I recently had the black Mini OEM driving lamps installed on my car, and I like them a lot. They look great, and actually DO seem to add light despite my initial thought that the Xenons didn't need a lot of boosting.

However it seems they were not pointed correctly when installed, as they are aimed pretty high up. About where do people suggest aiming the lamps. They are tied into the car's headlights and can only be used when the brights are activated as well.

Any/all opinions welcomed, please!

 

im pretty sure they are supposed to be aimed fairly high. The idea is that they shine light to where your normal headlights wouldnt reach.

 

They are only to be used with highbeams. They are not foglights. In fog, they will blind you. They are for the looks. Not so much for use unless you live in the boonies.

 

I do drive in the "boonies" at night regularly so I am interested in being sure these are set properly. If they help me dodge deer or see that curve up the road better they will definitely be of more than cosmetic value.

 

According to Hella "the correct visual aim is with the top of the beam 4" below the lamp centerline at 25 feet."

 

Here's the MINI installation instructions for the driving lights. This is for the first-gen cars, but the aiming procedure should be the same.

The gist of the aiming instructions is that you park 3 to 5 meters from a wall, and however high the lights themselves are off the ground, that's how high the spots from the beam should be on the wall.

 

Just found that. I knew I'd seen it somewhere. It'd be a lot easier to get 10-15 feet away from a wall in a garage then 25 feet.

 

Do you have the part number by chance of these black lights? The parts guy at my dealer didn't know anything about them. I'm looking for black light covers for my lights.

 

Do you have pictures of these? I am interested as well. I would love to see those deer/elk eye's a little sooner when driving as well.
BTW - love your color choices

 

Go spend a couple of dollars on a can of Krylon Fusion spray paint. Works great on the covers. I only sprayed the outside, check the picture in my gallery.

 

The part numbers I have from the old R56 accessories list are:

Driving Light-Black 63 12 0 417 885, listing for $292.

All other driving lamp parts are the same regardless of the lamp color. My understanding is they weren't available in the states until quite recently. I guess they WERE going to hold off until the Clubman release to make them available but something obviously changed there.

However, buying the lights just for the black covers seems a bit... pricey? ;-)

 

When do you see deer in Douglas County? Oh, right, probably every trip home.

Did you make it to the homecoming trip in Camas Valley? Hope that went well. If you get a chance, there's a thread in the PDX Mini regional page titled "Homecoming Anyone." It would be great if you posted some information about the trek.

 

Looks great! Which black do you use (semi gloss, gloss, etc)? Been a Krylon rattle can painter for years. Semi gloss black, my favorite color.

 

So... where does one aim the driving lamps? Just higher up than the standard beams? :-)

(We seemed a bit off topic and I still wasn't clear on the "Definitive" answer.)

Althought, don't get me wrong... I love spray paint!

 

I believe it was 2321 Glosse Black.

 

John - Sorry I didn't see your post - I put something up now and added an invitation for this Friday. Hope you are going to be back in time for this one! Sorry I can't make it...

jmelrose - sorry to hijack your thread and take it way off track - but at least it'll give you a bump - maybe there's an answer out there...