johnc510

I recently purchased the Morimoto Elite HID kit with 5000k bulbs from theretrofitsource. Based on the opinions of a lot of folks on this forum, the 5000k color temperature is what most people seemed to favor.

After installing it, I'm finding that the color output is a bit blue for my tastes. Maybe it's because I want it to look as OEM as possible. Unfortunately, before I ordered it, I only had an idea of the color output from photos people posted as well as from their statements of the pure whiteness of it.

I can really see the blueness difference whenever I drive the E350 immediately after driving the Bimmer and I'm very happy with the Bimmer's light output.

So, I've decided to take some photos tonight to help those who are deciding whether to go with the 4300k or 5000k bulbs.

The following photos were taken with the white balance of the camera (Canon 5Dmk2) set to "sunlight" -- to help get as accurate of a color representation as possible:

The BMW X1 OEM Xenon vs the E350 with TRS' Morimoto 5000k HID kit:


More pics:

ferrari_f50

The 5000k looks pretty good

JackDaRippa

Looks great! Looks a bit less bluer than mine. Where did you get your parking/city LED lights from?

BM2BZ

if you compare them to your hockey sticks, i think they are a tiny bit bluer . but if not because you said the x1 has oem xenon, i thought they are w/halogen . when you compare them, especially the light output on the ground, the x1 is definitely way yellower. i like the lights from the w212 better. btw, both you and jackdarippa have some cool sig pics .

BenzV12

Before inserting my 2 cents on this mod , let me 1st say my appreciation your signature I saved it in my notebook , very cool one
Having said that you told these were 5000K but I swear these look more brighter than our dad's which is Fleetwood 6000K
I like these night shots as well , your stuffs look like pro
Make sure it doesn't blind the oncoming drivers' eyes because standard P1s being halogen don't come with auto level lights that are mandatory in factory Bi-Xenons

rufmb

Looks great. Appears you installed them yourself. What did they cost an I'm wondering what a local mechanic would charge to install, would it cause any warranty issues with MB?

johnc510

I would imagine your 6k lights must be pretty blue looking considering my 5k lights are blue. I got the parking light LEDs from AznOptics.

These are the ones I got:
http://aznoptics.com/index.php?main_...&products_id=8

Let me know if you want to buy mine from me. I'm planning to order the 4500k version to match the 4300k xenon bulbs I just ordered from theretrofitsource.




Glad you like the sig. Yes, I was hoping the color output would match the hockey sticks. If you look at the comparison photo of the X1's output, you'll see the hockey sticks are close in color to it. I agree that the X1's output does look a bit halogen-ish in the comparison photo. Maybe these 5k lights are really higher than 5k giving the illusion that the X1 is yellow.



Thanks, glad you like the sig. 5k should be brighter than 6k. The higher color temperatures lose light output. I just ordered the 4300k bulbs and they should be slightly brighter than the 5k.

I did the eyeball leveling where I had my car on a flat surface, shined up against a wall. Then with the road test, the cut-off line of the lights sit below most cars' license plate -- even from a far distance.

Here's a photo of the cut-off line:




They were $150 from theretrofitsource.com. I'm not sure what a mechanic would charge since I'm the DIY type. I actually installed the ballasts inside the w212's headlamp housing assembly so there was no drilling. There is no trace of the xenon retrofit unless someone opens either round cover/caps from the assembly. If I have any sort of electrical warranty work needed, I'll just remove it and put the halogens back in before taking it to the stealership.

BenzV12

I appreciate your being so conscious on your mods .Honestly, I presumed the higher the number the brighter the lamps situation lol
Good job

JackDaRippa

Lol yea compared to yours they are pretty blue. I'm thinking about switching to 5k. I plan on ordering them today, unless you can get me an invoice today ill grab yours.

K-A

Good comparo. 5K is actually what stock HID M-B's come with now (after 2010), so I think it's a perfect color temperature. Though I wasn't aware a higher temperature means less light output (making my previous case for thinking 4300 was perfect more my speed right now again, perhaps).

Are all new BMW's 4300K? I noticed when I got my 2011 E, that the Xenons were quite a bit whiter and sharper than my 2010 E (5K VS 4300). Now with my F10 BMW, I feel like the Xenons are more like my 2010 E's, which already lead me to believe they must be 4300K.

johnc510

I think my conscious modding is what drove me to favor the 4300k's color output vs the 5000k for that OEM look. I think a lot of people have the misconception of higher kelvin, higher lumens but the color temperature and lumens actually have a reverse relationship.



