I'm interested in putting a light bar on my '02 S. I already have the factory driving lights, but with my crummy night vision, I need more photons.
Does anyone have any specific recommendations? If so, please state the reason(s).
I'm thinking of Moss's Alta Light kit, but I'm open to suggestions. Thanks in advance.

 

As far as I know there are two choices for a bar, Palo Uber and Alta. Check them both out and see what works best for you. I know outmotoring has mounting brackets that some have used too.

 

I believe Mini Madness has an external light solution as well. I know there will eventually be a light bar from M7, but I am not sure when.

 

I like the PU, but the fit seems wonky as per this thread
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=93746

 

If you have the Aero Kit it is tough as it was not designed for it, but I made it work. Before I got the Aero Kit, it worked great. The problem being talked about in that thread is with the two bolt holes, I had no problem and I have an 02 also. If you like it get it. it really does look great, the wiring harness makes it very easy to attach the lights, and you can install whatever lights you like that fit. The single thing that makes the install a lot easier is a ratcheting 13 mm wrench. It will save you a lot of time and major headache.

 

Katie, try outmotoring http://outmotoring.com/mini_cooper_d..._brackets.html only $100 now. Look at all the configurations on the website. Up or down ...



I put them up high but they could have been down low.

Whats more important is exactly what lamps you intend to use. If your talking around town, not the highway alone, forget about driving lights, you want GOOD fogs. I know several ppl on the board have but Hella FF200s there ... about $115, out a LOT of light down low. PIAAs are much more expensive and IMO, not as good as Hella. I put some PIAA 540s fogs on my SUV and the comparison between Hella and PIAA is night and day.

You can also put some bigger Hellas on there if you dont mind a bigger lamp. Cost maybe $200 for the pair but even brighter than the FF200s.

Throwing driving lights down so low will add some light but totally defeat the purpose of them. They will act more like auxiliary lights for the low beams but maybe thats what you want. FF200s come in driving lights and fogs and in fact, most Hellas do.

I can say that with the additional fogs, it made a huge difference in driving country and residential streets at night w/o the driving lights on you already got.

 

I agree with Chows...I'm one of those with FF200s on OutMotoring brackets. They are sturdy and shine a lot of light. Cibie also makes some very good lights.

 

I don't have the aero kit. I'll ask my husband is he has the right wrench. Thanks

I want to throw more light out in general, so the brackets with lamps make sense.
The lights I have now help, but 2 more wouldn't hurt. I'm also thinking of the Dragon where it's pitch black at night, and the driving lights seem to be bare minimum.
I'd love to see what the various set up actually look like at night. I guess it's just a matter of preference.

 

I have the Alta Lightbar and like it a lot. Used it im rainy foggy weather two days ago, big difference. I have my lights switched so 2 or 4 come on. The outer two are angled ever so slightly up. I like the IPF lights a lot.

 

The Alta bar/IPF lights work great, (and I only have 2 of them installed). They NEVER shake, because the bar is rock-solid, and the powdercoating has withstood 2 central New York salt-encrusted winters, with not a single spot of rust.

Well built, looks great, and provides great lighting.

 

I'm not sure your understanding what I meant.

The MOST important thing is the lamps. You can put just about any lamp you want on a bracket provided they are not to deep so they dont fit.

If you look at the outmotoring brackets, they are bolted to the bumper and you have multiple ways to put the lights, up or down, unlike, I believe the Alta bar which is literally a bar? Outmotoring brackets are just that ... brackets and once installed, aren't going anywhere.

Then you want to decide which lamps you want. They come in kits of two lamps and wiring. You can check out PIAA lamps at http://www.piaa.com. Check out Hellas here http://www.rallylights.com/hella/Auxiliary_Lamps.asp Hellas are far cheaper and better quality that PIAA.

All you got to decide is how big a lamp you want.

Then you got to decide if you want fogs or Driving lights. Your driving lights are intended to throw a beam way out beyond your highs. Fogs throw out light with a sharp cutoff maybe 100 feet down the road and thats it.

It sounds like you really want to throw a lot more light down the road. In that case, and I know your rich, I'd go with one of the Hellas in Xenon. You will throw a Hella lotta light down the road, despite being down low. They ain't gonna be cheap but seeing at night .... priceless!

Seriously, check out the Hella Xenon driving lights. They will light up the night.

 

No, I get it..it's the lamp that counts. That's the next step. I wanted to see my mounting options first.

I'm not rich by any stretch, but I have no kids and very little debt .

I'm going to think about it a little more..I'd like to do both fogs and brighter driving lights. We'll see.

 

I'd like to put a pair of Hella Rallye 4000 fogs on Outmotoring's brackets, but it's 5" from the mounting bolt to the back of the 4000. Anyone with Outmotoring brackets know how much clearance there is from the hole in the bracket to the bumper?

