Absolutely love these LED side lights! I upgraded from my stock single-bulb side blinkers to these. I had no idea they were automated as well. Totally worth the small up-charge!
Excellent fit. I bought the matte black to try and match the rest of the trim and it looks factory installed.
Removing the OE chrome grill "nuts" was a bit of a pain, so I elected to just snap the plastic threads off rather than attempt to remove them. I wouldn't plan on keeping the OE grill as the plastic threads and stamped nuts are practically destroyed no matter how gentle you are.
The upper grill snaps in and use the same fasteners as the OE. The new stamped nuts can be a bit annoying, just seat the nut on the ball of your thumb and turn. Once the nut cuts into the plastic use a nut-driver to snug up--don't over tighten.
The lower grill just snaps in. I cleaned and plasti coted the bumper black, as you can see the bumper color behind the new grill--my car is red so it really stood out.
This grill makes the car look so much better and more up to date. I really like it.
*plasti-cote is your new best friend*
John
This is a review of the M12 stud conversion kit for the R53 MINI Cooper S. This is the second stud kit that I have installed. The first set was of much lessor quality and was totally worn out within six years of auto-x, track days and winter tire change-over.
These new studs appear to be far superior and slightly longer. I also like the unthreaded portion that allows lining up the nut to help prevent cross threading.
I do have one question; Do you recommend any using any lubrication on the threads of the studs?
John W
My hitch for my R53 came in today and 3 hours later it is installed and the car is all back together. The fit and finish are excellent and I couldn't be happier with the product. The only problem I had is that the instructions mention zip ties and replacement trim mount clips but the little Baggie included in my box was empty. Someone forgot to pop the parts into the bag before tossing the bag into the box. Didn't really effect me because I didn't break any trim tabs and I have PLENTY of zip ties.
Thanks for a great and unique product that makes the ownership of our quirky little MINIs even better.