petez1125

Is this the best way to go?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USA-DEPO-01-...98b198&vxp=mtr

Are they simply plug and play as they state, meaning I remove my old units and simply install these and plug them in? What are most peple using, 6000K or 8000K?

Thanks
Pete

Akhafeez

these are the ones i have. There's a full thread about them. Look on that. They are most of the time plug and play.

petez1125

Thanks. I did do some reading, but my question is with this model do I need to get the Xeon=present from the dealership? Is there anything else that needs to be done other than removing the old units, installing the new units and turning on the lights? It seems the blast is also mounted to this units which sounds like an improvement over earlier models.

phister

way over priced for a set of projectors IMHO. i would buy the basic 200 depo projectors for our cars then buy a set of DDM HID kits from here (theyre a sponsor) for 35 or so and install them. then just have the present set to xenon or buy a set of error cancellors from aznoptics to remove the flickering issue. I just bought a set of load resistors from radio shack and installed them between the power and ground on the harness and its been working for 2+ years.

reason i wouldnt do the bixenon on the depos is that the cuttoff isnt so great on the projectors that come in them. if you want real bixenons you can buy a set of E55 projectors for cheap on ebay and they fit perfectly in the depo housing. all you have to do is remove the depo projectors and pop in the new projectors since the mounting holes line up.

if you want to go an extra step you can get s2000, fx-r, tsx, or other projectors that offer great cutoffs and bixenon. this will still cost less than what the depo bixenon cost, they just require some diying. but theyre are DIY on how to do a retrofit.

price break down

Basic depo projector - 200 or so

Projector options - The retrofit source prices

Morimoto Bi -x mini d2s - 110
Morimoto Bi-x H1 - 120
Bi-x FX-R 3.0 - 140
Bi-x Hella Evox-R (replaces the old E55 projector) - 150

Set of DDM HID kit - 35-50

so depending on what you want it'll still be around 400 but with way better output and cuttoff than the depo bi xenon. but thats just me.

ncmudbug

The ballast is mounted under the lights so if it fails, you'll have to take the lights out to change the ballast. Take the ballast off and mount it on the fender.

You will have to set xenon=present but it's unlikely a $tealer will do it for you since it's not MB equipment. You should look for an indy to set that for you. Other than that, they are plug and play. Check for other lights from fishcake, sometimes he has the same thing at a lower price.

Javvy

this fishcake guy is really making a killing on these headlights.......I had bought a set from him,good set but as everyone here have said the cutoff is not that great and has a lot of burn marks on the light pattern that it throws on the road.......you can search I have posted some pic of the actual cutoff from this set.......I would definately recommend what phister is saying but stay away from the fx-r projectors they dont fit the holes dont line up, my depos were destroyed trying to do this retro swap, I should have gone the E55 projector route but some one needs to confirm 100% that the mounting holes of these projectros do line up......

Now I have right side perfect depo light in the box sitting in my garage and some hardware from the destroyed left side depo light....

goodluck...best bet is to go oem ....

Javvy

Pope

I too bought these. Great deal. My cutoff is very good, near perfect line. Only problem i encounter is the right headlight wont flip up at the same time as the left when I turn the brights on. Like previous comments say, mount the ballast on the fender somewhere. I did not do this and if or when I have to replace them I will no have to remove the bumper again. I did not need to get xenon=present and I did not have xenons before the swap. Enjoy!!!

phister

TRS just redesigned the E55 projectors. They also have a new mini d2s projectors that should be an easy retro. Only 110 for them.

samaritrey

Xenon=Present setting is so easy if you need some help with it PM me.
Where in NOVA are you?

petez1125

Samaritey, thanks. It sounds like it is best to do the Xeon=Present. I live in Lorton now but grew up in Reston. How long have you been in McLean?

I guess I need to do some more research as it sounds like there are a ton of options available. The Xeon work very well in my C55 and look so much nicer, that is why I am looking at the upgrade for my C230.

samaritrey

Yeah I would get it done even before you buy the new lights (the car does not care and will still work fine until you get the xenon lights) BTW I didn't mention it but I do have a Star computer that is why it is so easy. Yeah BIX were the best thing I ever did for my car since I am doing a lot of night driving to Charlottesville recently it helps a lot on 29. I personally like the OEM lights better than a retrofit because I know that it won't leak or ever have issues and it is OEM so I know it is good. I found that buying the right and left light separately saves you a lot of money but always remember to replace the bulbs while you are at it since they need to match I recommend Philips and not some random brand they are worth it I compared the $40 pair to the Philips bulbs (around $80) and they were so much brighter I was shocked. But you have to be careful lots of fakes out there. If you have any questions about the BIX lights let me know I had to do lots of diagnostic work with one of mine and have lots of knowledge about them.

MBfinatic

Will you stop by and program my lights!?

Javvy

samaritrey, I have been looking for a good deal on OEm bix like forever all the ones that I see are around $650/per head light......did you buy them individually?? How did you work your way around the self levelling function?? Cause the ones I see have that function and I dont know much about self levelling and since my car did not come with the bix will the self levelling sensor be still present and will automatically activitae once the xenon=present is set or do I have to do further modification for the self levelling to work properly?? Or if not done will the self levelling throw any codes??

Any insight will be helpful...

javvy

tommy

I was actually wondering that last night as we were talking about you paying someone to get the setting done. Though I would understand not wanting to be in the position of owing Trey a favor. :-)

Javvy, I believe that the self-leveling feature is a sensor on the front rollbar that you wouldn't have if your car didn't initially come with the option from the factory with them. The lights would still work, but you'd have to adjust manually like you do now. Someone, please correct me if I'm way off base.

samaritrey

Yeah they work just fine because you only enable one of the settings not the one for self leveling so no error. And there is a sensor on the rear bar.