Hello all. First post, just wanted to say hi. My name is Josh and I just purchased my first Mini last night. Henrietta, a Chili Red MCS. 100% plain on the outside to create whatever my heart desires.

Josh

 

Congratulations!

 

Welcome... And remember that no MINI is ever plain.

 

Congrats on your new MCS!! Post some pics when you get the chance. And WELCOME!!!

 

create whatever my heart desires...

Sounds like you will be creating fat bank accounts for aftermarket sellers..but there is nothing wrong with that ...........happy motoring and weclome aboard

 

Congratulations, glad to have you here. Enjoy!

 

Welcome, and do post some pics.

 

Congrats on your purchase, and welcome to NAM. You will definetly find answers to mod your MINI on this TERRIFIC site. What do you plan on moding first?

 

CONGRATS!! Have fun!

 

Congrats, and welcome to the obsession.

 

Thanks all for the welcomes. Pictures will have to wait because of terrible weather (hailing as I type) and I dont know how to post pics. Mods, not sure about. I am not a rich dude so I have to start simple and save for the big things. But I would like to say ralley lights oem xenon headlights (if possible) are high on the save $ for list along with new wheels/tires. First things will probably be bonnet stripes, sunroof decal and mirror caps, salesman signed an owe paper saying he can do those three things for me for his cost, and no labor.
Also totally off subject, how and where do I find those cool little cars with the windshield eyes so many of you have in your sigs?

Thanks
Josh

 

Congrats on your new ride and welcom to NAM!

 

Installing Xenons after delivery is either not possible, or very very expensive. If you want them, change your order before it goes into production. You may only have a few days. I have Xenons and am sorry I got them. The high beams are great, but low beams are not good for dark country roads with oncoming traffic. They are very bright and have a sharp cutoff. So, the area beyond them seems pitch black.

I'd go with standard headlights and rally lights.

 

I wouldn't jump the gun on that one. IMHO, once you've had xenons on several cars, it is really hard to deal with the lack of bright light on dark country roads.
Retrofitting however, is a bank-buster.

 

Are you saying that Xenons cause your eyes to go bad?

I live on a dark country road. I've been driving it with Xenons since May 2007. I find it hard to deal with the low beams because their brightness makes it difficult to see beyond their range. I have no complains about the high beams.

 

It is a matter of learning to appreciate the extent of good light (which is much better at highlighting details) and then learning to drive within those limits. For me, halogens give a wide diffuse light without the benefit of seeing details at any significant distance. You shouldn't be driving beyond the range of headlights regardless.
I've had xenons on my 06 GTI and 04 S60R and feel that it is worth the cost, although oncoming motorists still flash their highbeams at me in protest.

 

Xenons aren't as good as the hype. For one, it isn't particularly good light, and not better at highlighting details.

Take a look at this article on the disadvantages of HID (Xenon) headlights.
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...dvantages.html

"There are physiological disadvantages to HID auto headlamps that do not exist with glowing-filament lamps. Probably the biggest issue is HID headlamps' significantly worse color rendering index (CRI), which is in the high-60s to low-70s range. Halogen headlamps' CRI tends to be around 90 to 97 or so. In English, this means that the human eye's color perception and differentiation is much, much better under halogen light than under the light produced by automotive HID headlamps."

My main issue is discussed near the bottom of the article:

"If you illuminate the foreground very strongly, your eyes will adapt to that big area of strong illumination, your pupils will become smaller, and your distance vision will be reduced..."

Telling me to drive slower because I have Xenons than I would if I had halogens is not an endorsement for Xenons. It is the opposite. Just how much should I slow down when I use low beams? What is a safe speed? My area is hilly. I find that the distance the light covers (before the cutoff) varies with whether I am going up or down hill.

 

Welcome to the club! Good color choice by the way!

 

We could argue about this until hell freezes over, Dan Stern has his opinion(which is not universally agreed upon) as I do mine. The CRI is not a practical measure of what is "good" light as the major issue is that headlight output in terms of lumens is poor. The total output of light is the only real defining measure and if drive any night and observe the oncoming headlights, it is easy to note that most headlight outputs are just plain weak.
I live in hills, drive in valleys and spend most of my commute with the headlights on due to time at which I am driving. Xenons have more output that is evenly spread.
"What speed is safe" That is an inidividual decision that I hope that you know how to judge, for the sake of those of us sharing the road with you.

 

Robin Casady... Can't you adjust the cutoff line to be farther ahead?

 

In my GTI that is what the highbeams are. The lightout is the same, the shutter keeping the light projecting only right in front of you is lifted.
It's actual visible as you power on the car and DRLs come on.
I would guess that all cars do it a bit differently...

 

congrats on the new chili. i am not overly fond of xeons either. so i will agree with robin. looks like it will just be the two of us

 

Well maybe I will not even worry about the xenon lights then. I am sorry, I didn't mean to start a dispute on this subject. Thanks again for all the welcomes.
Josh