mhass350

The "kit" is nothing more than the bulbs (in this case H7 (lows) & H11 (fogs)) w/ a ballast (I chose the slim ballast) and error eliminators.




Not sure what you mean by "one-piece lens"...? Are you looking to replace the entire housing or just upgrade the bulbs? Correct me if I am wrong but the '04s have projector style halogens, right?


**Sorry for the picture size, not sure how to re-size from the web... if someone tells me how I will shrink it**

PewterGreyBenz

I don't know why I did not see your response sooner. The 04 , I guess have halogen. I don't know much about the mercedes brand, I know a lot about the BMW's though. Anywho, I just want to replace the bulbs, and I have the slim DDM on my 2003 m5 and 2001 740i sport.

The kit is spot on, I just thought their was a difference I should be looking out for, and it looks as though the only difference is the bulbs. I will go with these.

-Is their a write-up on how to take the headlights out?
-And is their a kit for the high's as well? I would love to have both high/low
-And did you get the 35w or 55w?

Thanks, you have been a world full of help


p.s and by the way, do you have pics with your hid's on? thanks

Tschuss_Bill

I did the e55 bixenon projector replacement with philips 85122+ bulbs. Real ds2 bulbs not H7 rebased ones. These are 35 watt which is plenty and more reliable than aftermarket 55's. The projector installation is bolt-in, but access to the innards of the headlight unit requires using your kitchen oven. Not as bad as it sounds.

For headlight removal, do a search for removing the front bumper cover on a w211. I did mine one side at a time, which facilitates doing it yourself with only 2 hands.

hope that helps.

PurpleS500

I read all the comments and searched forums . Did not s get a clear answer least I felt I ain't , looking to replace my headlights on my 2006 e350 4matic. With 2005 xenon headlights . Besides swapping the headlights . And plug em in. Any others parts I should need to buy to complete my swap .

Swapping my headlights lens are faded/ blurry can't see far ahead

Thank you in advance as I'll keep searching for a clear write up swap

PurpleS500

Anyone alive ?

Looking take off my stock non HiD headlights replace with same year (2006) XENON Headlights . Besides headlights any other parts I need ?

AZN Optics

Are you also changing out the plugs? The replacement headlight is oem?

PurpleS500

Which plugs ?
Was gonna buy a pair of 2003-2006 w211 xenon headlights , take off bumper install the headlights plug all back in and go to dealer to activate the xenon lights , so I'm asking what else I might need I read all threads nothing was fully clear all was jumping convo ( YES OEM Headlights )

PurpleS500

BUMP


Hi guys, winter time is coming up and would like fix my lighting system, I read this thread and read the thread to convert to from non HID to Factory HID, but ain't get a straight answer, I have a w211 e350 2006 with non factory HID's.


I would like to replace the entire headlight with factory HID's, do I get non adaptive ones or adaptive ones? plug and play besides going to the dealer to activate Xenon System on?

Tschuss_Bill

Some straight answers

Adaptive. Not useful without rewiring for level sensors etc. That is an ordeal and a waste if $$ imho

Non-adaptive. Is there there such a thing for factory headlights?

I went the route of making my stock non hid headlights to bixenon, by replacing the projectors. I didn't bother with dealer reset. I get both headlights, inboard and outboard, turning on for high beams.

no shortage of opinions out there but factory hids aren't necessarily the best you can do for your ride. Those are however the most expensive option to my knowledge. Also things like the ballasts are a fortune to replace vs quality aftermarket etc.

bobgodd

I would agree with this for the most part. Getting adaptive cornering lights would be nice but there's a bit of work needed to get it to actually work. That bit of work will likely require lots of money lol.

If you are buying an OEM set of bi-xenon headlights, I would strongly advise against buying a new pair as they really won't work correctly in your car, and they are quite expensive. I don't remember the details and someone please correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the connectors required to make those lights work are different, as there's different voltages on different pins and such.

There is a member in the W211 AMG forum with an 04 E55 who swapped in bi-xenon headlights and he went a different route that may work for you. He purchased Depo brand headlight replicas from ebay, or this, and swapped in bi-xenon projectors from theretrofitsource.com

If this is the route you want to go, the projectors are evox-r and are virtually plug and play, then purchase your choice of D2S bulb, phillips 85122+ are good, Osram 66240 CBI are better.

EuroDriverSD

What projectors did you use?

