I made the mistake of not ordering the HID headlights on my mini, as I didn't realize that the light assemblies actually looked different. I just figured I'd outsmart them, and pick up the the nice Bulb Conversions for $40 instead of paying the $500. Well...looks like Mini outsmarted me instead. Does anyone sell them outside of the dealer...and does anyone know what kind of installation process that would require (is it difficult)? Thanks

 

HIDs are a fairly complex systems that requires proper optics, blinders, starters, ballast, etc. It isn't just a bulb swap.

Upgrade to better Halogen bulbs and be happy. I got Xenons and wish I had Halogens. HIDs aren't as great as people say.

 

Get the kit with the ballast, the real deal. You will like them better than any traditional bulb and you can pick your favorite color. Should be under $250 on ebay.

 

Why do you say that. I am trying to decide which I want.

 

I've done reading based on posts here that indicate
the HIDs are not the cats meyow.

Of course since I don't have them I would want to say
I agree so mentally I don't feel slighted about it.

I slightly upgraded my regular lights and adjusted them correctly,
it made a big difference.

On a side note there was a person in an acura behind me
this morning (not sure of model) that had HIDs.
Every time he went over an upward swell in the road
I was blinded.

I can see these things becomming very annoying as they
trickle down to less expensive cars.

 

I'm not worried about the light they give off, that's not my concern at this point. I thought the actual headlight assemblies look the same...but they look totally different. The HID kit that comes as an option has the little ring on the inside of the assembly, and you can actually see the 2-3 different bulbs in there. I was wondering if you can purchase the entire headlight assembly that's the HID option from mini...outside of the dealer

 

I love the factory bi-xenons.
Xenon on high beam is great.

 

If you're adventurous, you can retro-fit a set of hid's from a different car... Acura TL's have a pretty nice bi-xenon setup.

I plan on retro-fitting my headlights with some sort of higher end bi-xenon setup, I still haven't decided if I'm going to order the factory xenons, or start with the regular halogen setup. I think I'm going to use the Audi RS6 setup though.

A guy I know from my honda board will do retrofits for just about any car. http://www.jwhiteslights.com/
I don't plan on using him for my setup, but for the less technically inclined, it's pretty cheap. You can also tell him how you want them to look.

It's probably cheaper to get a swap done at mini, but you're only going to get mini's setup, not something custom.

 

I have the Xenons, and agree that they do look better, but that's just a matter of opinion. I suspect it would be rather expensive to change over from the halogens. I have taken my xenons apart and there is only one bulb that I am aware of.

 

Rather than repeat myself, see this post:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...3&postcount=15

 

everytime you post this, RC, i have to wonder if you've ever suffered with the crap OEM halogen lights?

they suck.

which is why i now have a new R56 with HIDs.

 

Not with the MINI halogens, but I have a 1990 Acrua Integra with halogens that I much prefer over the MINI Xenons. I would think that it wouldn't be hard to upgrade the MINI OEM halogens with better bulbs, if they are really so bad.

 

I 100% agree with Robin here. When i was ordering my car back in December of 2007, I didn't add Xenons and ended up reordering to get Xenons. Why? Simply because I thought they looked cool (the housing i.e.) and that the high beam was awesome. I reordered because there was no retrofit kit available. The dealership told me that were it possible it would cost more than $2000. Since you already have your car, you wont' be able to add the MINI Xenons now. Do what others have suggested and just upgrade to better halogens, though you'll find that the ones on the MIN are adequate.

On the bright side, everything Robin says about the Xenons is true:
1) Low beam sucks (huge cutoff making it very difficult to see beyond the area of llumination).
2) Illuminates the area right on front of you and to your sides very well, but that ain't the area you need to see well. You need to see well in front of you far enough away from the car that you can react. IMO, the low beams don't do a good job of this.
3) While the range of the low beam is probably as much as or slightly greater than than that of the MINI halogens, it feels like it is less due to pitch black area beyond the cutoff zone. With halogens, the light is less in the lit areas, but the cutoff is more gradual as the light seems to scatter better than the Xenon. So essentially less is more.

The only thing about the Xenons that's great is the high beam and the way the housing and beams look. the washer is pretty snazzy too.

 

There's the rub. They DO illuminate more. They just give the illusion that they don't. Still, you have more time to react with the HIDs. I wouldn't own another car without them. And, yeah, when you are driving dark country roads, use the high beams; that's exactly what they are there for.

 

I don't think that is true. I can see much farther with my Integra's halogens on low beam that the MINI Xenons on low beam.

Can't do that when there is oncoming traffic.

 

LynneEl, they do illuminate more, but that is wasted in the area you don't need to see too well as it is too close for you to react. You can actually see farther with the halogens due to the fact that the light scatters beyond the cutoff point and the fact that your pupils are dilated more. With Xenons because the foreground is so bright your pupils aren't as dilated making the area beyond the cutoff that much harder to see. And sure you can use the high beams, but only if there's no oncoming traffic as Robin suggested.

I think the bottom line is that there's a lot of hype about the Xenons when in reality they're not all they are cracked up to be due to the reasons mentioned above by Robin and myself. Also, while there are motors that control the tilt of the Xenons, they only activate based on weight in the back of the car. they do not activate when you're going uphill or downhill nor do they turn when you turn (unlike the BMW versions).

Given all this, I still got the Xenons and would get them again because I think the headlight housing is nicer. I just wish MINI had the motors do as much as they do on the BMW vehicles.

 

Where I drive, which is a mix of city, country and in between, the HIDs far outperform the halogens. I didn't get them because of hype; I got them because they work.

 

I think you are falling into the "They are brighter so I can see better." illusion.

 

That's not an illusion.

 

yeah I was gonna say that, but Robin beat me to it. They do provide the illusion of being better since the area they do illuminate is much brighter than the halogen equivalent. It's just unfortunate because those areas are not ones you need illuminated so brightly.

Have you guys seen this article? I think it probably explains better what Robin and I are commenting on:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...dvantages.html

 

BTW, I'm not trying to knock the Xenon headlights...I just think that folks should know that there are some real disadvantages to the Xenon low beam.

 

They're fine.

 

i love HID's! I have them in my s2000 and will get them for the MCS.

For the folks thinking of retrofitting HID's to your vehicle, I thought aftermarket HID's are "illegal" in a lot of states... Might want to check that out (although i'm sure a lot of MODs are "illegal"...)

 

you do see the inherent syllogism in what you typed here, right?

as HIDs are different car to car, so aren't halogens.........having lived with OEM halogens on my 07 MCS, i can tell you that lighting on the 08 MCS with HIDs is vastly superior.

it depends on your frame of reference.

and you tend to forget that as often as you post that link about HIDs being improperly designed and how halogens can be better --that's the rub. i have had other cars with excellent halogen projector beams (post 2005 subaru legacy) and the OEM MINI halogens are just terrible.

 

I've driven both the MINI Xenons (which I own) as well as the Mini halogens, both were R56s.