For those of you without Xenons, or those of you who wish to make your highbeams match your xenons better... I would highly recommend these bulbs! They're not blueish like all the other 'fake hid' bulbs, they're just bright ~4000k white. A ton better than OEM bulbs, and totally street legal! (I'm thinking about putting 65 or 85w bulbs in the highbeams for those really really dark stretches of road...)

 

Be careful about running higher wattage bulbs through the stock wiring harness. Stock is 55W.

 

Some people on Mini2 are reporting using Lucas 100w bulbs with no issue of heat, or overload. But I'm truely afraid of introducing Lucas into my baby...

 

I've been using the Osram Silverstar's for awhile (highbeams). WOuldn't live without them.

 

55Watt is legal, higher wattages are most likely for "off road use only". Check around before you buy them. You wouldn't want to end up with a ticket.

 

Exactly which one is it? H1, H4, H7? And where did you get yours?

 

H7.

www.powerbulbs.com

I said for highbeams, which will only be used for extremely dark areas that would, not for normal every day driving.

 

Is there a domestic (US) distrubtor, or something comparable? I like the idea of doing this. I live in canyon where the nearest street light is over 10 miles away. I got some driving lights, but something like this seems like a no-brainer, so long as the wiring is capable, and it seems that it is...

 

Nevermind, after searching, and reading other forums, I learned a fair amount. I just ordered them on the link provided earlier... They ship international. Thanks!

 

Ok, I am still a little confused. So these will match my existing Xenons in color and provide better light than my high beams? And I just plug them in, no additional wiring required?

 

I'd be very afraid of the rest of my car catching Lucas syndrome from the bulbs. They might be contagious somehow!

 

Should just need to remove the stock bulbs, hi-beams in my case, and replace them with these. The shipped price for me is something like 42 bucks for a pair.

 

They're the closest match to the xenons from a halogen that i've seen. They arent blue tinted like most 'fake hids' and its a very close color temp to the HID's... ~4000k for the Osram, ~4500k for the Xenons on the mini. BMW Xenons are ~5-6000k which is more blue-white than white. Truely plug and play too, since its a direct fit for the bulb.

 

Thanks for sharing with us tradiuz! Is gaining access to these bulbs (hi-beams) relatively easy?

 

Access is easily done, with a twist off cap.

On my '02 MCS there was a wire clip that you squeezed together and rotated out of the way to get to the bulbs (after the cap came off).

On my '05 MCSC the twist off cap is still there, but now the bulbs simply "pop out" with a tug on the terminals - no wire clip holding them in place.

 

What is Lucas and why is it so bad?

 

Thanks Rev., I figured it was pretty straight-forward.... I have an '03, but a first production week...soofle, I'm guessing the concern (syndrome) might be the price .

 

Lucas electronics made 99% of brittish cars not function for one reason or another at some point in their life. IE: Distributer gets wet going over a puddle and the car stops running til it dries out.

 

I just installed one of my Osram Silverstar H7 55w bulbs (hi-beam), and while it's not even dark yet, I can tell quite a difference already. I'll report back later after I can further evaluate them at night. I live in canyon, so darkness is not difficult to find .

Hey, as a freebie, they also sent to me a couple W5W Philips BlueVision, Ultra blue 3400 Kelvin bulbs. Does the MINI use such a bulb, and if so, where? Thanks.

 

On the outside: front parking lights (two of them), side turn signals (two of them), puddle lights (2005 only; two of them).

On the inside: map lights (2005 only; two of them), dome lights (all three), floor/feet lights (two of them).

They are called either wedge-type bulbs, 194W or W5W bulbs. They are all the same. I personally would replace the front parking lights as the first thing.

 

steebo777, thanks for the fast reply!

I see the plan with them giving me two free ones... to hook ya into getting more matching ones .

Since the floor lights are a pair, I think I'll go that route, but I might do as you recomend (front parking lights). I'm a little surprised that the dome light utilizes three though. Thanks again.

 

I have the 65W's in my '04, w/o xenons, for the high beams....my assessment is that when you have the OEM's and the 65W side by side, you can sort of see that the 65's are brighter, but hard to tell....there are some 55w's that are called 55W + 50%.....has anyone tried those?

 

Those are the ones that I got. I wanted to play it safe by going with the same wattage. I was able to tell a difference before dark, but changed the other stock bulb before dark, so I didn't have the best comparision. From memory, they do indeed seem to light-up more, and they also seem whiter...

 

anybody care to tell me if the front bumper parking lights are wedge bulbs? i want to order a set of piaa bulbs but don't know which one i should order, as well, the side turn signals, are they wedge as well? i want to know if the mirror orange bulbs fit the turn signals, are the wedge bulbs gonna flash white?

here's the link.. let me know which bulb i should order

http://www.piaa.com/Bulbs/Bulbs-Miniature.html

really appreciate it

 

The bumper lights (front and rear) are 194's, as are the side repeater (in the gill). The opening size is limiting though, if you wish to replace the bulbs with LED ones, be sure to measure your OEM bulb (since it is the max you'll be able to fit).