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ElectricalFor discussions regarding wiring up electrical modifications such as radar detectors, brake light mods, power sockets, and driving lights in Clubman (R55), Cooper and Cooper S (R56), and Cabrio (R57) MINIs.
Figured that would be the answer. My clubman has the retrofit kit, and my JCW Roadster has the OEM. You can tell the 10w difference. Just wanted to equalize them. No worries. Thanks for the info.
Figured that would be the answer. My clubman has the retrofit kit, and my JCW Roadster has the OEM. You can tell the 10w difference. Just wanted to equalize them. No worries. Thanks for the info.
besides having to buy new housings for the 35w you would have to spend $200 or more to reprogram the car. That’s what it cost me to install the retrofit kit in my clubman.
IMO the gray color of the retrofit lens looks better than the 35w .
keep in mind you pretty much have to buy replacement bulbs from MINI , as I could not find another source for those 25w bulbs.
also I upgraded my fog lights to HID and with those on and the 25w kit my night time visibility exceeded my wife’s OEM 35w in her MINI.
I have these MINI factory retrofit headlights on my R56, installed by a fastidious P.O. just before I got the car .... they look fantastic !! ... but really are pretty dim when compared to the factory HID headlights. (25w for this kit compared to the factory HID's at 35w)
I'm thinking of going with the MoriMoto 5500k, 35W upgrade bulbs for the D5S bulbs that come with these (plug/play)... but they are so dang expensive regardless of vendor.
The Chevy Truck crowd has a big following of upgrading the D5S bulbs.. which is where I learned about them.... Made a big difference in his truck...perfect, factory same, beam pattern... and legal 35w brigtness like all the other Mini's came from the factory.
It would be great to see ECS offer these upgrade bulbs.
@ECSTuning - My 2013, R57s came with the factory, self leveling Bi-Xenons; I have a broken tab that holds the light in place on one side and very worn-out lenses on both. Can this retrofit kit be gutted, replaced with my internals to replace my existing ones?
@ECSTuning - My 2013, R57s came with the factory, self leveling Bi-Xenons; I have a broken tab that holds the light in place on one side and very worn-out lenses on both. Can this retrofit kit be gutted, replaced with my internals to replace my existing ones?
Your bulbs are higher wattage, and so would require the levelling and possibly washers, depending on where you are. The lenses are easily refinished by you with a kit, or by a detailer for a few dollars. You would probably be better off to fix (or buy a new factory fit OEM housing) for the one with the broken tab, and get the other refinished.
Your bulbs are higher wattage, and so would require the levelling and possibly washers, depending on where you are. The lenses are easily refinished by you with a kit, or by a detailer for a few dollars. You would probably be better off to fix (or buy a new factory fit OEM housing) for the one with the broken tab, and get the other refinished.
Thanks...would these 25w ones be "factory fit" on my model? I am struggling to find a suitable housing on the used market. Am hoping I could take these and swap all the internals and washers.
Never seen anyone do this, i have not torn into the 25 watt design. Only thing i can think of is code to remove the level sensors, then just replace them. I dont know if a decode and recode will work with the FRM (footwell module) with NCS expert. Worth a shot i guess.
Works...takes patience, but all internals are a direct swap
Originally Posted by wtorres141
Thanks...would these 25w ones be "factory fit" on my model? I am struggling to find a suitable housing on the used market. Am hoping I could take these and swap all the internals and washers.
worked as I hoped they would....
I used an sharp blade to make the hole for the balast plug, the shape is already imprinted on the housing. Other than that single cut, everything else fit perfectly.
I Joey mod painted the set I purchased from ECS....new 35w replacements made using the 25w retro-fit models.
The older lenses and projectors are now up for grabs in the market.
worked as I hoped they would....
I used an sharp blade to make the hole for the balast plug, the shape is already imprinted on the housing. Other than that single cut, everything else fit perfectly.
I Joey mod painted the set I purchased from ECS....new 35w replacements made using the 25w retro-fit models.
The older lenses and projectors are now up for grabs in the market.
Looks like you painted the trim near the glass ellipsoid also. Very cool.
I recently installed a set of the 25w retrofit kit onto my 2007 S that has no factory options other than the lsd. I coded the various elements using NCS Expert as explained earlier in this thread, which stopped the rapid flashing. High beams and flashing work fine. However, I’ve noticed a slight problem that I can’t find reference to.
When I turn on the lights with the key in the accessory mode but the engine not started the lights look great. When I start the car and remain still, still great. However, when I put the car in gear after a couple seconds both lights begin to very subtly flicker. This is similar to the timing when the lights would flash rapidly before coding the $522 and other FRM options, so I have to assume it’s some other system check or similar causing it. Has anyone else seen this, or have any ideas on what I can check for or try to stop it? Thanks!
