Anyone think the GLs taillights will work
07-07-2017, 01:14 AM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Anyone think the GLs taillights will work
So did anyone retrofit any GLs parts to their GL? I think it would look really slick if we changed out our stock taillights for the new full led ones. Wish there was a company out there offering more for our GL. but I guess it's being phased out in light of the GLS role. I think the GL platform is truly amazing even stock..it's a great experience both comfort and overall ride quality. Sorry for the rant but I just wanted to say am glad I bought it the best thing
, even though I wanted a 550 wish I did get one But am very happy with my tuned 450 and will tinker with it some more 
, even though I wanted a 550 wish I did get one But am very happy with my tuned 450 and will tinker with it some more
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Jamsk (07-28-2021)
07-14-2017, 02:39 PM
#3
Super Member
the housing will fit, given the shape of the brake lights will fit, but you have to consider two things. 1)the position of the brake light itself, given its no longer at the bottom and rather at the top where the signal indicator is, might need some rewiring there.
2) the reverse lamp, given that its no longer an incandescent lamp rather a LED reverse light, the position was that was moved a little bit to the left, so you have to look into the voltage so if you do go that route you dont get any messages
In my opinion, the change isnt worth it, ya i know the rear reverse light is really dark and looks terrible when you back up and the new rear lights look a tad nicer. But hey thats what makes the GL what it is
2) the reverse lamp, given that its no longer an incandescent lamp rather a LED reverse light, the position was that was moved a little bit to the left, so you have to look into the voltage so if you do go that route you dont get any messages
In my opinion, the change isnt worth it, ya i know the rear reverse light is really dark and looks terrible when you back up and the new rear lights look a tad nicer. But hey thats what makes the GL what it is
07-28-2017, 10:13 AM
#4
I thought I was the only one to think of this, but for me most important would be to replace the headlights with led headlight from gls. I’m pretty sure front bumper, maybe even fenders may need to be replaced as well, has anyone tried fitting any parts from gls on their gl?
07-28-2017, 12:58 PM
#5
Super Member
I thought I was the only one to think of this, but for me most important would be to replace the headlights with led headlight from gls. I’m pretty sure front bumper, maybe even fenders may need to be replaced as well, has anyone tried fitting any parts from gls on their gl?
the LED headlamps will be all but impossible, not that im saying it cant be done but your looking to spend alot of money, here's the thing
a)the facelifted front, the shape of the front headlamp has been changed somewhat
b)the wiring needed to go from either Bi-Xenon or Halogen to the LED and to get it work including adaptive and active curve illumination.
c) the resistors and watts needed for everything to work preperly
You would be better off just getting a GLS with the LED's if thats what your looking for.
is your GL with halogens or bi-xenon?
07-28-2017, 03:02 PM
#6
the LED headlamps will be all but impossible, not that im saying it cant be done but your looking to spend alot of money, here's the thing
a)the facelifted front, the shape of the front headlamp has been changed somewhat
b)the wiring needed to go from either Bi-Xenon or Halogen to the LED and to get it work including adaptive and active curve illumination.
c) the resistors and watts needed for everything to work preperly
You would be better off just getting a GLS with the LED's if thats what your looking for.
is your GL with halogens or bi-xenon?
a)the facelifted front, the shape of the front headlamp has been changed somewhat
b)the wiring needed to go from either Bi-Xenon or Halogen to the LED and to get it work including adaptive and active curve illumination.
c) the resistors and watts needed for everything to work preperly
You would be better off just getting a GLS with the LED's if thats what your looking for.
is your GL with halogens or bi-xenon?
