As i mentioned somewhere earlier that i got both of my OEM xenons for about $430. They came in today and i couldnt wait to intsall them. I installed them on a NYC street during a night time. dont care. anyways here are the pics b4 it was completed.
As for concerns I had no power prolems as of yet thank God! but when the car starts up there is now body shivering as if the engine is working harder. I hope that it doesnt continue.
On OEM xenon lights there is also another plug below the main power line and what it's for i have no idea, however, i had nothing to plug into it, and lights work fine.
One concern that i have is that how do i know my lights are adjusted the right way? They dont point towards the sky or anything, but what about the width, etc.

 

The other connector is for the auto leveling mechanism and from what I understand you have no choice but to leave that disconnected. There are sensors on the axles that detect if the car is loaded down and if so will lower the aiming of the headlights to prevent them from blinding oncoming traffic. Cars that are not xenon equipped from the factory from what I understand do not have the sensors, wiring, or control module that allows for this.

 

That looks good! You are lucky you didn't have to remove the bumper like you do on my '2000. I am still searching for a set for my W210. :p

 

i dont know about you guys but for those who have OEM xenons are you impressed? I am not sure if mine are not focused or what is the issue, but i am not too impressed. Furthermore, I think that New Acura TL has the best Xenon light I have ever seen. I have seen it next to SL55 and it just over took its lights. IT brghtened the road in front of it. Every time I see that Acura, it just over takes everyone else's lights.

 

I'm not suprise. OEM xenon from Mercedes is far from impressive.

With the model you have (reflector xenon), it's only a bit better than OEM headlight. If you fit Philips Vision Plus into your existing halogen headlight & keep the lens cover clean, the light output is not far off from the OEM xenon.

On the newer model, Mercedes use projectors for xenon headlight (the new E, S, and ML have projector even on halogen model, but new CLK still go w/ the cheapo reflector for non-xenon model). Unfortunately, they don't go w/ the best projector out there (all car manufacture subcontract projector to light-specialty manufacture, like Hella, Valeo, Bosch, or Stanley...), but you get pretty much what you paid for.

Holding a pair of projector found in the new SL or E next to a pair of projector found in Audi, Lexus, or Acura, and the difference is very obvious.

That's why in the HID custom world ( HIDforum), xenon projector from Mercedes don't capture much value as one found in other car. (price is anywhere 20-50% lower)

I have a pair of RS6 bi-xenon projector retrofitt in my W210 headlight, and quite often, I found other Benz (mostly late & new model with OEM xenon) owners stare at my car at night, must be wondering "hmmm, how can mine is not as bright "

That said, xenon projector is still way better than xenon reflector.

I did this comparision a while back for fellow in the HID forum. In real life, all are bright (and way brighter than any halogen headlight out there), but I set the camera to sensitive (quick shutter), so that only the best light shine through. Then the difference became quite obvious. Same bulb (Philips 4300K D2S) and ballast (Denso) are being used in all test.

Order are xenon light found in Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Lexus/Acura, and my headlight ( Audi RS6 projector modified & recalibrated).

And you're right, in stock mode, the Stanley (found in Lexus, Acura, Honda S2000) yield the best light. Too bad it's too hard to fit them into Depo headlight, due to size mismatch.

 

They worked well IMHO on my 1999 E55, but I have never owned another car with Xenon bulbs before. I do know when I was driving the E55 often, when I would get into another car at night it almost looked like there were something wrong with the headlamps of the other car, because they appeared so dim. If the lens on your Xenons are pitted or scrached, it can effect light output. Also, the age of the bulb appears to effect the output as well. One headlamp on my E55 was more purple than the other. When they were first turned on, they were very similar, but once they warmed up it was obvious.

I wouldn't take an Acura over a Merc if the headlamps were 10x brigher :p

 

Yep, know what you mean. Now that I'm so used to xenon headlight on my cars, everytime I drive another car (from relative, or rental when travel), it always feel like something wrong w/ the headlight (less brightness output).

As with halogen bulb, xenon capsule get dimmer over time. The only difference is that as oppose to halogen bulb that turns more yellow as it ages, xenon capsule turns more white/purple as it ages. This give some impression that it's brighter (due to color), but in fact, its light output get reduced quite a bit. For case like yours, it's time to replace them. They go for around $70-100/pair of Philips D2R 85126, new. Avoid dealer, I think they charge $240/each bulb, identical.


I don't think anybody would take an Acura over a Mercedes. But putting a new E55 owner into Acura TL seat for a test drive, I think the Benz owner would walk away from the Acura, wishing his/her car has the headlight and GPS system of the Acura.

 

I concur with ZAM. ZAM I am about to start kicking myself for now going with the projector/xenon retrofit.

 

Im selling mine from my W210 E55 '00 For $850

 

after going back and forth with these HID lights, I don't know what to do with them. i went to a shop to balance them out, and they do shine better now then before. However, my high beams, regular h7 bulb just blows away my HID bulb. It seems that it is 10X brighter. My low beams seem to be less strong than my previous h7 low beams. What urks me is that the lights are white and not purplish.
Is there different qualities in D2R's whithout scrathing the tip to make it brighter?