XenonBenz

Hey everyone,

I am new to the forum, and wanted to thank all the people who share their knowledge on this site. I've done many thread searches already, and have found everything that I was looking for.

Current project: (will post before and after pics when I'm done)

1. Depo projectors
2. 8000K Xenon
3. W211 Mirror Turn Signal
4. 05+ OEM Sport Grille
5. Clear Fog Lenses
6. Polished Stainless Exhaust Tip
7. 35% Tint
8. 07 Smartkey

Next Project

1. Cross drilled rotors
2. EBC Redstuff Ceramic Pads
3. Double DIN Navigation

kevblah

Welcome, very good choice of first mods!

rlee02135

EBC will eat through your rotors.....

good choice of mods!

yeuchau

welcome to the forum

SlvrC230SS

Welcome!

XenonBenz

I heard that the EBC Greenstuff aren't too kind on rotors. The EBC Redstuff Ceramics 3000's eat rotors up?

Any other suggestions for a dustless brake pad setup? Only other ceramic pad I know of is the Hawk.

C230 Sport Coup

Akebono is pretty decent. Rotor friendly, and almost dustless.
If you plan to race or something, they might not be the best choice.
Some people have complained about fade.
I only experienced it once, after driving VERY hard DOWNHILL for 3 miles.
I have the C32 brakes too.
Overall, my rotors still look like new, it's been over 6 months since I did pads and rotors, and I can still see the original crosshatching.
In daily driving they are great and should last 2X as long as
the stock pads.

If you want performance go with Porterfield, but they are expensive.

XenonBenz

I don't have AMG brakes, or the 05+ Sport brakes. I have the older 2004.0 sport model. They don't make a Akebono for my model unfortunately.

What would you recommend between the Hawk and the EBC Redstuff Ceramic?

rlee02135

Porterfield R4-S

MHPHOCKEY

Be careful with the depo-8000k HIDs because we have seen some Depo's melt...

Welcome...

The 07 key is sweet..

powa

welcome

8000k is not the tempreature btw, if it will melt, it will, no matter how high K that is =)

XenonBenz

Got the new key, grille, and fog light lenses in yesterday. The key is nice! My Depo's, Mirror Blinkers and Exhaust Tip should be in any day now...

I can't see how an HID kit would make the Depo's melt. HID's produce less heat than a halogen bulb. And Kelvin Temp. of 8000K has nothing to do with heat, but color output only. I can definately see that if someone installed 100W, or even normal 50-55 "Hyperwhite" type bulbs, that would definately cause the headlights to melt.

powa

there was cases that depo headlight will melt, although not often, but it's possible, just a heads up buddy, if i have a sedan and not a coupe, i'd definiately spend the money on Depo rather than ****ty OEM bi-xenon

drexappeal

without pics!...

Just messin' with you. Way to go. Good luck with those DEPO's. That was the only one that I was iffy about seeing. Just make sure you get the appropriate HID kit that you won't have to set Xenon to present. Nothing is worse than having to drive at night without headlights. Just not safe.

XenonBenz

Pics to come once everything is installed next Friday w/ before and after. Got an appointment at the body shop to repaint the hood, and install all the parts.

I already installed the HID in my stock frosty headlights. Beam pattern really isn't all that bad. Haven't had anyone flash brights at me. I have a Lumenux HID kit I bought off eBay for $180 shipped. They were advertised having a "smart ballast" that doesn't cause the headlight error to come up. I had the headlight error come up on 2 occasions, but the lights stayed on and didn't flicker. I turned the car off, and back on, and the error disappeared. I read on another thread that people with kits like mine, should wait a minute from a cold start before turning the headlights on. My local dealership is really cool, so I am going to have them program Xenon=on at my next oil change.

I went to order a 06 style automatic shift knob at the dealership today, and it's friggin expensive! Wholesale price on it was $224, list $288. I'm going to hold off and figure out a cheaper alternative to my ugly black leather/plastic one.

