Ben'z

You forgot me.

Ben'z

Is your car W211, or W210?
From my experience, I used W211 E55 bi-xenon projector lenses for the W210 DEPO housing.

raymond g-

duh....delayed reaction....

of course the E55 bixenon applies, be it 210 or 211. as far as I know, it's the
same projector design. so i believe the answer is a cautious "yes". the 210/211
bixenon should be a near perfect drop-in into the Depo 210 (96-02) headlight
assembly. if it helps, here is a picture pulled from Ebay





Maxima also uses near identical design but it has extra (removeable) shield up
front and at the top...inside the proejctor bowl. but it's the metal surround/
flange which you see, with the mounting holes. it's this flange which is sized
just right for a relatively quick retrofit into the Depo as it's near the same
measurement as the Depo mounting posts

alixx_pt

No I did not ! I said " and all the others" !!!

Just kidding: I loose myself in this forum with all the info you guys put together.

My ride is a W210 E200 and I still haven't found the E55 projectors to put into the DEPO... but is just a matter of time and ebaying

once again: thankyou guys for all the help

Alixx

mikey33

I must say after having my lights for several months now that they are absolutely the best. I did some adjustments on aiming and everything and they now go about 1/4 of a mile in front of my car and are super bright and even all across and about 3 car lanes off to the sides of the car light up bright and evenly. The tl/zkw combo rules!

raymond g-

tnx for the report, m. you were determined to make it work with the TL when
no one has really done this mod before. so props to you and your enthusiasm.
I'm glad to hear it worked out. if you ever get around to it, take a few pics of
the beam pattern on wall or pavement to give folks an idea the spread and
reach. who knows, it might inspire them to pick up and run with it the same
way you did. this has continued to be one of the must-read threads for folks
thinking of retrofitting an OEM HID into a Depo, et al.

on a side note: i just bought a TL projector yesterday for $20. but before M
freaks out, it was damaged. I just wanted it in hand to size up and compare
with the E55 bixenon unit. wow, it's quite large. i also picked up a pair of new
81522+ bulbs. wow, performance went up a notch...and very noticeable

Peter_02AMG

would it be easier to just buy the whole headlight and HID in one??

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERCE...mZ120291431674

raymond g-

the problem with that is:

1) no OEM projector based HID exists for 210s,

2) the projector based HIDs are *all* HID kitted into halogen based projectors.
With the latter, this results in a beam in which the focal point is almost always,
not optimum, ie out of focus. Almost always, these are Asian produced with
poor R&D and with projector bowls which are poorly designed.

So, 210 owners wanting a arguably cleaner look, projector based HID with a
precision beam are only left with one option: buy a halogen projector, yank
out the projector, and replacing it with a true HID such as E55, RS6, TL, etc
....whatever labor they're willing to invest to perform the retrofit. The results
can be very rewarding.

zam's result (i am recalling this was a Lexus LS projector)


here's a typical asian/Depo where someone dropped in a rebased HID bulb
into the Depo H7 socket.


(sup, Peter? how's that rocket sled of yours? still enjoying the supercharger? )

Peter_02AMG

Hey Raymond, long time no see. I enjoy my car lots, have to make some minor modification to get the power i'm after. I wish all the dang local hwy isn't so congested. How is your ride, did anything new?

Peter_02AMG

This is the light pattern of the W211 style projector I got from Ebay.
8000KH7 LO.


Now you mention it..it does look different than the pattern on my Lexus GX470 projector.

mikey33

Hi. I will get some pics of the lights in action and you guys will see what I'm talking about, the only problem is there is nowhere dark where I live so I need to scout for a worthy place of photos.

mikey33

Hey guys i am back. I took the best pictures I could and they were pretty bad to tell you the truth but you can get an idea of how good the lights are. The car was about 75 to 100 feet from the wall and it was not that dark outside so here they are. Tell me your guys thoughts, thanks.

swich2mac

I wonder if this is a TRUE 'plug & play' application. Interesting that this set already had the HID ballasts with it as well. Any thoughts?

Scott

Ben'z

Maybe someone should ask them for the pictures of ballast installed...

