young

no re-aiming done. i couldn't figure out how. the bulb housings seem immovable. but i know randy said that he checked to make sure the aim was right when he got his HIDs put in. as far as i can tell, there is definitely a cut-off point and it looks reasonable to me. when i am behind someone, i can see that the lights do not go into that person's rear view window/mirror. i also asked vadim many months ago, as he had been using the bulbs for a while, when i first purchased the vision pluses about possibly blinding oncoming traffic and he said that no one flashed him. i guess the only real way to find out is if people start hi-beaming me. if so, i'd take them out as i definitely don't want to be danger to others.

the funny thing (well, at least to me) is that i got the vision pluses about 4 months ago! but i couldn't figure out how to take the darn bulbs out! i even emailed people about it. so, about every other week, i'd try to take the bulb out only to give up b/c i didn't want to yank it out by force. it wasn't really until a couple of weeks ago, that i remembered that someone (i think benzomonterey) mentioned twisting it a little. and that's definitely the trick. the other funny thing (sad) is that when i opened the hood the last time, i found one of the headlight housing caps on the engine... i guess, i had forgotten to put it back on after failing and been driving around obliviously...

vadim

We need an Auto Lighting FAQ ASAP

spindrome

thanks again young and everyone else for their opinions. i love this forum...

as for me, i can't justify spending $1K or so on brighter, whiter lights for vision and/or aesthetic purposes. if xenons' were only $500 as an add-on option (like on A4's), then maybe I would have.

mom's got the xenons on her '00 W202. they are sweet.

I'm gonna try the phillips and see if that helps my blind-a**....

TimmyC230boy

Yes we really do. I will try to work on one. email me at z28boy@carolina.rr.com with suggestions and facts as well as written or web-based info.

Buellwinkle

Thanks Young for your effort, it really helped make up my mind. I put my order in today for the Phillips Vision Plus since I want brighter light and not the HID look. I was looking at the back of the light and there's a large black cover, I assume you take that out to get to the bulbs. Is there are trick to it to make it easier? Did you remove the two bolts and remove the entire light assembly to get to it? Any tips would be appreciated. Also how long did it take you to get the bulbs from autolamps-online.com?

young

it is actually quite simple to change the bulbs. no major surgery required.

need: new bulbs, gloves (i used medical gloves), place to set down old bulbs.

<b>warning: do not touch the glass of the bulbs. wear gloves if possible. i also washed my hands. music is optional.</b>

1. remove the headlight housing caps (large jar caps) by twisting them off. put aside.

2. reach into housing, and twist bulb housing counterclockwise about 15° and you should be able to gently pull them out. (i had to do this blind especially for the driver's side). when you feel it, the flat parts are horizontal.

3. using the metal base of the bulb, pull out the oem bulb. insert new bulb - it is unidirctional and there is a metal flange on the housing that prevents you putting the bulb in the wrong way.
<b>again, don't touch the glass parts</b>

4. re-insert the housing at 15° off flat, and then twist it in clockwise. it should click in. if it feels loose, it didn't catch. i had to do this several times before i got the hang of it. once in, it should not be loose at all.

5. put headlight cap back on - don't forget this step...

as for autolamps, they got here pretty quickly. but they came rather weakly packaged imho...

good luck!

Buellwinkle

Thanks for the advice. Did you replace the high beams too? Is there a bulb that may be better for the high beams like an overwattage bulb. Heat's not likely an issue as I only use the high beams to flash slow pokes and occasionally up in the mountains but it doesn't stay on for long as there's always someone coming the other way. The low beams that are on continously even at stop lights. Odds are you won't be stopped long with the high beams on. Also did you change out the fog lamps? This might be an area where you want yellowish light to cut through the fog and rain.

young

nope, not the high beams. but i would guess a similar installation technique. not the citylights nor the foglights either. there's no fog in LA (actually, places like rancho palos verdes gets some nasty nasty fog )

here's the foglight install info. it is also a bit more difficult but if i could do it, anyone can. :p
https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...ght=fog+lights

buellwinkle, if you get the phillips all-weather vision foglights, let us know how they work out. i'm certainly curious.

timmy, if you're serious about setting up a faq for lighting, you should add the foglight info too.

TimmyC230boy

Yeah i will include fogs too. I am very busy right now but i will try to get it done this weekend.

Buellwinkle

Young, it's funny that you picked today to tell me that it never gets foggy in LA. Well it's pea soup out there tonight in Orange County.

young

it's probably SMog! (just kidding; i know it gets really foggy once in a while in la)

Buellwinkle

That's not smog, it's designer tinted air. Personally I wouldn't breather any air that I can't see.

