[Factor3]

I guess these are be swapped. Been giving first refusal on a set of xenons but I doubt if they can be retrofitted in place of the halogens. Any ideas as I'm being clueless here

 

[swearingino]

You are wanting to swap from Halogen to LED? There's a lot of wiring that has to be changed and manipulated as they aren't plug and play. It's a lot of work and will cost more than originally paying the extra 1k to upgrade.

If you're wanting to keep your halogen mirror reflective housing and upgrade to an aftermarket HID, don't. The housing aren't made to distribute the light correctly and can be a hazard to other drivers.

 

[Factor3]

Well live and learn. Next mini will have LEDs. Thanks for letting me know swearingino

 

[Angib]

There are no xenon lights for the F56 - the only options are basic halogen and LED (with or without cornering function).

Was somebody offering you first refusal on a set of R56 xenons? They won't fit an F56.

 

[Factor3]

I don't think so. They come with ballasts so coming to think of it they are LEDs

 

[Angib]

Ballasts are only require on xenon (HID) lights, so those don't sound like LEDs.

 

[Factor3]

Ok so can they be used for replacements to my halogens then?

 

[MiniCooper]

Please note if you swap the bulbs from halogen to HID, you'll have to buy special sets which don't interfere with other electronics (forgot the real name haha). You shouldn't place these "boxes" too close to any other electrical component. Another thing is that halogen works with a reflector and since HID is more powerfull you'll blind any oncoming traffic. Here in Europe the cops don't make a huge deal of it, when you have your lights in lowest setting.


Don't have experience with swapping halogen to HID on a F56, but I wouldn't do it. The car is loaded with electronics which can go haywire...

 

[swearingino]

Please note if you swap the bulbs from halogen to HID, you'll have to buy special sets which don't interfere with other electronics (forgot the real name haha). You shouldn't place these "boxes" too close to any other electrical component. Another thing is that halogen works with a reflector and since HID is more powerfull you'll blind any oncoming traffic. Here in Europe the cops don't make a huge deal of it, when you have your lights in lowest setting.


Don't have experience with swapping halogen to HID on a F56, but I wouldn't do it. The car is loaded with electronics which can go haywire...

HID's also burn so hot they need cooling fans. Otherwise you'll cook everything else in close proximity. Proper kits come with these and self leveling, but of course, they are expensive.

 

[MiniCooper]

HID's also burn so hot they need cooling fans. Otherwise you'll cook everything else in close proximity. Proper kits come with these and self leveling, but of course, they are expensive.

Nope, the aftermarket HID packages use less power for the same light output, so they generate less heat (on the outside of the bulb, on the inside they are way hotter!). Wait for the winter and there is ice on your car. If you have halogen, the ice will melt off the lights, with HID it won't melt.


Aftermarket kits won't be self leveling, that's normally parts of the housing and not the bulb.To have the bulbs self leveling you'll need sensors and connections, so with aftermarket parts this is hard and expensive.


To come back on my previous post: HID bulbs will have ballasts (that's the name of those boxes!) which could interfere with other electronics. Please be aware you'll probably need CAN-BUS kits to assure your car will "accept" the lights without coming up with errors, especially on newer cars.


I've had them in my old car, no problem at all if you set the non selfleveling lights to the lowest setting and place the ballasts in the right place.

 

[Angib]

Ok so can they be used for replacements to my halogens then?

Well, R56 (second generation Mini) headlights of any sort won't fit on a F56 (current third generation Mini), so it depends what car you have.