4eigngfx

i just ordered and recd these last week. so as per the gurus, lol, should i not even bother havn them installed? im not mechanically inclined at all so im havn my mechanic do it (unless some1 in the NH/BOSTON MASS area would like to help me out) for 60-80bucks. but no after reading this thread it seems like i need to work on these light more?

attached are the pics. any help would b great

alixx_pt

Hi ! Just received my bi-xenon lenses from an ebay seller. and they are just lit the pic you posted (thanks for that. It helped me alot.)

What's that secondary metal flap that moves near the one moved by the solenoyd? you can move it with your hands and it has 2 positions...
What is it for ? And should it stay up or down?

Regards,

Alixx

raymond g-

does this help?

http://tinyurl.com/5r6y2l

alixx_pt

Thanks alot ! I saw that same thread a couple of months ago but forgot to save it to bookmarks ! Yesterday I was thinking is I dreamt it or what ?!?

Hands on the job now...

02EClass320

Does anybody have any experience with these?

http://www.bekkers.com/Merchant2/mer...=mhlighteclass

I'm not sure if I should just spend the extra money and get something OEM, even though they are euro OEM.

Or should I try to tackle the depo light project...

I am looking for something that is as close to todays OEM xenon standards as possible.

Thanks

raymond g-

running for mtg but here are my initial thoughts....

- the Bekker unit(s) may have the riser of cutoff on the opposite side so dbl check

- the unit uses HID reflector design w/D2R bulb and though better than halogen by about 2x, may be not as good as OEM projector brightness

- i think i've seen them used in the US for about half that price (just buy new
bulbs). check condition of unit, e.g. not cloudy lens, no broken tabs, if ballast
intact

- for those who want improved lighting output, but not pining for projector
look, the OEM reflector HIDs may be just the ticket

02EClass320

Ah, so these will not provide the projector look? I thought they did...

Alright I guess I am going to have to take on the depo project. I'm glad I asked, I would have been upset if I spent that much money and didnt get what I wanted with the Euro headlights.

raymond g-

this is what your link is selling, OEM reflector based HID


this is the projector based design. i'm at work and cant think
clearly. i dont think there was OEM projector based HID for your year

alixx_pt

Hello Raymond G and Ben'z

I can't see clearly on your pics how you screw the w211 projector unit into Depo housing.

I took out the recomended 3mm and dremmeld recomended sections (so solenoid can fit through).

But I can't see how I can screw all the four mounting poinst as they don't aling with plastic poles of Depo !

Is it necessary to build an adaptor of some kind ?

Can you show how to do it ? Please ...

I'm kind of lost right now...

BR

alixx

raymond g-

(Ben'z, jump in too in case i flub this....)

Alixx-
yes (!) the 211 projector's holes don't align with the Depo mounting posts.

...but, coincidentally, the dimension of the metal flange is just close enough
that we can use this ghetto trick



Head down to the garage and rummage in your parts drawers for the serrated
design, lock washers. You're looking for oversize washers which will be used
to pinch the metal flange between two lock washers.

I then inserted an oversize flat washer, but with ID just large enough for the
post's mounting screw. If this sandwich of parts is too thick, you'll need to
consider longer screw. Just select for same threading.

This combination of parts serve to secure the projector to each post. You
may find that two of the posts are notched. They serve to keep the projector
perpendicular to the centerline. You may find that you'll need to notch a
little more...to maintain this alignment.

Be careful and think 10x and cut once. I chose not to cement anything here
as the ability to loosen and/or disassemble so as to adjust for rotation may
be needed before you complete the job. This rotational adj allows you to
rotate the 211's projector unit and align the cutoff parallel to level ground.
Once this is verified level later on, feel free to drop dab of epoxy or some
such if you choose. (I never epoxied or cemented, yet it also has never
loosened. If it did, I would.)

This is the reason why 211 or E55 or Maxima bix unit is chosen. Other than
the Dremel-ing of the inner opening, that's about all that is needed to fit.
The rest is basic electrical wiring, routing of the high tension lead through
the back cover, positioning and mounting of the ballast....and you're home free!

does this help? i apologize for my woeful artistic abilities.

raymond g-

p.s.
where the post is notched (looked closely) I cut the serrated washer so that
it resembled half or three-quarter moon shaped. I then JBWelded it to the
small ledge of the mounting post.

If you have to modify the ledge, BE SURE that the opposite post is modified
exactly the same or you will introduce tilt to the projector. Be sure the
modified ledge is cut perpendicular to the centerline of the post so that the
lock washer will mimick this perpendicular angle and present itself as such to
the 211's flange.