Actually the recent law requires that your lights be on, not your headlights. The reasoning behind this is so you can be seen, DRL's do nothing for drivers behind you approaching in the rain when you're stopped on the freeway. Lights on in the rain, DRL's are NOT a substitute, too many people drive around at night and in the rain with DRL's thinking it actually helps. Headlights only cover one of the many angles of a car, that's why you have tail lights and running lights. Be safe, lights on

 

Isn't a bi-xenon light used in conjunction with a halogen bulb? I thought all high beams were still halogen, just some had a bi-xenon setup that "Moved" the light beam up slightly. I too had no idea that the mini had a Bi-Xenon option. Then again, don't trust me, I don't know that much about car lighting .

 

If you have your DRLs programmed you can turn on your parking lights and your tail lights will come on. :smile: You also still have the option to turn on the low beams.

 

I think I'm going to leave them in "manual" default setting. The more I think about the more I want to control when the lights are on. My old car had DRL and auto headlights, and I was always annoyed when it would turn them and I didn't think they needed to be be. I had to drive my Jeep today, and realized I liked controlling when they are on.

So I'm going to leave that default setting alone...

Of course now I'm curious about this Xenon-Halogen combo light subject that everyone has started...

 

Indiana has the headlights on when washers are on rule. No big deal. I had that in both Iowa and Illinois and quickly re-programed my brain in a month or less. Winter helps the re-programing. I know to give more room to a car with lights on in the day time, they may not be able to see as clearly when the spray hits the windshield.

DRL's: Will eventually end up like Liz Dole's third brake light, USELESS! Initially these things work because they stick out like a sore thumb. But then after time, they become norm and you quit looking for them.

 

This evening, I checked the lights against a mirror (I have a large plate glass mirror that was left over from one of my bathrooms being re-modeled) in the garage: Guess what - the high beams are halogen.... When I inspected the lights at the car's delivery, I only had a painted stucco wall to use to check the source of the low and high beams. I could have gotten out of the car and checked, but based on the initial appearance, I continued on with my checklist. My appologies for the confusion.

 

There are Bi-Xenon projector lights that control both high and low beams from the Xenon source. When the high beam setting is selected with the stalk on the left side of the steering wheel, an internal mechanism in the light housing shifts the position of the beam source slightly to give a high beam. The 2005 Audi S4 and the 2005 Volvo S40 are two such cars that I have personal experience with. Unfortunately, the MINI is not such an animal - its high beam is provided by a Halogen bulb.

 

This is one area I think MINI really cheaped out in. All BMW's since at least 2003 have been true bi-xenons, and the newer models like E90's and 5- and 6- series have bi-xenons that turn with the wheel. On higher end models they are standard, $700 option where it is not standard. I would have gladly paid the extra $200 to have the whole deal, the highbeams on my M3 are outstanding! I would be willing to bet this is addressed with the 2007 models.

 

Damn! And I was hoping you were right so I could upgrade. :smile: Probably would have cost a fortune, though.

Steve

 

Ha...I wonder if anyone will start making a retrofit kit to make the high beams an independent Xenon bulb? That would be a good money maker for anyone who wanted full Xenon's all the time. Very curious indeed.

But heck most of the time I'm using low beams and fog lights anyway. I rarely use high beams, so I guess it's not too big of a deal.

I think I'll have to do the "search" to find some good driving lights to add to the high beams.

 

All of the bi-xenons I've looked at have just one projector beam with a motor that mechanically raises it for use as a high beam. I've never looked behind the lights in my car, but it would seem logical that they would use the same mechanism as the "self-leveler." Almost makes me think the means is already on the car, just need someone to figure out how to fool the circuitry. Ian?

 

hmmm.... mine go off as soon as I pull the emergency/parking brake....

does it get in the way when you go parking and "listen to music"

 

When I first bought my Cooper, it didn't have the DRLs or the rear tail light brake jumpers. As I was driving to my first Dragon event, I started thinking that the DRL might help make my car a bit more visible as I came thru the twisties. When I returned home, I had my dealer hook up the DRLs and also installed the jumper kit. Actually, I DO feel safer [as in more visible, in the front and in the back] now. At least these items have eased my fears of being "targeted" by some SUV or larger vehicle...and an "excuse" later that they "just didn't see me". Of course, at night I almost always combine my regular headlights with my factory fogs, just to give some added illumination up front...and now the real illumination afforded by that brake light jumper kit REALLY gets the attention of people behind me when the brakes are applied.

 

I went out of my way to have the DRL option enabled. My experience behind the wheel has led me to believe that I have benefitted in poor lighting situations from other cars having their headlights or daytime running lights on, so until I hear a rational argument against them, I prefer them ON. I also turn on full headlights during rain, fog, solar glare and other obvious visibility-reducing daytime conditions. As others have said, it's not for me, it's for other drivers (and peds in some cases) being able to see me more easily. If DRL on means I'm more likely to get stopped by a speed trap, so be it.

