We just bought a "new to us" 2010 MINI Cooper S hard top R56, horizon blue metallic, automatic...and it has beautiful chrome rally lights up front. Have not used them at night, but they appear to lean back a little and point slightly upward. What is the purpose of these lights, and should they not point straight forward or slightly down? I'm sure I can adjust them...just wanted to know the intended purpose before I go monkeying around. Thanks in advance, B

 

In the Queen's English, they call them "additional headlights", which is pretty much what they are. They're designed to be used only when the high beams are on (so when there is no other traffic around). My understanding is they are tilted back a bit so they do not blind anyone else who may be coming in the opposite direction (until they are turned off).

 

Pull up to a garage door or wall. Turn the lights on. My guess is those extra lights are too high. Aim them down a bit. It may take a bit of trial & error until you get them where you want. Aimed up isn't correct.

 

Who knows...I found some instructions for installing a set and they said to get about 25' away from a wall...measure the height of the lamps on the car, and then adjust them so that same height is on the wall out in front. Mine were at 23.5" high from the garage floor, so I tinkered with them to get the light shining on the wall at about 23.5". I'll give it a shot at night and see what happens. Thanks for the replies. B

 

The main reason people buy rally lights (also called auxiliary driving lights) is cosmetic, to make a cute car look more manly. Most people who have them never turn them on.

Seriously though, they are meant to be used as an extra set of high beams. The OEM version is even wired so they can't be turned on without high beams on. Point them in a direction that would augment your high beams. They should not be used in regular traffic.

 

Not sure about the cosmetic thing, but I have mine adjusted to reach a little farther than my Xenons and to each side a bit. It has helped me avoid deer on more than one occasion. Same reason I installed 8" driving lights on my Suburban. On the country roads I live on it's a big advantage.

 

Absolutely, that's how they are intended to be used. But on this forum, many seem to put rally lights on their MINI for style, like the way people buy off-road style vehicles that will never go off-road.