Yeah, sorry about that, Lot. I was taken aback, and didn't want to see the entire thread descend into a slug-fest. I realize my opinions are something of a lightning-rod.

Apologies to anyone who was or might have been offended.

One of the greatest joys of owning my car is the network of fantastic people that I've been introduced to, and I don't like to see anyone bickering over minutiae. I'm not keen on bizarre insults over headlights, either. I respect everyone's choice in headlights as much as any other option for this car, factory or aftermarket. Every single person on this whole site has the perfect car, and I'd be willing to bet that very very few of them (if any) are identical.

Sorry about #113. Let's motor.

 

Motoring is what it is only about

 

Sorry dont mean to offend you i have just never seen someone so adamantly hate something on a car, and i dont understand the reason. Its a new technology and its done for safety and its a GOOD thing, its the way technology is going and will be coming out on more and more cars. People that dont like them seem to be stuck on old technology. Halogens will never have the lumens that Xenon's have. They are brighter and more efficient. But i am glad you have an opinion that is different its what makes the world great if everyone agreed the world would be boring.

 

After doing a little research so here are some advantages of Xenon Headlights :smile:

Color Temperature

Color temperature is a measurement in Degrees Kelvin (K) that indicates the hue of lights source. There is a misconception that color temperature is a rating of the brightness of the xenon Bulb. The truth is that the higher the color temperature, the less light output from the xenon bulb.

Advantages

• 3 times brighter and more consistent illumination of the road, and increases comfort and reduces fatique when driving at night.
• Produces bule-white light that is safer because it is closer to natural day light
• 10 times longer lasting. No need to replace for the life of the vehicle
• 35% less power consumption, thus generate much less heat during operation.

Xenon VS Halogen Technologies

Xenon Technology
Light Source: Arc Discharge
Color Temperature: OEM 4,300K (for Mini) and 5,400K or above
Lumens/Light Output: 2,700 - 3,200
Power Source (Watts): 35W
Bulb Life: 3,000 hours

Halogen Technology
Light Source: Filament
Color Temperature: 3,000K or less
Lumens/Light Output: 700 - 1,000
Power Source (Watts): 55W
Bulb Life: 320 - 1,000 hours

I'm glad that my MCS has this awesome tecnology I have never EVER! get flashed from others Xenon is worth every penny.

 

Thanks for the info,I never get flashed,and have asked friends that have seen me coming at them at night if my lamps bother them,they say no,but they do say they can see me coming,with so much road lit up
I KNOW I see better with the xenons

 

Nah, I don't hate them. I really labored over the decision of whether or not to get them. They're just not for me, for a number of reasons that I've already laid out. Sort of like the fuel-door and spoiler on the S are not for me (if you can believe it, these are among the principal reasons why I got a Cooper - I had no idea you could go back and change that sort of stuff ).

Good info on the actual performance differences between the technologies. I guess it'll be a long time before we have 6000 K headlights, for proper sunlight emulation (and permanent eye-damage for oncoming drivers).

The only things left out are the weight difference (important for occasional racers) and increased mechanical complexity due to the washers.

Remember: very very few technology advances comes without disadvantages. The fastest Pentium IV running the most stripped-down version of XP still takes longer to boot than my Mac Plus did in 1987, and requires tons and tons of disk space and RAM. It's a vast improvement, to be sure, but sometimes the "good old days" really did have an edge. NOTE: I wouldn't trade my current computer for a Mac Plus; I'm no luddite.

Let's raise an Easter pint of Guinness to the MINI. And then get someone else to drive us home...

 

Yeah, I wouldn't trade a bsod for a sad mac either!

BTW, my stripdown version of xp used to boot real fast until I loaded some other software that loads during bootup...like Prev and Nav and now it's a bit slow but then again it's only a 1.13 ghz laptop.

 

[QUOTE=ahamos Let's raise an Easter pint of Guinness to the MINI. And then get someone else to drive us home...[/QUOTE]
I'm up for that,cheers

 

Yeah, I'm with you on that. I kinda went with a very basic approach when I spec'ced out a Cooper, too. Not, "oooo, that's cool...gotta have that" but more of a "where/how do I drive, what will I actually use" kinda approach. But that's just me...I drive a city car. As we all know, option selection is a very personal series of cost/benefit compromises.

When it's all said and done, I've learned a ton about Xenons from this thread whether I get them or not. I can think of tons of folks out there who I could definitely recommend them to.

I'm with you on that pint, as well!!!!

 

Love the 05 xenons, they really improve visibility at night

IMHO xenons get a bad rap - it is the the multitude of cars out there with out of alignment headlamps (halogen or xenon), and cars with aftermarket bulbs in the low beams (that are often not directed correctly) which are the offenders when it comes to blinding others, not xenons with projectors that are set correctly.

If you are considering them you should try the 05 version, they are different (and seemed, sorry to say to those who own the last version, better at projecting the light) then the prior Mini xenons.