Hella 4000 - http://www.rallylights.com/hella/4000.asp

 

My vote is for the Palo Uber light bar .

Allows for lamps of your choice, one nice easy to install harness, hidden hardware, nice switch panel for the inside.

Best value of the bunch!

 

Woot! in the case DUMP those MINI driving lights. Get some FF200 Xenon Driving lights and FF200 Fogs down low and your GOLDEN!!!

I doubt it. The FF200s are 2.88" and I could barely get a finger in there. I think it would be very tight.

 

ok..I'm going with the Out Motoring individual brackets. I want the Hellas, but which size for those particular brackets do I get? FF200s apparently come in different depths, and I want to be sure I get the right ones the 1st time.....
Art, is the link you gave me for the Susquehannah site the cheapest lamps that you know of? I did a search and I could spend days comparing prices...don't wanna cuz I'm lazy.

 

bump...cuz I need an answer to the above post.....

 

Katie, I am assuming you mean these brackets ... http://outmotoring.com/mini_cooper_d..._brackets.html ... make sure you follow the directions using the lockite.

The FF200s only come in ONE size ... not multiple. See http://www.hella.com/produktion/Hell...F200/FF200.jsp
and http://www.rallylights.com/hella/ff200.asp

The only thing you need to worry about is depth. 6"H x 5-5/8"W x 3"D (lamp+bracket) per Hella. You dont need to worry about height because you can put them low or high.

Yes, Rally lights of Susquehana is the cheapest I could find and I bought from them. They were pretty fast. They fit fine on my 04 and I could my finger in behind them on the lower part of the bumper cover.

They come with white covers which are pretty useless if you want to actually use the lights. I strongly suggest you also buy this part ... [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]HL79162 [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] FF200 Clear Acrylic Stone Shield, each $11.84 [/SIZE][/FONT]You need to buy two of those ... they are individually price. These are clear covers you leave on all the time, made by Hella to be left on all the time and they will protect the glass.

You need to decide if you want fogs or driving lights

This is the light spread for fogs ...

I can say with the OEM driving lights on and the fogs, they lit up the night pretty well covering right in front of you. Realistically they are wide and strong out to 45 feet.

This is the light pattern for the driving lights



I didnt have these but I would bet they are bright out to 300 feet easily and reflective on signs out to 1000 feet.

Its your decision which ones you want. Remember, driving lights are really only good when the high beams are on. If you put on driving lights with lows in traffic, ppl are going to get upset

A couple of words of notes from my experience.

I had them installed by a local independent BMW shop.

1. The MINI bumper plate holes were NOT perfectly centered. They actually moved the bumper slightly (there was play in there) because MOT drilled the stupid plate slightly off center
2. Make sure they wire the relay directly into the parking light circuit, regardless if fogs or driving lights. That way you can turn them on regardless of if you have lows or high beams on.
3. Make sure they put the relay and fuse in a very safe dry place. They original put my tucked up high near the windshield ... rainstorm came. Water got into the relay and had to be replace
4. And, of course, make sure the aim them correctly. This guy did NOT aim them I had to at night with a couple of socket wrench

Best of luck!

 

I <3 my Alta Lightbar. Only complaint is that someone bumped the front of the Batmini *cough*stupidealertateminiofannapolis*coughcough* and pushed the bracket into the AC radiator behind the lower grill.

Aside from that 1 incident, I don't park on the street so I'm never really in a position to get bumped (has never happened while I'm driving) so I'm comfortable with that little vulnerability, and would recommend it to anyone whom doesn't parrallel park.

 

Thanks for all the info and links, Art. I'm going to get fog and driving. I looked at the FF200....now I have to decide whether I want round or eliptical . I'm thinkin' round...Paul likes the elliptical. I was already planning on getting the covers, either way.

 

I have the Alta lights and am extremely happy with them. It is like driving with the sun in your passenger seat. Just make sure that you do not aim them too high...or people will flash you once in a while. I also have bad night vision and these made my night driving much more enjoyable and I feel much safer. For me these were one of the best mods that I have made.

 

Well, thanks for all the info everyone. It's been a real education.
What I finally went with is the Out Motoring individual brackets and Hella 500s, both for driving and fogs.
Paul, put on the driving lights himself, using the existing wiring from my factory lights. Technical assistance from Brian (MINI-bee) and "emotional support" from Jayson (JustJay) who watched and learned.
I left my license plate on the front, so the fogs are on either side of that.
The lights are in a square formation, with the lamps at the 4 corners. It looks great! Kinda rallyish. I'll get Paul to take pix with his phone and get them on here.
Thanks again all.

 

click on my gallery to see the new lights.

 

www.myminiparts.com has a light bar but have no direct experience.