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      08-09-2018, 08:59 PM   #1
DreamTime
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Mars LCI style tail lights for my '08 E90

I’ve been looking at options for updating the look of my tail lights. Really the only thing I don’t like about my ’08 are the tail lights. Taking the “full trunk retrofit” route seems a little excessive to me though - so, I found these LCI style tail lights that seem like a good middle ground. But, I can only find them for sale in Australia which seems like kind of a pita, so I want to make sure I am fully committed before ordering them. And, they’re aftermarket, which worries me a little with lights. I really like them though, so I’m hoping someone will have either:

A. Some experience with these lights in particular that can let me know how well they fit and if there are any issues I need to be aware of.

B. Some suggestions on other options that will give me the look I’m after.

C. Any advice at all.

Some pics I found from an old FS thread, for reference:

Name:  mars 1.png
Views: 18957
Size:  1.53 MB

Name:  mars 2.png
Views: 7205
Size:  1.71 MB

Name:  mars 3.png
Views: 10333
Size:  1.39 MB

Name:  mars 4.png
Views: 13062
Size:  1.46 MB


Also for reference, here’s the link to purchase the lights:

https://marsperformance.com.au/M3-LC...-05-08-Pre-LCI

Thank you!
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      08-09-2018, 09:24 PM   #2
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Someone local to me in Canada bought those, available on eBay, had no complaints.

Generally mars seems to be a reliable aftermarket option.

Good luck!
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      08-09-2018, 09:37 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ali-323i View Post
Someone local to me in Canada bought those, available on eBay, had no complaints.

Generally mars seems to be a reliable aftermarket option.

Good luck!
Thanks! Good to hear something positive. I have looked on eBay, but the only Mars tail lights for my car I could find were not the same as the ones in the pics & link I posted (they were either smoked or had some other different design). But, I will look again tomorrow when I have a second, to make sure.
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      08-09-2018, 09:51 PM   #4
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https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F130490580857

Seems to be out of stock. They've carried this product for a while so unsure if they are still making and stocking it.

Good luck!
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      08-09-2018, 10:06 PM   #5
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I actually prefer the shape of pre-LCI tails, but would probably go with blacklines.
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      08-09-2018, 10:07 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ali-323i View Post
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F130490580857

Seems to be out of stock. They've carried this product for a while so unsure if they are still making and stocking it.

Good luck!
Yeah, I feel like I found the out of stock listing on eBay, but I kept looking. They seem to be available directly through their actual site based out of Australia, I'm hoping anyways. There is the option to buy it there.
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      08-09-2018, 10:12 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wyatth View Post
I actually prefer the shape of pre-LCI tails, but would probably go with blacklines.
These?

http://www.bimmerworld.com/Lighting/...EaAg3SEALw_wcB

I'm going to search for some pics online of black E90s with these lights. Thanks for the suggestion!
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      08-10-2018, 12:20 PM   #8
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Had these on my previous e90 M3 prior to puling the trigger on a full LCI trunk and tail swap.
Bought them second hand, and had no issues with them at all. They're definitely better than the OEM Pre-LCI tails, but won't quite be as nice as LCI.

Here's my build thread: http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showt...=444021&page=2




[http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j79/xcartelbdyboardx/June%201/DSC_0040_zps7d8dfefe.jpg[/img]


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      08-10-2018, 01:53 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M3ANMACHINE View Post
Had these on my previous e90 M3 prior to puling the trigger on a full LCI trunk and tail swap.
Bought them second hand, and had no issues with them at all. They're definitely better than the OEM Pre-LCI tails, but won't quite be as nice as LCI.

Here's my build thread: http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showt...=444021&page=2
Cool, this is perfect. Since your car had blacklines prior to you switching to the Mars ones, I had a great side by side comparison of the two. I agree with your comment comparing OEM Pre-LCI vs. Mars LCI style vs. full on LCI. That kind of validates how I was feeling about these Mars lights being a good middle ground.

Btw... Top notch build thread!! So much good info in there and super entertaining as well lol. I just spent the last 20 mins learning AND laughing my ass off. Awesome. I'll be revisiting that thread when I have more time to finish it up.

Thanks!
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      08-10-2018, 03:23 PM   #10
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Maybe i'll see if I can find something from one of my suppliers.
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      08-10-2018, 03:29 PM   #11
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I always wondered if the e90 (LCI) had a full clear OEM or quality aftermarket option.
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      08-10-2018, 04:17 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DreamTime View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by M3ANMACHINE View Post
Had these on my previous e90 M3 prior to puling the trigger on a full LCI trunk and tail swap.
Bought them second hand, and had no issues with them at all. They're definitely better than the OEM Pre-LCI tails, but won't quite be as nice as LCI.

Here's my build thread: http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showt...021&page=2
Cool, this is perfect. Since your car had blacklines prior to you switching to the Mars ones, I had a great side by side comparison of the two. I agree with your comment comparing OEM Pre-LCI vs. Mars LCI style vs. full on LCI. That kind of validates how I was feeling about these Mars lights being a good middle ground.

Btw... Top notch build thread!! So much good info in there and super entertaining as well lol. I just spent the last 20 mins learning AND laughing my ass off. Awesome. I'll be revisiting that thread when I have more time to finish it up.

