ABsC280

i just installed the super bright bulbs i bought over the internet and i think they look sweeet. they do however seem to have a blueish tint around the bulb and probably project a tab bit blueish. does anyone know if this is illegal to have in ca or anywhere else. if so, what are the chances of getting popped??? thanks for any input. (if i do get popped, i guess i'll know the answer )

sph17

It depends on what you mean by super bright. Sylvania SilverStar are advertised as The Whitest/ Brightest and claim 1350 Lumens with the H7 low beam bulbs, yet they are advertised as "Legal for on-road use." Also importantly they are 55 watt bulbs, so that they will not burn up the electrical wires of the 97 and above W202's.

Some bulbs available are off-road bulbs of higher wattage (up to 100W) that are both illegal and possibly likely to melt your wireing.

There are some bulbs (some models of PIAA bulbs) that are gray market imported, that are not properly US certified that while they are 55 watt bulbs, are of a color temperature over 4000K. Thechnically they may be illegal in your state, as they are not properly certified, but in realitly you may not have problems. It all depends on your Police Officers and your state inspections.

Your mileage may vary.

<sph17>

ABsC280

sph17, i just found out that the bulbs are 80/100's and they're on a 1995 c280. i'm worried about what you said about the wires frying. do you have any feedback on how my car will handle these bulbs. thanks...

tpliquid

they will handle the same. if u use ur high beams u might blow them i done it before in my isuzu. those bulbs dotn put out much difference

ABsC280

cool. i'm relieved. i'll let you know if anything happens.

sph17

The standard H-4 bulb is a 60/55. at 13.5 volts they draw 4.44 amps each on low beam (watts/volts=amps). Your bulb on high beam draws 7.4 amps. Now if your voltage drops (turn lights on before starting car) to 12 volts each lamp draws 8.33 amps. I don't remember how my 96 W-202 (same lights) was fused, but I think each light got it's own fuse (for a total of 4 fuses). Now if you only have a 8 amp fuse for your high beams, you could blow a fuse if your voltage drops, or if you have corrosion on a contact so the resisitance goes up. In addition to that, my impression is that MB is only putting wireing that meats the minimum requirements of the application, so that the wireing to the low and high beams is only as thick as it needs to be to support a 4.44 amp draw of a 60 watt bulb. Thinner wire gets hot when extra current runs through it, increasing resisitance and going into a visious cycle where a fire in your wireing could occur.

That being said, I ran 60/100 rally bulbs in older W123 without ever having a problem. But my eye-balling of the wireing in the European Headlight units I obtained to put the bulbs in, and the wireing in the wireing harness of the US spec W-123 is much thicker than in the W-202.

I felt comfotable running the 60/100 in the older MB as I felt the wireing supported it. I would not feel comfortable running the same bulbs in the W-202. You have to make the decision for your self.

BTW, I think the headlight units with the H-4 bulbs (like yours) is much superior to the "new and improved" lighting on the 97-2000 models. I was more than happy with stock bulbs in my 96. I was not happy with the stock H7 bulbs in my 97, and even with SilverStars I put in, I think the 96 headlights were better.

Good luck.

<sph17>

benzdude280

I've been rolling with a similar bulb for almost two years with no problems in California. Might just be my luck, but I've gone past many an officer with them so I don't think it's a big deal to them.
Cheers.

Worm Drowner

Are the SilverStar bulbs that much different than the stock bulb that are in W202s?

sph17

They are noticibly whiter. I put one in, and left the standard bulb in the other side and when I looked at the beam pattern on my garage door, they looked whiter. They also look whiter than the H1 buls that are used for the Hi beam and Fog light. On the road they seem to do a better job also. Not an amazing better job, but a noticibly better job.

They are just so expensive for the amount of improvement. They cost $20 each and i can get H7 bulbs on sale for $5. I am just not sure they are worth 4X as much. If they were like $10 each I would put them in the Hi bean and Fog lights in a second.

<sph17>