Over the past few days I've been working on a little project, and I'm glad to say it came out a success! For a while now I've really been wanting some driving lights to mount in front of my JCW grille, but I just couldn't bring myself to spend the $400+ for one of the official MINI kits. So after browsing through multiple local auto parts stores I stumbled upon a kit I felt had good mounting brackets for my grille. When all was said and done, the total cost of the light kit came out to: $40 for the lights/brackets/wiring, $8 for the light tint, and 3 hours of my time and labor mounting and wiring the lights. As you can see from the pic I still need to adjust their positioning/alignment which I plan on doing later tonight once its nice and dark out. All in all, I am very, very satisfied

 

Looks good nice job

 

I am in the same predicament, I don't want to spend that much for the MINI parts. Can you share exactly what you bought and where? You did a very nice job!!

 

Thank you!
....and I was afraid someone was going to ask that question lol. I actually threw away the box that had the model # of the light kit but I can give you the brand and size of the light. The brand is Pilot (which I believe is owned by PIAA) and the size of the lens is 4". I bought them at AutoZone which if I'm not mistaken is pretty much located in every town nationwide. Hopefully the store clerks in your area are gracious enough to let you open the box and inspect the mounts (thats what I did) to be sure you have the right one. I'll post a pic of the mount below. I just used a power drill and mounted it to the lower trim that surrounds the JCW grille.

I can post more pics and do a quick write up on the install process if anyone would like that. I went in with no knowledge of where I was going to pull the wires through the firewall into the cabin of the car but it didnt take me too long once I got the hood up.

Please forgive the dirty grille, but this should give you a good idea of how/where you may want to put a light mount. As you can see, it is pretty low profile so the light doesnt stick out like a sore thumb.

 

I think your driving lights actually look a little better than the MINI lights. They appear to be a tiny bit smaller tho maybe it's just the tint. Either way, great job! What did you do for the interior switch?

By the way, what's going on with your lower grille? It looks different somehow and I can't figure it out. It's smaller and the parking lights don't have as sharp of angles. Do you have a Justa with a JCW grille?

 

Thanks I really like the look as well. The lights are 4" diameter, but I'm not sure what size the MINI brand lights are, though I want to say they are 5". I thought they looked slightly smaller too so that might explain it.

The kit came with a pretty basic red on/off switch. I mounted it in the little cubby space that I guess is the ash tray? The area right below the window and door lock switches. Looks very clean and professional. I was able to hide all the wires behind trim pieces. The switch bypasses the key (wired straight to the battery) so you can keep the lights on with the car off and key removed if you want to (although I bet it would run the battery down pretty quick). I will take a pic of the switch and where I mounted it tomorrow when I have some light.

The lower grille is the standard Justa. With the license plate removed it looks muuuch better.

 

I like those!

I went from OEM to Hella Black Magics to match my overall color theme and am happy.



Please excuse the dirt. I had just driven six hours to the Dragon.

Good job RobDizz!

 

Thanks Melangell!

Those hellas look sweeet. If my little project didnt work out those were going to be my next option. Quite a bit cheaper than OEM also, if I'm not mistaken? Love those stripes too!

 

Please do a write up on the install if it is not to much trouble. This is one of those options I wish the MINI had when I bought it (used). Photos would be great also.

 

No problem! I actually snapped a few pics during the install process just for this reason. Just keep an eye on this thread and I'll have something up in the next few days.

 

any pics or links of the mount?

 

please do not take this as criticism .... it is meant as discussion

background: I''ve installed driving lights for a number of folks on MINIs - factory kits and after market.

It appears you have mounted the brackets to the plastic grill/bumper. The factory kits (or aftermarkets but using factory brackets) tie the brackets to a "strong point" - the brackets connect to metal.

if so:

I'd be curious to see how much vibration bounce you experience and if you have any strength issues down the road.

My 79 has a 'fiberglass' front clip and one of the reasons I don't have driving lights (cool look on a 79 and h-lights on a classic stink in general) is the lack of a strong mount point. I would not just hang them on fiberglass. At car shows my greatest fear is someone leaning hard on my front fenders or grill cuz they'd bust easily . . . I have had to re-enforce the front lip with epoxy putty (building a bar)) for just this reason.. Any worries about someone yanking on a DL?

