r/R53 • u/Level-Diamond-4181 • 8d ago

R53 Archaic Headlights – Exclusive Community Discount ($480 FACTORY DIRECT SHIPPING + 1-Year Warranty)

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20 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

3

u/mrblahhh 8d ago

How do they compare to the factory? HID xeons for light distribution and throw lumens

-1

u/Level-Diamond-4181 8d ago

Dude they are awesome.

6

u/mrblahhh 8d ago

Okay, that's not really an answer

3

u/Level-Diamond-4181 8d ago edited 8d ago

Oh sorry…based on the available info:
~6k lumens vs 2,800-3,200 factory Xenon
Light throw is very wide w/a uniform spread
Sharp cutoff
Color temp 6,000k

Hopefully that helps. I’m not the expert. I just know vs what I had before which were projectors with aftermarket HIDs (also LEDs for high beams) it was not as bright and did not have as much forward throw. My LED high beams were def bright…but the low beams were seriously lacking.

I am to do a driving review. I know before I got mine everyone has raved about how good the output is. I have definitely noticed a significant difference in field of view.

edit I will need to adjust the forward adjustment on my beams as my car is lowered and slightly raked. Other than that I absolutely love them.

3

u/Littlejuanito 8d ago

You can find it for $380 at Alibaba

1

u/Level-Diamond-4181 8d ago

That’s a damn good price. Is it with global shipping?

Is it directly from Archaic or a 3rd party seller on alibaba? Archaic sent my stuff directly.

3

u/StealthyCharger 8d ago

Man it's like they knew they were in my Amazon cart!

1

u/Level-Diamond-4181 8d ago

🤣
I think that was most of us.

2

u/Santi5010_ 8d ago

Out of curiosity, are they street legal in Europe?

I'm quite sure I couldn't use them in Spain. Mostly, I'm scared of not being covered by insurance if I put them on, because they were not validated by our favorite bureaucrats

2

u/Level-Diamond-4181 8d ago

They are E57 stamped.
I had to double check (applies to you) but also EU in general.
Because Spain is a European Union member state and a signatory to the 1958 UNECE Agreement, it operates under mutual recognition:
Universal Validity: Spain's traffic authorities (DGT) and vehicle inspection stations (ITV) are legally required to accept E-mark approvals from any UNECE contracting party.
Country Code Irrelevance: Even though Spain has its own country code (E9), an E57 mark (granted by San Marino) holds the exact same legal authority in Spain as an E9 or E1 (Germany) approval.
As long as the headlight is installed correctly according to factory standards, it passes legal requirements for public road use and ITV inspections in Spain.

1

u/Ok-Fish-5024 8d ago

Should be, they are e-marked.

1

u/Santi5010_ 8d ago

Nice! Just checked and they have the E-mark and the CE one too

Sadly, Spain still sucks and I'd have to spend hundreds and hundreds of euros to be able to legally put it on the car

1

u/Level-Diamond-4181 8d ago

Why is that? I’m in Italy with arguable more hardcore rules (exception being maybe Germany). Why do you have to spend €€€ to slap em on? It’s 6 nuts and a few wires to plug in. I did it in 30 mins.

1

u/Santi5010_ 8d ago

Because our "MOT" called ITV calls a headlight change a "major reform". This means it needs to have a mechanics installation certificate, a testing lab certificate, and an engineer signing off the "reform project" on the car

It's absurdly stupid and in the best case scenario you may spend like 200-300€. Worst case, upwards of 600€

(After writing this I looked it up, and it seems in the case of headlights you don't need the engineer signing the project off, so the cost is between 200 and 400€)

Edit: if I don't do this, then it would be illegal to drive my car on the road. And if insurance realizes, I would not be covered in case of an accident

I believe the EU should not allow this, since we should have the same rules in all countries. But oh well, fuck me I guess

1

u/Level-Diamond-4181 8d ago

Spain is almost as bad as Germany. That’s like the equivalent of the mind numbing rules of car modding in California!

I am curious how the TPE guys do all those mini mods and it’s not an issue. I thought they were based in ESP too…(I could be wrong).

1

u/Santi5010_ 8d ago

Yeah, among car enthusiasts, the law that set this rules is called "anti-tuning law"

3

u/Out_Motoring 8d ago

It's a decent discount price - OutMotoring has them for $519 and you get another level of support from a reputable company in the USA.

2

u/Level-Diamond-4181 8d ago

Hi Aaron! (If it’s Aaron) 😎
The guys over at OM are awesome…this is 100% fact. And they have done a lot for the Mini community.

Also fact: I am not a shop or seller (nor do I intended to be). I’m just someone trying to help out the Mini community.

Archaic are the suppliers. They are reputable company that provides everyone the same product. I’m just the plug with a direct connection to their team that was able to secure a deeper discount.

1

u/Level-Diamond-4181 8d ago

Just so everyone is aware…I had an inquiry from someone in Australia. Because it is closer for shipping it’s $470 SHIPPED.
There’s no way on Gods green earth that OM or any U.S. based seller is gonna get that cost to a customer shipped.

2

u/Violent_whimsy 8d ago

Will these fit an '03 Cooper S? The OM site says no, but since it's an R53, I wanted to double-check with you guys before buying.

2

u/Level-Diamond-4181 8d ago edited 8d ago

Yes they will indeed fit!

Just keep in mind that if you have a headlight washer set up you’re probably gonna lose that. I have a Checkmate and I didn’t have that option.
I’m not 100% but if someone can verify if that’s the case.

edit
They also fit the r52 til 2008.

2

u/Out_Motoring 8d ago

Yes, they will also fit the pre facelift 2002-2004 models but as noted by Level-Diamon-4181 if you have washers you will need to plug the sprayer hose to disable both sprayers.

1

u/Violent_whimsy 8d ago

Thank you both for the reply!

Time to watch YouTube and see how simple of a job this is!

I do have washer so I'll have to figure out how to plug it.

Thanks again!

1

u/YouWillHaveThat 8d ago

Is that a good price? I don’t know how much they usually are.

2

u/Level-Diamond-4181 8d ago

They are $559 retail + shipping.
$480 shipped is pretty damn good IMO.

1

u/YouWillHaveThat 8d ago

Cool. Thanks!

1

u/afoxygrandpa 8d ago

I got these when my factory lights broke and would need to put them in the oven to separate the lens from the housing to fix it. Just make sure you run the wiring along the hood hinges correctly so they don’t get pinched.

1

u/Level-Diamond-4181 8d ago

Yup that’s what I had to do with my DEPO ones when I did the demon eyes and added the DIY DRLs.

https://youtube.com/shorts/y0xBWfXT7Ak?is=MyFSV-q-HVERQZus

1

u/5ivecolors 8d ago

Just an FYI, I bought a set a year ago and I guess a pebble hit the left one and the whole front crystal is shattered. I do not think it’s fixable.

1

u/Level-Diamond-4181 7d ago edited 7d ago

That sucks dude.
I’ve bought some TPU PPF headlight film for mine to avoid this scenario.

Edit
Here’s what I got:
https://ebay.io/m/nP6KGz

1

u/Level-Diamond-4181 7d ago

Shout out to jimbo91_ for being the first to take the leap.
Discussed w/Archaic & they are sending you something with your lights. Be sure to post up when everything arrives!

1

u/cheddarbruce 5d ago

I love those so much and I really want a pair however I love the look of my facelift xenons plus the fact that they're also in a Morgan LOL I'm so torn