 

i think that the xenon's is a must on my list of option
i've had 2 mini's in the past, a 2005 and a 2002 MCS both with xenons. Particular the 2005, the xenon's offer really great visiblility during night driving. Ok, i haven't driven a mini without the xenon's but comparing with other european car with upgraded halagon bulbs, its a HUGE improvement (like my mum's BMW E46 3series) The projector headlghts really does a great job and as a bonus looks good .
also some pointed out that xenons is too bright and that it is Killing the oncoming traffic's drivers eyes. i believe like others have said its either not alignment properly or they did an aftermarket job which doesn't have the auto leveling..
i've NEVER have any problems getting blind by oncoming traffics equiped with OEM xenon's (eg, BMW's, Audis) but have been blinded by many cars (mostly japanese cars with aftermarket xenon's or UPGRADED bulbs that are aiming way too high)

 

I also hate people that sell and buy HIDs that are above 5,000 i see people with 6,8 or more and its just stupid around 4300 to 4600 is perfect for white light that gives good visiblity. iluv2motor is correct the higher the lumens the lower the light output and the worse the visiblity gets. But some people "Ricers" get them for the more vivid blues or even purples that the lights output. But at around 8,000 kelvin the lights arent any better visibilty wise than halogens.

 

I think you may have misspoke. A lumen is a unit of measurement used to define the output of light. Or to put it another way: more lumens = more light output.

 

Dizam! I created a monster with this thread. I guess I'm proud

Anyway, i wound up getting the xenons and no other aux. lighting. I've enjoyed the brighter beam (compared to my Jetta) in the limited night time driving I've done. And, I can't deny the cool ray gun look

 

Erik, thanks for reporting in and congrats on the Xenons...glad you're lovin' them! Kudos and sincere best wishes on your Team in Training project, too. That's awesome!!!

 

[QUOTE=ahamos]Vladimir, this must be a change from the 04 and previous xenon setup, which had a separate reservoir for the headlight-washers. Can anyone else comment?


Yes there is a separate reservoir for the headlamp washers, and to me that is part of the problem. My MA cautioned me about ensuring that this second one be filled, otherwise the pump motor could burn out. This just seems ridiculous to me, to invest $550 and then not go the extra bit to safeguard the technology. I would rather have a separate switch just for the headlamp washer (?), rather than worry about this.

Also, in my earlier post I mentioned that I have replaced my '03 with an '05, so yes, my positive comments reflect the '05 lights. They are excellent, and believe me, driving along the Pallisades in NH at night is completely dark! The advantage to me is the wide spray, I feel very assured, can see well into the sides/scrub of the road, so I can avoid any animals. Low beams alone- they are miles ahead of my earlier lights. Even if the lifespan were shorter, (seems there is conflicting info on that), having used them for 2 weeks now, I would invest in maintaining them, no question...

 

Great looking ride, Erik99!

OK (ahamos prepares his dish of crow, gets a fork, and takes a big bite), we had a little get-together Saturday morning in the rain to dyno our cars (101WHP, Baby! Go, Cooper, go!!! ), and one of the cars had the '05 xenons. I love them. They are much better tuned than the previous lights, and do not bother me in the least.

I will probably get them on my next MINI, if they stay like this (I really don't like the silly plastic dividers in the current halogens, looks too toy-like).

 

For all of us older folks out here:

Does all this "Halogen vs. Xenon" sound vaguely reminiscent of the 70's drama "Sealed Beam vs. Halogen?"

I remember all of these same arguments pro and con about halogen lamps way back when - Halogen is the Anti-christ, Halogen will cause blindness, Halogen will explode, Halogen is deadly, sealed beams are the way and the light and the glory forevermore, amen. . .

I say get used to Xenon (or some other similar or better technology) because in 5 years, you're gonna see so many Xenon equipped cars that anything with haolgens is going to seem like the sealed beams on a '66 Impala - dim, yellow, and weak. . .

 

I actually like the more "jeweled" look of the '05 Halogens over the previous years. The new halogens do provide better illumination that the old units.

The new Xenon headlights also have the same "toy like" dividers for the high beam portion.

 

Yeah, I know, but the ray-guns keep the focus off the plastic dividers. You can't take your eyes off the micro-Death Stars long enough to notice the plastic.

Hey, we've almost made 7 pages worth of headlight debate! Rock on!

 

I love good debate too!

This thread reminds me of topics such as "Sunroof vs no sunroof" and "Auto A/C vs Manual A/C).

I like the new Xenons as well, don't get me wrong. I typically set myself a strict budget when it comes to major purchases, so when I am configuring a new MINI I usually pick and choose the absolute essentials and the things I can't do without. Xenons, nice and all, are not a necessity for my daily driving needs, so I am happy with the halogens.

It is nice to have a "rare" '05 MCS with 16" V-spokes, no sunroof, no LSD, no DSC and no Xenons.

 

I think the next headlight will be LED equipped. I believe Audi will be introducing that in their automobiles in 2007.

 

Now THAT would get my dollars , but I'd be curious to see how well they would illuminate the road. My experience has been that LED's are very bright to look at, and they cast a reasonable amount of light, but it's so focused that I can't imagine it being good for headlights. But, the power benefits and longevity would make this silly halogen v. xenon debate utterly meaningless.

 

In Canada there isn't this kind of discussion because Xenons are standard.

 

They'd just make the whole front bumper a bank of LED's!

They'd prolly use 10* for the bottom row, and then work up to 90-120* for the middle set, then back down to 10*. Would have an even better cut off than Xenons, be better solid light, and last forever! (and not use any electricity to speak of, compared to anything these days).


P.S.


Is there a way to add mini Xenons to a '05 MC without Xenons? Like an official retrofit kit.