2014 LED Headlight upgrade
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Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 594
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From: USA to Germany
W221/W222/W213/X290
I tried the Depo lights and I can attest to the fact that they are crap. The optics are horrible and within a day I had one headlight that would not turn on and the other would not turn off. They went back immediately.
I retrofitted the OEM ILS LED headlights but it's still a work in progress. Right now they are working but I have an error code. I haven't been able to get it fixed because no one will touch it during the stay-at-home orders.
What I can tell you about going full OEM is that if you are looking for the automatic high beam/low beam function, your car needs to be equipped with the "multifunction stereo camera" on the windshield. If your car did not come with factory ILS or distronic, you probably don't have it. If you want to add it, you need to source the camera along with the cable and the windshield designated for it. It gets expensive really quick - even without the windshield replacement, it's quite an expensive project as it is.
Here's a link to the DIY I've been working on: ILS Retrofit Just keep in mind that the project is not complete so I would recommend further research before jumping in.
I retrofitted the OEM ILS LED headlights but it's still a work in progress. Right now they are working but I have an error code. I haven't been able to get it fixed because no one will touch it during the stay-at-home orders.
What I can tell you about going full OEM is that if you are looking for the automatic high beam/low beam function, your car needs to be equipped with the "multifunction stereo camera" on the windshield. If your car did not come with factory ILS or distronic, you probably don't have it. If you want to add it, you need to source the camera along with the cable and the windshield designated for it. It gets expensive really quick - even without the windshield replacement, it's quite an expensive project as it is.
Here's a link to the DIY I've been working on: ILS Retrofit Just keep in mind that the project is not complete so I would recommend further research before jumping in.
I ended up buying some Sylvania ZXE Ultra bright halogens from a store here. I still have the Phillips coming in, but the ZXE's are Xenon and they're really bright, and I would say brighter and have a wider range than the Philips.
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2019 G70 6MT & 2022 Ford Maverick XL
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From: Pepper Pike Ohio
24 GLS580 '23 E450 4matic 12 E350 4Matic
I would recommend the Sylvania Extra vision or the regular Silverstar which I have, the Silverstar ultra burns out too fast and the ZXE and ZXE gold has the bluest light but they last one year and have a lower light output than stock H7"s. The regular Silverstar has whiter light than stock Halogens, better distance than stock and lasts about 2-2.5 years, I put the extra Visions in my daughters car last year so almost two years so far and she likes them, they are much better than stock.
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From: Dallas-Ft.Worth,TX
2016 E350 Sport
At the end of the day, the results you achieve depends on your goals. If you simply want to upgrade the standard 3200K (yellow) output to a whiter light, then several 5000K halogen bulbs will do (Philips, Sylvania, or what else?)
As I understand it, Xenon HID technology produces white light at ONLY 4200K. So the numbers suggest that suited for purpose 5000K halogen replacements will give higher performance than Xenons (real or imagined).
As I understand it, Xenon HID technology produces white light at ONLY 4200K. So the numbers suggest that suited for purpose 5000K halogen replacements will give higher performance than Xenons (real or imagined).
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2019 G70 6MT & 2022 Ford Maverick XL
All that said, HID is poorly suited for high beams and also will cause error codes in a Mercedes. So will aftermarket LEDs. The best thing the OP can do is to follow your lead if he wants color match and stick with halogen - but note that bulbs like zXe will not perform that well and have short lives, so hope he likes changing bulbs.
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From: Dallas-Ft.Worth,TX
2016 E350 Sport
HID technology is complicated. Most OEM factory HID is in the 4100-4300K range and runs at 35 watts. This will produce somewhere along the lines of 2-3x the amount of light output of a halogen of any kind. I am sure you know that the Kelvin rating has only to do with color and nothing to do with actual output. Unless you get HID capsules that have a tint or metal halide salt mixture to give them a 12000k color, in every scenario real xenon HID is a huge performance improvement over a halogen.
All that said, HID is poorly suited for high beams and also will cause error codes in a Mercedes. So will aftermarket LEDs. The best thing the OP can do is to follow your lead if he wants color match and stick with halogen - but note that bulbs like zXe will not perform that well and have short lives, so hope he likes changing bulbs.
All that said, HID is poorly suited for high beams and also will cause error codes in a Mercedes. So will aftermarket LEDs. The best thing the OP can do is to follow your lead if he wants color match and stick with halogen - but note that bulbs like zXe will not perform that well and have short lives, so hope he likes changing bulbs.
Really, I don't care how the bulb does its business. All I know is that the color output closely matches the low beam LEDs and that's all I'm after. I've had the Philips bulbs in my car two years now. No blue, no error codes, no burnouts. No problems at all.
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From: USA to Germany
W221/W222/W213/X290
I've had nothing but good experiences with Sylvania (better than Phillips or GE) in the past. The ZXE's are way brighter than the regular stock halogens and they're also brighter than the Sylvania Ultra's (I've bought all three to test). I will be keeping the other two in the trunk as spares when these burn out, but I highly doubt they'll need replacing after a year when they're not used 24/7 like the low beams.
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2019 G70 6MT & 2022 Ford Maverick XL
Like, um, in English, please?
Really, I don't care how the bulb does its business. All I know is that the color output closely matches the low beam LEDs and that's all I'm after. I've had the Philips bulbs in my car two years now. No blue, no error codes, no burnouts. No problems at all.
Really, I don't care how the bulb does its business. All I know is that the color output closely matches the low beam LEDs and that's all I'm after. I've had the Philips bulbs in my car two years now. No blue, no error codes, no burnouts. No problems at all.
I was just clarifying to the OP that the word “xenon” in the zXe stuff is pure marketing BS because xenon HID is just a whole different sort of thing.
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Joined: Aug 2019
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From: USA to Germany
W221/W222/W213/X290
What you did is the correct way to do this.. that’s what I was saying. The Philips Diamond Vision H7s are halogens with the right color. No error codes.
I was just clarifying to the OP that the word “xenon” in the zXe stuff is pure marketing BS because xenon HID is just a whole different sort of thing.
I was just clarifying to the OP that the word “xenon” in the zXe stuff is pure marketing BS because xenon HID is just a whole different sort of thing.
