X5 lci VS pre lci fenders/bumpers

[RL18]

Originally Posted by Serf27

Ohh got it. I never tried LED Bulbs and just assumed xenon would be the brightest lol!

I may put LED bulbs in place of my halogen flash to pass bulbs and use those when I need more light.
Have you thought of doing that? I'm 99% sure it's an option you code and you have your ds1 high beam on and the inner light on as well.(h7 I believe?)

Same here, I could live with the chrome bezel but chrome housing is out of the question.

Ok I did one last search to see if anything was in the US, because everything we've discussed is about a month in shipping.
I found the Adaptive/xenon set used about 2 hours away!
The upper eyebrow looks like part of the LED strip went out. I ordered the set anyways and a set of eyebrow covers. If I can cover the white LED part of the light with the eyebrow cover and cut power from going to the brow, I THINK I'll like the look of it, lol!
Otherwise I'll go with the set we are both leaning towards.

Any idea which h7 led bulb is best to run in the flash to pass lights? There's about 20 options all over ebay.

Led are getting better and better, especially the led projectors. Theres actually a company that sells an led projector that you can retrofit with a laser high beam! Hids are bright, but in my experience when retrofitted are as hassle to wire up and unreliable. The only downside I've ever had with led bulbs is in the winter when I get ice on the headlights leds won't melt the ice lol.

And I honestly had no idea that the inner light was flash to pass. I know my e90 uses the inner light as a cornering light, but the e70 I think uses the fog lights as a cornering light. I'll have to check it out though... I wanna say that h7 sounds right. That's what the e90 uses on the inner light right? I think if I remember correctly on my e90 I couldn't fit an led in there, maybe its a different story on the e70. I'll check though.

Edit: That inner light is the halo light, not the flash to pass. In the x5 they must of moved the cornering light to the fog light. Now that I looked at it I remember changing that bulb when I updated the halo lights to led.

You might be better off installing a light bar if you want more high beam though

[Serf27]

Originally Posted by RL18

Led are getting better and better, especially the led projectors. Theres actually a company that sells an led projector that you can retrofit with a laser high beam! Hids are bright, but in my experience when retrofitted are as hassle to wire up and unreliable. The only downside I've ever had with led bulbs is in the winter when I get ice on the headlights leds won't melt the ice lol.

And I honestly had no idea that the inner light was flash to pass. I know my e90 uses the inner light as a cornering light, but the e70 I think uses the fog lights as a cornering light. I'll have to check it out though... I wanna say that h7 sounds right. That's what the e90 uses on the inner light right? I think if I remember correctly on my e90 I couldn't fit an led in there, maybe its a different story on the e70. I'll check though.

Edit: That inner light is the halo light, not the flash to pass. In the x5 they must of moved the cornering light to the fog light. Now that I looked at it I remember changing that bulb when I updated the halo lights to led.

You might be better off installing a light bar if you want more high beam though

Ok I’m starting to get confused lol. I may not be using the proper terms for what I refer to.
When I say inner light, I’m referring to the 2 lights closest to the grills on each side. On the e90, those are my flash to pass lights and from the factory, I think they are used as the Daytime Running Lights. I coded out DRL so these don’t get much use in my car. These “inner lights” use the h7 halogen bulb

My outter lights (near the fenders on each side) are the xenon lights with the DS1 bulb. These are used for my low/high beams and those are the adaptive lights that turn with the steering wheel.
I just refer to the halo lights as the halo lights.

When you say cornering lights, you’re referring to the adaptive lights system that turns with your steering wheel right?


Good to know that LEDs could be as bright or brighter than xenon.
I’m not really chasing more light output, just wondering if there was a good lighting option for those e70 aftermarket halogen projector lights.

In my last message it sounds like I got original lights.
I got this set.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/223929689846

Only because of how the halos look and because it uses the stock xenon bulb, the high and low beams will only come out of the “outer lights”
I’m not sure how a high and low beam set up would work with the other halogens. Probably both inner and outer lights would be on when the high beams were switched on.

[RL18]

Originally Posted by Serf27

Ok I'm starting to get confused lol. I may not be using the proper terms for what I refer to.
When I say inner light, I'm referring to the 2 lights closest to the grills on each side. On the e90, those are my flash to pass lights and from the factory, I think they are used as the Daytime Running Lights. I coded out DRL so these don't get much use in my car. These "inner lights" use the h7 halogen bulb

My outter lights (near the fenders on each side) are the xenon lights with the DS1 bulb. These are used for my low/high beams and those are the adaptive lights that turn with the steering wheel.
I just refer to the halo lights as the halo lights.