After looking at it, I figured the same thing. I don't think it's worth all the effort so I'll keep it the way it is and when I'm ready to upgrade I'll get the gls or another suv that offers advanced headlights option. On mine I have the intelligent lighting headlights but I'm not thrilled with its performance. I noticed you created a thread on what mods people installed on their gl, I'll give you a few ideas based on the fact that you have a gl450:
-replace wheels with gl550 or gl63(2-3k)
-buy a gl63 bodykit from aliexpress or ebay (3k or so)
-delete resonators (150$)
-obviously, you will need to install the intelligent lighting system to complete the look(1-2k)
-if you want to bump power tune with renntech to get over 500hp (3k)
it's a bit expensive but thats all the mods I could think of if $ is out of consideration
As far as my ride goes:
-deleted resonators (made it sound so much better not too loud just a bit of a deep growl while accelerating)
-replaced rear skid plate with gl63
-installed gl63 exhaust tips
-de-badged and tinted
made all the difference I wanted to see. I'll upload a few pics so you have an idea of how it looks like, sorry for b&w filter those are the only pics of it I found on my phone
07-28-2017, 03:49 PM
#7
Super Member
After looking at it, I figured the same thing. I don't think it's worth all the effort so I'll keep it the way it is and when I'm ready to upgrade I'll get the gls or another suv that offers advanced headlights option. On mine I have the intelligent lighting headlights but I'm not thrilled with its performance. I noticed you created a thread on what mods people installed on their gl, I'll give you a few ideas based on the fact that you have a gl450:
-replace wheels with gl550 or gl63(2-3k)
-buy a gl63 bodykit from aliexpress or ebay (3k or so)
-delete resonators (150$)
-obviously, you will need to install the intelligent lighting system to complete the look(1-2k)
-if you want to bump power tune with renntech to get over 500hp (3k)
it's a bit expensive but thats all the mods I could think of if $ is out of consideration
As far as my ride goes:
-deleted resonators (made it sound so much better not too loud just a bit of a deep growl while accelerating)
-replaced rear skid plate with gl63
-installed gl63 exhaust tips
-de-badged and tinted
made all the difference I wanted to see. I'll upload a few pics so you have an idea of how it looks like, sorry for b&w filter those are the only pics of it I found on my phone
-replace wheels with gl550 or gl63(2-3k)
-buy a gl63 bodykit from aliexpress or ebay (3k or so)
-delete resonators (150$)
-obviously, you will need to install the intelligent lighting system to complete the look(1-2k)
-if you want to bump power tune with renntech to get over 500hp (3k)
it's a bit expensive but thats all the mods I could think of if $ is out of consideration
As far as my ride goes:
-deleted resonators (made it sound so much better not too loud just a bit of a deep growl while accelerating)
-replaced rear skid plate with gl63
-installed gl63 exhaust tips
-de-badged and tinted
made all the difference I wanted to see. I'll upload a few pics so you have an idea of how it looks like, sorry for b&w filter those are the only pics of it I found on my phone
I dont see a reason to be dissatisfied with the Bi-xenon's, i mean i get it isnt as bright as the LEDs and you get a longer distance but i am very satisfied with the Xenon's, compare it to a Halogen model you'll be very happy with the results. Ive driven a W220 (03 S430) with the halogens and believe me the distance is so bad you have to drive with highbeams. The G-Wagon even includes the Bi-xenons. I dont imagine it being that bad on the GL450 but thats just me.
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07-28-2017, 05:15 PM
#8
sorry I meant to include info about mods for 450Boss guy that made the thread but tagged you by accident. While I agree with you that gl doesn't have the worst lights in the industry, it is still not a valid argument for an SUV with a 100k price tag, it's not a deal breaker for me but I'm fairly disappointed after driving a fair share of time at night. just an observation from my perspective))
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Sam Waltz (03-26-2019)
07-28-2017, 11:29 PM
#10
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2012 Volt - 2005 E55 - 2011 G55 - 2013 GL63
Also did you get the gL63 kit on eBay or just source the tips and needed trim pieces online? Best price I found sourcing was about $1100-1200. Read the install step doesn't seem to hard but the price just seems to be not worthy. I could add meth injection for that price and have speed over looks, as I will already have it looking good.
07-29-2017, 12:21 AM
#11
Can you upload a clip of the exhaust without the resonator? I plane to do that in the first week then add downpipes.
Also did you get the gL63 kit on eBay or just source the tips and needed trim pieces online? Best price I found sourcing was about $1100-1200. Read the install step doesn't seem to hard but the price just seems to be not worthy. I could add meth injection for that price and have speed over looks, as I will already have it looking good.
Also did you get the gL63 kit on eBay or just source the tips and needed trim pieces online? Best price I found sourcing was about $1100-1200. Read the install step doesn't seem to hard but the price just seems to be not worthy. I could add meth injection for that price and have speed over looks, as I will already have it looking good.
08-21-2017, 02:14 PM
#14
Super Member
the housing will fit, given the shape of the brake lights will fit, but you have to consider two things. 1)the position of the brake light itself, given its no longer at the bottom and rather at the top where the signal indicator is, might need some rewiring there.
2) the reverse lamp, given that its no longer an incandescent lamp rather a LED reverse light, the position was that was moved a little bit to the left, so you have to look into the voltage so if you do go that route you dont get any messages
In my opinion, the change isnt worth it, ya i know the rear reverse light is really dark and looks terrible when you back up and the new rear lights look a tad nicer. But hey thats what makes the GL what it is
2) the reverse lamp, given that its no longer an incandescent lamp rather a LED reverse light, the position was that was moved a little bit to the left, so you have to look into the voltage so if you do go that route you dont get any messages
In my opinion, the change isnt worth it, ya i know the rear reverse light is really dark and looks terrible when you back up and the new rear lights look a tad nicer. But hey thats what makes the GL what it is
try finding the rear lamp housing. If your very dissatisfied with the rear lights you can try changing the reverse lamps to LED, one user did that here already see my thread on LED reverse in the W166 ML section
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450Boss (02-28-2022)
08-21-2017, 02:33 PM
#15
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2012 Volt - 2005 E55 - 2011 G55 - 2013 GL63
I put some high power LED in reverse and it didn't help with the reverse cam. It did give plenty of light to look out the rear glass though. I can post pics soon once I get the car back from the shop.
I am shopping GLS tails and looks to be a $450-$500 upgrade to get a complete setup. $100 each for the inners and about $130 for each outer. Outers in good shape are harder to come by than inners.
