LILBENZ230

Production 01/2005. She certainly doesn't look it, especially sporting her new spectacles! Pics from the weekend:

Pakeboy

Nice...

kluvsbenz

Clean as a whistle!!

MBfinatic

still looks new!

tommy

Congrats. Too plain, though.

LILBENZ230

I mod. I just do OEM or OEM-style mods. I have 07 rims and now OE-style Bi-xenons. Also, OEM style lip spoiler very soon.

MBfinatic

Thats good you have a good taste in mods!

TruTaing

Yay! OEM++!

Glyn M Ruck

Great Matt - The Bix really lift the car - enjoy & pleased you kept it.

LILBENZ230

The Bi-X change the whole look of the car. I never thought the facelift 203 looked dated, but I gotta say that adding Bi-X really made it look years newer.

MBfinatic

How much were those bix?

Glyn M Ruck

I think that BiX, clear fogs, clear mirror repeaters & 2007 wheels are the final & best classic look for the 203. You & I both like genuine Benz stuff that could have come ex works.

I, of course, also like the stock look of a C55.

samaritrey

Question matt when you hit the high beams do you get some extra xenon light from the projector?

splinter

Owing to its fastidious maintenance and upkeep regimen, your C looks as clean as any.

^ Curious beam pattern and cutoff. Is “OE-style Bi-xenons” a euphemism for aftermarket headlamps?

ncmudbug

Yeah, Matt. Give us the straight skinny on your new Bi-X! Where did you get them, what brand... don't leave anything out!

Your car is looking good. I expect you're glad you didn't get a Toyota (what was it? A Camry? )!

christitsworthb

Too plain, though

Glyn M Ruck

Much better than some Christmas tree ricers!

MBfinatic

How did you get those? I want to get that for my new car thats on the way.

LILBENZ230

Sorry, guys. I had told Trey all about them and forgot to mention that these are DEPO bi-xenons. They are true bi-xenon, so when the high beams are on the projectors do throw more light as well as having a halogen high beam (Trey did you think I didn't know what bix was?!). I have never driven a factory Bi-x W203 at night so I can't compare there. However, the IS350 and 135i are both factory equipped with adaptive bix. These on my W203 compare more with the 135.. the IS350 is by far superior to either.

These were purchased from Ebay seller fishcake321 and installed professionally by a body shop. The bulbs are 6000k (which I will upgrade in the future to 4300k). Per my research if you buy the cheap Depo projectors without bulbs, you are getting an H7 halogen projector. Can anyone confirm this? It would make sense given the horrific beam pattern some get with Depo projectors they buy without bulbs.

Overall I am satisfied. It is a big step up from the stock halogens that were starting to look aged with pitting and a bit of yellowing in both light output and appearance. They have a nice cutoff, even if it isn't absolutely perfect.. and they don't offend other drivers. During the day it makes the car look several years newer.

johnand

Looking good Matt Absolutely with the Bi-xenons and 07 wheels your car looks several years newer. Hope to see you at the 200K in a couple of years

On the bi-xenons, while the Depo's beam pattern pictured has a much brighter hotspot than the OEM, and not quite as even light spread and cutoff, they don't look bad at all. I'll try and snap a pic of my OEM's when I get a chance for comparison.

tommy

Ahhh, I missed the "OEM-style" part of that, now the Depo bit makes sense. Good to see you step out of the OEM cocoon. They do make a big improvement.

phister

Classy car Matt, bi-x make your car completely different.

phister

You're correct on the depos w/o the hids do come with H7 halogens. The cutoff is based off the shields on the projectors. They can easily be fixed by buying different shields so the cutoff is even. Also depending on the shield you can change the color of the cutoff. Some will make them a bluish tint to an OEM clear cutoff. My friend does custom projectors so he was showing me how you can change everything.

LILBENZ230

The quality of the actual units seems quite high. And I can't say enough good things about the difference in makes visually.





Now to add the 07-style lip spoiler from JBSpeed and AZNoptics LED license plate bulbs and I'm set for now. I can't think of anything else I'd like to do to it. Maybe window tinting, but that makes me nervous with the scratching and keyless entry issues. First things first, though, and that is replacing the engine mounts.

tommy

Now that you've got the bug, I'm looking forward to your canards, spinners, and two-level rear wing.