Hey guys and girls,
I just recently purchased my mini about a month ago and ive noticed that the halogen oem headlights are garbage. The low beams are about 5 feet ahead of you when your driving its no good. I am looking into different solutions:

First and cheapest:
Buy xenon headlights such as silverstar but i dont know about the piaa xtreme white which are double the price of normal xenons.

Second:
Buy an HID kit from ebay or from online retailer and insert into halogen housing which doesnt look that good but displaces a lot more light.

Lastly:
I have found many online retailers selling the aftermarket projector housings for around 280 for the pair and im not sure if i should just buy these and but the hid kit in them.

I am undecided because my previous car had bixenon which is convenient and cheap but now i have to buy two pairs of lights.

PS i was also considering doing an upgrade to the fog lights the bulb is an H11 i believe but i dont know how hard it is to access them.

Thanks if anyone could help or show pictures or comment i would greatly appreciate it.

03 Mini Cooper R50 - 15" ROTA rims

 

I like this thread, and i'm in the same boat. I hate my halogens. So whoever can help, we'd BOTH really appreciate it!

 

Mine were crap also when I got the car but all mine needed was to be reaimed, two turns on the adjustment screws made a world of differance

 

Have you tried adjusting them properly? You should be able to adjust them both left to right and up and down. Look for the hex/flathead bolts sticking out of the black plastic housing of the lamps. They are marked left/right or down/up. They should be on either side of the hole where you insert new bulbs. (I have factory Xenons installed, but yours should have similar adjustment dials.)

An old school general rule of thumb is to adjust the lights so that they aim exactly parallel to the ground. That is like kicking your tires to make sure they are properly inflated; it was good advise probably two decades ago.

The easiest DIY way to adjust them properly would be to find a wall with flat pavement in front of it. Drive the front of the car up against the wall so that the car and the wall are exactly perpendicular. Mark on the wall, where the headlights would point to if aimed directly straight forward. Be exact, (not too far up, down, left, or right). Reverse the car approximately 25 feet from the wall. Aim your headlights 2-3 inches below those marks on the walls. Make sure you also adjust the beams horizontally (left and right) to line up with those marks. The lower you aim the lights, the brighter the road will be lit, but they will also cover less distance down the road.

Some people suggest also aiming the lights two inches to the right to further aim the lights away from oncoming traffic. For myself, adjusting only the vertical aim is good enough as I don't drive much on single lane country roads. All we have here are multiple lane freeways with high center dividers.

As you mentioned, definitely get the Silverstar bulbs (preferably the Silverstar Ultra).

If you still need more light, invest in a set of driving lights to add more light down the road at the times when you need it. Plenty of us on NAM have different setups with regards to how many and where we mount them.

 

Do not waste your money on Sylvania Silverstars. We did that in our Volvo and it was a total waste of money. I am not even sure you can see the difference in the color temp. Worse part is that we had done both headlights and fog lights. Three out of four have had to be replaced within three years. That's some serious dough. The next time one burns out all will be replaced with after market Xenon kit. No experience with the kits in the MINI's but they work great in the Volvo. We ordered our Cooper with the Xenons and absolutely love them

 

I too thought the headlights on my GEN1 were weak until I put in a set of SilverStars and liked the improvement so much I replaced the bulbs in everything else in the driveway. 4 years b4 the first one burned out. Spousal unit noticed the improvement first time she drove the car at night after the change with no prompting it had been done.

Don't forget that a GEN1 uses sep' bulbs for the high and low ... same type bulb in both cases but sep. Make sure you replace the correct one if changing only one.

OP - an 03 foglight should be a 55w H7 (changed to H11 07/2004) according to Haynes) access is usually accomplished by removing (part of) the wheel well liner

 

The adjustment will help with sending the light out further but you do need to upgrade the bulbs.

The Piaa xtreme white is a very bright bulb using only 55 watts; I get some people flash at me thinking that I have on my brights. This is the bulb that I use in my other cars and I love them ! Pricey but very bright !

The Silverstar Ultra bulbs are some what less costly and put our a good amount of light but are not as bright as the Piaa bulbs. I have used these bulbs
when I have to have a matching set quickly and they are a good bulb for the price; I think the brightest of all the bulbs found in local parts stores.

So re-adjust the aim and install some Piaa bulbs and I believe you will be happy with the results ! ! ! !

 

i appreciate all of the good responses im going to look into adjusting the lights but so far no one has touched upon the hids in halogen housings im not sure if anyone has done it and liked it or if people buy the xenon housings thanks guys and girls

 

FWIW I'm a Silverstar fan too. I have them in everything except the MINI's. Both have Xenons. I did just have ti replace one in the Camaro. I write the dates on them when when I install lights. (****, I know) The one in the Camaro was from 10/07. I'll take that for longevity. Now if the other one goes right after that, I'll get worried. But one bulb in 3 years, no big deal.

 

My brother put Silverstars in his 98 Intrepid and had to replace both within a year. I would have contacted Sylvania, but he didn't....

I used them in my 96 Neon and liked them a lot. I haven't used the PIAAs, but I may try them out pretty soon because I want my Wife to have all the light she needs when driving at night.

 

bump still looking to see if anyone can comment on hids in halogen housings i may think about doing this because the silverstars are nice but i want a massive light output without going with driving lights yet

 

The Silver-stars Have a VERY short life.....about half that of a regular halogen...has to do with running a shorter filament at a higher temp to get more lumins for the same wattage.

One thing nobody has mentioned....Have you polished you headlights yet? IF they do not look crystal clear...maybe the grime, sand, etc, have blurred the lens on the outside....a $20 polishing kit can do wonders for light output!! Used this on my wife's car (non-mini) and the lights are 100% better. One other thing...Halogens DO get more dim overtime, so new bulbs may help if you think the light is too yellow, or not bright enough...watch-out...if you just want blueish light....they just put a tint on the bulb, and you get LESS light!!
So when you say "sick" do you just want more light, a more modern look, or do you want that more modern Xenon HID white light? What you do for each of these is different!!

I put plastic protective covers over my Xenon's...works like a clear bra, and protects the lens from rocks too....invisible too!! Long term, it help to protect the lens's from debris and rock....short term fix is the polishing kit I mentioned above....a Power drill, a bucket, and some tape is all you need (THE KIT TOO)!!

Aftermarket HID's are kinda hit or miss....photo's make them look OK, but in person, many are worse than OEM...even the halogens...so shop carefully before you spend your $$ on an E-bay special!! Their light output and optics are just not great...barely fair in many cases.
IF you get driving lights...BE SURE TO WIRE THEM RIGHT!! A few folks have burnt up their wiring harnesses by skipping steps, and not using a relay!!