smithcb2

Those look like a chrome version of what I'm using. The projectors are terrible, and the build quality is very poor.

Forget about using HIDs in the projectors that come with those -- the projectors damaged both my HID bulbs (bent the return wires), and the cutoff shield in them was so terribly shaped that my car was undriveable.

The build quality is poor, the plastics used are poor -- the side markers dont fit well and the plastic tabs that hold them in will wear away (because the plastic is very soft) after a few removals/reinstalls.

My recommendation is staying with the stock lights.

ZorroAMG

that or do a PITA retrofit with better projectors...

STLe320

Well here's 12000k. And they definitely don't look like they're off.

smithcb2

Everyone has different tastes. If thats what you want to do, go for it.

The blue light bothers my eyes after a while, and I'd be concerned driving around with -obviously- illegal colored headlights.

It has, however, been proven that the further away from 4300k you get in color temperature, the less lumen output you get.

I use 50w 5000k right now, and I intend to go down to OEM 4300k whenever I replace these bulbs with the damaged return wires.

ZorroAMG

6000k are actually WAYYYYYYYYYY brighter than 12000...seriously, the pic looks bright but it's been altered. If we both went out to a pitch black road, my 6000k lights would be way brighter than yours...the color kills the actual ability to illuminate. Trust me. Get 6oook max.

6000k isn't as bright as 4300 but the color is nicer and you lose virtually nothing in terms of output...12000 is silly rice.

STLe320

Well I know here for a fact that these are legal. Most of the Impala and Tahoe police cars have them. They're not 12000k or anything, but even from a distance they look blue. They're probably 6-8k.

But anyways, I'm not really going for lumen output, just mostly the look.

STLe320

Alright Mark, you convinced me. lol
I guess I'm gonna go with 6000k then.

ZorroAMG

Yeah, you won't regret it buddy! It's gonna give you the best of both worlds..

PS all HID bulbs in any car that doesn't have them from factory is ILLEGAL. Not like they will pull a benz over for it though.

6000k w00t w00t

berti_00

my fogs are 12k and my other set of HID's that arent put on yet are 10k i think

ZorroAMG

lol

Chinny4290

Zorro, recommend me a good bulb for my coupe. I'd prefer the whiter light with a hint of blue (not ricer HID wannabe). Stock assemblies etc.

ZorroAMG

If you want just a better halogen without HID, do what 2Phast did...I think they are Mtec bulbs...

smithcb2

Theres also some variance in brands... some of the cheaper bulbs look more blue than others (I think due to salts in the bulb), even when rated at the same color temperature.

FWIW all factory cars come with 4300k.

shadowgriffen

Zedster and Zoro, sickest W124's, oh yeah and Dpham too!

greasybenz

No, the W140 HID headlamps and halogen headlamps shared the EXACT same reflectors and lenses. The only difference between them is the bulbs, one is an halogen and one is a xenon.

The reason why they worked is because H7 halogen bulbs share a very similar light arc to xenon bulbs. H4 bulbs for an example dont share the same arc as an H7 as its a dual filament bulb and requires different fluting on the lenses.

I have the same headlights you have on your W124, and the reflectors worked with my HID kit because it takes an H7 bulb which as ive said shares a very similar arc. So i bought a 6000K H7 HID kit and like magic it followed the lines and cut off of the projector.

greasybenz

I can guarantee you that those ARE NOT legal. To begin with none of the HID kits are legal but most cops can give a crap anyway. But there is a CVC that ill dig up for you that will tell you that they are ILLEGAL.

Tahoe's and Impala's would have a terrible glare from those HID's they both use dual filament bulbs which spells disaster for an added HID kit. I doubt what youve seen are HID's. Especially on police cars.

STLe320

LOL
Ask anyone on this forum about me caring if something is "legal" on my car.

As for the police cars, do you live in St. Louis? I literally live in the hood here, and the police need all the light they can get. Believe me, my sister's husband is a police officer the rapid response cars DO have HID's in them.

Sorry, but I guess you apparently don't know it all.

Saijin_Naib

If there is a factory option for HIDs, it is legal to have on your car. Simple as that.

smithcb2

if for some reason police did have HIDs, they would be 4300k (since you said yourself, they want the most light). They sometimes look blue to people because (I believe) if you stand above the cutoff, the light source appears blue. Mine do.

If they are driving the traditional crown victorias, I would definitely -not- want hids, since you tend to lose out on some of the peripheral light (to the sides of the car)

greasybenz

I have visited st. louis when i thought about going to college out there. Didnt see any popo's cars with them. Do you think i care? Nope! I have my C32 with illegal tints on the front windows, illegal HID's, and illegal no front plates. Im just simply stating that your "facts" are incorrect.

Re-read what ive said, "To begin with none of the HID kits are legal" HID kits as in aftermarket and not from the factory. NO W124 had HID's as a option from the factory so therefore an aftermarket HID kit is illegal. Simple as that.

RBYCC

Euro lights with halogens are also illegal as they are not DOT light distribution !!!
So why worry ??

ZedStyle

"
This W140 was the first Mercedes-Benz in the USA to incorporate the headlamps with 'bow-tie' ECE lens albeit a minor change to the bulb shield and inclusion of hieroglyphs for SAE/DOT and bulb type on the lens. In addition, the headlamps on W140 had been redesigned three times during its model cycle. The first was a 'bow-tie' ECE headlamps with dipped and main beam H4 (HB2 in USA) bulb. The headlamp design changed in 1997 to include the separate reflectors for HID and halogen bulbs. Bi-Xenon HID systems weren't introduced until much later in C215 CL-Class. The third headlamp design was similar to the first one but with tighter lens flutes and narrower 'bow-tie' pattern. The latter one is for models without HID system. It was said to prevent the aftermarket companies from offering the ill-designed and poor-constructed HID bulb retrofit kit."

now granted, it's just off searching the net, but to be honest it sounds a little more credible than your assumption if identical lenses. I know for a fact you cannot dispute that the fact that the later S classes had a different reflector setup from the previous ones.
The W140 and the W124 were over-engineered to the point of being ridiculous. I'm not sure what you drive right now, but I can gurantee that it is not as refined as a W140. There is no way on God's green earth that Mercedes would use the same exact housing for a filament bulb that they would for HID's, even if it required changing 0.1 inch of fluting. They would absolutely redesign the lens and reflectors for HID's, and if you think otherwise then your first benz must have rolled off the production line after the W140 and W124 ceased production, because you don't understand the lengths they went to to achieve engineering perfection.
Any HID bulb in a housing (especially non-projector) designed for filament bulbs is moronic.
simple as that.

greasybenz

No worries here! My W124 used to have euro headlights. I was simply correcting a false statement.

greasybenz

I had a 96 S420 and yes your right my current C32 AMG is no were near its quality. And yes you are correct pre-95 W140's had H4 lights, 95 and after had H7 and HID. Ill have to dig up old pics, but i had a set of OEM hid headlights i bought for my W140. Studied the halogen and HID headlights like a **** and even compared the fluting by drawing them out on photoshop (again ill have to dig up those pics) and they are exactly the same. The reflector on the other hand had a shield below the HID bulb to cut out glare which youll have to add to the halogen headlights if your putting an H7 kit. Refer to my:

W124 with HID's thread to know what im talking about.

Its not rocket science, and Mercedes Benz isnt God either. They are flawed in many ways even with their over-engineering.

ZorroAMG

I agree with Zedstyle. Greasy, your claim lacks proof. Eyeballing two lenses does not create proof. Take off both lenses and place each in front of an HID housing. They will be different patterns.

MB does R&D...they don't just shove ***** wherever for fun.