I want to put projector headlights on my 99 CLK430. I've read lots of posts on here, but most are quite old and I'm sure a lot has changed.

First, I love the look of them. Are they brighter and do they work better than the old style lights? Are they plug and play? Which brands are best?

Admitting my ignorance here, but I don't even know if my current ones are Xenons. They have a bluish tint? Are all Xenons HID?

I think I like the halo rings too.

 

You can tell if your factory lights are Xenon by looking under the hood at the radiator support. There will be a high voltage warning sticker.

As for after market lenses, not much has changed since those old threads were published.

In my opinion, if you find out you don't have factory Xenon the best quality choice would be to find a factory CLK55 set-up on eBay or elsewhere. The aftermarket options are just like most other things, you get what you pay for. Hope this helps.

 

Yes I have replaced my headlight with projector and canbus xenon bulb to avoid error message. It is considerably brighter and refresh the look on your car...

 

They're a little brighter. They are plug and play.

I had factory HIDs and the only way you can keep the blue tint with the new lights is with an HID kit.

 

Here's factory HID's for comparison

Ask me anything, I can most likely answer all of your questions with the conversion process.

 

Love the look of yours CJackson13. Are they OEM or aftermarket? If aftermarket what brand and where to buy.

 

Thanks! they're aftermarket. This is exactly where I ordered them from - http://www.ebay.com/itm/360899385421...84.m1439.l2649

 

Thanks. I'll have to check tomorrow to see if I have HID or not.

 

If they're blue when you turn them on, you have factory HIDs (xenon). The aftermarket lights are not HID (xenon). So, to make them have the blueish tint, you need to purchase an aftermarket HID kit (http://store.ijdmtoy.com/OEM-4300K-W...-kit-4300k.htm). The kits breakdown by color like this:

3000k: yellow

4300k: normal yellowish factory HID tint

6000k: white/cool blue

8000k: blue

10000k: deep blue

20000k: purple

K stands for kelvin, which is the temperature measurement of the bulb.

6000k is recommended and will give the nice factory look.

 

I always thought the factory hid was 4300k. Good info.

 

Yeah I think you're right haha. Good catch 4300k is normal i believe. I think I was just trying to explain that the w208 factory blueish lights look like 6000k aftermarket lights.

 

I was almost worried because I've been thinking of going with the 6000k burners this year for a bit of a fresher look. Haha.

 

6000k is the way to go for a fresh look. I dont have a pic with the bulbs on but 6000k is the same color as the ccfl halos seen here when I was testing all the wiring.

 

AMG airbox, I like your style. Haha. Your center parking lights match well. Mine are slightly "bluer" than my headlights. You still run halogen high beams?

 

Thanks! Loving the magma red, seems like a rare color. You could potentially do a 6000k conversion for all of your lights for the sake of matching. Yup, still have the halogen high beams... But thats okay cause I rarely use them

 

I think it's one of the least common colors especially in the 55's. Maybe because people thought they were Ferrari's and blew them up. Hahaha

 

This is incorrect. 4300k is standard factory HID color. 5000k is being used on some newer cars. 4300k puts out the most light output. 5000k is slightly diminished output but works well with a good projector. 6000k is nowhere near factory color. 6000k or more is blue or purple. These color temperatures are aesthetic and reduce your night visibility.

 

Colors also vary slightly from brand to brand.

 

I agree. The ballast can change the color too if its a 35w or 55w ballast.

 

I had factory hid/xenons, then moved to 6000k HID w/35W ballasts when I switched to projectors and to my eye its basically the same color. Just the 6000k projectors are brighter.

 

4300k is brighter than 6000k. The difference you see is dimmer light being directed through a better projector.

http://www.automotivelightstore.com/hidfaq.aspx

 

Very helpful so basically anything over 4300k is aesthetic. However, 6000k suits my taste and for standard use, I dont foresee any visibility issues.

 

CJjackson, I follow you on IG, your projectors look great. How was the conversion from the oem xenon to aftermarket projectors? I was thinking of going with the black housing projectors on my black 55.

 

Thanks! The conversion was very easy as long as you're decent with a wrench. For install the front bumper needs to come off, then you un-bolt the headlights and reinstall the new ones in the same order. Just make sure you plug everything in. Also, if you have headlight washers, they wont work with the new projectors. You need to either remove the hoses or tie them down away from the radiator fans. Overall it was very easy and took me about an hour and a half because I was taking my time to make sure I was doing everything correctly.

Black projectors would look great on your black car!

 

There's nothing wrong with 6000K. I think it looks great on some cars, its just dimmer and isn't an OEM color temp. 5000K looks good without much loss in output, 6000K looks good with a light blue tint depending on the ballast wattage.

6000k looks good on your car with the matching city lights.