[Peartreeproductions]

I am thinking of changing my early MC headlights for the facelift ones. I understand that they are a straight swap but interested in the following:

1. Do they provide any better illumination?
2. Is the self levelling feature any more reliable? (mine are getting noisy)

Any thoughts from anybody who has done the upgrade, or driven with both, gratefully received.

[:: Jon ::]

am i right in thinking your on about the non xenon ones??? if so dont do it...

I know a few people who have actually changed their face lift ones back to the older version due to those giving off better light

[AprilWhine]

Since you mentioned self-leveling, you must be talking about the xenons. I haven't heard that the facelift ones are better, they just look so much cooler.

[Tigger, Eeyore & Roo]

I don't know if you mean halogen or Xenon lamps, but here is my experience:

I changed the pre-facelift halogen headlamps on our Cooper to facelifted halogen items about 2 years ago.

The results:

1. The leveling feature on start up is just as reliable and of about the same noise level.

2. Because the headlamp lenses are clear it's really easy to change a light bulb, because I can see the bulb going into place from the front of the lamp This is the single biggest advantage of the newer lamps.

3. The light output is only different; it's a much more definate cut off near the front of the car where the beam falls at the edge of the road, but other than that, they're no better and no worse.


Where I have had a second "lens" in headlamps before (as with the pre-facelfit halogens) the interior lenses would eventually get dirty and would also go opaque. This was really, really, bad news for light output and if my old Citroen XM's had had a replacement headlamp option, I would definately have used it.

Tigger.

[dazzpowder]

Just out of curiosity does anyone know if the new Xenons a direct swap for the older pre facelift? They look so much better.

[Tigger, Eeyore & Roo]

Yes, they are a direct swap. Not cheap though Last time I saw a set for sale at a dealer they were about £700 for the pair!!!!

Tigger.

[dazzpowder]

Gulp! maybe I'll just stick with the old ones.

[Richard Crofts]

Anyone know if the xenons have to be electronically hight adjusted (dealer) or can they be manually done (02 52 plate car). My haynes says dealer but some folks say even xenons can be done manually. Mine have nnever given off the light I felt they shoulkd and since lowering the car you can actually see the lamp puddle about 20ft in front of the car now and even on full beam they only light about 30-35 feet forward! :shock:

[JohnWB]

i adjusted my Zenons a few weeks ago & it was realy easy. All I did was turn the up/down screws half a turn anticlockwise (out) & that lifted the beam up quite a lot. You should not need any more than that, infact a quater of a turn would have probably been enough. You have to lie with your back on the engine to see what you are doing (on an old blankeet or something) with the lights turned OFF as there are a few thousnd volts in the light circiut, then shut the bonnet & see how it went. I had the lights shining on the garage door when it was getting dark to see where they shone to. Just do one at a time to get a comparison. Let me know how it goes

[Gristy]

Quote: Originally Posted by JohnWB (original)

i adjusted my Zenons a few weeks ago & it was realy easy. All I did was turn the up/down screws half a turn anticlockwise (out) & that lifted the beam up quite a lot. You should not need any more than that, infact a quater of a turn would have probably been enough. You have to lie with your back on the engine to see what you are doing (on an old blankeet or something) with the lights turned OFF as there are a few thousnd volts in the light circiut, then shut the bonnet & see how it went. I had the lights shining on the garage door when it was getting dark to see where they shone to. Just do one at a time to get a comparison. Let me know how it goes

Have you got the facelift Xenons?

I have the older Xenons - where is the adjustment screw?

[JohnWB]

No i have the older Zenons (54 MCS).
If you are looking at the back of hte headlight assembly you will see 2 black plastic screws about 6mm diameter sticking out. One is for up & down and the other is for Left & right. If I remember correctly, the one which is lowest (when the bonnet is down) is the one you want.

[Richard Crofts]

54 is a facelift reg though ain't it?! Mines a 52 plate the really o0ld type xenons...not the ones with the newer silver lamp unit. Does it still manually adjust as my haynes manual says all beam hight and leveling has to be done via dealer as theres no adjusters on 52 xenons like on halogens.

[JohnWB]

No its not the facelift model, the build date is Feb 04. The headlights are not the clear ones but are the old ones with a sort of frosted glass. The manual may say that the adjustment has to be done by the dealer, but have a look & you will see the 2 adjusting screws. What the dealer has is a tool which goes onto the screwhead & a flexible shaft which feeds out so that youi can adjust the headlight when the bonnet is down. That means that they can use the normal sort of light box which measures the hight etc. Have another look & if you cannot see the adjusters I will post a picture of the back of mine

[Tigger, Eeyore & Roo]

Quote: Originally Posted by JohnWB (original)

What the dealer has is a tool which goes onto the screwhead & a flexible shaft which feeds out so that youi can adjust the headlight when the bonnet is down. That means that they can use the normal sort of light box which measures the hight etc.

Blimey, I wondered how they did it! Thanks JohnWB.

Tigger.

[Damo]

Quote: Originally Posted by Richard Crofts (original)

Anyone know if the xenons have to be electronically hight adjusted (dealer) or can they be manually done (02 52 plate car). My haynes says dealer but some folks say even xenons can be done manually. Mine have nnever given off the light I felt they shoulkd and since lowering the car you can actually see the lamp puddle about 20ft in front of the car now and even on full beam they only light about 30-35 feet forward! :shock:

I had my xenons adjusted on my S after I lowered the car and they're simply awesome but i had them adjusted for a different reason.

I had them adjusted as felt they were blinding people and wanted to be sure they were right. But since they were adjusted theyre even better for visibility, but no one flashes me anymore, well not as much as before, so get your dealer to check them out.

Can't comment on old halogen being better/worse than new halogen (I hated the old halogen on my first MINI), but think the new xenons are better having parked my old cooper (with old xenons at the time) and a friends car (with new xenons) next to each other.

[Richard Crofts]

Damo how much did it cost?

[catboy]

anyone fitted an aftermarket conversion kit from someone like hids4u?.. I have one of their kits on my 5-series and its superb (better light coverage than the OEM xenons) but Im not sure whether it can be swapped over to the mini or not...

Does the mini have seperate main and dipped bulbs? if so what type are the dipped?..

b

[Damo]

Quote: Originally Posted by Richard Crofts (original)

Damo how much did it cost?

Nothing they just adjusted them as part of other warranty/servicing work. Derek Woodman for you