08-28-2017, 06:00 PM
#16
Senior Member
Not sure I get it??? Never occurred to me to do mods on my GL. Spent a small fortune in mods for my P-cars over the years but just can't wrap my mind around the idea of spending big bucks to modify a GL. Just my opinion.
08-28-2017, 06:55 PM
#17
Super Member
it ties to how much people pay for it, because for a 70/80/90k car it should come with good things standard, especially with the GLS, ive seen literally so many people saying they hate the halogens, in which i agree for a car of that price should have LEDs for the front. then people (like myself) come here to say, oh change the halogens to HID, which AZN optics sells the kits for etc.. or add the BSA or 360 or HK7 (this was a must for me before i even found the one i have now).. My only thing is that i should have paid attention more to whether the car had the ambient lighting and the BSA, but when i move on to the next MBZ hopefully i'll know what to look for, and thats why some people want the mods to have the feature they couldnt previously locate.
Last edited by drwolf; 08-28-2017 at 07:04 PM.
08-28-2017, 07:48 PM
#18
Senior Member
it ties to how much people pay for it, because for a 70/80/90k car it should come with good things standard, especially with the GLS, ive seen literally so many people saying they hate the halogens, in which i agree for a car of that price should have LEDs for the front. then people (like myself) come here to say, oh change the halogens to HID, which AZN optics sells the kits for etc.. or add the BSA or 360 or HK7 (this was a must for me before i even found the one i have now).. My only thing is that i should have paid attention more to whether the car had the ambient lighting and the BSA, but when i move on to the next MBZ hopefully i'll know what to look for, and thats why some people want the mods to have the feature they couldnt previously locate.
09-20-2017, 11:49 AM
#19
I'm pretty sure the GLS taillights are bolt on. It's the wiring that's not going to plug and play. I've looked at some of the rear of the GLS lamps and it's clear they have different harness that plugs in. So not only would you need the taillights, but you'd need a pigtail from a GLS that you splice in your harness for this to work.
Also the next complication is US models, the LED brake and turns share the same array. That might pose some issue. It'd be nice if you can source a euro set that has separate turn LEDs in Amber that run along the white strip of the light. If you look at the US version, the LED's are absent in this area. Stupid US DOT antiquated laws that keep the cool features off the lights.
For the headlights....well...probably could also make it work, but you'd need almost the entire front clip from a GLS for the lights to line up.
S
Also the next complication is US models, the LED brake and turns share the same array. That might pose some issue. It'd be nice if you can source a euro set that has separate turn LEDs in Amber that run along the white strip of the light. If you look at the US version, the LED's are absent in this area. Stupid US DOT antiquated laws that keep the cool features off the lights.
For the headlights....well...probably could also make it work, but you'd need almost the entire front clip from a GLS for the lights to line up.
S
09-28-2017, 09:16 PM
#20
Super Member
I'm pretty sure the GLS taillights are bolt on. It's the wiring that's not going to plug and play. I've looked at some of the rear of the GLS lamps and it's clear they have different harness that plugs in. So not only would you need the taillights, but you'd need a pigtail from a GLS that you splice in your harness for this to work.
Also the next complication is US models, the LED brake and turns share the same array. That might pose some issue. It'd be nice if you can source a euro set that has separate turn LEDs in Amber that run along the white strip of the light. If you look at the US version, the LED's are absent in this area. Stupid US DOT antiquated laws that keep the cool features off the lights.
For the headlights....well...probably could also make it work, but you'd need almost the entire front clip from a GLS for the lights to line up.
S
Also the next complication is US models, the LED brake and turns share the same array. That might pose some issue. It'd be nice if you can source a euro set that has separate turn LEDs in Amber that run along the white strip of the light. If you look at the US version, the LED's are absent in this area. Stupid US DOT antiquated laws that keep the cool features off the lights.
For the headlights....well...probably could also make it work, but you'd need almost the entire front clip from a GLS for the lights to line up.
S
10-01-2017, 11:21 AM
#21
Member
I will record a clip for you tomorrow, I'm not super tech savy but I will try to upload it here, the sound difference is not observable on idle or driving but only during acceleration, exactly the effect I was going after. To my taste removing one resonator is perfect and if you put down pipes I'm not sure it would go well with the image of the vehicle, it will be too loud from what I heard (some clips on youtube of s550 with same engine), gl is not that fast to begin with and it is geared towards comfort and plush so I don't think the drone on the highway and excessive noise will add to your comfort level imho. As far as the gl63kit goes, I didn't buy the kit, just rear skid plate and exhaust tips. The exhaust tips you can get for 800-1200 oem or about 300 oem looking ones, you will have to buy oem gl63 rear skid plate (400-500$, I have an extra one from the dealer pm me if you want to buy it) and remove rear bumper to replace the stock skid plate (paid 400 for install at the dealer cause I didn't want to mess it up) And then someone will need to fit the tips and weld them on. And voila, other than that my 550 is stock, wanna get renntech tune later to bump hp but for now I'm done dumping $ on this thing
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450Boss (02-28-2022)
07-26-2021, 04:28 PM
#23
Super Member
05-25-2023, 04:37 PM
#25
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