_Dave_

 

DRLs are one of the dumbest ideas ever and great for people with no common sense.
Instead, turn your lights on in periods of low visibility, even if YOU can't see any better, it will help others see you. No need to have your lights activated on a sunny day.
I drive onto a military installation. The sign at the gate says to use parking lights so you won't blind the guard. Kinda hard to do with DRLs (drool?).
My Tahoe had them. I did a DRL vasectomy by cutting one wire and disabled them.
I find it interesting that GM put DRooLs on their vehicles and then touted their "safety" merits. Well, "safety" took a back seat to "style" on the C4/C5 Corvette. DRooLs were limited to the parking lights - no way was Chevy going to mess up the looks of the 'Vette by having the freakin' headlights fliiped over and on.

 

Hmm...Okay I think we've found something worth looking into. I did read that the "auto level" feature was nothing more than a small bubble level that feeds data to a motor to level the lights. Seems like it should be possible to change that setup to fool the system. We need a good electrical engineer!

Or maybe just a mechanical engine to confuse the level.

It's really dark where I live so as soon as the new Mini arrives I'll play around with the two types of light in the dark field and we can measure how far they go. Would be interesting to see if angled Xenons would go farther than the high beam halogen. Hmmmmm......

 

DRLs (at least on the MINI) are intended to be visible, not blinding... That's pretty much the entire point of them. Judging a system by a poor implementation of it (GM's) is poor reasoning.

Still haven't heard a rational argument against activating the MINI's DRL option.

_Dave_

 

We have the same law.

I don't want to burst anybody's bubble but using DRLs in the rain probably does not comply with the law. You need to read exactly what the law says but I would bet its talking about your low beams, NOT the DRLs.

DRLs are meants so you can be seen in the day light, low power on the highs ... actually it switches the power on and off quickly and you cant do that with Xenons. In the rain, you need the real low beams.

 

that's why it's the law there. Dumb or not, you get more time to react if it's shining at you actively, not just passively. Also, a car at a distance aimed at going past you just barely looks a lot like a car that will hit you, until it's closer. The perception is key here (I spend some time at a cocktail party talking to a guy from Failure Analysis Associates about this very thing.)

Super Coop, DRLs aren't dumb. They increase safety. If you don't like them, that says more about you than the lights. Maybe they just increase safety around poor drivers, but there sure are a lot of them about. And think if you had a daytime head-on, and the insurance company found that you'd disabled a safety feature! I think your opinion here isn't backed up by the statistics.

Matt

 

you can look at a rather nice summary here

 

Well, to be accurate IMHO it is not disabling a safetly feature (like turning off stability control) since it is considered an option here. My car never had DRLs activated and I don't think that it would be an issue with the insurance.

I contend that it is just as safe to use the low beams, safer yet when you consider the increased rear/side visibility of having the full lights on (plenty of accidents are in the direction of traffic vs head on), that DRLs make the cars look cross-eyed and over all ruin photos :D

And as much as I prefer the Xenon low beams I don't really 'get' wanting the b-xenons for highs. That would make the lights have to switch to an either-or set up and I like the way the Mini lights have the low xenons and high halogens on simultenously vs the BMWs. If you really need the highs for that long a period of driving all the time anyway you might want to consider the driving lights if extra lighting is an issue.

 

You won't hear one either. The DRLs on my MINI are not in any way blinding. I actually like the way the low power high beams look. They don't look like you forgot to turn off your headlights...they look like what they are..daytime running lights.

Speaking of forgetting, another reason for having the DRL's is forgetting to turn your low beams on or worse still, deciding to turn them on way after they should have been on for safety, ie, no lights at all.

DRLs are a good safety feature that does nothing bad, only good.

 

I was refering to Super Coop's cutting of the DRL wires in his past GM. Not an option there.

Overall, they are a good thing. Sorry they offend the style sensitivities of some. The real wonder is in the face of the overwhelming data, and the negation of almost all criticism (with the only remaining criticsms having measurement that are within the "noise" of the studies), why they aren't required here in the US. That's just stupid.

I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other, at least I didn't until I reviewed all the reports listed in the link I listed earlier (including the negative posts and data, one has to be objective). Now I'm convinced. We should all have them enabled. So to go back to the original post....

Yes, there is overwhelming evidence that DRLs are beneficial, in terms of accident frequency and severity.

Matt

 

Seems we are of two camps regarding DRLs. Those that like 'em, and those that don't. I suppose there is merit in the claims of both sides, but regardless, we're both too bullheaded to see things from the other's perspective. Luckily, MINI gives an option to enable the DRL function, or not. We can at least be thankful for that.

 

Not wanting them on is a good enough reason for not having them.....but, what other merit is there in not having them on? There is documented fact to prove they are a worthwile safety feature.

It's like the old seat belt argument, "what if the car catches on fire and I can't get my seatbelt unfastened".

Those who didn't want to use their seatbelts used this to justify not using them even though statistically it's a fact they add greatly to helping prevent serious injury or death in a crash.