Cryptnotic

After you do the HID conversion (ballasts, bulbs, new cables if necessary) what is the replacement cost of the bulbs? I have heard that the bulbs last only 300 hours. Is that more or less than standard halogen bulbs?



Thanks

young

cryptnotic, can you provide a source for the 300 hours part? i actually do not know how long bulbs last but hids4less warranty is for 5 years (ballasts & bulbs) so i'd assume that they would last 5+ years.

btw, i purchased the RAZO bulbs and when i get those in a week or so, i'll add post pics of how those look.

Buellwinkle

Put the Phillips VisionPlus bulbs in tonight. They are whiter and brighter as advertised. There's no hint of blue or tinting which I prefer. It throws out light about 20-30 feet further as advertised. I'll probably do the high beams next.

Cryptnotic

Oops. Yeah, that number was incorrect. They actually last something like 3000 hours. The other figure I saw was 100,000 miles.

KJ-TypeR

Which model of Razo bulb are you getting? (premium white, premium white ZERO etc.)

Young, could you please post pictures of the Razo bulbs as soon as possible?

My friend is planning to buy those bulbs as a gift next Wednesday or Thursday. If you could post a mini review of them before then, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!!

young

sure, no problem. i ordered them last friday? so i hope to get them by friday... premium white zeros. from http://autowerksexpress.com/

of course, the sad thing is since i'm getting hids, it was just $50 spent to satisfy my curiosity...

KJ-TypeR

Hahaha, you sound like me.

My friend is going to buy those bulbs for my GF for her Birthday even though I'm going to give her my HID Conversion Kit when I sell my car.

If your review of the bulbs is negative, I'll tell him NOT to buy the bulbs! =)

My friend put Razo bulbs in his car before...they were quite good.

Buellwinkle

Not a total waste, you can use the bulbs for the high-beams.

blueC230K

Hey everyone, this is my first time to post. I am just wondering if you guys have tried PIAA yet? Their input are 55w but output are 100-130w (depends what blub you have). Currently I am using the Super Plasma 55w (9006) in my CL and they are fine. Also I believe that blue tint only gives you look over illumination. These PIAA's are very purple and are very bright. I think it is the closest thing compare to the purpleish HIDs...(MB, Acura)not (BMW & Lexus)--they are blueish..

here's the site if you guys are interested:

http://www.hitechimportlighting.com/piaa.htm

couple more days for my honey orion C230 C2,C7, teleaid to come :p

KJ-TypeR

The PIAA Plasma bulbs are good. Yes, they are purple in 9006 (5000K) (which I had before I got HID).

But they will be more on the blue side in H7 because they don't make "SUPER PLASMA" in H7.

They only make "Plasma FX" in H7 (which has a lower colour temperature - 4500K).

vadim

FYI: light output is not measured in Watts, but in Lumens. This "55W input, 100W output" is nothing but marketing crap that, sadly, so many people believe in, despite tons of information available on the Net, including many posts in this forum.

Buellwinkle

PIAA "Superwhite" bulbs produce exactly the same amount of light as any other bulb in a given bulb format (9004, 9005, 9006, H4, H7 etc.), plus-or-minus 15 percent (which is the US FMVSS 108 Part 564 tolerance for variations in luminous intensity from headlamp bulbs).

The "55W = 110W" type claims are a sham. Here's how these kinds of pretend wattage numbers are cooked-up: The filaments in PIAA "Superwhite" bulbs are wound on a larger mandrel than regular filaments, so there are fewer filament coils, of a larger diameter. When these bulbs' luminous intensity is measured using the appropriate device (called an integrating sphere), they come up within the FMVSS 108 Part 564 tolerance range for whatever bulb type is being tested--no more. (If they didn't, they would not be permitted to be marked DOT, and they are, so they do.)

When a bulb with such a modified filament stack is placed in a headlamp, the different dimensions of the filament alter the beam pattern. In most US-specification headlamps, what this does is reduce the size of the central "hot spot" of the beam and put more light in it, while taking away light above, below, to the left and to the right of the hot spot. Then the PIAA marketeer comes up with his light meter, sticks it in the hot spot of the beam, and says "Nifty! The hot spot is almost as bright as it would be with an 85W bulb!" and rushes off to order-up a new batch of boxes festooned with "55W = 110W" banners.

KJ-TypeR

Wouldn't there be exception to the rules if you got PIAA bulbs from Japan that are not available here? (For Example, H7 Plasma FX is not available here)