about to take delivery of my 2nd mini - an s. my original cooper had driving lights on it and i thought they looked great. but i am not sure about the line on the s and the hood scoop lending itself to the driving lights look. i am pretty sure i will not order them again, but curious to see what the public opinion is...

to light or not?

thanks - drew

 

I say no lights,but can see it either way. I prefer the cleaner look.

 

I love the PIAAs on my S.

 

split so far..lol..i knew it ; )

- drew

 

Well for a second forget about the look. Do you think they make that much of a difference when driving? That is do they add enough additional light to warrant buying them for that reason?

 

Personally I think the deciding factor (aesthetically speaking) is if you have bonnet stripes.

The line of the stripes leads right down into the driving lights, making it all flow.

Bonnet stripes with no lights = fine.
Lights with no stripes = out of place.

But everyone has an opinion, and that's just mine. That being said, I didn't order the driving lights mostly due to function vs. cost. They are $400, plus installation (which is fairly long). I understand that the total cost is somewhere around $600. And I do almost no "high beam" driving.

I spent my money on a wheel upgrade instead.

 

You could do like I'm doing when I take delivery in early April. I'm getting the Rally Alta light bar and mounting 4 rally lights on my lower grill. It's a great look, same cost or possibly cheaper(depending on installer) than the factory lights AND if you travel any country roads they should be a great aid in seeing the road.


To see what they look like go here...

http://www.altaminiperformance.com/p...r/lightbar.htm

Scroll all the way to the bottom to see a couple pics.

 

When I ordered through Desert MINI in Vegas, for my $2500 upcharge I got to choose either a CD changer or driving lights. I took the lights for 2 reasons. 1. it was the higher value (less money donated to the dealership) and
2. I liked the look. Reminds me of classic rally Minis.

I was annoyed by the covers though. If you want to use the driving lights, you either have to stop and take the covers off, or always drive with them off (and exposed to stone chips).
I got yellow tinted protective film from Lamin-X (which I think looks great) and drive without the covers. I'd get them again in the same situation, but I don't think I'd pay for them if I was getting the car at MSRP. I might go aftermarket for 1/2 the cost though.

 

you read my mind! that is exactly what i thought -although i had an aero front end on my old cooper (without stripes) and it looked great.

i think i'm going to opt for the lean look and leave off the driving lights.

thanks everyone!

- drew

 

With the S it's simple.

• Bonnet stripes - lights
• No Bonnet stripes - no lights

I have no bonnet stripes, so I gots no lights!

 

amen dude!


- drew

 

I agree with the idea that should get the lights if you need the lights.

I have the Xenons and fogs and feel no need for the driving lights and personally think that they look too "tacked on."

The Avispón Verde has stripes and looks just peachy without lights.

In the end, it's whatever makes you happy!

Saludos

 

If you want to stay OEM, get those...but the PIAAs are very good and I think they make one with a chrome backing now (mine are black).

Either way, I picked them up from Pilo during a sale for like $200 or something, I forget. Installed them myself so it was quite the bargain from the OEM lights.

 

nice to hear the xenons and fogs feel like enough for you. my last cooper had standard lights and fogs and the driving lights were actually necessary on back roads as the stock non-xenon lights didn't throw that hard.

i agree that with xenons the driving lights would look a bit tacked on as well.

thanks - drew

 

Fogs, Xenons, and driving lights = bliss.

 

stripes=yes

no striper=no

but if you live in the country YES all the way.

Asthestics, stripes make it look good, that is the way we are going to go. But if I lived in the country..... function over fashion... by far!!!!!

 

Whoa! If you plan to drive cross-country, drive through rural areas, drive through the Dragon, etc., driving lights are a MUST! I have an all-black MCS, no bonnet stripes, with after-market PIAA lights, and I LOVE THEM! I really need them for my drives through the Santa Monica Mountains, my cross-country roadtrips, and especially, when I drive the Dragon at night!

Maybe many folks view them as wardrobe accessories for their MINIs, but I view the driving lights as important equipment for a variety of driving situations. And they look fantastic on Wanda....and she is stripe-less!


Clover

 

Seconded. If you are considering getting lights for aesthetic reasons, then I would say save your $$. And if you want them for functional reasons, then I would say avoid the pricey factory lights and go with something like the PIAA 520 SMR and Mini-Madness heavy duty mounts. Bright and bullet proof.



Here they are on my old Cooper.

 

Yes on rally lights.

 

I love this photo!

If I was not in bed by 8:00pm every day, I'd get 'em.

 

Yes...to Rally Lights

 

Driving lights (ralley lights) MAKE the MCS... I have no bonnet stripes, I do have the driving lights... they look great!

Godspeed.

 

I have the factory lights with stripes. It does finish off the front of my MCS very nicely. However, their functionality isn't very good. As they say, they're not the brightest light in the chandelier. The quality of light compared to the Xenons is much more yellow, and the lights themselves giggle slightly casting shadows on the road. Finally, you can only use them with high beams.
Here in SoCal, I never get to use them. Too much traffic. Besides, the combination of the Xenons and the fogs are very good for regular driving. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't get the factory lights. But I would probably go for the aftermarket PIAAs or some other brand. Better price and better lights.
Still, they do look nice.

 

Drivng lights and stripe or nothing

 

I have these PIAAs and they are very bright and highly-functional. Mine were installed by a MINI-owning foreign car specialist in Birmingham, Alabama when I was on my roadtrip last year. Stephen was recommended to me by YuccaPatrol, after he did such a nice installation of Yucca's PIAAs. He rigged them so they work with the regular headlights OR with the brights!


Clover