When you say cornering lights, you're referring to the adaptive lights system that turns with your steering wheel right?


Good to know that LEDs could be as bright or brighter than xenon.
I'm not really chasing more light output, just wondering if there was a good lighting option for those e70 aftermarket halogen projector lights.

In my last message it sounds like I got original lights.
I got this set.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/223929689846

Only because of how the halos look and because it uses the stock xenon bulb, the high and low beams will only come out of the "outer lights"
I'm not sure how a high and low beam set up would work with the other halogens. Probably both inner and outer lights would be on when the high beams were switched on.

Maybe it's because I my x5 is lci? I get what your saying.
My e90 lci, the outside is the headlight/highbeam, inside light is the corner light which comes on when you turn or go into reverse (which only works when the headlight switch is in auto) to light up the sides, then the halo bulb is between the inner and outer lights.
In my e70 lci the corner light is moved to the fog light and the bulb for the halo goes where the inner light is to light up the halo rings. I know this for a fact because I swapped the factory halogen to the lux h8 bulb in my x5. Then the headlights/high beams/flash to pass on the outside light.

And yes leds have come a long way. And they seem to be the best replacement for anything halogen. And they've gotten reliable. That's what I would go with atleast. No reason to do all that work to wire up HIDs for similar output.

I really like those headlights though good looking and they're at a good price

[Serf27]

Originally Posted by RL18

Maybe it's because I my x5 is lci? I get what your saying.
My e90 lci, the outside is the headlight/highbeam, inside light is the corner light which comes on when you turn or go into reverse (which only works when the headlight switch is in auto) to light up the sides, then the halo bulb is between the inner and outer lights.
In my e70 lci the corner light is moved to the fog light and the bulb for the halo goes where the inner light is to light up the halo rings. I know this for a fact because I swapped the factory halogen to the lux h8 bulb in my x5. Then the headlights/high beams/flash to pass on the outside light.

And yes leds have come a long way. And they seem to be the best replacement for anything halogen. And they've gotten reliable. That's what I would go with atleast. No reason to do all that work to wire up HIDs for similar output.

I really like those headlights though good looking and they're at a good price

Ok it all makes sense and I see where me/we got confused, haha!
The cars I drive more are the pre lci e90/91 so I am used to the way those lights work. Never paid much attention in the lci e91 because I rarely drive it and the time I have, it’s been during the daylight.

The e9x pre lci is the same like your lci, except I don’t have the corner light function.

I just checked out my X5(lci)and the lights work in the same order you mentioned yours did.
The fog light cornering lights are pretty cool!
But...Is the inner light bulb and the halo bulb the same? The set I got shows the halos lighting up separately, but just wondering in case they don’t.

It currently has LED bulbs in the turn signals and fog lights and yea, they seem way brighter than the stock halogens it would’ve had.

Thanks. Got lucky on them. Hopefully I can cut power to the upper brow and the brow covers will cover up that white strip.
I’m not sure if the adaptive feature will work since those are pre lci and I’m lci.
Guess we will find out.
The same vendor has another set that’s the same but I believe the top tabs are broken, but they’re listed for $100 less.

[RL18]

Originally Posted by Serf27

Ok it all makes sense and I see where me/we got confused, haha!
The cars I drive more are the pre lci e90/91 so I am used to the way those lights work. Never paid much attention in the lci e91 because I rarely drive it and the time I have, it's been during the daylight.

The e9x pre lci is the same like your lci, except I don't have the corner light function.

I just checked out my X5(lci)and the lights work in the same order you mentioned yours did.
The fog light cornering lights are pretty cool!
But...Is the inner light bulb and the halo bulb the same? The set I got shows the halos lighting up separately, but just wondering in case they don't.

It currently has LED bulbs in the turn signals and fog lights and yea, they seem way brighter than the stock halogens it would've had.

Thanks. Got lucky on them. Hopefully I can cut power to the upper brow and the brow covers will cover up that white strip.
I'm not sure if the adaptive feature will work since those are pre lci and I'm lci.
Guess we will find out.
The same vendor has another set that's the same but I believe the top tabs are broken, but they're listed for $100 less.

I had to take a double take on it lol.

