Im looking for the black headlight housing on the inside. NOT tint. All the black headlight housings Ive seen are for 02-05, like thie one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/02-03...mZ140262242177

Nothing I can find lists for an 06 model. Anyone?

 

Most of the times you will be seeing what people are calling the "joey mod", where they have opened the headlights up and painted them themselves. The ones that you have given a link to can be put on the 2005-2006 models, unless you have a Xenon option. The headlights on the '05's are the same as the '06's.

Look up the "joey mod" in the search bar to see if it may be something that you would like to undertake. I have recently gotten a set of 2005/2006 projector housing headlights and plan on doing the joey mod.

-Chase

 

Headlights are the same between 05/06. They were probably too lazy to update their eBay listing.

 

If they are the same, why do they look different. The housing they are showing looks like my wifes 05 which has that little half oval on the trim and hers also has the headlight washers. My headlight housing does not have that little half oval and all the 05 listings I have seen have that.

 

Does your wife's 05 have Xenon headlights, and yours does not? That would explain the difference. By the half oval on the trim, I think you mean headlight washers. Xenon headlights have washers and non-Xenon don't.

These headlights are for replacement of non-Xenon only, and adds some of the the OEM Xenon "styling" -- the projector lens with dots around it and (odd concept to me) a decorative nonfunctional washer cover. Ironically, they will NOT fit on your wife's 05 with Xenon.

They have been available in Europe for a while. Mikeythemini (newministuff) in the UK carries versions with chrome outer trim and silver or black inside: http://www.newministuff.com/new/shop...uctshow&id=533. There are several threads on MINI2 that discuss them, here is one: http://www.mini2.com/forum/exterior/...eadlights.html

The bottom line is, they will fit on an 06 that does not have factory Xenon headlights.

 

The only problem is it states that these lights are for right hand drive only, not to mention two of the lights in there dont work. One has to be wired to side lights which it says instructions are included how to do that and the other has to be wired somewhere else, no mention of instructions on how to do that one though, so its not plug and play.

 

What I'm claiming is that the eBay vendor and newministuff are selling the same product from the same manufacturer, but the eBay listing gave almost no information about fitment and you need to pick up the details from newministuff and MINI2.

For example the eBay listing did not mention about Xenon vs non-Xenon. As for the two extra lights -- the wiring simply isn't there on the MINI and you'll have add it yourself. I suggest you contact the eBay vendor and ask for a copy of the installation instructions so you can see what information they provide.

newministuff is in the UK and the units they sell have headlight beam cutoff pattern for right hand drive. For USA you would need the LHD version from eBay. Otherwise installation will be the same.

 

Sounds like this is going to be more trouble than its worth. I was expecting a straight out swap of lights. Too bad. I really like the look, but dont want to have to try to figure out how to wire everything to make things work and possibly cause other problems. Thanks for the info though.

 

The main system IS plug and play.

The Halo is that white ring of light which most BMW's have and it needs to be wired to the parking lights in the R53 bumper as our headlights Do NOT have parking lights in same housing. They get hooked up to the brown and yellow striped wire from parking/directional housing...easy hook up. The other light is an aux light which you can wire up to what ever you want, you could even put some slick looking strobes in there .....

I'd get a pair but I have Xenon's.....

 

I could get these hooked up for you in about 1 hr........it is a lot easier than you think. on a difficulty scale of 1-5, I give it a 1.

 

just do it yourself.. not to hard... i did mine..

 

A lot of questions trying to do it myself. The light is made of plastic so you would need a paint that sticks to plastic.I know Home Depot and Lowes both sell plastic paint so thats not a problem, but the top part is chromed plastic, so I cant imagine paint really working well on that without roughing up the chrome with sandpaper. Getting everything apart and wiring things a concern as well. What I need to find is a step by step instructions. I dont mind trying it as long as I have a tried and true meathod that works to follow.

 

Maybe you could send me a step by step procedure if you remember how to do it.

 

OK,I contacted three different people on ebay that are selling the black projector headlights, and every one of them said their vendors say they are listed to fit 02-05 because they will NOT fit the 06, and they will not take them back if I try to install them and they wont work. People here say they will fit, so I dont know what to think now. I cant afford to throw away $200 with shipping if they wont work.

 

I still say that 05 and 06 (also 07 and 08 cabrio) all use the same headlights. Realoem.com says the headlights for 05/06 have the same part numbers. If you want more assurance, visit your dealer's parts department and ask whether 05/06 headlights are the same.

That said, personally I wouldn't do these because I think the extra lights are odd (either leave them unused, or end up with a total of 4 parking lights, and/or 4 turn signals up front). The DIY "Joey mod" looks better but you have to be brave about it (split your open headlights to paint after baking your headlights in an oven to soften the adhesive).

 

All MINIs 02 to 06 (or 07-08 on Cabrio) use the same headlights. I dont know why you would listen to someone selling stuff on eBay as to the proper fitment of these headlights. Do they say why they wont fit? My dad as a 05 MCS JCW, and i had an 06 MCS and the headlights were the exact same in every way. I also agree with rkw, i think those lights look like cheap aftermarket ones and i would either joey mod mine or get some OEM xenons and joey mod them.

 

I have an 05 driverside light, 06 passenger light on an 04 MINI...so im going to say they'll fit...

 

What is the difference in the trim rings then. My 06 MCS without Xenon and without headlight washers has a smooth oval trim ring, where my wifes 05 Cabrio MCS has what looks like a a half moon or oval piece on her trim ring, and she does have Xenon lights and the headlight washers. I assumed the trim rings with either the Xenon lights or the washers had those half ovals on the trim ring. The ones Im looking at have the half ovals so thats whats confusing me.

 

The half ovals are the caps to the headlight washers. Next time the wife is around, ask her to turn on her headlights and then run her washers, they're pretty cool looking. Your headlight rings are smooth because of the lack of washers. I think that the ones on ebay have fake cutouts, as in the rings and the caps are all one piece to give the look of headlight washers.

-Chase

 

headlamps with oval cutout = xenon w/ sprayers
headlamps without oval cutout = halogens which dont have the lens sprayers.

 

I found another seller that sells the exact same black projector light, but this one has Xenon bulbs with HID and all wiring. Of course its almost twice the price at $299. Once again though its only listed for 02-05, but if they will fit, like I have been told here, is there any reason why I should not go with the Xenon. Was Xenon an option for the 06, and if not, does that mean It cant be wired. Has anyone else here put Xenon in that used to have Halogen? Any problems?

 

I suggest you ask the seller if the kit is DOT approved and street legal.

 

Yes, it is DOT approved.

 

I asked because the vast majority of aftermarket xenon kits are not street legal (people still install them anyway). Electrically there shouldn't be any problem if it was designed correctly. Make sure that you aim the headlights carefully so they won't blind oncoming traffic. The OEM xenon has a leveling system and washers for that reason, which are required by law for xenon headlights in Europe but I guess not in the US.

Since you and your wife have one MINI with xenon and one without, you should be able to decide how much want it.

 

I keep thinking about possibly doing the Joey mod myself but I jusyt dont have the time. Redoing our master bath, rebuilding the fence around the back yard, building a stone border around center island in yard...........its never ending. I just dont have time to work on my headlights. Besides, I dont know how well paint is going to hold up that is sprayed over chrome. Seems to me it would start flaking off or coming loose after awhile. Not to mention I dont want to be literally baking my headlights in an oven in attempt to get them apart. Buying them already blacked out is much easier. That way I have two sets of headlights and I can take the chrome rings off the new ones and have Lyle wrap them for me without ever pulling my original headlights out until everything is ready.