Im in the market for some driving lights but don't know which brand or even what size to go for. Can anyone post pics of theirs and what brand/size you have? Thanks!

 

Factory kit for r53.

 

I was thinking of getting the factory kit but it's so expensive compared to all the other kits. Is the factory worth it over the others?

 

The factory kit has smaller lights than most aftermarket kits and comes with black covers that say MINI on them. I just feel that the larger lights on most aftermarket kits don't look right and over dominate the front of the car but again this is just a looks thing.

 

HELLA 500 , Brackets from Outmotoring.com . I had to modify the brackets a little but they are SUPER BRIGHT and I don't have to have the highbeams on to use them like the manufacturer lights.

 

An older pic, but I still like mine.
Hella 500 fogs outer, Hella 500 driving lamps inner.
6 3/8" diameter

 

here are mine. 4 hella+ 2 fog + 2 drving, they're mounted on a vip bar i am going to be mounting the down low with the outmotoring brackets soon. just need $

 

read a few old threads/posts by members, kits below got positive reviews:





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What size are the OEM lights?

I've seen aftermarket 5" - 5 1/2" - 6" BUT I don't know what each size looks like or what it would look like on the car. Differentiation would be helpful.

 

OEM Driving Lights with Covers On

http://www.flickr.com/photos/80198252@N06/8371587109/
I can take the covers off and snap more pics or measure them if you want. But you can probably get measurements from OutMotoring or one of the other sites. The covers are actually printed with MINI on them but tough to see in the pics.

 

The oem size is different for r53 and r56 I think without actually measuring mine that the r53 set is about 4 inches in diameter I will have to confirm this later.

 

The size on R56 is 5 inches. I think the R53 had slightly smaller.

 

Hella 500's on mine, I included the 6 3/8" diameter now.

 

how do you like your out motoring brackets? where they easy to install?

 

Wow. I am so jealous. I picked my mini off the Showroom floor and it did not have Xenon or Driving lights. I asked how much it would be to add the driving lights and parts and install is $950. They said they have to use a different Grill???? wow. just goes to show you get everything you want on the car because it is very $$$$ after market OEM. All I have is a Justa so not sure if that is why I need a different grill. I think all i am going to add at this point is mud flaps if I can install myself. The Justa has lots of other "can't live withouts" lounge leather, premium, sport, H/K, 17" infinity but it I still really would love to have the other stuff but figure I will wait a few years and get another one if I still think those items are a "must Have" in addition to getting the S series

 

My kit is the Alta "Rally-style light bar". It usually comes with 4 lamps, but I only got 2, so I could keep my front license plate. The powder coated black bar it comes with has 4 pre-drilled holes for lamps, but like I said, I only mounted 2 lamps in the outer two spots. The lamps are IPF 968 with "multi-function" reflectors. In the second, zoomed-in picture, you can see some clip-on clear lens covers, for protection from rocks and road debris. I mostly used those in the winter time only... Those were a separate purchase from another vendor...

I like the Alta light bar kit a lot.

Have to take off the bumper cover and aluminum bumper to install it though.

http://www.altaperformance.com/hardt...ally-light-bar

 

Where do you guys use those lights? Or are they just there cus thy look awesome?
I know they'd come in handy on back country roads, but are they street legal?
I saw one mini with a roof rack, and the hella lights mounted in front of the rack, doubt that's street legal, but it looked reallly good.

 

. personally i use mine every night (fogs in particularly) , there not obnoxious like you would think. my fogs put out just that extra amount of light so i can see the road clearer. as far as leagal check with you state in VA i can have a total of 6 front facing lights that includes headlights, the little bumper lights, and fogs. 2+2+2=6 the one problem that i almost ran into was when i went in for inspection. i guess in VA aux lights (if not hard wired) must be covered, but i didn't have any problems with that just put the covers on for inspection then when i was done i took them off and carried on with my day.

 

Off topic, but great personalized plate, johnnieoh!
On topic, I use mine to spot deer farther ahead than my xenons can spot them. I have the MINI driving lights, and think they are the perfect size for the bonnet without being overdone.

 

Hella 500 Black Magics on VIP Custom brackets:



With HID kit:

 

whats the difference in color betwe ur hid and xeon

 

The HID's are actually a little brighter but the big difference is between the halogen bulbs that the Hella Black Magics come with and the HID's.

 

I might just have tl look into this ill pm you about it

 

Just click on the HID link. Explore the whole site. I needed compact HID bulbs due to the Black Magic baffling.

 

Not OutMotoring, but an older design once available on eBay. Have to remove front bumper - which is pretty straightforward - but once removed, not a problem at all. I covered it in a thread here on NAM years ago. Basically, remove front bumper cover, remove bumper, measure carefully so lights are where you want ;em, pre-drill 4-6 holes, cut 2 holes in the lower grille for the brackets to poke thru, mount, run wires, reassemble. I triggered my fogs off the parking lamp, and my driving lights (the 2 inners) off the high beams.

Held up for over 4 years, only removed once to de-rust and repaint the crossbar, as it gets BLASTED up there. I really like their height, as they're low enough to be adequate fogs, high enough to operate the driving lights, and out of the way of radiator/condenser airflow. Also, wired 'em with a trailer wire connector, so removing 'em is a 2-bolt, one-plug affair in under a minute. AND they stay aimed.