I want to know if anyone has done a headlight swap using the upgraded headlights? I have the base headlights without the projectors and day time running lights.

Do you think it would be as easy as just buying the upgraded headlights and wiring them into the car? Thoughts?

 

There would be some coding needed by the dealer Im sure. Darn near everything that gets changed on a Mini needs to be coded by them

 

I bet you are right, problem is... I don't even know if the male & female plugs match up on the stock vs. the upgraded lights.

Does anyone know?

 

When I bought my car I didn't know the ways of the Mini. So with the stock Halogen headlights I was trying to change to the upgraded lights. Mini told me there was a difference in the lights, wiring, switches and programming with a cost that make me load my pants. You might find parts cheap, but call Mini for their programming charges .. and hang on to your seat. They told me it was just under $2k if everything was by Mini. So that's why I went LED's in my stock headlights instead .. and LED's throughout the rest of the car.. Cost was around $350 for the entire car.

 

Not surprising at all!

What kit did you use to retro fit with LEDs?

 

No kit, just found CanBus lights that fit and on sale, then installed, used the BimmerCode App to code .... then drove. Only problem I had was using the red LED's for the tail lights. The white LED's pulled enough and worked right off. The red I bought didn't pull enough and set off the warnings. So my tail lights are light red with all the whites I have in there. Stuck with them until I can find red that draw more, preferably close to what the whites draws.

 

You could always try something like this. I’m giving it some thought for my car.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Car-...ceBeautifyAB=0

 

That is kinda what I'm looking for. I had to laugh because it says "NIMI" instead of "MINI" on the headlight.

It would be a gamble because I'd be concerned for the quality/brightness of the lights. But might just go for it. I will be sure to use some extra Butyl rubber to seal it too.

 

Yeah, the “NIMI” thing has been noted before. If you visit Aliexpress and do a search for “MINI F56 headlights” quite a few options pop up. They all seem similar, but this was the cheapest and offers free shipping. I didn’t look at the text on the other lights, so maybe there’s one that is correct. These are basically LED style halogens, so they depend on the intensity of the bulb you use with them.

MINI introduced a Xenon upgrade for the second generation cars. It was a simple installation and just needed coding by the dealer. I installed them on my Countryman when I had it and they made a huge difference, i’m hoping they do something similar for the third gen cars.