jchochla

I have a 2011 GL 450. The dealer "forgot" to add the Lighting package. So i got a nice extra discount for this mistake. I think i will eventually get the LED DRL's. I have to say there very nice. And they do make a statement on the car.

So anyway, i want to start off with changing the lights to Hid. Should i go with 6000K or 8000K? I think a 55Watt 6000K fits in more with the other cars. Can you guys please recommend me some nice looking, and reliable kits? I also do not want them to show the error sign on the dash. If you have some pics of your GL with aftermarket kits, please post them!

Thanks!!

mschirmer

I used the MTEC kit on my '09 GL320 (ordered from auto-perfect on eBay for $275). Kit upgrades low-beams only (I guess you could get a 2nd kit for the high beams). I specified the 6000K kit. Overall impressions are that the kit is high quality and uses OEM-quality connectors. No problems w/ errors on the idiot lights. The only issues are that one of the cables comes pre-installed with crimp-on terminals which you have to remove and re-install after putting the wires through a supplied boot. The bayonet mount bulbs are more fiddly than the OEM ones and take a fair amount of patience to seat correctly (you're working by feel). I mounted the ballasts using industrial strength 3M hook & loop strips of available space under hood rather than drilling and making brackets. Performance is 100% better than the terrible stock lights. I would not go over 6000K as even those make all the other lighting the vehicle look yellow orange by comparison. Plus the higher temperatures actually put less light on the road.

jchochla

Hi! THanks for replying. Can you post some pictures of the lights and how you mounted the ballast? I got a nice quality kit (i think) for $70.00 at a trade center. A lot of my friends have got kits from there and there pretty happy. So if yours looks nice, i might just pick one up off of ebay.

Thanks!

AsianML

You get what you pay for with no-name eBay kits. Just be sure to at least pick up a set of quality bulbs. I would go with 6000k 35W.

Brocktoon

Have you tried upgrading your halogen bulbs and aiming the lights correctly? I also missed out on the HID option, and the halogens can be improved. I won't throw a kit on and blind other people. There is a reason kits are for off road use only...

BlownV8

It's just not the case with our projector housings. The difference between our H7 projector and a standard D1S is the way the bulb is held to the projector housing. The cutoff is perfect with my HID kit and have never been flashed by another driver. It's completely different than mounting an HID kit on an H4 or 9004 housing.

AsianML

Well, not entirely true. The bowls for halogen and HID projectors are still shaped differently. Glare will still exist, but is minimal. Just make sure you reaim them at the very least.

ddcha

I've done the Philips bulb upgrade + re-aiming. It was an improvement but after the bulbs burned out (1 year), I tried to go with an inexpensive HID kit. I ordered from George at xenithxenons.com and I'm still running strong. Do a search on xenithxenons. He has a good reputation and they are very inexpensive. If anything burns out within a year, he replaces no questions asked. If a bulb or ballast goes out after that, just order a replacement (it's inexpensive). Difference between true HIDs and the re-aiming option is night and day. I actually lowered the aim of my headlights after installing the HIDs.

tambay

I ordered my HID kits from this guys http://hidconcept.com/index.php . They have top quality kits all very good name brands. The one I bought is the Blesk kit with 5k bulb and is still going strong and never failed me once in more than a year of use. These kit comes with error canceller built in.

The ballast is kinda big but you feel that the quality is top notch. Given the size, it still fits inside our light housing so there is no drilling involved. Just make sure that you put an extra strong double sided tape so the ballast wont rattle inside.

Also the 5k is the perfect light output as it gives that white light with blue-ish tint that expensive cars have, but does not compromise visibility.

mschirmer

I tried some "hi-performance" aftermarket (Bosch) Halogen bulbs in the GL's lights - no noticeable improvement.

As for the MTEC kit, I've found the cut-off to be sharp (actually better than the OEM halogens) and doesn't appear to cause problems for oncoming drivers - re-aiming was not required. Kit has gone strong for about a year and over 20K miles.

I've attached photos of the ignitor and ballast installation on my GL320 - used 3M Industrial hook and loop tape so as not to drill any holes.