MondayQB

I purchased a C300 Sport BL/BL with PKG 1 in US. I am not planning to install aftermarket HID but I am wondering if there is any way to make headlight brighter by changing bulbs. I mean Halogen to Halogen but bright to brighter.

Give me some assistance! Thank you.

W204

http://www.autolamps-online.com

http://www.powerbulbs.com

BlackMercBenz

Just ordered PIAA Xtreme white H7 HALOGEN bulbs... It's supposed to be 4K in output.
Best of all, it's plug and play.

peabers

Not again!!!!
The higher colour temperature does not mean a brighter lamp. This has been discussed quite a few times before on this forum... https://mbworld.org/forums/showpost....18&postcount=9

BlackMercBenz

I Know that, Mr. Know it all.
It's a matter of personal choice. Thank you.

aowhaus

I bought a pair of Luminics Krypton Titanium White bulbs for the supplementary high beam bulbs and I am extremely happy with them. They match perfectly with my bixenons in color and it is extremely bright with excellent clarity.
The Luminics Krypton bulbs have a larger glass bulb than their regular bulbs and the quality is exceptional -- eventhough they are pretty pricey at $60/pair, I think they are worth it (and cheaper but just as good as the PIAA bulbs).

http://www.luminicsusa.com/new/BulbC...mWhite&Ind=KTW

ISPEEDM3

is there any way to get that hid look from our pkge 1 headlights?

amdeutsch

Then why answer the question with authority?


Color is easy. Visibility is not.

BlackMercBenz

[QUOTE=amdeutsch;2546549]Then why answer the question with authority?


I see what they say about the Moderator (in this case, You).

What I didn't see coming is that you being Peabers' boyfriend!

aowhaus

even if you don't have the bi-xenon option package, I highly recommend the Luminics Krypton Titanium White bulbs they match my bixenons perfectly. If you want something a little cooler in color, Luminics has an Ultra Blue or Violet that has a more distinct color pattern.
I think the Krypton Titanium White is very impressive without appearing fake or rice, which well justifies the $60 price.

KIRA

go HID...

easy, save gas, save battery, and last forever

is REAL plug and PLAY

raymond g-

true...but all things being equal, would the 4k temp be brighter than typical
halogen of say, 3500º....notwithstanding the fact that ºK is the improper
method of measuring brightness?

amdeutsch

A lighter color will most always appear brighter. Visibility is still the issue.

red309

I read somewhere that if you don't have the P1 or P2 packages you have to drill some holes for the aftermarket HID or Bi xenon kits. Is this true? And how does it save gas and battery?

Lakerz4sho

^it's true. you have to drill a 1" diameter hole into the plastic screw-on dust cap that sits at the rear of the headlight housing. This is because you need to feed the wires that plug into the stock power as well as the xenon bulb itself, out of the housing to connect to the ballast.

as for saving gas.. that's just dumb.

and for saving power... maybe he meant that it runs at a lower wattage (35) than halogen lamps (55)

raymond g-

well, it may save gas but practically immeasurable. clearly does not last
forever (neither bulb, nor ballast)

KIRA

anyway, for the cap, you can just remove it

or drill it up to you (easy), won't cost much to get another one right?


as for saving battery, i think because they run less power (i think, but i could be wrong in opposite way it waste even more power)

maybe this is why i see the Pruis on the road are running with bright HID??

if it run less power, your alternator work less work, then it might save gas

my .02 cent

RLE

<<even if you don't have the bi-xenon option package, I highly recommend the Luminics Krypton Titanium White bulbs they match my bixenons perfectly. If you want something a little cooler in color, Luminics has an Ultra Blue or Violet that has a more distinct color pattern.
I think the Krypton Titanium White is very impressive without appearing fake or rice, which well justifies the $60 price.>>

Just that name alone must be worth 30 bucks. "Luminics Krypton Titanium". Wowser!

You can also buy 70W H7 bulbs which I have in my high beams (P2 package present) and I can see the difference.

'91 300CE

You can't just plug higher wattage bulbs into the sockets... they will melt and could catch fire.

I would try either Sylvania Xtra Visions or Philips X-Treme Powers...

The 4000k vs. 3500k is just color temp... you want to research "lumens" which is the amount of actual usable light put out by the bulb.

Bulbs that are 4000k and halogen, prob have a bluish coating... which reduces lumens... the bulbs I suggested are crystal clear, no tint and provide over 1100 lumens... which is better than stock

MondayQB

Thank all you guys for kind and informative advice.

I think I learned two things. First, lumens control brightness. Second, K is temp so higher K may make a bad impact on the bulb house and it does not have to do with brightness, either.

Please, correct me if I am wrong. Thank you again.

'91 300CE

K is just color temperature... it stands for Kelvin... so the higher the number, the "whiter" the light is... the lower the more "yellow" the light is.

raymond g-

....that's partly correct

AkaSigFreak

I have been replacing all my bulbs in my C300 and my 07 Chevy Avalanche with PIAA Extreme White Plus Bulbs. They will give you a brighter/whiter light with increased visibility and are the only bulbs I know of with a 1 yr warranty. They run at 4000k and therefore do not have the obnoxious Blue or Purple blinding light. I understand the whole HID performance lighting thing- but if your cars headlight assemblies are not designed for them- they look like crap. Every piece of crap Honda Civic running around has those blinding lights and I cant stand it. Keep it nice and clean and drive safe at the same time.

RLE

<<You can't just plug higher wattage bulbs into the sockets... they will melt and could catch fire.>>

Piffle. The 204's bulb carrier is all metal and the female plug on the back does not get hot enough.

And, a 20W increase is nothing. I have used H4 bulbs for years with wattages running from 100/80 to the current 160/100 in my Porsche. I used 160/100 H4s in my '95 C280 for years (with relays) with no heat problems.

raymond g-

shouldn't totally disregard the caution. the connector may be robust, but with
electrics, it is only as strong as the weakest link. it is not unheard of, for MB
to equip cars with mediocre harness. thus, when heat rises, wiring and/or
smaller connectors upstream begin to fail.

anecdotal evidence from a different manuf or modeldoes little to dis/prove an
equivalent application in a 204. better to probe the wiring of this model first.