350W204

Hey guys.. New to the forum.

I just bought a 2013 C350 and have the stock halogen headlights so I ordered the black DEPO headlights off eBay.

Will the "C" in the headlight be on while my DRL are on? Or just when the low/high beams are on

Is there any way I can make the C be on with the DRL?

Thanks!

Sticktalk

Are the lights you ordered Bi-Xenon? Is it possible to convert from Halogen to Xenon, without a bunch of error messages and flickering? I'm a new C class owner as well and wanted to make the switch but from what I'm reading its a pain in the a$$ and expensive to switch over.

xEryx

I turned my C LED on during the day with STAR, but I have the ILS so is different. I believe I have seen someone with their aftermarket C turned on with DRL, but not sure who.

michail71

Going by memory I believe these operate as DRLs.

350W204

Halogen that look like Xenon... Sadly :/

350W204

Thanks much. I'll update on Friday when I receive them.

michail71

You can order these kits in halogen, Xenon or LED. Xenon offers the best visibility and OEM color temps. LED offers higher color temps but can suffer from light pattern issues, glare and heating issues. Manufacture's pick their color temps for good reason. But some people prefer the bluer/cooler colors.

Most kits, especially on the lower cost side will be halogen. LED Flickering is usually associated with DRLs, interior and other exterior lights. Even OEM LEDs will show flickering when shot with high speed cameras.

xsever

Thank you for the info. Can anyone who ordered the DEPO headlights with the Xenon HID option comment on the quality of the light?

I'm debating whether to get the Xenon HID option for the DEPO for $70 or save it and buy another kit for similar price. The Morimoto XB35 are twice the money at $135. I doubt they are twice the quality. Any comments on this would be highly appreciated.

AZN Optics

the packaged hid kit is crap tbh. You’re better off buying a depo unit without a kit and get another aftermarket one yourself. If budget is a concern, there are other brands asides from Morimoto out there that will be cheaper and still better than the prepackaged one.

xsever

Can you please recommend the best Morimoto alternative and other brand alternatives? Flexx Alexander on youtube got a Kensun kit for his DEPO.

AZN Optics

What's your price range?

CJG

I, too, would be interested in knowing the best way to add HID. You ask 10 people you get 20 answers. I've pretty much ruled out LED, so I guess Xenon is the direction I'm heading.
Any info on good brands would be appreciated. Ideally a swap-out headlight (no kits). But, I'm open to kits if there is a benefit or it's more cost effective.
I also have concerns about the self-leveling causing issues on a W204 that did not originally come with HID.
Again, any info would be appreciated.

xsever

Since the Morimotos seem to be the best option at $135, a couple of other options below $135 and above $50 would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Yeah, I ruled out LED as well after all the readings I've done (flickering, burning up, heat, etc...) The headlight to have is the DEPO one, but it either comes in Halogen, Xenon, or LED. Halogen light is too weak and yellow, the Xenon it comes with I was just told is crap and it's $70 extra, and well we said no LED. So the plan now is to get the cheapest DEPO variant, Halogen, and then add an HID kit to it.

Let's see what we get in terms of suggestions.

AZN Optics

So here's the thing with the HID kit that DEPO (or other retailers) package with the housing unit..... it's the cheapest no-name kit possible, but allows them to advertise they have a full complete plug and play HID unit and mark up the pricing. You would actually be saving money if you bought the DEPO and the cheapest kit out there by not paying that markup. However, these are your main lights and for safety reasons, you don't really want to get the cheapest out there. The best of the best is probably MTEC, but you're paying an arm and a leg for those kits. We did an evaluation of the various kits out there as our customers kept asking us to provide HIDs in our lineup (we specialize in manufacturing LEDs) so they could get a one stop shop.... of all the kits, the best blend of engineering, performance, reliability, and price came down to Morimoto which is why we became authorized dealers for them. They are not the cheapest by any means at $150 a kit, but they were the best overall in our opinion. When it comes to sub $100, there are a bunch, but you start sacrificing this area or that area.... some of which might be ok for your specific criteria (ie, if you don't care about customer support and warranty, there are some good kits you can gamble on, or if you don't care about the latest digital ballast components, or if you don't care about heat living in cooler climates).

AZN Optics

If price is your concern, you can try DDM HID kit.... It's the cheapest, but tt will be hit or miss as some have issues with them and their warranty process could take a while so you could be without lights if any issue happens. Kensun is ok. Hylux is better.

xsever

Thank you so much for taking your time to explain this thoroughly. I'm definitely leaning more towards paying a bit more to get quality equipment vs having to worry about thing burning out etc... So since I am going to purchase the DEPO headlights, which Morimoto kit should I buy? The 9006 or the H7? Also, why are is the price $135 on the Morimoto website and $150 on AZNOptics?

AZN Optics

H7. Where are you seeing $135? MSRP is $180 http://www.morimotohid.com/hid-systems/h7-morimoto-elite.html

make sure you do a full configuration with the canbus parts you’ll need.

xsever

My bad as I wasn't looking at the complete kit.So it's $180 on their website and $150 on yours. Why the difference? In addition, can you please elaborate on the Anti-flicker Capacitor Link? Would it be needed for the 2012 W204?

AZN Optics

We strive to offer the best pricing available for our MBWorld customers

We have the capacitors, but it's rare when a vehicle would actually need them. There are antiflicker capacitors built into the ballast, but if there are more power irregularities, then the links might be necessary. We've only had to use those twice and they were for much older vehicles.

CJG

What about auto-leveling? Is this a function of the headlight, or software/hardware in the vehicle?

CGC

I have the Depo headlights and they look great. However they also say "no HID" in the molded plastic. Since I used to sell headlights and HID kits I am concerned about heat build up and melting the housing. Is anyone running HID's with the Depo headlights?

Also AZN is spot on with their analysis of HID's.

AZN Optics

I'd run 35W kit and not 55W kit. Should be fine with heat.

As for leveling, manual level. There should be a hex screw to vertical level.

CJG

Can you pm me an email address? I’m very interested, but have some questions. Thanks.

AZN Optics

You can contact us directly at aznoptics@gmail.com