hello all.
i have a 03 MCS and i am looking to put a 4-light bar across the lowest part of the bumber where the bottom grill is.
i have been searching for images af what i am looking for and have found great reference. ALTA has the perfect light setup, but in Mass. they require a front plate.
i have also seen somehwere and off-set plate for the front bumper which looks cool anyway.

here are my questions-
1. i have no intention of fixing the lights myself, is the dealership a good place to have it done?
2. is the ALTA 4light set up a good one?
3. where do i get an off set plate attatchment?

any answers or links to threads would be appreciated.

if you view my gallery, you'll see my car and an illustration of what i want it to look like.
i love the rally look.

thanks.

 

MK:

Not sure about dealership install, but my guess is that this would be a fairly expensive way to go. A local shop could do the work at much less cost. Take a closer look at some of the DIY resources here on NAM; it may give you enough confidence to embark on this mod on your own.

The ALTA four-light setup is a mid-priced option and comes with good testimonials and is fairly popular. I actually have one on order right now (a two-light version, since IA is also a front tag state and also allows no more than 3 aux lights) and plan on doing the install myself later this month. There are a few alternatives from other vendors, and some homemade varieties available via Ebay that IMHO lack the fit and finish of the vendor-provided options.

Jonnieh from NY has been my "daddy" and inspiration for my planned install--I love the look on his MINI and he has an incredible amount of helpful instructions on doing the install, plus he's been really generous with off-line help and guidance too. If you want to be similarly inspired, take a look at Post #32 in this thread:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=118828

There are several providers of the "no holes" tag mount that fasten at the tow hook fitting, GOMINIGO has one of the better ones (http://www.gominigo.com/18545.html). However, I'm almost certain that a full four-light bar setup will not work with this approach--I don't think there's enough room on that side of the lower grill opening for both the tag and the light at that end of the bar. One option is to do the offset tag mount and install two light on the bar in the two center positions. I don't recall seeing any applications where a four-light bar and a U.S.-style tag were combined.

If you still pursue the light bar, my recommendation is to consider the merits of the two-light installation. That's the route I'm taking. In a few weeks, I hope to be able to post the fruits of my labor.

Good luck with your mod!

 

excellent response. very helpful.
i am afairly novice social networking person, and still getting used to this site, so thanks again for your thoughtful response.
when i was in college i had an 82 Leyland Mini with a fog light setup. i have always loved the rally lights on minis.
some of the NAMers have great looking set ups.

thanks again.

 

I personally wouldn't go to a dealer to have it installed. I'd also check out a local independent. It's a fairly easy install. It sounds tough to pull the bumper, but in reality an average Joe could have it off in less than 15 minutes.
We have to have front tags where I live, so I went with a two light config...

 

I bought a universal license plate mount at NAPA that allowed me a choice of how high or low to mount the plate. You might check that out as a way to see if you can place the plate in a position where you can mount a light bar. It was only $5 I think so if it didnt work you wouldnt be out much.

 

I have the Out Motoring brackets. You should be able to fit 4 of them on the lower grill. The main concern with 4 of them is loss of airflow through the radiator. I'm not sure there's actually been a confirmed overheating issue caused by additional lights (and I know a guy had 8).

 

Something like that? I got mine at Go MINI Go

 

I am about mechanically uniclined as they come,
I actually found it pretty straightforward and easy to install the alta bar and lights, maybe just took me longer than most, but it was good bonding time with the MCS

 

I had to go with a 2-light setup as well due to Ontario law. This was a self-install with home-made brackets and really ewasn't that difficult. The lights are PIAA 540 Ion fogs.

 

nice job. looks real nice. the more i see it the moe i like the 2 lights down low. did you have to take the front bumper off?

btw, i like the Austin Healy-style painted panel on your MCS. Never seen that before.

 

did you take the front bumper off. if i did this i would need real good visual instructions. i have been loking around, but cant seem to find a good How-to on this subject.
Outmotoring has some good how-to links to places like picasaweb, but nothing on this subject

 

:impatient sorry, ameture posting mistake, i forgot to quote you on my last reply.
I'm new at this.

anyway-

did you take the front bumper off. if i did this i would need real good visual instructions. i have been loking around, but cant seem to find a good How-to on this subject.
Outmotoring has some good how-to links to places like picasaweb, but nothing on this subject

 

did you have good instructions on removing the bumper?

 

Alpha Motoring, i can think of only 2 cars in the world that i would ever consider buying in white. An e-type Jag, and your MCS. that car looks great.

 

The Bentley manual has a decent description, albeit with B&W pics:

http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Cooper-Se...9721206&sr=8-9

 

I installed the Alta light bar on a friend's MCS this past July. My only concern with this setup is the radiator not getting enough air flow during hard driving or a track day. I wasn't confident enough with my wiring skills, so another person helped us out with the wiring (thanks Sean).

I'm not sure where you are from, but I would suggest finding a local car shop to install the lights; not the dealership. My guess is to expect $150-$200 labor.

 

coop99, where the heck is the bar? Can't see it in your pic. Did you install it behind the grill?

 

I have four of the smaller lights now. Someday might go w/ the larger ones. I'm thinking about re-doing it sometime.



Nik

 

Does anyone know of any light bars for the lower grill that DO NOT require cutting?

 

Yes the bar mounts behind the mesh grill directly to the bumper then there are 4 small posts that stick out that the lights directly mount to. It's a pretty clean looking install .

 

You didn't need to take the bumper off, just the bumper cover. It's very easy. There's about 8 Phillips-head screws on the bottom side and one on each corner near the parking lights at the bottom as well. The cover just lifts up off of a couple of tabs on the top. You have to hold the cover while you unhook the parking light and side marker bulbs. If you take it slow and easy, it still won't take more than about 20 minutes. After the 2nd or third time, you can do it in under 5 minutes.

 

The first few steps of this install will help you understand how to remove the bumper..

http://www.grillcraft.com/installs/i...id=166&print=1

It really is easy. Just a few phillips screws underneath, a couple torx under the hood, and one screw in each wheel well. Undo the screws under the bumper first, then jiggle it and you'll see all the other ones that need to be undone.
Once you've finished with the screws, just unplug the lights and pull the temp sender from its mount on the drivers side. Thats it. Really. 10 minutes? Easy.

 

What are you guys using for switches? Factory?

 

Apologize in advance for the PDA-quality pic, but I just finished my install yesterday evening and couldn't resist sharing the results.

Before:



After:



Total inspiration for the two-light ALTA setup and superb installation guidance provided by jonnieoh (thanks much!); black fog light surround inserts inspired by pauliekeys and supplied by gnatster; the rubber Aero bottom lip is custom-made from garage door seal stock; and the replacement license tag mount (had to move it up a bit) is BMW OEM. And, to my surprise, everything worked exactly as advertised on the first test.

 

Schweeeet.

A setup after my own heart. I'm glad I was able to help you with the install, in some small way. Enjoy your new night vision.