XenonBenz

I finally have all the parts in! Everything will be installed on Friday.

So I ordered some of the parts (W211 style mirror LED's & Stainless Exhaust tip) on eBay from a seller who is supposedly from Canada. It turns out he's really in Taiwan, but it is all good since shipping only took 3 days. I have ordered several items now on eBay from Hong Kong and Taiwan, and it's def. worth the price savings. EMS shipping from Asia has never taken more than 3 days.

I'm adding another mod to the list, as I found a set of 05 C230 Springs from someone on eBay. I got them for $87 shipped, which I thought was quite a deal. I'm only going to install the fronts, and I can't wait to get rid of the 3" fender gap!

More pics to come once everything is installed.

Midnight Koop

i thought that 8000K is the temperature... as in 8000 Kelvin

rlee02135

mods look good!

but that exhaust tip

WaveyKat

those doesn't even look like Depo lights

good mods welcome

coin

Where do you get the Akebono pads for the front?

I tried TireRack but they don't carry the front pads anymore.

XenonBenz

Yeah, I know that exhaust tip isn't ideal, but it beats the 2 little peashooters that are there now. I looked at the other style, and the black part would stick out like a sore thumb on my brilliant silver. Maybe one of these days i'll buy a real exhaust.

FrankW

cool projects to start with. gotta start somewhere right?

XenonBenz

I know this thread sucks without pics... but bear with me til tomorrow, as I will post pics. Its been raining for 2 days, and it's gonna be sunny tomorrow.

So here's some initial thoughts of the install...

The transformation of my 04 is amazing. I'm still amazed. My car looks like a new model now.

I wish I had just bought new fog lights completely. The clear lenses alone are much better than the frosted lenses, but the inside of the fog light has some white plastic showing, so it's not perfect.

The Depo headlights look very nice. Much better than I expected. Too bad the projector doesn't perform as good as it looks. I have an HID kit, and the road is illuminated well because of the sheer volume of light, not from good optics. I've driven through rural unlit roads at night, and they light up the road well. They don't shine very wide like OEM Bi-Xenon, but shine front heavy like stock halogen headlights. I think that these Depo's would be horrible with halogen bulbs though. The cutoff is very sharp through the projector, no one should be bothered by the lights. ..... The bad thing is there are severe hot spots. When I post pics tomorrow, you will be amazed and how bad it is.

I have a theory on why I think the hot spots are so severe. The H7 bulbs seat into the Depo's 180 degree's different from OEM lights. The tab at the base of the bulb point up in OEM headlight, and they point down in the Depo's. Aftermarket HID bulbs always have this blue tube that runs parallel to the light bulb. It is designed to alter the beam pattern to minimize glare to oncoming traffic. The bulb sits backwards in the Depos. I will test this theory, and post my results. I'll probably have to use a dremel and cut the tab off, so I'm not exactly thrilled.

The aftermarket W211-look blinkers look nice. They fit tight during the install, but the fit looks OEM. At night, when blinking, some of the light bleeds into the inside of the mirror assembly where you can see it . It's a little distracting, but kinda cool in a way. They are really bright, and match the blinker of the Depo's pefectly.

On a side note about "chrome" turn signal bulbs. The sylvania silverstar 7507AST and the 1156AST I think are the best. They blink as bright as OEM bulbs, and they reflect this bluish, silverish, color that looks pretty clean. I bought chrome bulbs, and I returned them. They blinked so dimly, that they even looked dim at night. They also blinked this strange amber color. Other people have had similar results.

It's amazing how much the 05+ grille changes the front of the car for such a little change.

Pics to come tomorrow...

raklert

cant wait to see the pic man.

oh btw does anyone know how to post pic that just load up w/o attachment?

XenonBenz

You have to have image hosting on another site to have the picture show right up on your post. You put the link to the picture from your image hosting and the picture will embed in your post.

Here's a free picture hosting site.

www.picturepuppy.com