Hey guys,

Just wanted to ask a few questions regarding out Australian model of the 2009 mini cooper (non S).
As the car aint mine, its my girlfriends and I wanted to surprise her with a few mods she really wanted for xmas, I am sort of left with the option of asking these questions here.

1) What is the headlight lowbeam fitment? I know it states in the manual, but the car is not mine and have no access to the manual.

2) Apart from BMW dealers, where may I be able to purchase a set of side mirrors (checkered)? They cost an arm and a leg at the dealers.
No luck on ebay as most of them only ship to the US.

3) Same goes for the additional lights (spot lamps), where can I get a good deal on those and how hard are the installation of them?

Thanks guys

Hi
1) not sure what you mean. The standard light is H4 - I run the Narva Arctic Blue bulbs and "matching" parking light globes that come in the set. It's REALLY easy to change light globes in a MINI:)
2) firstly, you only have to change the mirror caps - they just clip on, I believe. The mirror, shell and mechanism all stay unchanged. Out Motoring in the US would have them MINI Cooper Accessories : MINI Cooper Parts : OutMotoring (http://www.outmotoring.com) - I've bought a number of things from them and they're great to deal with, and the exchange rate is good at the moment. Also MiniMania in USA or UK would be worth a look. BMW's own UK-based shop has a wider range of stuff than locally available too: https://shop.bmwgroup.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/Store-MINIShop-Site/en_GB/-/EUR/Migration-Start?shop=MINI
3) the brackets bolt in behind the grille but I believe you have to cut a slot in the grille for them to come through on the S - not sure if it can fit through the slats on the non-S. Same places would have them. The consensus seems to be the lights are better than standard high beam (no great claim!) but they are rather spotty - ie distance but not spread. I went for separate spread-beam lights on different mountings (ie stronger for the heavier lights). Alta in the US also have some light mounting bars - they have the odd agent or two in Australia, depending on where you're located. Hella have a prewired installation kit which makes the cabling very much easier too (may not need that for the MINI option lights though???).
I hope that helps and that she has a happy Christmas!!

you've gotta be careful when buying mirror caps from overseas, they need to be RHD version. Most of the ones you see on US websites won't fit Aussie MINIs.

you've gotta be careful when buying mirror caps from overseas, they need to be RHD version. Most of the ones you see on US websites won't fit Aussie MINIs.

+1, the mirrors look identical but the drivers side one is canted back more than the passengers mirror.