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In my opinion the headlights on the M coupe are adequate, but nothing spectacular like the Xenon lights on my wife's 330i. This weakness was plainly apparent on the trip back from Chicago to North Carolina after buying the M coupe 3 weeks ago. In the poorly lit highways of West Virginia, high speed driving with the old fashioned sealed beam lights of the M coupe was less than ideal.
I decided to buy the OEM factory driving lights from MY BMW for $225 (P/N 63-17-0-008-734). The appearance of the lights are controversial, with one forum member claiming that they "ruin" the M coupe's design. To those who criticize the BMW lights, show me a better or more integrated example.
To to the best of my knowledge, there are no other pics of the BMW driving light kit with the exception of a very poor b/w photo ad in Bimmer magazine.
I was hesitant to use aftermarket light kits due to their "Pep Boys" look and feel. The BMW kit is very complete and includes wiring harnesses, relays, brackets, and even a new headlight switch. The driving light switch is very nicely integrated into the dash, just to the left of the steering wheel. Another intangible reason to get the factory kit was my desire to stay BMW "original." It's a throwback to my Porsche absolute authenticity days.
Installing the driving lights was not an easy or pleasant job. It took me 6 hours, and I can't imagine a BMW technician doing a quality install job in less than 2 hours.
The most difficult part of the installation was drilling the mounting holes in the bumper. The instructions recommend removing the front bumper, a job that I didn't want to tackle. Instead, I used a right angle Dremel to start the pilot holes from the inside of the bumper. I finished the 5/16" holes with a right angle DeWalt drill.
The exterior wiring harness was easy. There's a premade grommet in the passenger side firewall to route the wires to the inside. The interior harness was a bit more complicated, and required removal of several interior panels. The instructions refer to a special tool to remove the headlight switch, but this isn't necessary. One suggestion: I could not remove the many black plastic trim caps covering the screws without damaging them. I was glad that I ordered 20 caps at $0.38 each before I started.
Enough of the long winded explanation. Look at the various pics and decide for yourself if the M coupe driving lights are for you...I certainly like them.
Dean
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