Thrilla

I bought my C63 for the glorious M156, and the AMG badge. It came with the halogen headlights, that I did not mind at all. After a few months of ownership, I started regretting not waiting to get the lighting package. I went through my SA and asked him to humor me with a parts list and a price to retrofit the OEM HID headlights to my car. He bluntly said that it is not possible.

So, reaching back to my "tuner" roots, I started looking at aftermarket options. I came across one of the most informative forums I've ever joined. www.HIDplanet.com. It's basically a DIY lighting geek's bible. It inspired me to have a hand at trying to retrofit HIDs to the C63. Learning more about the process led me to www.theretrofitsource.com, the source of everything I would ever need to mod my headlights.

I purchased a set of OEM headlights, and proceeded to dive head on to my new found project. I am a man of many talents and skills that allowed me some success in my field, unfortunately, these talents and skills do not translate well to retrofitting headlights. After discovering my limitations, I decided to have professional a crack at it. I discussed my project with Rich at www.hidillusionz.com. He's created works of art with headlights and after answering all my questions and I sent him my project headlights. My goal was to keep it close to OEM as possible...and he delivered.

Before (not bad, but could be better):




After:


With LEDs from AZNOptics.com






Low beam light output:


Overall, I'm very happy with the end results. I achieved the look I'm going for, and nighttime visibility is improved.

Cliffnotes for anyone who wants to do the same:
1. Learn at HIDplanet.com
2. Buy parts at theretrofitsource.com
3. Buy LEDs at AZNOptics

or skip all these and give Rich at HIDilluzionz.com a call or email.

VaclavSV

Looks good! Congrats!

dbvolz

I'm surprised you can even order the C63 without HIDs. That being said, great project. It looks good!

Thrilla

So was I
It was a good deal at the time. The alternative is waiting 6 months to have it spec'ed with the lighting package, which means I won't get to enjoy it until the end of summer. I didn't think lighting would matter to me as much, but felt the car was incomplete without HIDs.

robertk6

Glad I cam across this thread. I bought my 2012 C63 Coupe May of 2012 and was told the Bi Xenons were "Out of Stock" and the lighting package was unavailable. The halogens have been an eye sore! Def giving these guys a call!

RuckinAMG

So which projector setup did you go with?

Thrilla

I went with the Morimoto Mini H1.

aty

So what's the total cost of this retrofit? Thanks.

callmiro

Looks good. How much did that little project run you?

Thrilla

$270 for the whole kit at the retrofit source. It's cheap as a DIY project if you have time and patience.
I ended up sending them to a professional for a cleaner look so it cost me $150-$200 more.

Dadz63

Looks great, did a really nice job. I am assuming you started off with the non HID headlights and those are what you had converted?

uclachan

I'd like to get mine done as well.
Does any of you know a place can do a good job retrofitting HID? in So. Cal near OC area?

aphilip

Thrilla- Which shroud did you choose on this setup? Also did you go with 5k or 6k and what wiring harness did you choose?

Thanks in advance.

Thrilla

I'm using 4300k bulbs, 35w ballast, iris shroud. I used the H7 harness (double check that) that's compatible with the halogen bulbs.

Thrilla

Yup.

henryjkim

hey Thrilla will this also work for a 2012 c250 or will i have to get some different parts? thanks!

macolam1123

I'm in the same shoes as you,I got my c without hids and started regretting. I checked with my store that I could have a hid conversion kit for ~100-300usd,which is more like a bulb change ,however, as the look of those halogen and xenon headlamps are different(HIDs are more like cosmetic things to me on the C)that I started hunting a pair of OEM hids, asked the dealer and they quoted me ~8500usd...

I wonder how much would it cost to swap for a pair of OEM HIDs and would it be a better option?

GIdriver

Nice job OP. Are the headlights still working fine?

Thrilla

They're still working great. I haven't touched them since I started on the project. Some pointers for other DIYers, take your time sealing the head lamps and insulate the wires with shrink wrap.

GIdriver

Good to hear! Thanks for the update!

OlegKouz

Great post. Doing mine next week!

saer1one

Are you actually doing the retro yourself or sending them to get done..?

GIdriver

If I may ask a few questions:

Did you get any codes or messages in the dash?

When you recieved the finished product, did it plug directly to the car's harness or did you have to cut some wires, etc?

Thanks in advace. The thing is that I'm about to buy a 2013 C63 that does not have the lightning package and was trying to get everythig sorted out before I get it. I truly don't want to get stuck with halogens.

Thrilla

It's a worthwhile project.
After I received the headlights, it was just plug and play with the original harness to the headlight housing. No wire splicing. No error messages.
Make sure you include the can-bus harness. http://www.theretrofitsource.com/com...l#.UyscfvldVQ0

GIdriver

Thanks for the heads-up with the can-bus! I already contacted Rich and we're working it out. Do you need to align the headlights once installed? And if so, were they too far off?

PS: Thanks for all your help. It's really appreciated.