Thanks!
Glad i could help!
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      08-10-2018, 11:28 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bomiz View Post
Maybe i'll see if I can find something from one of my suppliers.
Thanks man, I appreciate the help! If you happen to find anything out send me a pm

Quote:
Originally Posted by M3ANMACHINE View Post
Glad i could help!
Thanks!
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      08-12-2018, 09:08 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M3ANMACHINE View Post
Had these on my previous e90 M3 prior to puling the trigger on a full LCI trunk and tail swap.
Bought them second hand, and had no issues with them at all. They're definitely better than the OEM Pre-LCI tails, but won't quite be as nice as LCI.

Here's my build thread: http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showt...=444021&page=2




[http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j79/xcartelbdyboardx/June%201/DSC_0040_zps7d8dfefe.jpg[/img]


Seeing your old car makes me want some Mars lights, but what is up with all that wiring?
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      08-13-2018, 12:33 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by E90M3velocity View Post

Seeing your old car makes me want some Mars lights, but what is up with all that wiring?
Thanks. Yea, there's some sort of ballast type thing on each side that powers it all, looks like a lot
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      08-21-2018, 10:00 PM   #16
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I've been thinking about this for a while now, and after much debate, I am going to go with the blackline tail lights. Thanks again everyone for your advice, this was all very helpful. And, thanks wyatth for the blacklines suggestion
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      08-31-2018, 09:26 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DreamTime View Post
I've been thinking about this for a while now, and after much debate, I am going to go with the blackline tail lights. Thanks again everyone for your advice, this was all very helpful. And, thanks wyatth for the blacklines suggestion
Any reason why you decided to go with blackline OEM instead of MARS? I currently have the blackline version installed but I am complementing getting MARS as they are closer to LCI tail lights.
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      08-31-2018, 07:55 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Honda View Post
Any reason why you decided to go with blackline OEM instead of MARS? I currently have the blackline version installed but I am complementing getting MARS as they are closer to LCI tail lights.
I hadn't really spent any time looking at pics of black cars with the blacklines prior to this thread, but I decided to give them a chance. I spent some time looking at pics and comparing the two with local friends, and eventually decided that I preferred the look of the blacklines over the MARS - on my color car anyways (Jerez Black). I like the way the horizontal dividing line in the blackline taillight carries the line of the car perfectly towards the back, if that makes sense. It creates a very symmtrical flow of the body line all the way down the side of the car, across the back, clear to the other side of the car. Very balanced. Honestly though, I'll be keeping an eye out for FS threads of LCI E90s being parted out, you never know what's going to pop up I guess. Or, I'll finally bite the bullet and just pay for the full trunk conversion at some point, if I find myself still longing for the look a while down the road.

I still really like the MARS lights. I think they look great, and they are probably the only aftermarket taillights I would consider for my car
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      09-01-2018, 04:39 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DreamTime View Post
I hadn't really spent any time looking at pics of black cars with the blacklines prior to this thread, but I decided to give them a chance. I spent some time looking at pics and comparing the two with local friends, and eventually decided that I preferred the look of the blacklines over the MARS - on my color car anyways (Jerez Black). I like the way the horizontal dividing line in the blackline taillight carries the line of the car perfectly towards the back, if that makes sense. It creates a very symmtrical flow of the body line all the way down the side of the car, across the back, clear to the other side of the car. Very balanced. Honestly though, I'll be keeping an eye out for FS threads of LCI E90s being parted out, you never know what's going to pop up I guess. Or, I'll finally bite the bullet and just pay for the full trunk conversion at some point, if I find myself still longing for the look a while down the road.

I still really like the MARS lights. I think they look great, and they are probably the only aftermarket taillights I would consider for my car
They were the obvious choice when I changed mines, but I 75% like them after i put them on tbh. I rather rock the Mars tail lights and they will be in stock soon from what Mars emailed me. The blacklines remind me of the updated tail lights of the W124's and it gave off a Benz vibe when I first looked at them installed.

Last edited by E90M3velocity; 09-01-2018 at 07:52 PM..
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      09-01-2018, 10:32 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by E90M3velocity View Post
They were the obvious choice when I changed mines, but I 75% like them after i put them on tbh. I rather rock the Mars tail lights and they will be in stock soon from what Mars emailed me. The blacklines remind me of the updated tail lights of the W124's and it gave off a Benz vibe when I first looked at them installed.
Interesting feedback, thanks! I can see where you're coming from with the correlation between the blacklines and the taillights on the W124s - especially the smoked versions. They look very similar for sure. That is good to know the MARS lights will be back in stock soon... that gives me food for thought...

Damnit, this is why it can sometimes take a long time for me to make cosmetic decisions for my car lmao. If there are 2 or more good choices it makes it difficult. I haven't bought anything yet, so I might mull it over a little more before I order anything.
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      09-03-2018, 06:32 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DreamTime View Post
Interesting feedback, thanks! I can see where you're coming from with the correlation between the blacklines and the taillights on the W124s - especially the smoked versions. They look very similar for sure. That is good to know the MARS lights will be back in stock soon... that gives me food for thought...

Damnit, this is why it can sometimes take a long time for me to make cosmetic decisions for my car lmao. If there are 2 or more good choices it makes it difficult. I haven't bought anything yet, so I might mull it over a little more before I order anything.
If you decided to buy the blackline OEM, I can sell you mine. They are in excellent condition and will take used market value for them. I can take picture of the tail-lights if you like but they are exactly the same as pictures posted above.

I am not really looking to get rid of them but I want to give it a try for MARs taillights
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      09-04-2018, 12:14 AM   #22
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DreamTime , I would prefer the Blacklines cause they are OEM but I'm a nut-so.
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