Yes that inner light bulb is the halo bulb. I'm not sure how it reflects to make the halo, but you can see the inner halo is much more even than the outer halo because of where the halo bulb sits. So I'm wondering if that inner bulb on your new headlights is just eliminated and gets its power from where you're halo bulb would plug into. Or maybe the pre-lci headlights are different.

Led blinkers was one of my first upgrades, to get rid of that ugly egg yoke look from the orange halogen and some more output.

Can't wait to see some pictures of them installed

[Serf27]

Originally Posted by RL18

I had to take a double take on it lol.

Yes that inner light bulb is the halo bulb. I'm not sure how it reflects to make the halo, but you can see the inner halo is much more even than the outer halo because of where the halo bulb sits. So I'm wondering if that inner bulb on your new headlights is just eliminated and gets its power from where you're halo bulb would plug into. Or maybe the pre-lci headlights are different.

Led blinkers was one of my first upgrades, to get rid of that ugly egg yoke look from the orange halogen and some more output.

Can't wait to see some pictures of them installed

Haha! Sorry. A lot of headlight talk going on here and lucky I found someone willing to reply and know info on exactly what I was looking for. Thank you.

Yea I’m not sure how they’ll work. I think the halos have their own wires for power. I do hope they last a while. I’d hate to have to crack open the light to replace them.

I think I’m going to have to switch over the e90 turn signal lights to LED too, which brand led bulbs are you using? I put some led bulbs in my reverse lights and they don’t seem bright enough.

Yea me either! They should be here Friday, then I can plug them in and see how they work and look.
Next hurdle will be how to mount the fog lights behind the x5m bumper I’m ordering.

[RL18]

Originally Posted by Serf27

Haha! Sorry. A lot of headlight talk going on here and lucky I found someone willing to reply and know info on exactly what I was looking for. Thank you.

Yea I'm not sure how they'll work. I think the halos have their own wires for power. I do hope they last a while. I'd hate to have to crack open the light to replace them.

I think I'm going to have to switch over the e90 turn signal lights to LED too, which brand led bulbs are you using? I put some led bulbs in my reverse lights and they don't seem bright enough.

Yea me either! They should be here Friday, then I can plug them in and see how they work and look.
Next hurdle will be how to mount the fog lights behind the x5m bumper I'm ordering.

No problem man! You got me thinking about a headlight upgrade on my x5d now, but first is deletes because I'm itching for some more power

The halos look to be of quality, but I hear ya, that would suck to open them up again.

I bought my blinkers and reverse lights through Amazon I'll try to find the order. They are both awesome! The reverse lights are good but it's the stupid auto dim mirrors that make it so you can't see.

Reverse lights: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0728DYR9H..._elvXEbBRQPQE9

Blinkers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DIIQQ08..._.lvXEbE46MEVS

Whats the x5m bumper you got again?

[Serf27]

Originally Posted by RL18

No problem man! You got me thinking about a headlight upgrade on my x5d now, but first is deletes because I'm itching for some more power

The halos look to be of quality, but I hear ya, that would suck to open them up again.

I bought my blinkers and reverse lights through Amazon I'll try to find the order. They are both awesome! The reverse lights are good but it's the stupid auto dim mirrors that make it so you can't see.

Reverse lights: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0728DYR9H..._elvXEbBRQPQE9

Blinkers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DIIQQ08..._.lvXEbE46MEVS

Whats the x5m bumper you got again?

Your diesel is stock now? What’s your mpg?
I was looking into the diesel as well, but after I saw how much some members invested for the power gains, I decided 50i. I couldn’t find a 50i with the specs I wanted and after searching for a year, I settled on the 35i ha!

It didn’t even cross my mind that the auto dim mirrors were affecting my vision when going in reverse. Makes sense.
The prices on those bulbs isn’t bad at all, I’m going to have to give them a shot.

I’m looking at this one. It’s the best price and almost only bumper I can find.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/192569838372

They accept local pick up, so I’m hoping they can knock a few bucks off the price when I go.

And the headlights arrived today, fast shipping! They look brand new. No signs that they’ve ever been used or mounted. I’m guessing the vendor got their hands on them because of the defect in the eyebrow Led strip?
They look nice though. Sadly, I won’t have time to plug them in until this weekend.

[RL18]

Originally Posted by Serf27

Your diesel is stock now? What's your mpg?
I was looking into the diesel as well, but after I saw how much some members invested for the power gains, I decided 50i. I couldn't find a 50i with the specs I wanted and after searching for a year, I settled on the 35i ha!

