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Anyone put LED headlights in their W211? Want to put some in my E550. Stock Halogens are hella dim and 1 just burnt out (driver's side). Please don't reply with "Oooooo HIDs are way better" or "You won't see as well with LEDs as much as HID" because I know that but i dont want to go thru the hassle of installing HIDs and ballasts. I just want to add some plug and play LED headlights. About ready to pull the trigger on a pair from lasfit. If anyone has LED's in their W211 and can send a link to which set they used along with the retainer clips they used, that would be great. Thanks
HIDs are way better. You won't see as well with LEDs as much as HID or halogens. The Hassel of aftermarket LEDs is not worth it. Proper LEDs require cooling which means drilling holes in the back of your headlight housings and then resealing them. The LEDs that are "drop in" will out put less light than the halogens you have now. Not only that but your existing projectors are specifically designed for halogens. An LED bulb will alter the beam pattern in a way that will either blind other drives or send most of the light up into the trees. On top of that, LEDs will trigger the bulb out warning in the dash can cause the lights to flicker ON and off. Your best option is to find some used 211 HID housings and install those in your car followed by a trip to your local MB indie mechanic to have the car coded for HID.
HIDs are way better. You won't see as well with LEDs as much as HID or halogens. The Hassel of aftermarket LEDs is not worth it. Proper LEDs require cooling which means drilling holes in the back of your headlight housings and then resealing them. The LEDs that are "drop in" will out put less light than the halogens you have now. Not only that but your existing projectors are specifically designed for halogens. An LED bulb will alter the beam pattern in a way that will either blind other drives or send most of the light up into the trees. On top of that, LEDs will trigger the bulb out warning in the dash can cause the lights to flicker ON and off. Your best option is to find some used 211 HID housings and install those in your car followed by a trip to your local MB indie mechanic to have the car coded for HID.
Good luck
Going to give it a try anyways once they arrive. If they don’t work, then I’ll just return them
Don't do it. Coming from my own personal experience, LEDs only kind of work in Facelift housings due to the projector being unfrosted. Even then, the beam pattern is identical, just a little whiter in colour. Not worth it.
Invest in this. You will thank me later. These are made specially to be error free and have better than factory-HID output.
Don't do it. Coming from my own personal experience, LEDs only kind of work in Facelift housings due to the projector being unfrosted. Even then, the beam pattern is identical, just a little whiter in colour. Not worth it.
Invest in this. You will thank me later. These are made specially to be error free and have better than factory-HID output.
My car is the face lifted version of the W211. Unless you mean newer generations of E class. Those HIDs you linked though, are they easy to install? Any mods needed?
My car is the face lifted version of the W211. Unless you mean newer generations of E class. Those HIDs you linked though, are they easy to install? Any mods needed?
When I said facelifted in the Original Post, I meant the cars marketed between 2006-2008 in Europe and 2007-2009 in North America that come with the slats on the headlights. They have a different projector that throws LED light differently than the pre-facelift models.
As you can see the light output is better but still not spectacular. Installation is very easy though.
The installation of the RetrofitLab HIDs is straightforward but a little time consuming, as it involves removing the lens of the headlight (you need to put the headlights in the oven at low temperature to get the glue to let you take it off) but you will end up with spectacular results in the end. They have an installation video on youtube and on their website.
Bottom line being, if you want the LED look and moderately better output, go for the BEAMTECH LEDs recommended in the linked youtube video. If you want/need good light output for safety reasons and have a free day to work on your car, invest in the HIDs. There is no risk in glaring and blinding with this kit, as it replaces the projector inside the headlight and is specially designed for all W211 models.
When I said facelifted in the Original Post, I meant the cars marketed between 2006-2008 in Europe and 2007-2009 in North America that come with the slats on the headlights. They have a different projector that throws LED light differently than the pre-facelift models. This is a YouTube video showing installation of LEDs on a Facelift model. As you can see the light output is better but still not spectacular. Installation is very easy though.
The installation of the RetrofitLab HIDs is straightforward but a little time consuming, as it involves removing the lens of the headlight (you need to put the headlights in the oven at low temperature to get the glue to let you take it off) but you will end up with spectacular results in the end. They have an installation video on youtube and on their website.
Bottom line being, if you want the LED look and moderately better output, go for the BEAMTECH LEDs recommended in the linked youtube video. If you want/need good light output for safety reasons and have a free day to work on your car, invest in the HIDs. There is no risk in glaring and blinding with this kit, as it replaces the projector inside the headlight and is specially designed for all W211 models.
I know this thread is months old and I'm sorta new to Mbworld and not on it that often except when I'm having a problem with my car, so sorry to reply to you this late but I did eventually get 8000k HIDs a month ago. I didn't buy the one you linked though, I bought the mtec kit. They're great. No flickering problems, looks almost as good as OEM Xenons. You were definitely right that HIDs are better than LEDs by a long shot. Thanks. Will post pictures later
I did eventually end up investing in a set of HIDs. Went with the Mtec kit, 35 watt 8000k. Looks almost as good as OEM Xenons and gives my car a whole new look. I know this thread is months old though, sorry for the late reply. I'm new to this site and not active here very often. Glad I went HID over LED instead
^
8000k?!? ROFL. You loose lumens past 5-6k. Ideally 4300 is best. But most don't like the yellowish tint so 5k is normally the best option. At 8k you are at a very blue spectrum of light output... If it makes you happy cool, but just know that high up in the spectrum you have lost very usable light just to get the "cool" blue look...
^
8000k?!? ROFL. You loose lumens past 5-6k. Ideally 4300 is best. But most don't like the yellowish tint so 5k is normally the best option. At 8k you are at a very blue spectrum of light output... If it makes you happy cool, but just know that high up in the spectrum you have lost very usable light just to get the "cool" blue look...
-Nigel
Yeah, 4300k is the best compromise. You need more yellow light to see in bad weather like rain/fog. Which is why fog lights are yellow. Which is why it's an OEM color. For some reason people thinking whiter is better, but not for the human eyes. You need more yellow light for bad weather when you need lighting the most.
^
8000k?!? ROFL. You loose lumens past 5-6k. Ideally 4300 is best. But most don't like the yellowish tint so 5k is normally the best option. At 8k you are at a very blue spectrum of light output... If it makes you happy cool, but just know that high up in the spectrum you have lost very usable light just to get the "cool" blue look...
-Nigel
Thats fine by me. I knew they wouldn’t be as bright as 4300k or 5k or 6k and that was fine by me. I have 4300k in my Acura TL stock and they aren’t that bright. I’m happy with the 8000ks. Thanks for your input though
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