Has anyone installed any other lights besides the factory driving lights on the grille on there minis's and if so where did you get them who makes them and if you have pics that would be great. would like to add driving lights but i dont want to spend 400 for the ones from the factory. contemplating the piaa's but not sure yet.

 

$400?!?!!?!? After labor my dealer was charging $847!!!!!!

For lights? forget it. I've been looking at the PIAA 5430 package. $175 + $10 ship on EBAY- search- "mini cooper piaa".

They are bright white so they'll go with xenons if you have 'em.

Alta also has a nice 4 light setup.

Check out www.webbmotorsports.com for either one. Good pics.

Good luck,
[[[s]]]

 

i would never have the dealer put anything on my car unless they cover it. i looked at the piaa but im not sure yet.

 

Two others that I have found are the Hella FF200 kit for MINI's (www.hella.com) and the Cibie Tangos which would require somebody else's mounting kit. (www.talbotco.com)

The Cibie Tangos look the closest to the factory lights and are available in chrome or black and as driving or fog lights. PIAA, Hella, and Alta all make mounting brackets that I believe would work.

The Hellas seem like they are really high quality but in my opinion look a little odd becuase they are slightly oval shaped.

The PIAAs mentioned earlier come as a black driving lamp in the kit. It is also possible to buy the pieces separate and then get the lights in a fog pattern. But I do not believe chrome is available.


I am considering the Cibies because I want chrome but can not decide if I need a driving or a fog light pattern.

 

Sounds like you need to ask your dealer about what they want to install the lights as well... That sounds like labor isn't included in the price you have there.

I've got the MINI ones and like them a lot, they are VERY bright.

A lot of people have PIAA's and I haven't heard anything bad about them up here. I was interested in the Hella's in the Moss catalog but in the end figured that they would end up costing me more.

I did speak with a trusted mechanic to get his opinion. His biggest concern with driving lights on a MINI is that they are typically installed through the grill on the hood. This as opposed to an install on say a Jeep where they would be mounted on a bumper or some such area. His concern is that being on the hood would subject them to a lot of vibration and shock whenever you shut the hood, and as such any light not designed specifically for a MINI might not be able to withstand that shock and therefore not last as long.

Just something to keep in the back of your mind...

 

i saw the hella ff200 and i think they look nice. a little different but nice. i would not have the dealer install them anyway. im pretty handy. as for the vibration. any jeep owner which i was before a mini owner know how bumpy and rough the drive is. especially after putting in a new suspension. my lights that i had on my wrangler took a beating on the pothole filled streets of NYC. and they never moved a budge. and never blew out bulbs or ever had to be re-adjusted. as far as the driving lights go they will not be on all the time anyway. so the less you use them the longer the life. i would be more worried about someone crashing into the lights than having to replace the bulbs.

 

I got my Piaa540's from Pilo. Good stuff, good service. Installation was

time consuming to cut the grill, but other then that, very easy.

 

PIAA's are great. Their wiring harness is beefy enough that you can upgrade from 55W bulbs to 85W bulbs and truly light up the night!

The install is very easy if you follow the included instructions.

 

You should check them out. The real deal. Big, chrome, bright, and the SMR version comes with a nice clear lens that looks great with the Mini head lights.

Had these on my old MC (below) and then put them on my Works S. Use the beefy Mini Madness mounts to keep the vibration down.

 

has anyone put hella ff200 or ff300 on there mini's and if so can you post pics.

 

I am looking for place who sell the FF200. However the price that I found is ridiculous. Regular FF200 kit sells around $100, the FF200 Mini kit sells around $300.. I just wonder what's the difference about both kit, the Mini kit just include the mount for Mini, is it worth $200 premium?

 

I've got the PIAA kit from ebay. nice package, easy install, great price!

ripley.

 

That is a really good question. The mount can be purchased separately for $110.00 and the wiring harness for $23.00 so it doesn't exactly add up does it?

 

I'm a wimp when it comes to modifying my cars. I'm too scared I'm going to screw something up, its going to look like crap and never work right. So, with that said, with my new LY/B Convertible order, I'm having the dealer install the driving lamps for me ...

Yes, I'm caving into the $800 cost for it to be done, but then, like I said, I'm a whimp and too scared ... and its just convenient for them to do it for me.

 

:smile: I had PIAAs installed last year by an independent MINI-owning mechanic in Birmingham, AL on my roadtrip. They are wonderful and very useful at places like the Dragon, where night-time driving requires good visibility. I like the OEMs, but they're too expensive, IMO. :smile:

Here's Ryephile working on some nasty bra-scrapes on my Wanda's bonnet at the Dragon in May 2004:




Clover

 

An excellent example of "inelastic demand."

 

I've got the FF200's on my MINI using the Moss MINI Rally bar. I recently damaged one of my lights, so I searched eBay and found a 2 light FF200 kit with wiring for less than a single light that Moss sells. Unfortunately the lights I got didn't have the chrome housing--the seller told me they were. So I just disassembled the lens housing, which was very simple, and swapped the new ones with the old ones.

 

How hard/easy was the installation for the lights? Could you give a rating for someone that has worked on cars, but doesn't like to or is semi-afraid to tackle an installation of the lights.

Thanks,

 

There is actually a "How-to" thread stuck at the top of the "Interior / Exterior Mod" catagory. Its very well done.

On a scale of 1-10, it LOOKS like a 4.... ish.

 

I have the Alta Rally Style Light bar setup. Normally, it comes with 4 6-inch IPF lights, but I only had them ship me 2, so it could stradle my stupid New York State required licesnse plate (too chicken to go without a front plate, and besides, the bumper's already been drilled, so...)

PM me if you need any more info, or just search for "Alta Rally Style Light Bar".

SEE ATTACHED THUMBNAIL...

 

I have the same issue being in CA. No way to move the light bar down slightly to get all 4 in there? Or would that would too prone to damage? I really like the look of the 4 lights.

 

No, there's absolutely no way to have 4 lights there with a front license plate. The lights tuck back into the grille area neatly, with no space for that to happen. See the front-view of my car, below (click on thumbnail for larger view).

Besides, some raise the valid point that 4 lights would block too much airflow to the radiator behind. I'm not sure this is true, but it does make sense, if you think about it.

 

I like mine...

JD

 

I love my factory lights and I have seen them on ebay selling at a decent price. I installed them myself to save money and to keep my car away from the service bays. Everything went perfect and I had a lot of fun doing the work. I thought the install was pretty straight forward and would rate it a 5 on the 1 to 10 scale for install difficulty. A five because it takes a bit of time and you have to dismantle quite a bit to run and connect the wires. The thing I like about the factory lights is the size. They are a little smaller than the aftermarket ones and I think they fit the car better.

 

With regards to driving lights...I just purchased the lights and mounting bar from MINISPORT in the UK. Nice kit and quality lights (all stainless, not just chromed) only drawback is you have to cut three small notches into the bumper cover (the part concealed by the bonnet when closed) in order to mount the light bar.