oneeyejack

hey guys. so whats' the deal with this? i've been reading a bunch of threads and i can't really get a solid answer as to which is bulb is a good upgrade from the OEM ones. one of my low beam bulbs went out and i was looking to replace it.

some people say the Philips Visions Plus is good but you can only get these outside of the US. what about the silverstar h7?? is anyone using these?

lastly, anyone have instructions on how to actually change the headlight on a 2000 e class? do i have to remove the bumper to do this?

input would be appreciated.

thanks!!!

kicker

I have mine installed like 2 months ago. I use phillips vision plus, and very bright and see farther. When you replace them, better replace both side. Vision plus is more like a bright light, much brighter than the OEMs but it will not give you any blue tint though, if that's what you were looking for. If you like the bluish you have to look at Phillips blue vision. But vision plus is brighter. I ordered mine thru www.autolamps-online.com they located in England. but I got my order like a week or so. Pretty fast shipping! If you do a search on this forum "vision plus" or "blue vision" either one you will find out a lot about them.

No, you don't need to remove the bumper to change to low beam, just pop the hood and look behind the light, twist out the rear socket cover, and reach in and twist out the socket base that holds the bulb. Make sure you don't touch the bulb when you replace the new one. once you pop the hood, you will see, it is pretty self explanatory.

silvercloud

I was gonna ask the same thing. k so what about the rest of the bulb set ups like the driving lights just a tad brighter? does anyone make aftermarket blueish fog bulbs?

Whitey

If Philips, Crystal Vision is by far the whitest of the series. Stemags uses a PIAA's which he swears by but they're expensive. As for Sylvania Silver stars, I heard they are very bright and white but their design is so maxxed out (to produce the brightness and whiteness without the ghey blue tint on the glass) that they don't last but dunno, can't always trust what you read Anyone with experience please share cuz I'm considering them too

Silvercloud, as far as the color of the bulb is concerned, just look for the color temp, measured as 4000K, 5000K etc....4-4500K gives a clean white lite, I believe 5000-6500K gives a bluish lite and 7500K is purplish. Once u've selected the color you want find the right size (on the older models, it is H1 for the fogs but not sure what the fogs on the MY00+ models use).

Some good quality bulbs are Philips, Sylvania/Osram, PIAA and should have ones available for the headlights (H7) and fog lites (H1)....there are also other brands but quality is usually "hit and miss"...Also make sure they are 55W cuz some ricer bulbs are 100W, using a higher wattage to produce the brighter and whiter light but this strains your wiring and might burn them out...which could be real expensive....

ebennz

oneeyejack

send me a pm. i have the +50 osram silverstars in my car.

thanks

zam2000

Go with Vision Plus (much brighter) or Blue Vision (brighter & whiter). Both are made by Philips, high quality & last as long (or even longer) than OEM. They run on regulare wattage, won't damage the light bulb housing. Too bad both are sold in Europe only. There're couple more bulb lights that's high quality as well, search around and you will see.

Avoid the blue tin after market one. Chance is they're either burned out within a year, melt your light housing, or both. Not to mention that the white/blue light they produce is bad.

Avoid the whatever crap "xenon filled" bulb you see on eBay, yep, whether $5 or 90$/pair, they're all suck.

silvercloud

man that whitney is like talking to a blueprint for mb's(only if they had "who want to be a millionaire?' for mb owners only questions.. just messing with ya mang..anything about those standing light bulbs next to the low beans(closest to the hood) like aftermarket brighter ones?

Whitey

Well, I'm challenged with finding a bulb that will give me a white light but won't have an ugly blue reflection on my lights reflectors during the day . I know Silverstars might do it but I can't get them where I am and they're expensive.....but I think I might have found a solution tho' - one with a mirror finish........."watch this space" guys...

rob_fed

Over the years I've tried many bulbs in different cars, ranging from Philips to PIAA to cheapie import bulbs. Blue filters, purple filters, bulbs that look bluish when off but yellow when on, etc...

Seems to me that for actual usable light, clear seems to be the best. Over wattage bulbs, providing you have the correct wiring harness, are even better, but the extra heat may damage your headlight internals. The Vision Plus bulbs seem promising, but I have not tried those yet.

When time allows, I will probably go with the VPs and I am in the process in making a custom harness with seperate 30amp relays and 10 gauge wire. I am planning on tapping into the "jump start" terminal to provide all of the power to the headlights. I will fuse the circuit with a car stereo amp fuse block. This should provide enough current to each bulb to keep the voltage as high as possible.

As for fooling the warning message for the headlights not being directly connected, I hope that the relay coil resistance will be low to not set of the warning. If not, I may have to add an addtional load resistor.

I was planning on going into an HID conversion, but after reading various data on the web, I probably will not go that route due to the cost vs. efficency factor.