Thanks for taking the time to write up the review, WhatTheHulk. Welcome to the forums.

I think however that this is my final indication that DEPOs are not worth the money and hassle when OEM's function is better and more versitle, even if it is double the price.

Lol.

I bought a pair of DEPO projectors with ballasts. I'm lucky enough to have a mechanic who did his training with Mercedes so he knows his stuff and doesn't charge as much as s/dealerships.
I had him install them on my car. No need to set xenon=present.
He said the beam was very good with one slight problem.... they are for a left hand drive vehicle and I'm in New Zealand So I had to get him to put the OG ones back on.
I don't know too much about cars but in my opinion DEPO's are good, though I'm sure they are not of the same standard as OEM Bix.

I've seen these lights. They stink. Also, I don't get this chatter about comparing them to a TL? A Honda TL? They aren't anything to write home about.

Real MB OEM BIX lights are a thousand times better.

i wonder if he drives acura or mercedes??

Acura TL.

its rated to have one of the best projectors out of all cars.

I wish it was double the price, try triple or more.

if you do your research, the Acura TL projector/HID is one of the best out, a lot of ppl retro fit that projector into their lights.

I bought a set of depo headlights for my '00 Civic way back then and they are terrible in quality and craftsmanship. They stink so bad that I opened it up and swap the projectors with some HID bi-xenon projectors from an Audi A6. Awesome light output compared to the depo projectors.

The TL's projectors are considered the best bi-xenon on the market by many HID gurus from the www.hidplanet.com. Mercedes and BMW, which use Bosch, are years behind their Japanese counterparts.

Okay, so let me get this straight, people have retro fitted BI-Xenons in headlamps? I mean, litteraly functioning bi-xenons with the flap or just projectors?

i've purchased Depos for W210, opened it up with oven, ripped out he crummy
Depo projector, fitted it with E55 bixenon projector, and wired up with Hella
ballasts.....5x. In my opinion, this is the only viable method of attaining quality
HID lighting outside of OEM headlamp. Kits need to, but are are not calibrated
for the headlight they are being fitted into. As a result, nearly all display
excess glare.

raymond, I've seen what you did with the E class depos, but is the bi-x actually functional w/ the shutter or no? I'm just curious how that works.

Yep, many people have actually retrofitted real HID projectors into their OE headlights or aftermarket headlights and make it work...even the bi-xenon mechanism. I happen to be one of them. Here's just a shot of a retrofitted Bosch bixenon projector into an Acura Legend JDM headlight (and yes the bixenon flaps work flawlessly):

pic0047.jpg?t=1172417054

I believe this is the only way to go if you really want HID headlights without resorting to buying the factory headlights. HID kits and depo projectors create too much glare.

yes some people actually have working bi-Xenons on their cars.

very few though cause wiring is a *****

hey, you guys make it sound like voodoo magic or something. with the case of
the E series (in my case 97-02), it was so easy, i was stunned. here's why:

- the physical dimensions of the Depo projector for the W210 is 99% that of the
E55 bixenon projector

- you pop the Depo headlight shell into oven for 10 mins to soften adhesive of
front lens. remove lens

- once the Depo proj is yanked out, the E55 drops in with about 10 mins of
Dremel work, and a few pennies of lock washers

- replace all the other removed parts and put back into oven, then reinstall
outer lens.

- wire bixenon twin leads to the high beam bulb leads: when high beam is
activated, the bixenon shutter also activates, opening shutter to reveal full beam

- attach Hella ballast to headlight and splice into relay, fuse or car's main
wiring harness (your option, for safety). with W210s, supplemental wiring
harness isn't really needed.

- draw bead of RTV silicone around seam of lens for water proofing

If you pick the right ballast (denso, Hella, Matsu****a, or other OEM) it is
possible that you dont even need to have dealer version code the car for
HID. if needed, it's a quick/simple visit to dealer. Whole job takes about 36
hrs, including drying time. no special tools but Dremel and DVOM. cost avgs
$350 for Depo, E55s are $150, ballasts are $200, D2Ss are $90, plus silicone.

I have posted before on this forum: if someone has a crashed 203 projector
headlight they dont need, i'm happy to evaluate to see how easy this conver-
sion would be for your model. I'd measure the mounts and physical dimensions
of the 203 projector and compare with other OEM HID projectors on the market.

The result is HID which is OEM quality, sans autolevel and headlight washer.
The beam cutoff is sharp - no glare, since it's a factory projector. Am about
to begin another retrofit but will be using Audi RS6 bixenon projector.

The W210 retrofit is probably the easiest of all cars because we were lucky
enough to have access to a (Depo) headlight whose dimensions are near
perfect for dropping in an E55 or RS6...both being bixenons.

here's kind of a before/after look






some of you may have seen board member Zam2000's beam before. he's the
Yoda of HID retrofits. his ride is 97 E320

That's awesome. I give much props for that!

I am not a dolt. Any reasonable person knows that the DEPO projectors that I am talking about are not bi-xenon, simply a single low-beam halogen projector. Around the forums, DEPO's are refered to as bi-xenon because they look the same as the OEM Bi-Xenon headlamps.

hahaha
I am just saying that they are not as bad as people portray them to be.

the Acura TL's are the most popular retro-fit

ps- '03 C230
'02 WRX (modified)
'03 530i

I discovered this weekend that the aiming problem can be fixed via removing the rear cover and sticking your hand inside to hold the screw to make sure that it is turning. No bumper removal needed! woohoo!

ps- As soon as I get my camera back from the GF i'll post some pics so you guys (and future DEPO buyers) can know what to expect.

I was just going based on how you posted. I can't assume one way or another that you know what the difference is. I can almost guarantee that there are a lot of people on here who don't know what the difference is, so for a "newbie" that may come on board and see your post, they may automatically think, "oh cool. I can get those bi-xenon aftermarket headlights and it's the same thing as stock..." when in fact, the are not.

So, it wasn't necessarily aiming at "insulting" you, just being informative for those that don't know the difference.

Thanks for the review, whathehulk.....Those headlights look amazing on your car btw......Thinking of any other exterior mods? I heard you mention CL tail lights if im not mistaken?
Make sure you fix the WRX soon, i want to make a video of that thing, and want to see what it runs at LACR.....

LMAO

The only pics that showed up good were the ones in front of my garage.

the light output on my depo's

Do you have halogens or Xenons?