It didn't even cross my mind that the auto dim mirrors were affecting my vision when going in reverse. Makes sense.
The prices on those bulbs isn't bad at all, I'm going to have to give them a shot.

I'm looking at this one. It's the best price and almost only bumper I can find.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/192569838372

They accept local pick up, so I'm hoping they can knock a few bucks off the price when I go.

And the headlights arrived today, fast shipping! They look brand new. No signs that they've ever been used or mounted. I'm guessing the vendor got their hands on them because of the defect in the eyebrow Led strip?
They look nice though. Sadly, I won't have time to plug them in until this weekend.

Almost stock! It has a trans tune, xdrive tune, and an egr delete & swirl flap delete. It gets decent mileage though, usually around 25mpg combined but if I'm driving highway it'll reach 30mpg. Once deleted and it gets the new intercooler, I shouldn't have an issue getting up to 30 combine, but I'm thinking my x5 will be around 360whp maybe a bit less with the awd and about 550lb ft and once I upgrade the fuel pump I should get over 600lb ft... that's what my 335d makes atleast. The upfront cost for deletes is expensive but after that they don't require much but normal maintenance and if you work on it yourself you save a whole lot!

Yeah you'd think it'd be programmed to go back to normal in reverse but nope! The lights do help though.

They must make some kind of foglight kit for that though. I think x5m needs it to be clear for coolers

Headlights look good! Get them on there lol!

[Serf27]

Originally Posted by RL18

Almost stock! It has a trans tune, xdrive tune, and an egr delete & swirl flap delete. It gets decent mileage though, usually around 25mpg combined but if I'm driving highway it'll reach 30mpg. Once deleted and it gets the new intercooler, I shouldn't have an issue getting up to 30 combine, but I'm thinking my x5 will be around 360whp maybe a bit less with the awd and about 550lb ft and once I upgrade the fuel pump I should get over 600lb ft... that's what my 335d makes atleast. The upfront cost for deletes is expensive but after that they don't require much but normal maintenance and if you work on it yourself you save a whole lot!

Yeah you'd think it'd be programmed to go back to normal in reverse but nope! The lights do help though.

They must make some kind of foglight kit for that though. I think x5m needs it to be clear for coolers

Headlights look good! Get them on there lol!

Those are pretty good power and mpg numbers!
You have the 335d and x5d while I have the 335i and x5 35i.

For a while, I thought of getting a small square light bar and bolting it to the rear underneath somewhere. The reverse lights for the e91 aren’t horrible, but on my e90 with tinted lens, very difficult to see back there, lol.

I want to get these in soon, at least try them out this weekend.
Picking up the x5m bumper tomorrow. My plan is to mount it without the lower grills and see how can I mount a light in there. Probably some type of light that is more flat than bulky.

[RL18]

Originally Posted by Serf27

Those are pretty good power and mpg numbers!
You have the 335d and x5d while I have the 335i and x5 35i.

For a while, I thought of getting a small square light bar and bolting it to the rear underneath somewhere. The reverse lights for the e91 aren't horrible, but on my e90 with tinted lens, very difficult to see back there, lol.

I want to get these in soon, at least try them out this weekend.
Picking up the x5m bumper tomorrow. My plan is to mount it without the lower grills and see how can I mount a light in there. Probably some type of light that is more flat than bulky.

Thanks man! It's a pretty underrated engine, and definitely surprises people when they get gapped by a diesel lol. And the mpg is really quite amazing for the power you get. The x5 and 3-series are a pretty perfect duo!

I tinted my taillights on both my x5 and 335d and use those led reverse bulbs in both. Really helps even with the tint on my 335d, the x5 is a different story because of the mirrors though.

I can't imagine they don't make any lower grills with a fog light housing for the x5m style bumpers. But atleast you have the wiring already there for foglights!

[Serf27]

Originally Posted by RL18

Thanks man! It's a pretty underrated engine, and definitely surprises people when they get gapped by a diesel lol. And the mpg is really quite amazing for the power you get. The x5 and 3-series are a pretty perfect duo!

I tinted my taillights on both my x5 and 335d and use those led reverse bulbs in both. Really helps even with the tint on my 335d, the x5 is a different story because of the mirrors though.

I can't imagine they don't make any lower grills with a fog light housing for the x5m style bumpers. But atleast you have the wiring already there for foglights!

