[Lotus99]

So unfortunately the orange reflector on this car is built into the headlight, not the bumper. I'm not going to attempt to take it out, so I thought I would cover it up with vinyl

Unfortunately, the white vinyl isn't as good a match for the paint color, so I thought maybe I should go with black

Which side do you think looks better? I am leaning towards black as it stands out a bit less than the white. Plus, I plan on replacing the grills with Matt black, so it might work well that way.

[Lotus99]

PS I got the idea from Bimmian, but didn't like their execution. I didn't like how they only covered the reflector, and it looked disjointed to me, so I prefer to follow the full headlight

[Peter_R]

It is a great shame you cannot have the UK look/configuration.

[wingless]

If possible I would like mine to blink like a strobe light.

FWIW, this is an aid to oblivious drivers, to help cut through their brain crust, so they don't crash into your vehicle while eating, texting, applying mascara and "controlling" their offspring.

[pokerface]

Body color or black/smoked overlay seem suboptimal. IMHO i'd just leave it alone unless there was a way to remove the orange crystal itself inside the headlamp unit.

[n55x3]

Maybe this is a subtle compromise. We installed chrome/silver light bulbs in the turn signal lights. Looks great, blinks orange. Removes some of the orangeness from the reflector area. Even if you do cover the orange part you'd probably still want to go this route and replace with non-orange lights.

I bought these but they are no longer available:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...rch_detailpage

[The X Men]

I would like mine to blink multi color. First blink orange, and then green, white, blue, red.......................

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by wingless

FWIW, this is an aid to oblivious drivers, to help cut through their brain crust, so they don't crash into your vehicle while eating, texting, applying mascara and "controlling" their offspring.

Huh? How is a reflector going to help? I assume you said that in jest. They seem to do just fine in Europe without the reflector, so safety is not an issue. And if a driver at night when my car is parked on the street hits the front end because there is no reflector, he's got bigger problems in not seeing my car. LOL.

Originally Posted by pokerface

Body color or black/smoked overlay seem suboptimal. IMHO i'd just leave it alone unless there was a way to remove the orange crystal itself inside the headlamp unit.

Many people over the years have done exactly that, often referred to as the "clear corner mod". You have to bake the headlight in an oven, to get the lens off. And then you break off the reflector, and silicone back on the lens. Way more work and risk than I'm willing to take.

Originally Posted by n55x3

Maybe this is a subtle compromise. We installed chrome/silver light bulbs in the turn signal lights. Looks great, blinks orange. Removes some of the orangeness from the reflector area. Even if you do cover the orange part you'd probably still want to go this route and replace with non-orange lights.

I bought these but they are no longer available:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...rch_detailpage

I have similar bulbs already on the way. Osram Diadem Chromes.

[JSY]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

Huh? How is a reflector going to help? I assume you said that in jest. They seem to do just fine in Europe without the reflector, so safety is not an issue. And if a driver at night when my car is parked on the street hits the front end because there is no reflector, he's got bigger problems in not seeing my car. LOL.

I thought the Europe version still has a reflector but it's just white. So, that white portion in the European models don't reflect? My impression was that only the color was different - and not that there wasn't any reflective material in the European version.

IMHO, while I don't have any issue with people covering the reflector since I sort of agree that it looks nicer if it wasn't orange but it's obviously there for safety reasons even if we don't agree with them. I don't believe the reflectors are only intended for when you don't see the car at all, but rather that it alerts you to it as your light is reflected back. That being said, being able to detect that there is a car ahead like about 100 meters away in the middle of the night w/o street lights is helpful. Anyway, I'm not advocating for or against covering it up - I just wanted to say that I really do feel that there is a safety reason for these reflectors. Apparently the US DOT thinks that they must be orange in the front.

[Lotus99]

you could be right in that the euro version has a silver reflector. I thought it didn't even have one, and had read that DOT requires an orange reflector up front (and assumed they require a reflector, not just an orange one).

but I still have to say that I have a really hard time understanding how a person coming from the opposite direction could not see your car. Plus, the road would have to be pretty darn narrow for them to be driving in a way to be coming at my car head-on. luckily, my car is almost never parked on the street at night.

[JSY]

Oh, actually I was not thinking not head on - but approaching from the side. I agree that it would be hard to not notice as you approach but if you're approaching at higher speed and see a twinkle, that might make you slow down.. or maybe even if going slow and you're not totally paying attention until you get flashed. Of course, I'm just thinking of these scenarios out of my head. lol

[BFox]

I don't like that big orange reflector either. I think the white would look good if it were the same as body color. The black looks better than stock, but maybe a flat black would be better.
I've thought about buying these eyebrows/eyelids on ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-X3-Headl...60cf28&vxp=mtr

[smoothmoka]

Originally Posted by BFox

I don't like that big orange reflector either. I think the white would look good if it were the same as body color. The black looks better than stock, but maybe a flat black would be better.
I've thought about buying these eyebrows/eyelids on ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-X3-Headl...60cf28&vxp=mtr

I agree with BFox...same body colour is the way to go!...I'll post some pics soon