The integrated laser boost in the bmw headlamps is neat. It appears it's controlled seperately from the highbeam function to both prevent it from being used when flashing the high beams for traffic signaling, and below a speed threshold, even if the highbeams are activated. It makes sense to have an integrated driving light for a vehicle that may see high speeds at night.
Personally, I'm always a fan of adding driving lights to my vehicles. The biggest issues with cars is that, generally speaking, larger lamps are better. I currently have a set of diode dynamics SS5 Sports on my truck. My other vehicle is an 8th gen honda civic, where mounting a suitable driving lamp was a challenge, and simply upgrading headlamp bulbs was a non-starter, the lamps themselves have poor beam width for lowbeam, and the highbeam floods the foreground with excessive light, while not providing much reach. Before that I had a 3rd gen 4runner, which I had mounted a set of cibie LED super oscars on the winch bumper, as I had a ton of real estate to work with.
LEP makes sense for a high performance lamp in an extremely small, and thus easier to mount, form factor. Sae J581 (aux. Driving lamp standard) limits driving lamps to 75kcd intensity for each lamp, but an LEP could achieve this 1- without being maximally driven, meaning the housing can be smaller with less need for cooling fins, and 2- the optic it is paired with can be compact in size.
I have a friend with a '23 bmw 440. He does not like the highbeams, but he also doesn't want to try to mount even a small set of lamps externally, like a pair of DD SS2's. But an LEP based light could be compact enough, and offer enough beam control, to be mounted extremely low (e.g. in place of oem fogs) and not risk flooding the foreground with excessive spill, while still functioning well as a driving light.
I mean, I understand what an LEP is, and how far it throws, BUT they also only throw in a VERY small, limited area, thus the uselessness. For headlamps, I don't know if I'd describe a 6-12" circle of light half a mile in front of me as "helpful."
That's why I said I've yet to see any usage that was truly practical.
For these lights you're talking about, are you talking about using these on the roads?
While I'm sure this makes YOUR life easier, do you not have concerns about blinding oncoming traffic?
While I'm sure you'll insist you only properly install your aftermarket lights, I've yet to ever see a single person "upgrade" their driving lights and not make it a nightmare for everyone in oncoming traffic. There's an actual tool to calibrate headlights, but it's VERY expensive, so when you do see them, it's MAYBE at a dealership...i.e. NO ONE calibrates their lights properly.
I'd trust BMW to integrate a neat feature with an LEP, as Germany has strict laws about headlights that keep them from blinding oncoming traffic. America does not, and the "F*** you, this is better for ME" attitude seems to run a bit too deep for our own good.
I pretty much never drive at night anymore because of idiots and aftermarket lights...and I'm still relatively young. It's absolutely insufferable these days. I'd sure hope you're not contributing to this problem, as it's EXTREMELY dangerous. I've had many harrowing experiences of completely losing the ability to see while at speed because I was blinded. Again, being not too old, and having healthy eyes, I'd say my temporary blindness recovers faster than average, but it's an absolutely awful thing to experience.
I'm even careful with the lights on my BICYCLE (I only use ones with a cutoff), cause I've seen blinded riders careen into the "LOOK AT MY 2,000 LUMEN LIGHT" cool guys, haha.
Why anyone wants to risk that while driving 60+ mph, I'll never understand...
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