I tried some led bulbs from auto parts store on the e90 and they made little difference. The tinted windows don’t help either. If I really need more light, I’ll turn on the rear fogs on the e90 lol.
Your 335d should have auto dimming mirrors too right? Or does the system work different between e70 and e90.

I’ve looked and can’t find any, but like you said, good thin I have the wiring there already. I didn’t care much for having fog lights behind the grill, but the cornering feature looks like it will come in handy.

Just got the m bumper, looks good, came with the m flares too!
The seller also had fenders so I grabbed a set. He says they’re pre lci and they won’t fit my car because the headlights are different. To me they look just like lci fenders! They were a good price so I got them, they also gave me warranty if they don’t fit my lci, I can bring them back. I really think they’re lci. What do you think?

The fenders look like the ones in this set. This seat is also listed as pre lci but looks like lci?!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/202420596631

[RL18]

Originally Posted by Serf27

I tried some led bulbs from auto parts store on the e90 and they made little difference. The tinted windows don't help either. If I really need more light, I'll turn on the rear fogs on the e90 lol.
Your 335d should have auto dimming mirrors too right? Or does the system work different between e70 and e90.

I've looked and can't find any, but like you said, good thin I have the wiring there already. I didn't care much for having fog lights behind the grill, but the cornering feature looks like it will come in handy.

Just got the m bumper, looks good, came with the m flares too!
The seller also had fenders so I grabbed a set. He says they're pre lci and they won't fit my car because the headlights are different. To me they look just like lci fenders! They were a good price so I got them, they also gave me warranty if they don't fit my lci, I can bring them back. I really think they're lci. What do you think?

The fenders look like the ones in this set. This seat is also listed as pre lci but looks like lci?!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/202420596631

My 335d has 20% tint on the front windows and I can still see at night in reverse way better with those leds, unless it's raining out, but I also just roll the windows down if I can't see

My 335d is very basic lol. It's actually originally a California car, sport trim, no auto dim, and has no heated seats (which would of been nice in the winter!!). I don't mind though. It's more for play than to be a DD. That's why I bought my x5d though! Except the x5d came with base audio so I had to upgrade that!

That's a shame. I wonder if you could somehow fit a flush mount led pod in there. Or maybe install a lightbar in the middle grille.

I mean from what I can see, lci vs pre lci has the same fender. The only thing that changed is the bumper and the upper bumper, which you already have. Unless they changed how it mounted between model years

[Dollma]

I still can't tell. I have 2011 x5 . I want to get rid of the yellow angel eyes and replace with led. Is this an lci or pre and what led do you recommend. I'm thinking economical!

[Serf27]

Originally Posted by Dollma

I still can't tell. I have 2011 x5 . I want to get rid of the yellow angel eyes and replace with led. Is this an lci or pre and what led do you recommend. I'm thinking economical!

In your last picture, you can see where the fender meets the bumper is a straight line. Also the year being 2011, it’s LCI.
Not sure what bulb, RL18 should know.

Originally Posted by RL18

My 335d has 20% tint on the front windows and I can still see at night in reverse way better with those leds, unless it's raining out, but I also just roll the windows down if I can't see

My 335d is very basic lol. It's actually originally a California car, sport trim, no auto dim, and has no heated seats (which would of been nice in the winter!!). I don't mind though. It's more for play than to be a DD. That's why I bought my x5d though! Except the x5d came with base audio so I had to upgrade that!

That's a shame. I wonder if you could somehow fit a flush mount led pod in there. Or maybe install a lightbar in the middle grille.

I mean from what I can see, lci vs pre lci has the same fender. The only thing that changed is the bumper and the upper bumper, which you already have. Unless they changed how it mounted between model years

Going to order a set of those bulbs you linked tonight, thanks! I also find myself rolling down the window more often than I’d like when reversing too.

Bummer on the auto dim, they’re great for me at night. My e90 was also pretty optionless besides the auto dim, haha. Over the past 2 years I’ve been adding a lot of stuff. For the x5, I waited about a year till I found the property optioned one. Didn’t want another e90 build on my hands.

Yea, I’m also thinking of a led pod with a flat face and small housing to fit behind the grill. I like the look of the M bumper without fog lights, but also want them. I’ll have to mount something back there.


I compared my new “PRE LCI” fender to my 2011 and they look exactly the same. The only thing I can think is what you said last. The mounting points may be different and these PRE LCI fenders.

