I am about to order my Mini Cooper S (Dark Silver/Black Roof, Mirrors, and Bonnet Stripes) and I am undecided as if I should spend the $700 for the Driving Lamps as the dealership calls them. Has anyone gotten this add on(It is not available from the factory but is put on by the dealer)? If so, please post what you think about the effectiveness of them while driving at night. Will they make much of a difference considering I am already getting the Xenon lights? Thanks.

 

There won't much of an increase of light discharge if you decide to get the fog/driving lamps. It's more or less just a visual accessory for your car. Your xenons will provide more than enough light.

 

I think it kind of makes the Cooper cross-eyed when you look head on...especially with the bonnet stripes. Just my opinion... :smile:

 

I've got them on mine and have mixed feelings overall. Regarding their effectiveness, they light up the world in front of you. They only operate on high-beams. You can adjust them side to side at will. I had one pointed off to the right a little at night to hopefully see the deer before they jump out. If you were driving the twisties fast at night you could point each one off to the side some to help light up the apexes.

Regarding their aesthetics. I like the clean look without them sometimes and other times I like the rally look.

BTW, it looks like the bracket is pop-riveted to the bonnet/grille. This would make them a little harder to remove/install.

 

If you mean the fog lights, can't help you there, but we did get the rally lights. You can get a sun burn from the rally's plus highbeams!

 

The MINI Cooper S available immediately to me did not have driving lights on it. Does anyone have experience adding such an accessory after purchase?

 

I have the lights on my S - much more light than Xenon high beam alone. I like them a lot - especially when lined up with stripes.

 

I installed PIAA rally lights on my Cooper today. Took about 3 hours since I had never done it before and was extra cautious not to mess up my baby. Minimadness.com sent instructions with photos specific to the Cooper and S.

Nothing mind bendingly hard other than the psychological reluctance to drill holes in my car. (don't worry, they are all in the hood subframe. The 'S' is a bit more invloved since the battery is in the back.

I followed directions and they worked perfectly on the first try. I am all about the rally look so I love the lights. I will probably take off the brush guards but since they are chrome it sort of adds to the retro look. :smile:

Here it is with 8 lights blazing!

 

acetonic.... That looks sweet.... Thanks for the Pic, now I know when I finally get the rally lights, that I shouldn't be snobby and get the offical MINI lamps. They looked somewhat small to me, and after seeing your mod, I know they are small lamps.... sweet pic...

Rocketboy_X

 

I ordered the halogen lights-- also ordered the fog lights from the factory. Will the driving lights add some additional brightness to dark midwestern rural roads? or will the driving lights cover the same area as the fog lights? Has anyone test driven a mini with the driving lights and seen how they work?

 

Thanks for the picture!! The rally lights look great-- I'm going to forego the mini lights in favor of the ones you installed-- you picture is worth a thousand....
Have fun!

 

You can aim the driving lights wherever you chose. Mine are aimed just a little higher than the high beams and a bit to the sides so hopefully I will see the deer before it's in my windscreen!

 

Love the lamps. I agree with one person that the factory lamps are a little smaller but they also come with that infamous factory toggle that a lot of us North Americans will be short of. I personally like the rally look and think the pic is great. Rock on my Mini friends!

 

>>I am about to order my Mini Cooper S (Dark Silver/Black Roof, Mirrors, and Bonnet Stripes) and I am undecided as if I should spend the $700 for the Driving Lamps as the dealership calls them. Has anyone gotten this add on(It is not available from the factory but is put on by the dealer)? If so, please post what you think about the effectiveness of them while driving at night. Will they make much of a difference considering I am already getting the Xenon lights? Thanks.
The driving lights are listed at $400:00 IN THE MINI BROCHURE, I put mine on ,maybe he's trying to charge you $300 for installation, I believe they are illegal in Cal. anyway so I didn't wire them....Just for show, see them on the owners gallery
on LTL YELO. Ron

 

Yep, the dealership is charging $300 for installation.

 

acetonic -

Your mini looks soo good~! The lights make it look really sporty and very british! Its exciting how good the mini can look! Nice Job!

CHEERS!

 

Let me explain what is in the kit - just to clarify the confusion.

In the Mini spec 5.25" rally lamp kit, you get the two lamps, brackets, wiring hardware kit, waterproof relay harness, and toggle switch.

The switch is not the kind of lighted toggle you see in the center dash section - but it is a rectangle toggle that is used someplace else.

Also - I have said this many times before - dealers are making a KILLING on the install charges now - and I guarantee that within one year, these install proces will fall far below (especially with the 03 plug and play feature).

If you want the rally lamps to be used in conjunction with your hi/low beams, then you will have to pay the high dealer prices.

We will be installing our Mini rally lamps to work independantly with the OEM switch. I would also recommend that you consider PIAA or Hella as another source of lamps.

The only thing you'll need are those lamp brackets so that they affix through the front grille. This is something that we may be looking into to offer as well to our customers.

-Peter/Rspeed
http://www.rspeed.net/mini/

 

Thanks for the info!

I have a ton of deer near my home, and I am constantly afraid I'll hit one. These driving lights sound like a surefire solution. I mean, who wants to accidentally kill Bambi with their Mini?!