I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on the Evox-R's from TRS for my '08 E350, but I want to see some comparison shots with the OEM E55's.

The general consensus is that the Evox-R's are better, but many have expressed disappointed with them. (it also appears there has been some revisions to the Evox-R's in the past few years but I haven't found any solid info on this). I'm also curious if anyone has gone with a projector other that the E55 or Evox_R.

bobgodd

I know this wasn't directed at me but I recently did the projector swap on my W211, so I've got some fresh insight.

I can take beam pattern shots for you tonight if you like. I am using evox-r with osram 66240 cbi bulbs. I do not have beam pattern shots of the original hella E55 projectors, but I don't think it would be too hard to find online. I have had the projectors swapped for about 2 months now and my impressions are as follows - these are of course all compared to the hella E55 projectors:

-the beam on the evox-r is wider, as in, it is brighter at the wider parts off to either side of the car.
-The distance seems about the same, if there is a difference between the two, I did not notice.
-The cutoff on the evox-r is much flatter, and the step is much smaller, than the E55, this might allow you to aim a bit higher without risking blinding anyone.
-The cutoff on the evox-r is a pretty visible blue, and thus the flicker other motorists will see will also be blue; I believe the E55 has more color and more color variance in the flicker.
-The bowl in the evox-r projector is highly polished. This in turn can make the beam pattern in the foreground (close to the front of the car on the ground) appear streaky. This effect is not really noticeable when driving and with bright (new) bulbs it's really a non-issue.
-The evox-r do not come with a foreground limiter. This is a plate that blocks a large amount of light from flooding out to the ground immediately in front of the car. This can be very distracting as it creates a large contrast and makes the eyes have a difficult time adjusting between the ultra bright foreground and everything that's dark above the beam cutoff. If you are swapping from Hella E55 to evox-r, the foreground limiter plate can be easily swapped into the new projector. If not, a foreground limiter can be easily made though with some thin sheet metal and tin snips.
-The evox-r do not have a "squirrel finder" which is a deliberate scattering of light above the beam cutoff. It can be helpful for lighting signs and other things overhead, without offending oncoming motorists. The hella E55 does have this, as do most OEM projectors. The evox-r has zero light above the cutoff.
-The hella E55 has a fresnel lens, which is sort of frosted and concentric circles on it's surface. This aids in making the beam pattern much more uniform beam spread (could alleviates streakiness that is seen from the polished bowl of the evox-r), but also makes the cutoff a bit less sharp. The evox-r comes with clear lenses and this makes the beam cutoff ultra pronounced and sharp, and makes the color at the cutoff much more visible.
-The bi-xenon functionality in both projectors are identical and use the same connectors making it plug and play with the headlight harness.


I am happy with the projector swap, I don't think I will be going back. As you can see there are some disadvantages to the evox-r vs OEM, but there are a lot of positives as well. Most importantly more light. I don't think any other readily available projectors out there will fit the W211 light housing without some modification.

Tschuss_Bill

I did mine in 2012 and used Evox-R's from retrofit source. I researched the snot out of this back then but have not kept current as to any developments out there. Retrofit is a good company to work with, and they have all the little bits needed to get through the project. As for wiring etc, there is more than one way to skin a cat.

I used Amp pigtailed ballasts. I drilled a hole in the round headlight cover. I put a rubber grommet in there. Then deconstructed the AMP connectors so that I could pass the wire through the grommet, then re-assembled the connectors. My ballasts are older and too large to house inside the headlight. I recently read of someone putting the ballast inside the headlight.

I'm happy with the conversion. One of the ballasts is starting to flicker, if RS doesn't replace it under warranty (I think it's out now), I might go 50W for a ballast upgrade.

Let me know if I can help in your adventure. Getting the bumper cover off is only part of the adventure!!

-Bill

EuroDriverSD

Thank you for the detailed explanation. I was 85% convinced on the Evox-r's over the E55's but now I'm on the fence again.

It seems that everyone is after the sharpest, bluest cutoff, but to me it seems counter-intuitive. I would think a little bleeding over the cutoff would actually be quite helpful in seeing what's above the road. I think the same is true with the two shields, in that the E55 shield will allow more vertical visibility (i.e., seeing a large animal or person instead of only their feet, dim road signs, etc.).

I really like the thought of the wider beam on the evox-r, and that's what I want to compare against the E55 - just how much wider?

