Can anyone advise on after market xenon kits for a W210 E320 CDI ? THe MB kit s even on fleabay are hugely expensive and on these dark Scottish nights I am looking to see a bit further.

 

Try searching the forums for retrofit info. Tons of info already exists on this topic.

 

www.danielsternlighting.com
article about retrofit xenon
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...nversions.html
And then buy some of his 65 watt h7 bulbs and you will see at night.
And save yourself a lot of money at the same time.

 

OhLord -- do you have a more direct link? I found your ref to this site before posting to tell the OP to search for info but couldn't find Stern's discussion about retrofit. My travels around western US have shown that I need brighter headlights than Depo + stock(?) bulbs and am interested in this H7 you mention. Can I pop them into Depo's and find myself one happy camper? I hope so!

 

and on benzworld.org w210 section last week or so posted links to meguires polish the lens article that i use to show people how to polish the plastic.
The bulb is a 65watt rally bulb that wont burn the fitting and lasts longer and is much brighter.

 

Thanks OhLord! Don't know why I couldn't find this. Hmm.

I agree that the polishing is very do-able and works very well. I did mine with a kit and PlastX or something and it was flawless, like new, but then I just had to have the projectors I see all over the place. It was pissing me off to see a toyota with projectors and not have them on my ride. I couldn't stop seeing projectors everywhere I looked!

So I got some Depo's and currently have them installed with stock bulbs. I got them at the same place Zam mentioned in a post just to be sure they were Depo's. I knew that they would have inferior light output vs. factory without the Zam retrofit but I wanted the projector look.

I asked the place where I bought them about the diff bulbs and they persuaded me against them saying they burned out almost right away even though they sold them and had them all over in display cases. I thought that was a persuasive argument against the "xenon like" bulb replacement alone.

I think that I read bad things about the "kits" in my research via other posts so never really considered them though I suspect you could get "factory" like parts if you were very very educated and careful. But if Zam is buying factory from other brands then I figured that was the best way to go if I really wanted to upgrade the depo's.

I came to another realization at some point about not being able to do xenon's at all (the right way, at least) since the housings + vehicle were not set up for them (something about factory xenons's dropping down aim during acceleration and stuff).

So that puts me in a functionally disadvantaged position for purely aesthetic and vanity reasons (had to have the projector look). I only really have a complaint about them on very dark roads like those I've been on recently in travels (though don't have any complaints when confined to city driving in los angeles).

I'll read up more on the bulbs you mention because I need some additional brightness for long road trips on remote highways. Gotta do something or else pray on those lonely highways.

I'm tempted to do the factory retrofit from another brand even though I know that I could be the guy who blinds all the opposing traffic through a retrofit that doesn't adjust based on acceleration. Maybe I'll aim them low on purpose to try to offset this?

 

Ca_T:
You may be able to hang in there with performance H7 bulbs for now. But just
so you're clear, the Depo projector unit itself (the fist size projector which is
inside the Depo housing) is poorly designed and the bowl and lens are designed
[sic] to leave gaps in the beam....which you've no doubt experienced. As such
simply tossing in a performance H7 bulb just accentuates the problem, ie you
see the high/low spots of the beam more clearly.

I just started a Depo retrofit last week, using Audi RS6 and taking pics and
writing up instructions for those who may up till now, be apprehensive about
tackling such a project. This is one of the easiest HID retrofits I've I've seen
and shouldn't result in the HID beam intruding upon other drivers. Without
the factory's autoleveling feature, one simply adjusts the beam with more
downward bias. This should offset the absence of autolevel. Just be aware
that if you pack 3 linebackers into your rear seat when you guys go clubbing,
you should tweak the vertical adjustment even more.

If you retrofit with the E55 projector, it's an even easier mod than the RS6.

Once I complete the RS6, I'll compare the beam qualities between that and
my current E55. Will keep one and sell the other. But given my job and
free time, it may take me another several weeks to complete. Normally such
retrofits will take about 1-2 days if I devote time to them.

 

I may be wrong but I thought there were some upgrades on performance products . com...

 

Awesome to hear, Raymond -- will look forward to your guide and info on the outcome of your tests! What year Audi projectors are you using and where did you get them? I assume that they should be genuine and not aftermarket/oem replacements. I tried to do some searching on ebay but couldn't see much other than depo type replacement housings.

 

dunno which year; bought them off forum member AlexBenz...otherwise I would
have gotten them from Ebay or HIDPlanet. there isn't such a beast as OEM
replacement HID projectors, that I know of....nearly all are halogen kits. just
search under "RS5 HID projector " ...or E55.

here is RS6...but waaaay overpriced

here is E55...much more realistic price

 

Before you try HID and the expense try the PIAA bulbs at this link. http://www.piaa.com/Bulbs/Bulbs-H7.html The GL forum is also discussing for those that did not get the HID Xenon setup.

 

I have a set of OEM xenon lamps from an e55, that need a little work (two clips broken) but they fit well, are perfectly clear and are plug and play. I will sell them cheap. Good Luck

 

j-
which two clips are broken?

 

on the lights that you want to sell, Jordan. Can you PM or post pics showing the broken clips and the condition of the lenses, please?

 

Tommygunn has two hid upgraded lights for sale.He is parting the little that is salvageable from his recently totaled mystery motored 6 banger.
on benzworld.org w210 secton.

 

here is a link to the thread where i originally posted them for sale. I pretty much forgot about them. If anyone wants these even for just the xenon kit, i'm willing to part with them for the first decent offer.

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...ighlight=xenon

 

sanjoy:

The only recommended retrofit that are safe and legal are OEM. Don't forget to consider the headlamp washers which are mandatory with xenons in the EC. See this to complement previous posting by ohlord:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/bmw/540notxenon.htm

Hope it helps.

Cheers.

 

Headlamp washers are only mandatory with xenons on cars sold after January 1, 2007. I can retrofit whatever I want on my car here in the EC. There are reasonable quality kits like Pilot HID that offer a good solution with the H7 reflector and are IEC approved and will pass annual emissions no problem. Pilot even offeres a plug-inbetween module to get rid of the headlamp warning on your cluster. I might be getting these. Ofcourse it's always a good thing to keep your (head)lights clean anyways...