I'd like your opinions. Which are the best driving lights for a 2002 Cooper S?

I've looked at:
Hella Comet 200s - around $250
PIAA 540s - around $230
Alta Rallly Lights and Bar - around $400 (4 lights)

Please let me know your thoughts. I want these for show and for function (there's a lot of deer in this area).

 

Happy New Years and hope you had a Merry Christmas.

 

PIAA 520 SMR ~$250
Bigger and brighter than the 540s.
Available in chrome if you roll like that.

 

I have the chrome Mini Cooper factory lights. They look great and work excellent. I had the dealer put them on and just bent over when I got the bill. I like the looks and quality of them even when I knew they would be expensive. They sure do light up the road a long way. I never knew there were so many critters along the side of the road at 4:am They come on with my hi-beams when they are on. The switch is on the right side of the dash and is lighted and a green LED comes on when they are on. The Chrome ones come with white covers so I painted mine black with Vynal paint. If you get the black lights they come with black covers. I'm sure you have seen pictures of them.
Ronnie948

 

Best... I suppose it depends on our goals. If you dont want to spend a ton of money I think the Hella 500's are great (what I have). Decent output and does a good job of adding to the range of the stock high beams. Made in Germany too.

 

Hella Black Magic, complete with rock guards, mounting brackets and wiring harness; never used ........ see them at Out Motoring ....... very cool.
HALF PRICE!

 

i have an alta light bar and lights (came with piaa's, not ipf's, not sure what type though.) each set of 2 is a little brighter than the brights on our cars. My only problem is alta has the light bar designed wrong, as you cant aim the lights left or right any because they have the mounting bolts horizontal instead of vertical for the lights.(you can rotate and lean back, but the light pattern is flat, so it messes with that... makes it go from -- to / \ in the light intensity distribution) so to fix this i had to buy extra hardware and a L piece of steel, pre drilled every inch from lowes and paint it black and mount it to the bar so that i could aim the lights the way I wanted too.
Now i love it

 

I second the Hella 500's. Probably the best bet for price/performance ratio, and look the best in my opinion. I never liked the "brush guard" things that piaa's seem to come with.

I have two on my car, and I'm happy with them. They definitely make night driving more fun.

However, they are not made in Germany, at least not all of them. I have personally bought two sets, one made in Taiwan, another made in Mexico. There are some sets you can get that are made in Germany perhaps from rallylights.com. And, there were manufacturing discrepancies between the two sets I bought. The reflector was actually different, and offered different performance. I prefer the performance of the Taiwanese ones actually. One of the Mexican ones got a rock in it, and broke, so when I bought the second set (Taiwan), I switched both over to the Taiwanese set because I liked the focused beam pattern better. I bought both sets at a chain auto parts store, pepboys or advanced, can't remember so that may be why they are not German. Both are also driving lamp beams, not fogs.

Note- Alta is currently having a REALLY good year end sale, and the light bar is in there for about $55! (no lights included) Get it while it lasts!

 

hi guys just curious but how much all-in for the lights installed?

 

ALTA Has one light bar left from our clearance sale. If you want it PM me ASAP!!

 

Glad I ordered mine just in time then!

 

I've got a brand new PIAA set I could sell for a deal. Just call me at the shop.

WAY
317.201.8670
www.waymotorworks.com

 

B-E-A-U-TIFUL

what light brackets did you use?

 

Is there a light bar or bracket that works for the '09 S for these lights?

We went to Mini Scottsdale to price the OE rally light and I about fell over when I saw the price tag, on sale........ Almost a grand for two lights?!?!?!?

A~

 

I have the PIAA driving lights and fog lights. Ditched the plastic covers in favor of 3M clear stick-on protection. Love these lights, although I need to re-aim both sets.

 

Ring Automotive..Nice and slim...

 

What a great photograph. Where was it taken? It looks like a lot of Mini's going the other way.
Ronnie948

 

'tis Ring Automotive Angel Eyes line. Very smooth design but not found in the USA.

 

Sweet pic indeed!

I ended up ordering the Hella Rallye 4000 Compact CELIS (Angel Eye) Driving Lamp.

A~

 

I have an '06 JCW Cabriolet with the full aero package where the driving lights are down low. Are there any inprovements to these lights that I might be able to make? Higher wattage bulbs? Different lamps that still fit the aero package properly? Convert to HID? All suggestions welcome. Cheers!

 

Thanks. They are Mini-Madness heavy-duty OEM-style brackets. $75/pair. Tried the OEM brackets but they were way too flimsy for these lights.

 

That is a sweet but very deep light. Let us know how they fit. I was considering these but assumed I would have to cut holes in my grill to make room for the housings.

 

If you are talking about the lights in the bumper, those are fogs...

 

Really? Darn. I thought they were driving lights. Hmmm.....

Does anyone make a conversion kit to change them to driving lights? Or are they simply located too low?

 

I'll post some pix when I install them. Right now I am trying to figure the whole bracket thing. I think I'll need something that is heavy duty. I might have to make the brackets. We'll see what happens.

A~