I'm giving some thought to getting both sets of projectors and using the E55 shields and foreground limiters on the evox-r. I just don't know if it would be worth the added expense. On the other hand, the E55 projectors with a clear lens may be just as good. I think the difference in beam width will end up being the deciding factor for me.

@Bill: If I were you, I'd give serious thought before going to the 50W ballasts. I've read that they burn your bowls prematurely - especially on the E55's. That's your call though - may be worth it at the expense of replacing projector bowls in a few years.

I'm currently using a rebased H7 kit with the XB35 AMP ballasts. I'll probably stick with that setup, but I'm seriously considering the Denso slim ballasts (I just love how my W203 with factory xenons light up to full intensity in a split second, vs. the Morimoto setup on my W211).

EuroDriverSD

And yes, I'd greatly appreciate some output shots!

bobgodd

There's really a lot of factors to consider if you really want to make an educated informed decision. Lighting, like brakes, should really be considered to be an important safety function of a car, more so than something to accessorize. When taking that into consideration, OEM projectors are hard to beat. I did this swap under the assumption that I would get better lighting output, thus making night driving easier. I don't know if there's a big enough difference between the two projectors to warrant the swap, unless you are a big fan of a sharp cutoff. The beam is wider and brighter, I'll admit to that, but I don't know how much brighter. I didn't have time to do a solid/fair comparison (daily driver) because I had 6 year old Philips 85122+ bulbs in when I did the swap, and the lighting output was already dim. I replaced with one of the brightest bulbs on the market so yea, it looked pretty dern bright lol.

My understanding is that OEM bulbs like Phillips and Osram can be run at 50W if someone wanted a stronger ballast. The OEM bulbs can tolerate that extra power without getting too hot to melt bowls, but I wouldn't try it with other aftermarket bulbs or even Morimoto bulbs unless they are specifically made for 50W. Besides, having so much bright bright bright light immediately under the cutoff, and pitch black above the cutoff can actually hinder your ability to see at night driving depending on your location. If you're in the city with a lot of light around around you it wouldn't be as much of an issue, but if you live in the sticks, the contrast between the two would put quite a strain on your eyes to see what's in the darkness above the cutoff.

EuroDriverSD

bobgodd, I think you nailed it on the head, as far as what I was trying to say. Your comments reminded me of a few years back, when I was driving an Audi A6 with factory xenons. They had a very sharp cutoff and I found the strong, blue cutoff line very distracting and almost dizzying. On top of that, the contrast of the intense foreground and pitch black above the blue cutoff in dark roads was quite uncomfortable on the eyes.

Of course we all know that beside its uniquely colorful cutoff, the E55 is not the best performing projector out there. Thus, I'm looking for something in between. I'm over the ricer phase and safety definitely comes before looks, but I do occasional long distance driving on rural roads (bobgodd, you might know what I'm talking about: the old 94 from Rancho San Diego to Campo) thus why I'm looking for a little more performance.

Just out of curiosity - has anyone tried Fresnel lenses on the evox-r? It would be interesting to see the effect.

MSAB51

I installed the 'Optix Xenon Slim HID Kit - H7 8000k Headlight Low Beam' from ebay last year. One of the bulbs has fused after about 40000 miles/600 hours. Replaced with 'Kensun Xenon HID H7 6000k replacement Bulbs'. So far ok.

JMGavin3rd

Mann, I had a shop do some tint and the HIDs, its giiving me a check engine after 2 months. My mechanic said it was because of the HIDs, killed the ozone sensor. he read more on MBworld too. Im just not finding the right solution. Link me to a website or something you know will work 100% and make the light go away haha. its a 2008 e350. only 65k miles on her.

cetialpha5

What will work 100% is to sell your car and buy another one with the P2 package. That will work 100%. To find them, use the vin checker or try and see if you can see if the car has headlamp washers and the stickers under the hood. There's two stickers, one on each side warning of high voltage on the Bi-xenons. If you see keyless go, that's also usually a good sign it has the Bi-xenons, I think I've only seen one or two cars that had keyless go in the 2008-2009 range but no bi-xenons. The price of car with P2 is about the same or just a little more than one that doesn't have them. They're hard to find though.

tonyt77

I love my Morimoto 5500k 35W which I bought from Ebay. Not too bright that I think will blind upcoming traffic and still runs good, no codes, no flickering BUT some scratches on arms and hands when installing