed for laser to work. If you just turn on the high beams you don't get full laser. I have us spec in Europe and it make night look like day

[MystroX5]

I saw them in all their glory switching on and off last year on i95 in a slight fog. Fog really shows how far and sharp the light pattern is.

It looked like a tunnel of light as far as I could see down the road. It made the blue and green road signs light up so far down the road they looked like small led specks of light. The lasers are a very focused width of light so way down the road it looks like a point. Much like looking down a long strait stretch of train tracks. This is what gives some the idea they are not bright because they are aimed so precise without any side wash even HID’s will have at longer distances. BMW is having some supply issues and it’s why they are not initially on some newer models they once were. They are going to be a option for the new M3 and M4. I can say that on my new X7M50i with night vision and laser lights you have military aircraft visibility at night. Audi and Porsche implement their own version of their laser lights which are very similar in function.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by peter11

Just to be clear, does anyone see a difference when they cross the 37 mph threshold in the USA? The video that GrussGott posted, suggests that the difference should be notable. I recall a video that MystroX5 (I think) posted a while back and while I recall he was amazed by the lighting that I don't recall whether that video showed the lights coming on (and off) at 37 mph so one could really see the difference. Long story short, there is no discernable difference in my car (although the lights are very bright) so I wonder whether they even work. In theory the high beams include both the standard lights PLUS the laser so it should be noticeable.

Yes, there is a noticeable difference when the lasers kick on. The easiest way to see them is to test when going up a hill. You will see the lasers kick on and show on the road ahead of you.

While we don't have the anti-dazzle here (rule should have been approved today or this week) they do provide additional lighting.

While not due to the laser, the element provides better low beam performance than the non-laser element due to the glare.

Here are some pics that AndroidRobot took, you can see the lasers on the second one.

[robby818]

I have seen the lasers turn on while driving north on PCH between Huntington Beach and Seal Beach. Along that route, there's is a section of PCH that is extremely dark when no other cars are on the road. It was noticeable when the lasers turned on but it wasn't totally amazing because I understand they are limited in power for the US market. I'll bet they are amazing in full power mode.

I have owned an X5 with the standard LEDs and in low beam mode the LEDs with the laser option are brighter and have better spread than the standard lights. So i would get the option just to have the better low beams. I also had anti-dazzle coded and really like it.

[peter11]

Thank you for all the replies. I am going to test mine again this weekend going uphill as one suggested and see if I notice them coming on. It is odd that there is no indicator on the dash to tell you they have fired up.....sheesh....there's an indicator for virtually everything else!

[AndroidRobot]

they definitely work but we need to find a way to enable to full function ones like in the EU.

[hyde]

Do both inner and outer bulbs light up on both LED and Laser lights?

[robby818]

Originally Posted by AndroidRobot

they definitely work but we need to find a way to enable to full function ones like in the EU.

That would be cool. I hope this can be done. I remember seeing some discussion about whether it was a hardware limitation or just software.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by hyde

Do both inner and outer bulbs light up on both LED and Laser lights?

No, both do on the laser element but on the non-laser the inner one is a dummy.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by robby818

That would be cool. I hope this can be done. I remember seeing some discussion about whether it was a hardware limitation or just software.

I was reading a thread in another forum and it seems like it is all software related and the hardware is the same. One poster coded his to be full European but it caused problems with turn signals and some other stuff. Not sure if he, or anyone else, overcame that issue. It had something to do with changing voltages.

[thereef510]

I cant say how good the laser lights are, but at night, the street signs have never glowed brighter that i've ever seen. It almost doesn't look like real life. They are so much more reflective with these lights. I'll be stopped at a 4 way intersection wanting to turn left at the traffic light, two cars behind the light, and my indicators will light up the traffic light signs. That's probably not the laser, but whatever regular led lights they have in here are amazing by itself.