In two days I plan on going down to my local MINI dealer and purchasing a MCs, manual of course. I have some questions I'm hoping someone on here can answer:

1) The car at the dealer I'm looking at getting has halogen headlights. I was really hoping to get the Xenon's. Can they upgrade them at the dealership or is this a factory only option? Is this a worthwhile upgrade?

2) What is the difference between the Dynamic Traction Control that comes with the sport package and the standard traction control? Can the DTC be added later?

I look forward to being able to drive home a proud owner of a MINI on saturday.

 

Congrats and Welcome from North Carolina.

 

Welcome to NAM and good luck on your future MINI!

Both Xenon's and DTC are factory only options, as they would be prohibitively expensive to retrofit afterwards. Most likely the dealership would not be willing to able to do both.

I find the Xenon's a remarkable upgrade over the base halogens. I had an '07 MCS with halogens and now have an '08 MCS with xenon's and the difference in lighting precision is worth every penny. The DTC basically adds a few more layers of control over the standard DSC. The big improvement IMO is the "e-LSD", where the system uses the brakes to transfer engine power to the wheel that isn't slipping. It's essentially an active Torsen, and it's good enough to be standard equipment on the factory JCW and BMW 135i.

Did you order your MINI or are you thinking of picking one off the lot? I would highly recommend considering ordering one to your exact specifications, as it costs you nothing but time to wait for it to be built. Add to the fact you'll get precisely the options, colors, and trims that you prefer and the MINI is intended to be a personal, custom experience.

Cheers and good luck,
Ryan

 

I would love to be able to order my mini but I don't think my other car will last long enough to wait. Are there any aftermarket headlights that are comparably as bright as the Xenon's?

 

congrats! personally I would not pick one off the lot unless its EXACTLY what you want!! i would order one the ones on the lot from what I have seen tend to have weird option combination's. Im not sure of the order time I know when I ordered my 02 it took about year (one of the first to the US) and my 05 took about 6 months. but I think the time is less now.

 

When I ordered mine, I went in with two mandatory things. I wanted an "S" and I wanted Xenon lights. The only retrofit will be a swap-out. I guess it's north of $1g.

I've been driving around with 8" of snow and ice on the road and very pleased with DSC that is stock, very capable and no compliants. On dry road, absolutely no compliants even when driven SUPER hard, when I have inside tire spin, usually both tires are spinning and I need to slow down. I am glad I did not get sport pkg, suspension is hard enough.

 

Definitely order what you want! I placed my order with my MA on 1/22 and my MINI is already in the Paint Shop. It's actually going to probably arrive about a month sooner then I need it. But, I'll take it! Can't wait!

I've heard mixed reviews on the headlights. I've had both. Quite frankly, if you've never had Xenons, you certainly won't know the difference, and you can put the $500 toward something else, or save it!

 

Just like everyone else is saying, you should just order one. Mine took about 6 weeks from order date to taking delivery.

 

If I were you I'd actually drive the car you're considering at night and see for yourself if the halogen lights are OK for you. I have xenons and my wife has an 04 Mazda3 and I swear her lights are as good as mine, knife-like cutoff and all. So see what you think. As for the DSC it's a safety item that could help you if you get the car out of control. The ASC system does some of that, the DSC does more. If you drive in snow and rain a lot and drive "spirited" you may need that. If not who knows. I doubt I'll ever need it. Just my .02.

 

Ditto.

I have terrible night vision and the Xenons really help out here.

The DTC is like getting the LSD in previous years, although not quite the same. I have the DSC+LSD in mine (it's an 08 and DTC wasn't out yet) and I love the combination. Things can get a bit rough as the LSD starts making things buck when getting on the throttle from a standing turn but it would only be worse without the LSD.

DSC has saved my bacon a few times in the rain, I believe it is standard now and the DTC upgrades things even more. So yeah, it's a good idea to have it, certainly doesn't hurt.

Find a way to make your existing car last and order you MINI or at least have the dealer try to find one that they can get shipped in that has more of the options you want. You really won't regret it.

 

You've likely built your MINI on MINI.usa.com. I think if one or two options are all you prefer, you can likely find one locally, but to repeat, I ordered mine configured to my choice and have no regret about the wait.

 

I agree...I have the Xenon's and they throw very good light. If you search around the forum you will find many who say they are sorry they did not upgrade.

As for the DTS if you can get it you will be hapy you did later on.

Congrats and good luck.