Someone in your local club may be willing to give you a hand. There are some EXTREMELY detailed how-tos out there.

 

im on top of the so cal thread too and know of a place to at least inquire with but i dont know who my local club is. but ill find them. thanks

 

Both. I really like the look of these lights and they are also very functional. I'm a night owl and find myself doing a lot of night driving. Being a "spirited" driver, I like to see the road and shoulder well in advance, as well as be seen. It also gets very foggy around here in the spring and fall, as we are surrounded by the Great Lakes.

Check out the Litewarehouse. They have the best prices anywhere.

http://stores.ebay.com/LiteWarehouse

 

Thanks!

 

I was reading about these OEM's and the rubber thingie on the grill.

I ordered these for a car im picking up next week.

Is this rubber nib screwed into the grill?

What causes the lights to vibrate? That would be a royal waste of looks and money if that always happens?

I dont want to put my own lights on at all. I havent seen any oems on here or catalogues that looks as old school and snobby as the oem's. BRG/BRG MCS with chromeline, fits the snobby look.

anyone?

 

bump? anyone know?

 

The rubber nib, as you call it, is a stabilization system of sorts. It looks to consist of a metal bushing with a nut plate attached, a threaded post and a rubber covering. The nut plate is mounted in the black plastic portion of the ends of the grille and the nib is threaded from the front and can be adjusted from the back with a small screwdriver.

Why they're required, I can't say for sure didn't study the issue or design them, but it's to reduce the vibration of the lights. They are mounted on what has to be one of the weakest points of the grille and although they use a triangle method of securing the bracket they are still mounted out front on a running vehicle. If not immediately after they were installed, it'll be just a matter of time before they start to vibrate.

Either that or ............... since the MINI is so fast it's to stop them from pointing up into the sky

 

In a PM, El Jefe was asking about the structure of the factory driving lights, so I snapped a few photos for him. I'm posting here for all to see:



The large black L shaped thing on the left is the light bracket... This shot is taken from the inside of the engine compartment towards the front of the car. To the right of the L-bracket is a black plastic piece that, I think, is on the stock car with no driving lights. The black vinyl 'stablization finger' is the sliver/white dot in the middle of the plastic piece. On this side of the grill, it's a threaded rod. There should be a bolt on it, but the bolt on this particular side of my car fell off. The bolt on the other side was 1/2 way off. It should probably get a drop of loc-tite soon.


Here's a nice close-up of the infamous 'stabilization finger' that El Jefe was asking about, above.



That cap on the left is for brake fluid. This is in the far back of the engine compartment, right over the driver's feet. I believe that the black module (with the red wires) to the right of the brake fluid is a relay for the factory driving lights .
[edit] Corrected by Rawhide... this is a fuseholder for the factory driving lights [/edit]



Here's the button for the driving lights. There is a green (I think) LED on the button to show when it is 'on'. The factory driving lights only come on when your high-beam headlights are lit.

 

What you're calling a relay next to the master cylinder is actually a fuseholder. The relay is under the dash inside the car.

Rawhyde

 

nice photos! So the nib isnt drilled through the chrome, just the black plastic. Interesting. If remove then it wouldnt effect the look of the car. I have a chromeline grill and mirror caps, i duno how Id feel about holes drilled into it. (would rust and who knows what)

 

I found a PDF of the dealer install instructions for these lights in the 'how-to' section of www.motoringfile.com. It seems that you only have to install the "stabilization finger" on cars with the sport pack installed.

 

Yeah I see that. ACtually, Althoguh I do have sport suspension, I tossed the 16 runflats for 15x7 Konig Rewinds and 205/60/15 Falken 512 M+S setup. That still is on a tighter suspension, but it's a whole lot softer technically. shrugs.

On mini's in the used car section, I see non sport plus suspensions having the nibs. I tihnk they just put them all on around here.

 

I just found out that my mini dealer puts it straight though the upper grill member. It is much stronger there however.... thats not necessarily better. This is how it all started, the dealer does it through my 250 dollar chromeline option... ew. I am going to call another dealer about installation of it.

I can say in their defense that the plastic behind the light is so dinky and so misaligned from the spot yours is shown that the nib properly installed probably does nothing. if it isnt dead on to the curve, it would only cause the lamps to turn upon a jarring bump. I think both kinda suck.

I noticed that the screw was rusting on a year old one. such nice things to look forward to (the nib screw).

 

Honestly, there isn't much support from the 'finger' anyway. It's more of a damper than a support... a way to stop tiny little vibrations, not stop the lights from flexing when you hit a big pot-hole.

 

hi granger,

The way that Hassel mini installs them is kinda scary but its strong. They drill through the car body where the chrome (or paint if no chromeline) of the upper most grill slat (not the curved U trim thats chrome). Then, the nib gets attached. It is a worrysome spot as any time someone drills the body I worry about rust. Plus, the grill gets a hole in it. THe MA that was there showed me how strong doing that is. He slapped on them hard from the front, no movement at all.

Comments on this seemingly destructive technique?

how can such a simple part be so complicated, I do not know.

 

It's not complicated to me... mine is installed where BMW said to install it.

I'm not a big fan of the "drill through my new grill" plan, but go with what you think is best.

 

Yeah exactly. I actually am going to another dealer to ask them about this. I saw rust stain on the grill of 1 year old outdoor model that was never kept well but still, will happen. the screw that was used is a piece of crap.