I vote for Xenons. Cant live without them.

 

Wow! Reading this thread is almost like a religion discussion. Those that like them love them and those that don't think they're the Anti-Christ or something.

They're on my MCS '05 and I like them and would get them again. However, each to his own - luckily one can choose to get them or not!

Personally, I'd like more techical information on bulb life, replacement, etc. Since I have the only MCS with Xenons in the country I can't compare. When I turn mine on they seem to like "flash" or be bright for about a quarter of a second. Is that normal?

Saludos

 

What you're seeing, that flash, is really just the auto-leveling. They rise, then lower.

Don't get me wrong: I don't hate them. I just don't find them to be worth the investment, and I don't like looking at them.

I'm the fervently vocal minority.

Insanity is a minority of one.

 

My .02. Love the xenons. Only had em since December but have never been flashed by anyone and they are by far the best headlights I've ever had. And while I too hate the maladjusted ones coming at me, it also bugs me when people use their fog lights without rain or fog. Fogs can also blind other drivers!

 

Jeeze! Ok, I get it. So, you don't want the xenons. Fine, OK, alright already. Seriously, don't get em. March down to your MINI dealer and don't take yes for an answer!

 

I will never get a non HID equipped car again! The performance of them is spectacular, day and night (pun intended) from halogen lights! Some people say they can see just fine without HID...but you can see a whole lot BETTER with them! The scienc doesn't lie! They are brighter and you see much clearer with an HID light.

 

I'll double the last post b BRGFAN.

The beauty is you don't have to ge them if you don't want them.

However, I very much appreciate Ahamos post letting my know that the "flash" is autoleveling. I guess maybe I need to stand in front of the car and watch someone turn them on.

Saludos

 

hmmmmmm.....I wonder what erik99 ever decided?!?!?!?!

 

I love them! Absolutely! If any car i buy has the option i will get them. They make visibility 100% better, and the autoleveling makes sure they are lower to keep them out of peoples face. I dont understand this "Offensively bright" statement. Its not like they are melting the rear window glass or something. I dont think they are too bright, and i think that is just a stupid statement. And i have never seen a car FACTORY EQUIPED with HID that was in my face or that got flashed by other drivers. I think it is a great thing in this modern world and i think all cars should have them. When i first test drove the MINI i drove it once in the day then came back later that day when it was dark to check out the lighting. I love the blueish white look of the Xenons and the projector housing, it looks very Sci-Fi. Then inside the car i can see things i didnt normally notice. When i got back in my normal car ('98 Mustang Cobra) i had to check and make sure the lights where on cause i couldnt see a thing. And on the way home every car i saw that had them made me smile. YES get them they are worth the money it was ONE of the things i HAD TO HAVE.

 

I had no intention of including the xenon option on my cooper, but my dealer had the exact car I intended to order with the option in stock. I'm not a patient guy so I took the car off the lot. Two years later I am glad Chad talked me into taking this option for the $$. My wife's van has standard lighting and my eyes feel strained after driving long hours at night. I do not experience this condition in my mini. This is one of many options I would buy again. Perhaps a night time drive in a friends mini is in order for Eric. Find out if you like them youself.

 

aOur other car is a late model Lexus GS and we don't have xenons on them. I didn't even know what they were when we bought the car but after driving a maxima with them a couple of years later I found myself wanting them. I can see much better against against the blacktop and it's white not yellow as halogens are. So when it came to time to buy the MCS we ordered the xenons as part of the sport pack. My wife, who could care less about cars and headlights, can see the difference it makes on the road as far as visibility. The reflectors are different for halogens and hid and properly designed ones do not blind anyone. I can't speak for projectors because I have seen some that are insanely offensive but I don't know if they were from the factory and have the proper equipment to level them automatically. I believe some factory hids are not self leveling. I think the older Acura TLS are that way but correct me if I am wrong.

Try them and if you don't like them don't order them.

 

I don't drive other vehicles much,but the other night I was driving my sisters van and I thought the lights were dirty,stopped to wipe them off,and they were clean.Guess I'm just used to the xenons,which I feel are a must if you live outside big cities,and do lots of driving on dark,rural roads.

 

OK, I don't really want to get into this, but am I to understand that because my opinions are different from yours, they're stupid?

 

The flash you see is not the auto leveling,it is the lamps firing,and the light is more blue till they come up to operating temp.takes seconds.They do go throught a lift cycle,as when the are off,they rest in the lowest point of travel.
Turn the lights on,let them run a minute or two,then turn them off,then on again right away,you won't see the flash,as they are warmed up.

 

I just did a search on xenon bulb life.The numbers I saw were 2000 hrs,to 10,000 hrs,to life of the car.
Now I just did some quick math,I have owned my MINI 20 months,thats 500 days.If I drove the car 2 hours in the dark,thats 1000 hrs.Now I would think I'm probably closer to 750 hours of use,so even in the worst case they should last another 45-50 months,by then I will have over 100,000 miles,or another MINI.Seems good to me.

