1st gear-er
Just bought by first mini. My teenage daughters are loving it; my wife is hinting about swaping me with her Caddy STS AWD.

Looking to install fog lights mounted on the grill, similar to the driving light kits offered. The more I look, the more I get confused. Some seem to require a new grill, some come without brackets. Which light company is best.

Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated. Any other "musts" would be appreciated, also.

 

On my first Mini. I had the dealer install the Driving light Kit. They mounted on the existing Grill. When the dealer installed this kit. I was unaware that my High-beams had to be on before I could engage the Driving Lights.
So in my case they looked real cool but not terribly functional.

I purchased a second Driving Light Kit for my new new Mini and I'm going to request that I can switch them on independently of the other lights.
As far as I'm concerned they are must have accessory because they look so cool.

Here a horrible picture of them on.

 

a couple of points to ponder

- fog lights are usually mounted as low as possible - the idea being to get the beam under the fog and illuminate close to the vehicle. Driving lights are mounted higher so they carry far.

- many (all?) states require driving lights to be tied to the high beams as I understand things. This is why the install instructions for complete kits tie the driving lights to the high beams, including the MINI factory kits. I've installed several MINI kits & a few PIAA and HELLA sets for folks. IME this is done by hooking a relay trigger wire to the high beam line...relay can only pass power when this trigger is hot, i.e. HB is on. You can bypass this interconnection by simply routing that trigger wire to an 'always hot' line (preferably a switched one). Cig lighter works (switched), and so does simply jumpering that pole of the relay to the incoming power pole (not switched, always on probably)
- This is easier in the non-MINI kits since the MINI kit more fully integrates the wiring...but not all that difficult in either case on a GEN1 MINI kit anyway
- You may find that the dealer or a 'reputable' installer won't do it if it in fact is an illegal setup. I have heard of cars wired this way failing inspection in states with tight inspection laws. I've HEARD this, but never experienced it and installed driving lights on unrestricted circuits when asked.... I install for free - I get few complaints that way.

........
- you are going to need a bracket so the issue is whether you are going to buy one, or make one....and there are the factory brackets and generic ones
- then depending on the bracket you might need a modified grill ...

not exactly a definitive answer huh? Well, it depends on the bracket. As I understand it the GEN2 factory kit recommends a replacement grill - notched for the brackets. Surely one could cut it themself. {Basic GEN1 install went thru the slats unless you had AERO grill then it needed to be cut.}

http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-coop...light_kit.html


- outmotoring has a nice GEN2 bracket but it does require some cutting...
http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-coop..._brackets.html

- Hella and PIAA lights are both good sets, and I've seen generic sets of lights with generic wiring (you provide brackets) and set specific to MINI with brackets (the GEN1 sets had brackets that were clones of the factory brackets) and specific install instructions for MINI (how are your wiring skills? Comfortable wiring up a set of lights using a relay?)

usually a reply like this will open the flood gates for more answers and opinions .... have fun.

 

Great info; thanx for your time. I'm comfortable with the wiring. I like the idea of a seperate switch. Besides using them for fog, I like the extra light for deer - see them almost nightly. The beam spread helps illumunate the shoulders. Still trying to decide on brackets. Anyone ever use Madness Strength Light brackets on their Gen 2 R56