I see ECS has a plug and play for Xenon headlights to the HID look but actually snot all the retrofit expense. Helix is the brand. Anyone done the switch? I have 02 MCS.


From this on my 02




To this from ECS And Helix brand

 

I think you mean halogen to xenon/HID....

 

Yes, I guess you're right. The ECS site states, "These headlights are designed to look like the later Gen 1 Mini HID Projector headlights but utilize H7 high and low beam bulbs. Feature plastic lenses with blackout housing, chrome reflective backing and chrome exterior rings. They are plug and play."
I was hoping to get that look.

 

So it actually halogen to "stylized" halogen made too look a like the "refresh" hid/xenons....
Actually know a guy that has them...got them a few years back. Looks good, and he has never mentioned any issues . Got them back before they were common...had to buy them from eBay at the time from a place in Asia...but brand is the same, as is the look....
I am trying to recall if he installed a hid/xenon kit in them...since they are projector style lights, they can be converted and typically don't make huge amounts of glare like the reflector style lights when converted.

 

It's a bit confusing on the ECS site about the conversion because it states they are "New" and I can't figure why someone with the original HID Projectors would ever go to these?

 

Also when I go to the Ebay site they show these as the Helix brand and specifically state, "ONLY FOR 1ST GEN MODELS WITH HALOGEN HEADLIGHTS". I guess the only answer is to call ECS tuning. Tried to ck their website but for some reason it's down.

 

H7 bulbs are halogen.....
They are only for gen1 cars with halogen cause you reuse you wiring...the plugs for the lights...xenon/hid cars don't have the plugs for them...the wiring is different...not to mention they have ballasts and igniters too...
If a owner were to try to trace a factory xenon/hid (same, just different name) with one of these, they could plug in the factory high beams, but you would have to remove the factory xenons...and rewire for halogens so the plugs would fit the housings.....

 

I guess I'm totally confused. So do I have "Halogen" headlights on my 02?

 

You ahve gen 1 -7/2004 Halogen , the xenon ones do look close but they say Xenon in the headlight.

Example : -7/2004 Xenon







Projector halogens:

https://www.ecstuning.com/News/MINI_Helix_Headlights_R50_R52_R53_19350/







If you want to take our Helix projector halogens and upgrade to Xenon , see here:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...installed.html

 

Yup...if you look, the bulbs you have are the same for hi and low beam...good to know if one burns out...uses the h7 bulbs...
Halogen bulbs can drop in output as they age....so if you are having complaints about lower output try a pair a of new bulbs...about $12
The mini xenons/hid had xenons on the low beam side and halogens for the high beam ...due to how they function....halogens can be repeatedly turned on and off... xenon/hid's take a few moments to "warm up" and only really wears when turned on...a bit of erosion happiness at the spot where the electricity jumps to make the light, no filament to break like a halogen...but the gap gets too big...the xenons can't start...so they are "burnt out"....

Later desgin tried to use a moving shade, reflector , or finely "bi-xenons"....
But with 2002 tech...it was cutting edge stuff...xenons on a car....

 

I ended up ordering from ECS the Helix brand and it specifically states on EBAY that these are Helix brand and , "ONLY FOR 1ST GEN MODELS WITH HALOGEN HEADLIGHTS". I spoke with the folks at ECS and we agreed that these should be plug and play and these are not the upgrade HID headlights that were an extra cost option from the manufacturer.
Verified this with Way Motor Works who also sell the Helix but didn't have the chrome ring with black inserts.

 

+1
They should look good...the counter guy at greasys garage installed them on his 2004...gave his car the look of the newer 2005+ cars....he then used a kit to upgrade them to xenons/hid...was pretty successful from what I remember....generally we always talked about bad kits that made huge amounts of glare....but never put the light where you needed it...
The fact the kit is a projector lens kit, rather than a reflector kit seems too make them a good candidate for a xenon upgrade....and unlike some cheap kits, they seem to put out a decent beam pattern from what I recall....some of the headlight replacement kits plain suck...

 

My Halogens really sucked on the back roads I drive home. Hope these are an improvement. My 05 with the HID's were decent.

 

Pickup 4 new bulbs.....
Since you have time before they arrive, a place like rockauto has them cheap, and you can wait a couple days...think they were about $4 last time I changed out the high beam h7's on my 2005 with xenons ...when I flipped on the highs I was like WOW....huge change....the old bulbs were kinda black, rather than clear....so they were well past their useful life, even though they were not "burnt out".

Yeah the refresh xenons were decent, and if the bulbs were new, even very good...even xenons age a bit..noticed in the 10 years I owned the car, they were dimmer when I sold it...was gonna get new xenon bulbs if I kept it, but was $$ per bulb...

 

Will do..good idea.

 

Yes, the helix ones will work for Xenons and NON Xenon cars, i had them on my factory Xenon Hot Orange MINI in the pics in our link and they worked fine.

 

What bulbs would you suggest for the Helix conversion? I'm not going the Xenon route.

 

Know another member who swears that PIAA bulbs are great...
Imo at this point, most any NEW bulb is gonna be better...
Being cheap...but not too ****...
I might suggest get the PIAA FOR LOWS..I haven't used them, but have been told they are great...if they are as good as the wiper blades they make, then they might be worth it...
and some pretty cheap ones for the high beams...most folks only get to use them for 20-30% of the time anyway!!
Rockauto has h7 in most brands about $3 each....
With the higher end extra bright nighthawk types (shorter lifespan, but brighter) for 7-18$
I would assume the PIAA bulbs are more like $20+..likely need to search a bit!!

 

When we installed them with the Ziza H7 halogen bulbs , the output was pretty nice and clear.

They are linked here with the headlights:

https://www.ecstuning.com/News/MINI_Helix_Headlights_R50_R52_R53_19350/

If you are coming from the older NON projector headlight , its a big difference.

 

Wow those prices are pretty low. I'm seeing bulbs in the $40-$65 range

 

Ziza bulbs ?

 

You looking at halogen h7 bulbs or xenons/hid's? Xenon/hid bulbs can be $50-110 easy....
halogens tend to top out pretty cheap $10-20 each MAX....with "commodity" bulbs being $3 or so...

And yes ....some sellers rip you off...my local auto zone wanted $8 for a licence plate bulb...not even led...was ¢99 on line....and $2 at Walmart....a huge difference for a basic part.
Convince costs....but some places kinda bend you over....
Saw similar price differences for headlights.....

 

I must have been looking at Xenon. The ZIZA look pretty enticing.

 

Xenons/hid's (they are a different term for the same) are not interchangeable....
The plugs and "support" system in the car is different...
H7 Is a 12v bulb...aka a halogen bulb...
Xenons/hid have ignitors, ballasts, and in mini's a leveling system....and different plugs....

 

Got them switched and just used the old bulbs until I can get some ordered. Really happy with the Helix.