From what I’ve seen, the body shape is the same, fenders comes down from the hood to a little curve, then drops straight down. Just PRE LCI drops down a lot more than LCI.

2010 PRE LCI fender.
http://auto-bodyparts.com/bmw-bmw-x5...fenders-916916

2011 LCI fender
http://auto-bodyparts.com/bmw-bmw-x5...xoCbdUQAvD_BwE

PRE LCI fenders that look just like LCI.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/202420596631

Here’s some photos that I found and it’s still a mess lol!
LCI is listed 2007-2010, LCI is 2011+.

Silver x5 is listed as a 2012, definitely LCI and you can see the gap between the fender and the bumper, right above the fog light.

White x5 is listed as a 2010, should be a PRE LCI because of the year, BUT the fender is spilt from the bumper like the 2012. Unless thats a late model 2010 that made the LCI cut. Searching 2010 x5 does show a lot of them with the split fender and bumper.

Black x5 is listed as a 2010, should be a PRE LCI because 2010 year. It’s m sport like the white one, but the fender drops down a lot more and houses the Fog light, PRE LCI design.

Gray one is listed as 2009, definitely PRE LCI. The fender on that one also drops down a lot.

Finally the other white one with faded headlight is mine.

I will get to the bottom of this mess this weekend!

[RL18]

Originally Posted by Dollma

I still can't tell. I have 2011 x5 . I want to get rid of the yellow angel eyes and replace with led. Is this an lci or pre and what led do you recommend. I'm thinking economical!

That's lci. I went with lux h8 but you can use other brands if you don't want to pay the steep price for the lux. I can't promise that both halos will light up well with the other brands though...

This is what mine looks like:

[RL18]

Originally Posted by Serf27

Going to order a set of those bulbs you linked tonight, thanks! I also find myself rolling down the window more often than I'd like when reversing too.

Bummer on the auto dim, they're great for me at night. My e90 was also pretty optionless besides the auto dim, haha. Over the past 2 years I've been adding a lot of stuff. For the x5, I waited about a year till I found the property optioned one. Didn't want another e90 build on my hands.

Yea, I'm also thinking of a led pod with a flat face and small housing to fit behind the grill. I like the look of the M bumper without fog lights, but also want them. I'll have to mount something back there.


I compared my new "PRE LCI" fender to my 2011 and they look exactly the same. The only thing I can think is what you said last. The mounting points may be different and these PRE LCI fenders.

From what I've seen, the body shape is the same, fenders comes down from the hood to a little curve, then drops straight down. Just PRE LCI drops down a lot more than LCI.

2010 PRE LCI fender.
http://auto-bodyparts.com/bmw-bmw-x5...fenders-916916

2011 LCI fender
http://auto-bodyparts.com/bmw-bmw-x5...xoCbdUQAvD_BwE

PRE LCI fenders that look just like LCI.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/202420596631

Here's some photos that I found and it's still a mess lol!
LCI is listed 2007-2010, LCI is 2011+.

Silver x5 is listed as a 2012, definitely LCI and you can see the gap between the fender and the bumper, right above the fog light.

White x5 is listed as a 2010, should be a PRE LCI because of the year, BUT the fender is spilt from the bumper like the 2012. Unless thats a late model 2010 that made the LCI cut. Searching 2010 x5 does show a lot of them with the split fender and bumper.

Black x5 is listed as a 2010, should be a PRE LCI because 2010 year. It's m sport like the white one, but the fender drops down a lot more and houses the Fog light, PRE LCI design.

Gray one is listed as 2009, definitely PRE LCI. The fender on that one also drops down a lot.

Finally the other white one with faded headlight is mine.

I will get to the bottom of this mess this weekend!

Yeah no auto dim sucked before window tint lol. Especially since now I basically sit on the ground with my coilovers... I can't complain though I got a great deal on my 335d. My 335d has about 15-18% on all windows and 75% on the windshield with a 5% strip so I don't get blinded as bad anymore hah. The auto dim mirror on my x5 is probably the only reason I haven't tinted yet, but I will soon.

Rough country has some street legal light bar and led pod options if you want a legal option

I see it now. Those fenders are different, but like you say that ebay one looks like Lci not pre lci. But also if you think about it the pre lci fender wouldn't work with that x5m bumper anyways. I'd say if the fender looks as it does in the picture then go for it, if it's wrong you have proof that the seller has the wrong fender in the picture and you should have no problem getting your money back. Also be careful comparing x5s that white one you linked is a euro spec x5 and they have different bumpers too.

