Airmousam

Been doing a lot of searching on this topic, and am on the fence on whether or not to pull the trigger. Thx

djParis

I'm very happy with mine, which I bought from ijdmtoy.com. The entire ballast fit nicely into the stock headlight assembly too, so there was no drilling or extra wires in the engine bay. Granted I wish I had OEM, this is the next best solution. Make sure you get the canbus kit so you don't have any warning lights or flickering.

Airmousam

Thank you, was that for a W212?

mbarcus

I bought the Morimoto kit from AZN Optics recently for my W212 (2011). It's been so cold here that I haven't gotten around to installing them yet. Hoping to do it this weekend. But I read through a ton of threads on here before purchasing and didn't see many complaints.

instantfob

It is brighter for sure but the light pattern will be all over the place.
Research on the light cut off with H7 retrofit.

I had it on my MY12 P1 package and now much happier with the MY14 LEDs

vrhaines

Can anyone chime in to what kit is required for a w212? H7?

vrhaines

And also, been reading a lot of conflicting information. When I've installed HID kits in other cars previously, I've had to drill holes to mount the ballasts. I'd like to just install them with the canbus and go on my way. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Airmousam

Poll seems split, hmmm

lightfytr

Im extremely happy with mine when we are comparing to halogens. Its close to having the P2, and much better than having halogens. I noticed the difference when driving through an area of up and down hills. The lights dont self level. So you dont get the full advantage liek P2 but again, im seeing better than if I had halogens.

bob2011

I have heard nothing but good things about the morimoto HID kit. 4300k seems to go best with DRL's, but 5000k seem to have the best look overall.

lightfytr

I would love to hear the experience of who wished to stay with halogens...

GregTR

This might be a bit OT as it pertains to my decision on a motorcycle not on a car but here it goes anyway. I was going to do a full HID projection kit retrofit on my Ducati but decided against it due to being rather labor intensive. I think the only way to do it right is to put in a full HID retrofit that includes ballasts, bulbs AND optics. You can get such a kit here: http://www.theretrofitsource.com/com...ofit-kits.html

Putting xenon bulbs in halogen projectors or reflector housings not made for it will produce inferior results, it is well documented everywhere you look. The placebo effect is usually high with those kits but so is glare.

Either way, due to reasons above I just simply went with getting some SilverStar ULTRA halogen bulbs and I'm very happy with how much extra light they have and how bright they are. Only halogen bulb I'd buy. They are expensive and don't last as long as the less brighter counterparts but they're well worth it.

lightfytr

Greg, i wont argue the point about the placebo effect. I believe it exists. But seriously, i would like for the person who said the wish they had stayed to share. I wonder if you could see one compared to the other and and install was easy what your decision would be.

All pics I have seen from distance shots comparing HID to halogen and even my own personal experience show that HID wins out. But i may be drunk off o'douls! LOL

djParis

It was, I have a 2010 E350 4MATIC P1 that I daily drive.

I will take some pictures of the light cut off for you.

djParis

As you can see, I'm happy with both the cutoff and light output. This is the first car I've owned in quite some time that didn't come with HID's from the factory, but I don't regret it one bit.

vrhaines

Can you let me know which kit you got from IJDM? I love the light cutoff and color.

Thanks!

djParis

Sure thing, they were these ones:

HID-Kit-4300K OEM 4300K Ultra Slim Digital Ballasts Xenon HID Conversion Kit For Headlights or Fog Lights
[size:H7]
[Kelvin (K):OEM 4300K]
[Optional:Error Free CAN-bus decoders] 1 $94.98

And like I mentioned previously, the ballast and CAN-bus decoders all fit inside the bottom of the headlight housing, no need for drilling or modding. Simple plug and play.

vrhaines

Awesome! did you also order LED city lights?

Thanks!

djParis

I did not, I have a set of yellow PIAA wedge bulbs as my city lights to match my fog lights, which are also yellow bulbs with yellow Lamin-X film over them.

But I did order my license plate LED's from them and they are bright as ****. I highly recommend them, besides the pain in the *** install which requires you to go through the inside of the trunk.

vrhaines

Awesome thanks!

Airmousam

Vr, thank for the follow up, appreciate it!! ....so the high beam and fogs are still halogens?

eNNCity

Could you possibly link which kits you purchased? There's quite a bit of options listed.

eNNCity

Can anyone reference kits used for 5300K with ultra slim ballast that fit inside the housing?

** nevermind! just purchased a set

eNNCity

What's the bulb type for the inner lights between the headlights? I'm trying to find a white/blue set and don't want to go LED. I like the PIAA brand too

mrbrianshin

I am the person who voted "Mixed - Its just ok" most recently.

The reason I say so is this: I bought the Morimoto H7 Kit in 5000K temp. It's great and all, looks wise, and when I first installed it, I thought to myself why would anyone wanna spend the extra thousands for the P2 kit. But the devil is in the details, the retrofit Morimoto Kit looks very good when you first light it up.. but after time.. youll see that the light isnt as bright as the OEM's which may be due to the projector inside the housing.

It definitely emits more light than a regular halogen, and gives that cool sexy blueish hue that we all desire, but in terms of functionality, i feel like it doesn't light up the road enough. sometimes, during rainy days, its somewhat difficult to see the road even 30 yards in front.

that is my only quip with the Morimotos. However, I would never revert back to the stock halogens. just wish the Morimoto's were brighter. But nonetheless, best $150 spent on this car ever.