I really don't like the idea of huge lights on the front of my Mini, though I know it's a very cool and retro look. It's just not for me. And I've been thinking that HID driving lights would be way superior than conventional halogens. So, I've found these two possibilities. They're designed more for motorcycles and are therefore quite small, but they're HID and put out about 3 times the light as a 55 watt halogen. Has anyone tried them? Or seen anyone who mounted them?

http://www.shopatron.com/products/pr...PIA73082/353.0

http://www.martinfabrication.com/Mar..._LIghts.html#2

There small enough that it might even be possible to recess them completely or partially into the grill. (I'm running the JCW aero kit on my 06 cab.)

 

'Just did some more research on the PIAA's and the Martin Fabrication lights.

The PIAA's are only 25 watts, use an MR-16 type HID lamp (like in projectors and track lighting), and are actually made by TrailTech.

The Martin Fabrication lights are true 35 watt HID (like most HID driving lights), the reflectors and ballasts are made by some high end European manufacturer (no cheap stuff from China), and are DOT, TUV, approved as well as approved in Japan, I believe.

Seems like the Martin Fabrication is the better bet. And I talked with the owner and he says that no one has ever returned a set, even though he says he'll take them back no questions asked if you don't like the light output.

Nice.

Oh, and the Martin Fab lights are are a hair over 2.5" in diameter and a hair over 3" in length. That's nice and compact. And for the standard kit, they're only 399.95 a set. That beats a lot of the other HID lights out there for sure.

 

Another mounting option.

"HL29000 Bracket Kit to mount two lamps on New Mini. Includes brackets, hardware. Will mount all Current Hella Lamps Except Rallye 4000, 3000 and 4000 Compact. Lamps not included."



http://www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=3946


"HL29001 Cross bar for Mounting Additional Lamps on New Mini, Includes two (2) HD Hood Gas Springs. For use with HL29000 Mini Brackets. Lamps not included."



http://www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=3947

 

Wow! That's where I got the lights from and didn't even see the brackets. I'll have to look into those now......

A~

 

Dang it!!! The brackets wont fit with the lamps I bought... That would figure. Looks like I'm gonna be fabricating some brackets....

A~

 

Finally got them on..... I just extended the bracket with a piece of metal to get them to accomodate the Angel Eye lights. They are pretty big.... The front end is too heavy and is raked down now..... JK....

My company recently did a Ride and Drive with Yokohama. Seems the local Mini club got to participate the day before. They had these sweet traffic cones that I could not resist getting a photo op with....

Here's the link to the pix I took that day.

A~

 

BTW for those of you that want a smaller light, I found these in my research. They look pretty cool!

A~

 

Nice, Hella Rallye 4000 compacts - looks great! Please post up some more photos of a side profile, detail mounting and looking from the top down, TIA!

 

I bought the Mini driving light kit and fitted them myself which was not fun and took forever. I was a little disappointed when I found out they only come on with the high beams, I may go back and rewire them to come on with the fog lights. They do look fantastic though. Thinking about switching out the bulbs too for something a little less yellow and brighter.

 

my car came with these, I presume they're the factory version since the caps say MINI on them, but I'll have to check the wiring to figure out why they don't turn on at all :/

 

Look for the switch on the left dash.

Turn on hi-beams and they should be on. They will only come on when your hi-beams are on. They will "NOT" light up when the low-beams are on.

 

the salesman at the dealership and I flipped every combination we could think of and the buggers wouldn't light up.. I'm fairly certain we tried the high beams with that button as well. *shrug*

 

I use the mounting brackets from Outmotoring and added the Hella Optilux driving lights with Angel eyes. They complement the Halo Headlights I have. Total cost was $110 and that was wayyyyy better than paying $400 from MINI.

 

I decided to craft and build my own designed brackets because of the currently designed brackets out in the market didn't offer the proper support, the correct location or size and weight of professional rallye lights I wanted to use.

I already had these stout professional spec PIAA 80 Racing lights taken off my Westfalia (with modded Hella Rallye 3000 covers - love the old school German graphics better).

Mounting them up
Location of these driving lights need to be at bumper level or higher for them to work and light up the road in front of you well. Also not blocking the upper or lower radiator grilles is important.

I didn't even drill any exposed holes into my front aero bumper cover to mount them, just made some small 1/4" size slices (into the grille and bumper cover) right in between the lower black grille and underside of the aero front bumper cover. The bumper cover slips over the brackets, and then you mount on the light brackets. With this set up you could mount the even bigger Hella 4000 Rallye, IPF 960 Rallye or any other larger more functional rallye lights. The brackets are bolted to the aluminum front bumper just in the right spot.

I still have to wire in the PIAA harness and will take my time on this. The fabricating of these rallye light mounts took me forever to make them just right!

These PIAA 80 Racing lights have H4 bulbs and each light is a 90w low beam AND a 135w high beam all in one. The metal housing and exceptional crystal clear lens make for a superb light. On the Vermont tarmac back roads I drive - essential.













More photos...

 

Does anybody know if it is possible to mount the OEM driving lights on the front bumper from the factory Aero Kit?

 

Great job! I like how yours sit lower.

A~

 

here is mine with VIP driving light kit. They mount on the bumper frame instead of the OEM hood mounted. I am happy with them.

 

Just discovered these lights:

https://www.bajadesigns.com/NET/P-61...+Driving+Black

In my humble opinion, they're the very best looking lights I've seen. Plus, they're rugged as all hell. As I see it, here are some of the advantages:

They're 35 watts like most good HID driving lights. But they have a 50 watt upgrade option as well.

The ballast is internally mounted.....just run the wires to them. No fooling with ballast mounting.

Cast aluminum housing with different color trim rings.

Glass lens.

Three point anti-vibration mounting with beam height adjustment.

Waterproof electrical connection.

Lifetime warranty.

And they're pretty small.

Look at page 6 of their catalog: http://www.bajadesigns.com/2009/catalog/

And then check out the rest of the catalog. There are some other awesome lights in there as well.

 

Does anyone know of a mounting bar that incorporates some sort of a "nudge bar" that projects forward of the actual lights? I don't want the lights to be the first point of contact for some douchbag trying to parallel park into the front of my car. And by douchebag, I mean every driver (except me) in NYC who parallel parks.

 

Did you have to cut your grill? i have the JCW grill as well and i would be sad to cut through it. :(

 

I would never consider cutting that grill. There are always ways to design custom brackets to mount the lights and not hack anything. I haven't done it yet, but I have a design in my head for some brackets that would bolt to the heavy duty framework up front that holds the radiator and such and would not attach to the hood. They would stick out between the small gap between the bumper and the hood. One of these days......

 

I just got the VIP mounts on the car. Had to cut the grill but it wasnt so bad. Gotta install the lights now, maybe next weekend. I want to put black magic's on them.

 

Will these work on a 2005 R50 mini cooper? And do they come complete with brackets? I have xenon lights so I'm not really going for the extra lighting, just the looks but I do plan on using them either way. What do you think?

 

Where did you get them? And for how much? Link please? (:

 

I still haven't gotten around to adding driving lights, but if I did, I now know what I'd install: http://www.clearwaterlights.com/infopg_erica.html


LED, dimmable, and capable of being wired up to the horn circuit so that they flash to full bright when you hit the horn.