[Serf27]

Originally Posted by RL18

Yeah no auto dim sucked before window tint lol. Especially since now I basically sit on the ground with my coilovers... I can't complain though I got a great deal on my 335d. My 335d has about 15-18% on all windows and 75% on the windshield with a 5% strip so I don't get blinded as bad anymore hah. The auto dim mirror on my x5 is probably the only reason I haven't tinted yet, but I will soon.

Rough country has some street legal light bar and led pod options if you want a legal option

I see it now. Those fenders are different, but like you say that ebay one looks like Lci not pre lci. But also if you think about it the pre lci fender wouldn't work with that x5m bumper anyways. I'd say if the fender looks as it does in the picture then go for it, if it's wrong you have proof that the seller has the wrong fender in the picture and you should have no problem getting your money back. Also be careful comparing x5s that white one you linked is a euro spec x5 and they have different bumpers too.

Your X5 looks clean!! Tinted windows would look really good on it, I’m sure.
My e90 came with tint and looks good over the white, but the rear windshield is starting to bubble. Have to get that taken care of.
The 35i is also tinted, but I saw some pictures with the front windshield tinted as well, might do that too.

Check these out. The halo on the e90 fog lights I saw a while back looked hideous, but these might look ok on the X5.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/392721325748

Good catch on the euro spec X5, I didn’t even notice that. I just google searched 2010 X5.
The fenders do look the same. I just can’t figure out why they’re listed as pre lci. As long as the mounting points are the same, they should be good and retain the lci look.

[RL18]

Originally Posted by Serf27

Your X5 looks clean!! Tinted windows would look really good on it, I'm sure.
My e90 came with tint and looks good over the white, but the rear windshield is starting to bubble. Have to get that taken care of.
The 35i is also tinted, but I saw some pictures with the front windshield tinted as well, might do that too.

Check these out. The halo on the e90 fog lights I saw a while back looked hideous, but these might look ok on the X5.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/392721325748

Good catch on the euro spec X5, I didn't even notice that. I just google searched 2010 X5.
The fenders do look the same. I just can't figure out why they're listed as pre lci. As long as the mounting points are the same, they should be good and retain the lci look.

Thanks man! I haven't started the big appearances mods yet. My new audio system was my first big project. I still got some cleaning up to do in my wiring and a few more speakers to add, then I'll be doing my ABC deletes, tune, and new intercooler, then probably wheels, flares, and tint. Should be the ultimate DD when it's done!

The windshield tint is super nice to have. 75% is nothing, you can see just fine at night and its nice and easy on the eyes during sunny days. Not to mention it cuts down on heat big time and saves the interior!

Those might work well! I still can't believe they don't make grille inserts with a foglight mount...

I'm wondering if maybe the ebay seller is getting their pre lci fenders from Europe or that's where the seller is from.

[Serf27]

Originally Posted by RL18

Thanks man! I haven't started the big appearances mods yet. My new audio system was my first big project. I still got some cleaning up to do in my wiring and a few more speakers to add, then I'll be doing my ABC deletes, tune, and new intercooler, then probably wheels, flares, and tint. Should be the ultimate DD when it's done!

The windshield tint is super nice to have. 75% is nothing, you can see just fine at night and its nice and easy on the eyes during sunny days. Not to mention it cuts down on heat big time and saves the interior!

Those might work well! I still can't believe they don't make grille inserts with a foglight mount...

I'm wondering if maybe the ebay seller is getting their pre lci fenders from Europe or that's where the seller is from.

Long post ahead, BEWARE!


What system did you have and what did you upgrade to? I think I have the base system, the vin decoder doesn’t show anything for audio on mine.
And what flares you have/want? These M ones I got don’t seem very wide up front.

Have anymore pics of your x5 front windshield tint?

Yea, I’ve looked and there’s nothing. I do like the look of the bumper without fog lights though, so mounting them behind the grill would be best I think.

I don’t think they’re from Europe. Pretty sure they’re some china product they bought in bulk. I just showed up to their warehouse and they had loads of different new bumpers. Probably from alibaba.


Ok, finally installed it all to test fitment!
First, removing the bumper is extremely easy. Fender removal seems easier than the e90, as there’s no hidden screws behind the fender liner, but it does have 4 screws holding it near the door that are tricky to get to.

I just put it all together quickly to see if it would work, still need to paint and then adjust it all once it’s ready for permanent install.

