baldmike73

low beam has gone out on my 55 - where have you all found best place to buy online for bi-xenon ?

best
mike

black06c230

Theretrofitsource.com

biggking

autozone or napa broski. NEARLY the same prices and you get it right away (no extra shipping charges).

nvm, didn't read you had xenon headlights.

Toadster

The parts thread has some :-)

stockC43

where I get all of my xenon components. Just ordered a bunch of projectors, bulbs, etc. to upgrade my w220 headlamps.

jmb614

Retrofitsource is fantastic. I bought bulbs for both the low beams and ballast kits for the fogs when they lived in Columbus before moving to Atlanta. Great people and great service from what I have experienced.

20313203

Theretrofitsource.com

Bought several for my 05 E55 and been very happy. Modified my daytime lights/parking lamps with LEDs and my fog with HIDs..Very happy.

RikTT

For reg low beam D2S HID bulb replacement, what are most of you using from them ? (brand & model)


Any eve/pics pics ?

black06c230

I have the Osram CBI 5000k in my E. But have used the Morimoto 5000k bulbs now in my Volt and LR3. I really like them for the cost. Nice clean pure white. The Osram CBI are $100 each so $200 total vs like $50 for the XB D2S. When my Osrams go out I will just go with the Morimotos

stockC43

I have the cbi's in my e55 and love them but I just ordered some newly released Philips 85122XV C1 Xtreme Vision bulbs (for my s) that have even more lumens then the cbi's. I'll post my findings when I get them. They are 4800k vs the 5000k color of the cbi's but with more lumens. All from TRS

Toadster

no love for the Philips D2S?


they're like $37

stockC43

There's nothing wrong with them for a standard replacement, as long as there not fakes. Many fake products on amazon, just like ebay. Don't take it the wrong way. I'm not knocking your thread, it's awesome that you put that together. Really

Many people when replacing bulbs want to upgrade them for either more light or a slightly different color etc. By spending a little more money one can have much better light output while doing just a bulb change. Trs is in my opinion the best place to get genuine bulbs with awesome, knowledgable service.

I will post some pix this weekend of aged (non pink) bulbs vs cbi's vs the x visions. X visions won't be burned in yet though. My cbi's are much much brighter than the old bulbs in my e55 though and have been my best mod so far.

black06c230

Also a ZKW-R lens swap is a nice upgrade.

stockC43

did it on the e55. ordered the evox-r projectors for the s. Should be a "bolt in" swap. I'll do a thread when I do the upgrade.

baldmike73

based on alls feedback i went with the Retrofit Source and ordered the Phillips 85122 as a close stock replacement - once my GL comes in the E is going up for sale, so didn't see the need to really upgrade

RikTT

Post up if you had a chance.

stockC43

Didn't have a chance to take some nice pix but here ya go. Hope you like iphone pictures. the E55 has stock projectors with clear lenses and cbi bulbs from trs. The chrome was replaced with facelift chrome in the headlamps but the projectors are '04. The S600 has completely stock housings with the new Phillips x vision bulbs. Less than 1 hour burn in. For some reason the bulbs look green in the s but it's from the camera.









E55 clear lens



Stock S600 lens



Old bulb in vehicle left side, right side in pic. Cbi on other side. Camera didn't capture it well but the aged bulb was much dimmer and slightly bluer.



You can see it better in this pic. Old bulb on left, cbi on right. Notice the color difference and the "weaker" prism effect.



I have a much more involved retrofit to do on my S600 when I get some time. "Bolt in" evox-r projectors from trs to replace the stock ones and a set of fx-r projectors with 55w ballasts that are going to reside where the high beam was. Quad bi-xenons The evox-r's are a refined stock style projector. Think long narrow focused beam for high speed and the fx-r's are a shorter wider beam.

RikTT

Thanks for posting up. Nice little light project you got going on x's 2 lol.

So it seems the CBI is crystal white w/o blue tinge as Oem or others.

Would you say the new Philips are crystal white or otherwise ? And what are you using for park lights-matches pretty good with low beams.

stockC43

I would say that the cbi's are a pure cool white where as the oe bulbs are slightly warm white. Cbi's at 5000k vs 4300k oe.

I can't say on the Phillips x vision yet as they haven't broken in yet. There rated slightly warmer than cbi's but brighter too so it's a trade off. 4800k.

Contact trs and they will help you find the bulbs for you. Cbi's have been the standard for a upgrade bulb for a while now and you won't be disappointed. I just figured I'd try these newly released x vision bulbs because output for me takes priority over color. As far as I can tell the x vision arn't "intended" for the us market sooo

The park lights are from azn optics and are 5000k color.

Btw. As bulbs age they turn bluer than pink loosing lumens along the way. That's why my old bulb was bluer than the cbi. New bulbs would have a warmer color.

baldmike73

how hard is the bulb change - i haven't done it yet - but hoping to start this eve -

stockC43

The igniter will rotate (counter clockwise like a bolt) 1/4 turn and pull out. The connector will self release. Spring tabs hold the bulb in. The electrical connector won't plug in unless the igniter is seated for safety. Just be careful and go slow with the igniter. It can be finicky and you don't want to brake the tab off of it. Pay attention to the seated position of the igniter before removing it. It will make it easier lining it back up. The wire on the bulb points down. Good luck. It can be a pain in the ***.

baldmike73

did just as you said - got the bulb installed plugged the igniter in and nothing - tried it again and nothing - tried other bulb they sent me and still NADA - wtf?

didn't have time to swap the driver side to test it if it was the igniter - tat will be later today - had a break in between meetings while working at home -

stockC43

It sounds like it may be the igniter. "Usually" when a bulb goes bad if you stare at the projector while someone turns on the headlamps you will see a little flicker of light for 1/2 second or so. The igniter should have enough voltage to jump the gap on the electrodes of the bulb even if the bulb doesn't ignite. If you don't see any flicker it usually points to a bad igniter. Obviously if you have one working one, swap it with the bad one to verify the failure.

baldmike73

swapped the igniter from the passenger to driver and the passenger light lit up like a xmas tree - tried the passenger igniter on the driver side with the "burnt" bulb and the 2 new ones and nary a flicker of hope -

could it be the control unit – was able to get the MB part $694 - 0028202326 and found it for 100 or so on ebay -

thoughts?

stockC43

Without seeing it in person I couldn't say for sure but if it's not the igniter or bulb, it's the only other major component.