 

<pant> OMG! <pant> What a long read. <pant>

I haven't driven the '05 style lights at all, but I have driven both halogen and xenons of prior years. As for the xenons, I wasn't as impressed with them as I expected to be. As others have mentioned, I, too, don't like the sharp cutoff of light - and I also felt like I was constantly over-driving the lights. Most of the time when I'm driving at night there are other cars, so high beams are rarely an option. (OK, I'll grant that an argument could be made that I should slow down. )

Now, as for the color. Lots of good points already made that I won't repeat. However I wanted to add that studies have actually been done to show that the blue HIDs are more annoying to oncoming drivers - and most OEM setups have gone to a cooler temperature range bulb to acheive a cleaner white.

As for the halogens... Well, first, about some of the comments from folks driving other people's cars with halogens after their xenon MINIs - remember that a halogen bulb has a filament. This filament will degrade over time (and, obviously, eventually burn out). In my experience, it can actually be worth replacing the bulbs before they burn out because they have lost a lot of their effectiveness. It is possible that some of these vehicles had "tired" halogen bulbs.

I usually am not one to ignore research and statistics - most of which suggests that xenons are better. I also like the idea of getting xenons for their cool factor and even, to a small extent, their yuppie factor. However, on this one, I don't think that I'll be ordering xenons on my next MINI. I honestly feel more comfortable driving with the halogens. (I only drove the xenons for about 3 months - but I figure that should have been enough time to get used them.) Plus, I have plans for my next MINI to live a very long life. Initially as a daily driver, but gradually trasitioning into a track toy. So, I won't be ordering any more options than I can bear to live without for weight/simplicity.

 

So there are 2 parts to the initial flash... Hmmm... I've only ever noticed the initial bobble as the levelers do their job (have you ever seen one that levels side-to-side? it looks quite freaky until the dealer fixes it).

It might be next to impossible to believe this, but the xenons were the single hardest decision to make when I ordered the Cooper. I spent weeks vacillating over the dang headlights. I wanted as much cool-factor as possible, but the price and that bulge for the washer jets really didn't do it for me.

It really ticked me off when the MA kept trying to shove 'em down my throat, as if the car would simply fall apart one day if I didn't get them. I must have called the dealership 3 or 4 times after placing my initial order to change my mind on the stinkin' headlights. Just thinking back on it stresses me out.
Believe me: I don't hate xenons, and I don't hate owners of xenon-equipped cars; they're just not for me. I mentioned before that the '05 xenons look awesome (maybe a touch futuristic for our retro cars, but wicked cool, nonetheless).

 

No prob. just don't over adjust it cause the gear will skip if you go
too far. :smile:

 

Cool never played into the subject for me,all MINIs in Canada come with xenons I think,but I like having them,never get flashed,and I know that I see way farther down the road,even with the sharp cut off,and I can see way off to the sides well into the ditches,so I can keep an eye on what bambi is doing.I don't see any blue in these lights,just open white.
Good halogens work great,have some on my 94 Dakota,but they do not punch down the road as far,nor does the lensing spread the light like my xenons do.
Get them if want,don't get them if you feel you don't need them,but lets not slam anyone for making any choice.
If the moon is out,the road is clear,I drive with my lights out to see the sky.
Back roads,zero traffic

 

....did I miss something in the 3 posts since your last one? Or is this just an additional thought?


Oh, by the way, I did notice and appreciate the better peripheral illumination of the xenons that lot15 references.

 

I have them on my 03. Would not get them again.
The auto-leveling stopped working and they are aimed like 20 feet out on the ground. Now driver's side will not light - sure its under warranty and the dealer will take care of it. Part is not in stock, will have to order replacment.
I worry when the warranty goes out - pretty expensive to replace those parts.
Maybe its just my car or later cars have more reliable componets.

 

i love my xenon's! whenever i have to drive a car with standard lights, it's much more difficult to see where i'm going

 

What are you asking me,my last 3 post deal with other lamps,doing a search on bulb life,and explaining that the lamps put out a blue light at the time they are fired up,then they go white
Or are you asking someone else about their additional thoughts
My additional thoughts are,the xenons light the road better than any other lamp I have had on a car,the hard cut off helps when motoring in heavy snow,as the air is not lite up,just the road,they light up close to 90 degrees from the front of the car.The self leveling works,and around my home I have to get into the gas to pull onto the highway,and brake hard to get off,and the lamps always do their thing

 

Sorry, I probably quoted too much. It was the "let's not slam anyone..." comment that seemed to me to come out of nowhere based on the sequence of posts. You made a post, then there were 3 posts from other people and then you posted again, including this comment. The timing suggested to me that either: a) one of the 3 people in between your posts triggered your remark, or b) you just decided to add this additional thought.

If it was B, then that's par for the course and no big deal. If it was A, I was confused and was looking for some explanation.

Either way, it's now a much bigger issue than it needs to be. I'm not really concerned about it and I don't want you to worry about it either.

<sorry to all for veering the thread off-subject.>

 

Go back to post #113,before my trio of posts,that was what I was talking about.
They are only head lights,nothing to get your knickers in a knot over