jluu1286

Hey guys I went to a Mercedes dealership today and I asked for a upgrade for a brighter light. The sales rep said that if I go for Bi-Zeon headlights, it would cost over a $1,000. He told me to take a look at silverstar headlights. They cost around $50 each and they are much better and brighter than the stock ones.

Has anyone had any experience with this or know anything about it?
Also he said that it would be a easy switch, no special methods needed, just swap them.

JY888

I used them for my Grand Cherokee SRT-8 in the fog lights (it fit the same bulb as the headlight) They worked really well, almost as bright as the Xenon headlights. Not a perfect match but pretty close in color. A little more white then blue. I think I got the sliverstar ultras. They make different levels, the ultra gives the best color and light.

They fit right in, just make sure you get the right bulb

jluu1286

Would they look fine or would they look stupid on my car?

JY888

depends on what your looking for, they are NOT the extreme lights you may see others driving around with. They look like normal headlights that are super white, and bright. Some of the auto supply shops will let you exchange them if you don't like them. Make sure you ask about their return policy on these types of bulbs before buying. Some won't let you return them because if you touch the bulb with your bare hands it ruins the bulb.

raymond g-

when i bought my 99 E320 in 2003 the first thing i sought to change was the
mediocre lighting. i tried the silverstar H7 bulb and wasn't impressed which is
why i spent a bit of time/cost on quality HID.

the Silverstar bulb is one of those premium halogen bulbs and shifts the ºK
a little higher. white has the appearance of being brighter but this subjective
measure can fool the brain/eyes. unless you perform a measure of
luminescence eyeball measure is far from being an accurate gauge.

i moved the Silverstar to the high beam side, and convered the low beam
over to an E55 projector.

it comes down to what your expectations are in terms of acceptable brightness

jluu1286

I just want a light that will provide me with better visibility at night. My cousin has a Lexus RX 330 and I have gotten used to seeing the road brightly lit up.

juve010

If your standard is the RX330 then you will probably want to switch to a projector setup with xenon bulbs. It doesn't have to be bi-xenon cause really, the silverstars are pletty good for highbeams, IMO

ohlord

4 H7 65 watt rally bulbs from
www.danielsternlighting.com
brighter than silvers,last longer,no headlamp malfunctions

juve010

ughhh yeah and those are $25 a piece! Are they really worth that much? Plus, isn't there concern for wiring failure with the higher wattage?

ohlord

No worries about the sockets or harness.
polish your lenses before installing.
diy on www.benzworld.org w210 diy section.

rschultz101

the 65W H7 are not DOT/SAE, but probably will never run into trouble with stock lights.
for the polish, I tried, the polish kit, even toothpaste, but no go.
the silverstar will have a bump, they are 30% more efficient,...
now the 65W, with a H9 burner on H7 socket, will almost double your light output,... but still a HID setup be better.
for the $1000 bucks,.... that might be labor only at the dealer, the lights are more like 1500-2000.
for the money , get the 65W, and throw in some new bulbs for the fogs.

most do get aftermarket depo lights, and throw in a cheap HID, and live with the beam pattern.
for the occasional shiny look, after cleaning the car, tireshine on the lens,
helps.

wish we could get replacement glass only,...

ohlord

going to check dot on your car.
Polishing works when done properly. Done dozens of them and all are shining clear and brite. You must be missing something.
The guys on this forum don't fit cheap hid they install high quality projectors into low quality depo units looks great,performs fair.

You can get just new lenses,btw.

jluu1286

What do you recommend for the Fog lights?

GregScheller

You can get the replacement glass only ! Easy / less than one hour.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Merce...#ht_2785wt_960

Dave1965

Will you please explain how a 65W incandescent bulb produces anywhere close to double the light output of a 55W incandescent bulb?

I bet that if you doubled the incandescent light output in your factory headlights that you would have a fire/melting of plastic provided the fuse didn't blow.

rschultz101

understand, it's not that easy,...
magic answer to look for , overvolt lumen IR MR16,...

the old bulbs, 55w * 22 lumen,.. 1200 * 2 = 2400
but the old bulbs also loose efficiency,...
new 65w * 34 lumen , ~2200 lumen * 2 = 4400

hope this makes sense

now if you already have the newer bulbs , of course, not double.

another aspect, they are usually rated at nominal voltage of 12.8V,
any more volts, a lot more juice or light,... shorter life,...

human eye, perceived brightness is not linear.
kelvin temperature of the light influences it too.


for the fuse, yeah, as long as it is slow, should be ok,
at startup, the bulb is like a short, and draws like 30A+, probably gets limited by the long wires.
under operating conditions, the 10W extra is minimal,
actually , on the newer lamps, they get more efficiency out of them,
by recycling some of the heat, so the thermal foot could be different too.

austinholloman

Does anyone have pictures of these bulbs running?

Brau0318

I have silverstar H7's 55 watts with the blue tip in my car I will post pictures when it gets dark out.

ShaneN.

woops, delete pls. wrong thread.