You Sir, are a maroon.

I'm out of this thread. The OP has gotten the facts from my link. It is up to him to decide if he wants to comprehend them.

 

Maroon, eh???

 

I see you got the reference

For those unfamiliar with the word maroon, it is..."a term of derision often uttered by Bugs Bunny when referring to an interaction with a dopey adversary" (from the urban dictionary)

 

*sigh* we should have a sub-forum for any performance enhancements for each model. Put a disclaimer at the top of the page of the issues mods can cause. Yes every party should have their voice, but it seems each time we have a mod thread it turns into a pretty heated battle.

 

Lol I'm with ya on that one!

 

Hahaha I'm sure the OP is now aware there will be some old ladies in Mercedes upset at him if his HIDs are 10 degrees too high, 1000 degrees too cool, or 100 lumens too bright.

I too consider this matter settled - lets move on

 

Jesus. What a way to **** on op's thread.

Someone I know has done it himself, and took him 4 freaking hours. yikes.
I am still debating if I should get a HID kit or not.

 

I hate being the toilet

 

I think a great alternative is just upgrading the OEM bulbs to something that run a bit brighter and hotter. I believe Osram has a pair that are rated at 30% brighter. Obviously you still won't get the color temperature of the xenon gas or the lumen output of the HIDs but it'll improve the brightness of the OEM lights. I have to admit having driven through mild fog near LAX the other day the OEM lights aren't that great...

Anyone know if the W212 design is as retarded as the W211 that requires bumper removal or wheel removal to get to the bulbs?

 

I changed both low beam bulbs with very little effort. Driver side tricky but loosening a bracket and moving it aside. I have big hands and accomplished it pretty easily.

 

ghh429, No white light is good in fog. That is one area that I find HIDs to be a poorer performer. Good fog lights like the ones on my Luxury E work great.

 

So i went ahead and ordered the Mtec kit lol. Should be in early next week.

I'll keep you guys posted on the install when it comes in!

 

Yah - actually there wasn't really fog in front of the car, just really really dark due to marine layer.

What I'm trying to say is I was surprised at how poorly the OEM lights performed in dark conditions. The beam pattern is extremely low and not very bright.

 

Interesting thread. Now back to the OP's question. I had the mtec h7 kit on my R171. It was ok but not as nice as the OEM kit. MTEC kit seemed initially brighter but after 2-3 year they dimmed a little. I'm not sure if it was my eyes but they were still a lot better than the regular halogens. I posted some pics on slkworld of a oem vs non-oem kit.

http://www.slkworld.com/general-modi...installed.html

 

R171 oem kit (left) vs mtec kit (right)

 

I guess I could mention the poor cut off and extra glare.

 

The OEM definitely looks cleaner there.

 

In addition, unless these are right hand drive cars, the cutoff is completely wrong.

Many people equate more glare with being "brighter" but it never is. These jerry-rigged mods only lighten your wallet, reduce your visibility and blind oncoming traffic that shouldn't be on the road anyway.

 

yikes. cutoff line is all over the place...

 

Cutoff line? Where? I don't see one.

Or is that the problem?

 

What is this image supposed to show? It is comparing the Left beams to the Right beam of another vehicle.

 

There you go. I completed your thought for you. That way you didn't have to go back and edit your post.

 

Thanks. That is what I was thinking. I always believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, just not their own facts.

 

Ahhh gotta love the internet "experts" that have never installed or reviewed a single HID kit in their lives.

The Mtech kit will definitely be brighter than the OEM halogens but most likely not as good as the OEM HIDs. HIDs as with all lights even LEDs and lasers dim over time. The degradation curve is typically dependent on the quality of the bulb and the technology employed. For example LEDs typically have a flat operating curve with a very sharp drop off near end-of-life. The HID lumens (brightness) is just way brighter than halogens. End of story.

As for the throw yes LH headlights (for LHD) cars will have a tighter throw compared to RH headlights. That said with a well designed HID retrofit kit slightly broader (or higher) throw is not going to blind oncoming traffic - this usually only happens when the mal-fitting bulb slips in the holder (due to poor design) changing the focal point of the light and sometimes (depending on headlight design) causes the beam to be directly pointed at oncoming traffic. Typically this means 45+ degrees left and 30+ degrees over. I'm sure you guys have seen some HID kits that were pointed so that they are signalling aircraft - those are the problem ones. A >well designed< HID retrofit kit will not cause any issues and will be an improvement over OEM halogens. That said I have not installed the Mtech kit so hopefully someone else has an install review?

While I can say I have personally installed dozens of headlights, HID kits (OEM and retrofit), as well as pretty confident around a vehicle you shouldn't take my word for it. Do your own research. Afterall, I'm just some dude on an internet forum...

 

so are you happy w/your purchase? did you do it yourself? mind to post some pics? thanks .