 

It's an interesting point you bring up. So far no issues with "wobble" but it's something I'll need to watch for in the future. The mount itself is pretty wide and is attached with 2 screws a piece which helps....I see what you mean about mounting the mounts themselves to something a little more solid. Maybe one of the reasons I'm not getting much wobble is the size and weight of my lights compared to others. I noticed most on the market are 5 and 6", while mine are 4". That added weight could make mounting heavier lights to the grille trim a problem.

 

Keep an eye on them I would think wind is gonna loosen them up...

 

Somebody had asked me for a pic of the interior switch, so here ya go. Only complaint about the whole set up so far is that the switch isn't illuminated, but its not like its hard to find. And for $48 I don't really have room to complain lol

Sorry for the poor image quality. The switch is actually set back a little further than what the picture illustrates, so it is a little more hidden.

 

Found a link to the exact lights I bought with brackets and electrical wiring kit included:
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=413385_0_0_

Another interesting spec I found was the weight. The 4" pilots I have weigh 1.8lbs/light, whereas, for example the Hella 500 series lights weigh anywhere from 3.75lbs/light to 5lbs/light depending on diameter. I couldn't find a individual weight spec on the MINI brand lights, but shipped from OM, the total weight of the package is 9lbs, so it's probably safe to say those weigh in at the very least 3lbs/light.

Let me just say if the Pilots had weighed 4-5lbs, there would have been no way I could have attached them to the grille trim. I could easily see why mounting a bigger light, or a heavier one would not work where I have installed mine. As it is, the Pilots I have seem to be holding strong. Drove about 150 miles yesterday down some very very rough highway at speeds of 75-80 mph. When I got home I checked to see if my lights had moved at all and they are still holding rock solid. Granted, it's only been a few days so we'll see how they hold up in the long run.

There is no doubt in my mind that the MINI brand driving lights, or the Hellas perform better than the 4" Pilots I purchased. I am not trying to disrespect anyone who opted for the more expensive lights by making this thread. I personally plan on using these lights only a few times a month when visibility becomes an issue. If I were going to use these as an everyday light, I would have definitely spent the money on a more quality light. These are just a great cheap option for those who like the look and plan on using them sparingly.

I still plan on a little write up on the install for those interested so keep an eye out.

 

I've had my lights bolted directly to my plastic grill using DIY brackets for over 2yrs with no problems with vibration, etc. I started off with Hella 500s and then switched to slightly smaller Wipac stainless lights.

 

That makes me feel way more confident about my set up. Glad to hear someone else has had success with mounting to plastic and not metal. Have any pics? I'd be interest to see how you mounted yours in comparison to mine.

 

Take a look at my gallery and you can see the lights and the brackets made out of 1/8" steel bent to fit the backside of the grill. The lights are British polished stainless Wipacs. The brackets I made for the Hellas (not pictured) were secured with only one bolt but they still were sturdy and vibration free.

 

Your thread just convinced me to pull the trigger on some rally lights. Thanks for sharing.

 

ammodave- Those are some good looking lights! Very clean, low-profile look. If anything, your mounts look even more solid than my setup. Thanks for sharing!

Purie- Awesome! That was my main intention when making this thread to begin with. If you're planning on doing the set-up yourself you'll have a blast doing it. I would suggest having a buddy help you when it comes time to wire the lights, that way you can feed the wires through the engine bay/firewall, and your friend can be inside the car to receive them on the other end. Other than that its pretty straight forward. Have fun!

PS-
Sorry I haven't been able to do a write-up yet on the install...been under the weather the last few days with a really nasty cold. I will post it eventually, so keep checking!

 

looks sweeeeet !!!!!! very interested waiting for the write-up !!!

any idea what brand of protectors we can get that is not overpriced ? link to what i am talking about - http://tinyurl.com/az6netp

is the wiring part easy ?

where did you get the tint?

 

Got mine installed, I attached them straight to the grill with large washer and a ziptie for more security. I haven't wired them up yet though, will do in the next couple days. Not bad for $30, thanks Rob, I owe you a beer.

 

looks good, when ur done wiring, can u pls post a write-up. i picked up the lights and plan on hooking them up soon.

 

Thanks, brother!

They were cheaper than OEM until I did this to them:



I had a Morimoto Elite HID System (EliteH3C) from The Retrofit Source installed. I LOVE 'em but now I'm right up there with OEM costs!!

Next up for The Dread Pirate is replacing of the stripes with a single 15" wide stripe with two 1/2" pinstripes and a gloss black hood scoop. The spending of $$$ continues!