The funky headlight dance?

Hit the start button and the "BMW Adaptive LED" Headlights come on....

They then droop and then slowly move upward to a final position.

I assume they are doing some kind of initialization?

or is it simply marketing coolness?







:?

I believe like most cars with self-leveling headlights it is an initialization/calibration cycle.

But obviously it doesn't take away from the cool factor!

My other car does the same. .it's calibrating. (and it does kinda look cool!)

Unfortunately, we don't really have the full adaptive headlights in the US edition of the i3. In Europe BMW's adaptive headlights turn as you turn and (even cooler) shape their high beams around on the path of oncoming traffic. Unfortunately those things make them illegal in the US, so all we get is the simple leveling that you have noticed when you first turn them on.

justanotherdrunk said:

Hit the start button and the "BMW Adaptive LED" Headlights come on....

They then droop and then slowly move upward to a final position.

I assume they are doing some kind of initialization?

or is it simply marketing coolness?

:?

Click to expand...

I didn't option the LEDs so I have halogens. They still do the dance!

Not doing a lot of night driving, I spent the money on other options.

tiburonh said:

Unfortunately, we don't really have the full adaptive headlights in the US edition of the i3. In Europe BMW's adaptive headlights turn as you turn and (even cooler) shape their high beams around on the path of oncoming traffic. Unfortunately those things make them illegal in the US, so all we get is the simple leveling that you have noticed when you first turn them on.

Click to expand...

The i3 does not have adaptive headlights in Europe/the UK either. Even the LED ones (which I have) do not shape their beam on the i3. And the main beam is halogen anyway, and also is not shaped.

SO what is actually "adaptive" about the LED lights on the i3. I stayed with the halogen as well as the wattage difference would only enable an additional 2km of range if one was driving a full battery charge with headlights on. I couldn't see the value as the adaptive headlight cost over $1000 extra. SO what does that extra money actually buy, if the headlights aren't actually adaptive - just LED bulbs???

JTM

Deliberately avoided the LED lighting as I have a funny feeling; as I intend to keep the car longterm' that a failed unit would be rather expensive. Standard lights are fine for me.

JTM said:

SO what is actually "adaptive" about the LED lights on the i3. I stayed with the halogen as well as the wattage difference would only enable an additional 2km of range if one was driving a full battery charge with headlights on. I couldn't see the value as the adaptive headlight cost over $1000 extra. SO what does that extra money actually buy, if the headlights aren't actually adaptive - just LED bulbs???

Click to expand...

I believe so. They are nice and bright on dip, but I'm not convinced I got value for money on this option.

tiburonh said:

Unfortunately, we don't really have the full adaptive headlights in the US edition of the i3. In Europe BMW's adaptive headlights turn as you turn and (even cooler) shape their high beams around on the path of oncoming traffic. Unfortunately those things make them illegal in the US, so all we get is the simple leveling that you have noticed when you first turn them on.

Click to expand...

Sorry I don’t believe that’s true. I’ve never seen evidence in the form of unique, North American part numbers for the LED headlights. If I’m wrong, please post the info.

This was discussed extensively over a year ago in other threads. The confusion arises because many people equate adaptive with swiveling when it comes to headlights. But if you think about it, adaptive simply refers to systems that can respond to a changing environment. The only way for traditional, single-element lighting systems such as halogen and HID to adapt is through mechanical movement. However, multi-element LED technology allows light patterns to be altered instantly without the complexity or weight of mechanical systems. BMW has stated that the i3 Adaptive LED lights can vary the light pattern based on the speed of travel and which side of the road traffic flows on—using GPS info presumably. The latter is handy for the UK and Europe, not so much other markets where left- and right-hand drive cars don’t mix on the same roads.

Swiveling systems are legal in the US market. I've got them on my E90, which also includes secondary lights (the inside pair of the quad setup) that come on to widen the pattern in response to turn signal input, steering wheel rotation, and selecting reverse. It's a nice system but probably not worth the added weight and complexity. I definitely see the adaptive LEDs as a technical advance and expect they'll migrate to more models in the future.

Stumbledot- Here's a link to a video from BMW (from way back in 2012) the explains what their Adaptive Headlight system does:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBUYm5AghVI

Unfortunately, none of this is legal in the US, and so none of the BMW cars in the US get this. Why the parts used in the headlights in the US version of the i3 show the label "adaptive LED" (readily visible as you look through the lens) is a mystery.

stumbledotcom said:

tiburonh said:

Unfortunately, we don't really have the full adaptive headlights in the US edition of the i3. In Europe BMW's adaptive headlights turn as you turn and (even cooler) shape their high beams around on the path of oncoming traffic. Unfortunately those things make them illegal in the US, so all we get is the simple leveling that you have noticed when you first turn them on.

Click to expand...

Sorry I don’t believe that’s true. I’ve never seen evidence in the form of unique, North American part numbers for the LED headlights. If I’m wrong, please post the info.