Fitment is as I’d expect, doesn’t fit perfect because it’s aftermarket, but it works.
These are definitely LCI fenders, not sure why the guy was telling me PRE LCI and why every other vendor has them listed as PRE LCI, when they have the LCI design.

The bumper over oem fender fits a bit better than it does over the new fender. I’m 99.9% sure this is just due to the quality of oem fenders vs aftermarket, not because the fenders are “PRE LCI”.

The only fitment gap I may have is where the bumper meets the grill in the center. The rest should fit snug once it’s all bolted down.
The M fenders flares pretty close on fitment. Again, fitment is better on the oem fender compared to the after market fender.

Installed 1 headlight too, to make sure it worked.
So we weren’t sure if the light would work either right? Because they were also listed as pre LCI.

LCI Xenon bulb and ballast fit but light isn’t as bright as stock.

The inner light(where the stock halo bulb is) has a spot to put a bulb in there, but it has no wiring there. I’d like to put a bulb in there. I was thinking run the fog light wires up that inner light? Not sure what to do there

The Adaptive module did plug in BUT it isn’t working, and neither does the stock Adaptive light work BUT I don’t get Adaptive headlight errors, unless previous owner coded it out.

The Adaptive part of the headlight is the outer light right? The light that projects the Xenon bulb.
Does the car have to be moving for you to notice it? On my e90, I can be parked against a wall and turn the wheel and the headlight will turn with the wheel. On the e70, neither the oem or aftermarket headlight turned while in park while turning the wheel.


Here are some photos from today to get a better understanding. Photos in order.

Stock m sport LCI
X5m bumper mounted on stock fender
Gap difference near the center grill with oem fender
Gap difference near the center grill with aftermarket fender
After market fender-m sport bumper/flare
Last 3 ar of the bumper with headlight on/off.

[RL18]

I had the base audio system. Really easy to check, look at the tweeter pillars on the front doors, if empty you're base audio. I went with a custom setup since there's nothing really good for base audio. I don't want give it away yet because I'm gonna post up the whole project once I'm done, but let's just say I went from 6 speakers to 17 speakers (18 If I feel I need to add another sub) and I'm using an audiocontrol dm-810 dsp with 10 output channels to control it all.

My x5 is actually tintless right now. And I'm not sure about the fenders just like the standard m sport flares I think. It's my 335d that has the windshield tint btw, I can get some pics though.

I think a pod led is your best option if you want to mount in those outside grille areas, but I would try mounting a single row or double row light bar in that lower middle grille cause I like the look of nothing in those outside grilles. I also don't think you get any light output from those inner light housings.

That looks badass man all together. The bumper looks really mean. Maybe I should do that to my x5d can't wait to see everything painted and bolted up. Really not bad at all for a china special lol. Those gaps don't seem that bad, but maybe some adjustments will fix that.

The adaptive feature only works with headlight switch in auto. That's a shame the bulbs aren't as bright. Is it the oem projector? Or after market? I still love the look of those headlights, way more aggressive than stock.

Here's my tintless windshield vs tinted windshield vs tinted with a strip but not the windshield.

[Serf27]

I’ll have to check mine out. I know I don’t have tweeters in the rear door cards and those look very nice back there. I eventually want to get some door cards that do that the tweeters on them.
Yea please post it up once all done.

The tinted windshield looks 10x better on it! I will be going that route too now. Haha

Yea I like the empty outer grills too. I’ll look into some light bars that could fit nicely behind the lower center grill. It’s a shame I can’t use the inner light for anything. It has the bulb housing too and projector for it too! I guess with separately wired halos, the company couldn’t figure out what to put there lol.

Thanks man! I’m happy the way it all looks together. Hopefully I can get the gaps all fixed up later. Yes, really not bad for Chinese Parts. Both bumper and fenders are plastic, maybe they just have to warm up and flex back tot heir original shape. the bumper alone definitely makes a difference.

I wanted x5m style fenders at first but they were too much. Now they’re on sale. last night I was set on getting them and returning these, then I looked at the price of the signal inserts. $300!
https://www.drivenbystyle.com/2007-2...e-s-30764.html

Ahh got it, I remember now when I tried the e90 Adaptive lights, they were on auto. It wasn’t dark enough last night for the auto to work on the x5 so I had them manually on.
As far as the projector, not sure what projector it uses. It was the aftermarket light that wasn’t as bright, but it also wasn’t dark enough to actually test it on the road.