Good News if you think MB's HIDs are terrible
 

MB finally realizes their factory HIDs are sorely lacking (mine aren't nearly as good as my BMW's lamps.) The best news is that the ballast and bulbs can be retrofitted to existing cars with the current HIDs.

Announced by Daimler AG today:

"Achieving light colour which is as close as possible to daylight is one of the biggest safety benefits in the field of headlamp technology. Mercedes-Benz is now one of the first automotive manufacturers to offer xenon headlamps boasting a significantly brighter light output.

From December, production of the E-Class and S-Class will make use of new xenon burners from the company Osram, featuring a colour temperature which has been increased by some 20 percent.

Achieving a figure of 5000 Kelvin, the new xenon light is even closer to daylight and is therefore even brighter – a clear innovation, in the true sense of the phrase.

This light colour is in keeping with normal human perception patterns, and as such conveys an impression of greater brightness to the eyes, thus reducing the strain on the driver. Studies have shown that the closer the colour of artificial light comes to daylight, the less the strain on the eyes. This is a crucial safety benefit, especially if we take into account that only 20 percent of journeys take place at night – yet it is when 40 percent of fatal accidents occur.

After the E-Class and the S-Class, further Mercedes-Benz model series will be gradually fitted with the new xenon burners in 2011. All previous Mercedes-Benz vehicles equipped with xenon headlamps can also be fitted with this additional safety feature, as the new xenon burners will be available from branches and dealers as Mercedes-Benz original parts."

I'm extremely satisfied with my existing Bi-Xenon headlights .. are we talking about the same thing?

Do you have pricing info?

i dont get it. ballast has little to do with color temperature....and the 5k bulbs
have been around for a decade. what am i missing?

I guess any improvement to the existing HID technology is a good one. :y

I am also curious to see what are the real biggest differences...just brighter?

Interesting....I thought my xenons were too obnoxious....I get flashed all the time (and yes, they're aimed correctly).

I think 5,000 kelvin (vs. 4,300) will give you a slightly bluer light?

I have the Bi-Xenons on my car and they are hugely inadequate!
This will definitely be something worth looking into.

http://www.autolismo.com/images/HID_8.jpg

Actually 5K is a little more closer to pure white, while 6K is white with a slight blue tint. Then 8K has a purple/blue hue to it.

Then anything above that begins to turn purple (less light output).

I have a 6K HID drop in kit in another car, and I think 5K would be next purchase once I change bulbs. :D

Here's the link: http://media.daimler.com/dcmedia/0-9...=1288318131004

The new bulbs will be non coated like the current D1S-35 W 4300K bulbs with the built-in igniter.

Bulbs out there that are 5k (and more) are coated (blue) and that also reduces lumens (brightness.) MB is saying these new bulbs are still clear (non coated) but now a true daylight 5k. They will be both brighter and cooler. That's a breakthrough.

Other cars like Audi and BMW also use the 4300k stock non coated bulbs but their projector design make for a cooler and brighter light. The projectors in a new Porsche are also better this way. My BMW lights are much brighter and seem closer to 5k than my current (2009) HID adaptives on my AMG.

The MB HID projectors are really not as good as Audi, Porsche and BMW in respect to their brightness. But now they should look a lot better. The best thing is that this can be retrofitted onto existing cars with factory HIDs. Good if you're like me and want bright (not blue coated) daylight temperature bulbs. (But if you don't have factory projector HIDs all ready, they can't install.)

I didn't know this either, but apparently the bulb in conjunction with ballast type will create different output. I also thought all ballasts were the same. :nix:

Here's an old thread that talks about the differences (see p 2) https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...cs-56k-no.html

Here are before and after pics from the Daimler AG press release:

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...10C1081_03.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...10C1081_02.jpg

I have to agree that MB uses one the poorest HID projector lens, HId on my C class was not nearless as bright, and the beams are not nearly as wide as my TSX and s2k The S2k still from today have been proven to be the best HID porjectors lens money can buy. MB HID lenses are just poor design, Koito and Stanley are probably one of the best out there and MB doesnt either of them.

Any idea on cost to upgrade the Bi-Xenon's in my 08 E550?

Since they're going into assembly on the E and S Class starting with December production, we probably won't know until later when the dealers get new parts price lists and it's in the system. I'm assuming some time after the new year.

I'm stopping in at my dealer's next week, and I'll ask just in case they might have any info. This was only announced publicly just 2 days ago.

I'm definitely going to upgrade and when I do, I'll post here. My HID headlamp on the driver's side is a different color than the other one and so I've been ready to replace bulbs and check out the ballasts and the projector (projector could be discolored, etc..)

if the light differential involves blue, white, yellowish vertical segments, this is
usually caused by refraction at the cutoff. if the whole beam is color shifted,
it is likely the bulb. i suppose it could be the projector lens but those are
usually designed for focus/spread instead of color

It's color shifted altogether (I even measured it with a color meter) and I suspect the bulb. However I did run into an issue with another car of mine that had some sort of weird oily stain on both the inside reflector and lens of the projector which cast a yellowish tint. I'm just going to wait until I have a choice with this new set up and check it out before I go with current D1S-35 W bulb replacements.

Anyone do the upgrade yet?

Judging off of that picture, I like the 4300 the best. It's crisp and white, yet still retains some warmth. When lights get too blue-ish, they lack a warm glow that's pleasing and effective to my eyes at least, I also find the "too white/blue" to lack in actual illumination, and be an annoyance to others on the road.

5K seems like it will be the perfect and ideal balance.

I'd like to know too...It would help in my search for a w211, if I could retro fit bi-xenons

fyi, this can be done but only on cars with existing factory bi-xenons.

"All previous Mercedes-Benz vehicles equipped with xenon headlamps can also be fitted with this additional safety feature, as the new xenon burners will be available from branches and dealers as Mercedes-Benz original parts."

If you buy a car without factory OEM bi-xenons, any retrofit from the OEM halogen to OEM xenon is an expensive proposition plus it needs to be Star activated to function, etc...

220S - Any updates/pricing? TIA.

X2. Furthermore, factory HID systems come with levelling, which involves sensors placed underneath the cars and the motors to level the lights, as well as washing systems. Both the levelling and washing functions are mandated for HID systems in Germany. So a true retro-fit would be very expensive. Just changing the lenses to projectors and adding ballasts is only half the system IMO.

I plan to check with the dealer early next week. I'll post if I can get any part numbers and prices (USA)

MB dont need to change the lightbulb, they need to go with a new vendor for their projectors, they need to go Koito projectors. It is the projectors that are pooly design, not the bulb. Comparing with my s2k 4300 k and MB 4300k are just not the same as bright output.

Can someone elaborate on the "bad Projectors"? Like the lenses, or the actual whole devices are sub-par?

This isn't about the bulb. It's about a newer burner altogether that started in Jan 2011 production.

MB would probably never use Koito as a parts supplier when there are plenty of excellent German and Euro manufacturers. And anyway Koito has been banned in Europe by Airbus, and that was even long before their testing scandal later in 2010. So I kinda doubt any German or European manufacturer will ever be using any Koito products.

5000K HIDs
 

I just upgraded to these on my E63.

Big difference in the crispness of the lighting. I am very happy with the results.