Does anyone know off hand if MINI offers the MC slat grill in black pictured below? Also, I've heard of wraping the slatted parts in high quality vinyl, for it's durability over paint. Does anyone have any info and pictures on either of these options above? Thanks.

 

Before I did an aero kit for my MC, I used a wide vinyl tape from Pep Brothers (I think) and it worked great. Be sure not to stretch it when installing, as the heat will make it shrink just a little.

 

Anyone know of some other cheap places to pickup some vinyl strips? If not I'll probably go with VinylStyles, but I wanted to try my options first. Thanks.

 

I bought a roll of vinyl trim tape for around $3-$4 from an online auto parts store (I think it may have been AutoBarn) several months ago and used that to black out the slats on my MINI. It's held up really well, and is inexpensive enough that if I have to replace/repair it's no big deal.

It's not the best picture, but it's the best one I have of Gromit's blacked out grille.

 

In Europe, the MINI One and MINI Diesel have OEM black slat grill as standard. A dealer here may (or not) be able to order the grill part.

MINIUSA has them for 1st gen (I have one on my R52 and the cost was very reasonable). I don't know whether MINIUSA is importing the R56 version.

 

Before you order you should go to the MINI2 forum and ask if the MINI One and Diesel grills will fit justacooper.

 

It may be a moot point because it may not be in the MINIUSA parts catalog, but I would say just ask your dealer to check if the black grill is listed. They would look it up under the standard Cooper model, so if it shows up it will fit.

BTW, the picture in the first post is of a MINI diesel.

 

Thanks for the info everyone. I'll be calling them this afternoon, and If the ONE and DIESEL grill (w/ cutouts for lights) arn't available, I'll probably just go the route or vinyl curtousy of a local store.

 

Just called the dealer, and the ONE & DIESEL Grille in black is NOT available in the U.S. Oh well, here comes the Vinyl! I also asked if they could match prices that other dealers offer on the same lights, and they said no in case anyone else wants to try.