This was discussed extensively over a year ago in other threads. The confusion arises because many people equate adaptive with swiveling when it comes to headlights. But if you think about it, adaptive simply refers to systems that can respond to a changing environment. The only way for traditional, single-element lighting systems such as halogen and HID to adapt is through mechanical movement. However, multi-element LED technology allows light patterns to be altered instantly without the complexity or weight of mechanical systems. BMW has stated that the i3 Adaptive LED lights can vary the light pattern based on the speed of travel and which side of the road traffic flows on—using GPS info presumably. The latter is handy for the UK and Europe, not so much other markets where left- and right-hand drive cars don’t mix on the same roads.

Swiveling systems are legal in the US market. I've got them on my E90, which also includes secondary lights (the inside pair of the quad setup) that come on to widen the pattern in response to turn signal input, steering wheel rotation, and selecting reverse. It's a nice system but probably not worth the added weight and complexity. I definitely see the adaptive LEDs as a technical advance and expect they'll migrate to more models in the future.

Click to expand...

I understand why adaptive lighting technology seems so mysterious. The manufacturers apply the generic term to systems with different functions and purposes. The video that tiburonh linked shows an automatic high-beam solution for rural, high-speed travel. It depicts multiple, overlapping technologies (some of which are in fact available in the US) but the text lumps them together under the Adaptive LED lighting label. Not sure if that’s due to a poor German-to-English translation or just clunky writing from the start.

The video shows high-beam LEDs so it's definitely not the same light system offered globally in the i3. But the video does illustrate how individual LED elements can be switched on and off to dynamically alter the light pattern. In other words, how LED lights adapt to a changing environment.

I’m guessing the BMW design team concluded this rural high-beam solution wasn’t appropriate for the i3 city car brief. That doesn’t mean the i3’s low beam system shouldn’t carry the Adaptive LED label since it indeed employs LED elements and can vary the light pattern depending on speed and direction of travel.

The German manufacturers are in something of an arms race when it comes to lighting. Just Wednesday, Car & Driver posted news of Audi adding OLED elements to its matrix technology, which produces a similar shadowing technique to prevent high beams from dazzling other traffic.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/audi-s...matrix-oled-lights-but-u-s-still-in-the-dark/

I've wondered about the lights as well. They certainly don't seem to be leveling themselves out while driving over small rises & dips. The only time I see them move is when I first start the car and they initialize.

About the only adaptive things allowed under the US DOT rules are self-leveling and turning into a corner...they require a simple high/low switch. YOu can read the rules yourself (it's a long document). Now, they say the i8 will be getting laser headlights in the fall (soon?), but again, most of the functionality available elsewhere will be neutered, at least from what I can tell at this moment. Now, whether it could be reprogrammed later on for additional capabilities, probably only BMW knows - they may not include all of the required hardware and/or computer modules to make them function as originally designed.

Getting those rules changed is tedious. We are about probably 10-years behind the lighting innovations available elsewhere as a result of it.

Self leveling, my 2003 BMW did this, its nothing new, its not trying to be cool, its just setting an initial level before you start your journey. As you drive up a hill or down a hill they will adjust up and down accordingly although you probably won't notice.

Old thread bump but just wanted to mention a couple things.

The LED headlights are only auto leveling. They are called "adaptive" which BMW usually refers to of having the ability to swivel with the steering wheel, but unfortunately ours are not. They are only auto-leveling LED headlights

True BMW adaptive headlight have much more functionality. Including things like "Variable Light Distribution"

Variable Light Distribution has several different modes of operation (for Low Beam):

1 - City Light: Shallow and Very Wide Beam Pattern active from 0 - 50kph (30MPH) (Both Headlamps are Panned outwards 12° horizontal from center and 0.7° lowered vertically)

2 - Standard Light: Same Basic Beam Pattern as with 8S4 Enabled and Headlamp Switch Set to Auto. Active from 50 - 110kph (30MPH - 68MPH)

3 - Guiding Fog Light - Shallow and Wider Beam Pattern Enabled with the Front Fog Lamps On and Headlamp Switch in Auto and Speed 0 - 110kph (Both headlamps are panned outwards 8° horizontal from center and lowered 0.7° vertically)

4 - Highway Light - Long Throw Pattern illuminating approx. 25% further than Standard Light. Active from 110 to 250kph (68MPH- 155MHP). (Driver's Side Headlamp is panned 3.5° outwards Horizontal from center and lowered 0.25° vertically, while the passenger side headlamp is raised 0.2° vertical)"


It honestly makes driving at night amazing. Hopefully the LCI i3 will include some real adaptive headlights and maybe an integrated drl/turn signalike the i8 instead of the lame halogen one

When I pull up to the house at night, there is a wall at the end of the driveway. As I approach it (very slowly) I can see the beams moving up and down with the bumps in the driveway. So mine do move up and down at least. I think it is pretty cool.