Sent you a PM, Jack.



I've been reading that stock MB HID is 5000k. I really want to do a comparison of my 5000k HID kit next to a 2011+ p2 w212. That would really solve the mystery for a lot of people.

Hmmm, I'm not quite sure if all new BMWs are 4300k or 5000k. My X1 is a 2013 with adaptive bi-xenon lights and, well, you can see from the comparison photo that they definitely are not close to the blueness of the 5000k HID kit lights. So I'm going to deduce that they're 4300k as is your F10 5er.

newyorktoLA

Your lights look great! WHat's weird is that my 2013 SLK350 has 4300K lights (with Lighting Package)...I think the 5000K depends on the model.

K-A

Yeah, did some research and it looks like they're 4300K. They don't look as cool as the 5000K hue, but apparently they indeed do emit better light output. Go figure. I guess I have something to be happy about considering I inevitably went back to 4300K's.

newyorktoLA

Yes, even on Mercedes, only the E class & S class have 5000K lights. All others have 4300K (atleast the SLK!)
http://www.emercedesbenz.com/autos/m...ht-technology/

johnc510

Thanks amaycg. Definitely thanks to your write-up!



So the newer w212s do have 5000k, as pointed out by K-A. Maybe that's the case with Bimmer's as well? I've seen a newer body-style X5 on the road at night with some pretty blue looking headlights + matching color angel eyes. Could be due to higher end model with 5000k -- or could be that he ordered the same 5000k Morimoto HID kit!

K-A

Interesting. John, are your Angel Eyes halogen or LED colored? Mine seem a lot more "white" (mine are for sure LED). If yours aren't in fact LED, then perhaps the 5-Series has brighter headlights (?), since I feel like my headlight/Angel Eye units are brighter than that. Who knows I guess, lol.

hyperion667

really? the blue hue of the light bothers you??

I could never allow a mere color to evoke such emotion in me.....
besides, are you not sitting IN the car when the lights are on?


or are you driving along thinking "mam, these lights are so BLUE, I am feeling
embarresed about these blue lights, all my friends have white lights"

Arrie

Just as I read these posts I wanted to give my opinion.

The two cars in the picture for me look to have very good lights on the right hand side and not so good on the left hand side. Unless there is a very serious trik in the picture I see the W212 on the right.

The BMW lights to me look horrible. They are very yellow and I have difficulty to believe these are anything better than halogen but the car owner knows so if they indeed are HID lights they are poor at that.

The MB lights in the picture look very good, almost like from factory. Has very small amount of blue but this would not bother me. One thing here is though that the picture may not show exactly how it is. In reality the MB lights could actually be bluer and the BMW lights whiter.

I can just say about MB factory Bi-Xenon lights that it would be difficult to make them any better. They look like natural sunlight and when you drive in pitch dark and the high beams come on it feels like the sun just came up. These lights have low beams better than high beams in most cars I ever drove thanks to the automatic distance adjustment.

flatif

Great comparison. Before I jump in and convert the halogens in my 2011 E350 to Xenons, I am wondering if the complete headlight can be replaced with an OEM Xenon headlight. Is there anything more than just coding the car after a swap?

My passenger side headlight is broken (minor mishap) so it needs to be replaced. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity/excuse to "upgrade" to Xenons.

CEB

Yes, very nice pictures and yes, it may cause serious warranty issues.

If the dealer wants to be an ***, they can deny warranty repairs for any electrical related failure, claiming that the mod placed unexpected loads on the electrical system. MB would back them up and you'd be "paying to play."

In reality, such a mod may place unexpected loads on the system that may cause glitches to appear.

That said, while the pictures look "cool" they also show the immense amount of glare produced by these illegal lights - and these pictures also show why these lights are illegal.

But the pictures are very nice.

kp_walsh@hotmai

Would love to see pictures of how you installed the ballasts inside the headlamp housing assembly. I really would prefer not to drill. They don't create that much heat? Any thing you can share would be appreciated. KPW

kb24forlife24

What is the OEM "K" of the W212 headlights?