thammel

Bill - great info! Thanks! For the dust cover, my opening measures at just under 4" so it looks like a 100mm dust cover would be the one to get. I"ll probably be getting these parts for an upgrade...fun stuff!

Bill Baird

Great to hear. I just noticed how many sets of LED's, HID's, and extra wattage halogens I have laying around. At least 10 sets. My wife drove my GLE yesterday while I had her car serviced. I asked her enthusiastically how she liked my lights and she said they are nothing compared to her LED's in her =18 C43 coupe. I almost started crying.

I have to admit her lights are unbelievable. They dim automatically and are brighter than the sun.

Bill Baird

FYI, I ordered Morimoto 2-stroke 3.0's today from Morimoto. I am going to put them in and swap the Hikari's into high beams.

My wife was following me early this morning in her C43. Those lights are something else. The brights automatically dim to oncoming traffic. At least I have a heated steering wheel. She doesn't.

thammel

Bill - Let me know about the Morimotos! It will be interesting to see how they compare to the Hikaris. And speaking of high beams, I would love to retrofit the auto high-beam. I know it's possible, but probably expensive. And a huge plus to the heated steering wheel. I swore I was not going to buy another vehicle without it. Used it tonight....man, it feels so good! Enjoy the weekend!

Bill Baird

Got the Morimoto anti-flickers in the mail yesterday along with the 50-watt ballasts. No 2-stroke 3.0's yet but as soon as they get here I'll try them out. Also, I have a set of LASFIT with adapters to try.

thammel

Bill - Did you need any adapters to mount the Hikari bulbs in the GLE? I've read about needing square adapters like these...
Thanks,
Tom

Bill Baird

The Hikari's need adapters and the round adapters work fine. The square adapters are needed for HID bulbs, In fact, the only one I've seen that don't need adapters is the LASFIT with the adapters built into the bulbs.

Bill Baird

Got this in the mail today.Dear Amazon Customer,



We have learned of a potential safety issue that may impact your Amazon purchase(s) below:

HIKARI H13/9008 LED bulbs, New Gen of Japanese CSP LED Tech, Adjustable Beam, Easy install, 6K Cool White Fog Light IP68 HIKARI H7 LED bulbs, New Gen of Japanese CSP LED Tech, Adjustable Beam, Easy install, Halogen Replacement 6K Cool White Foglight IP68

UPC/SKU: B07GKCNPD1,B07GKRKN5B

11/26/2020 - 111-7552877-3286622 - HIKARI H13/9008 LED bulbs, New Gen of Japanese CSP LED Tech, Adjustable Beam, Easy install, 6K Cool White Fog Light IP68

12/31/2019 - 112-6616387-4593850 - HIKARI H7 LED bulbs, New Gen of Japanese CSP LED Tech, Adjustable Beam, Easy install, Halogen Replacement 6K Cool White Foglight IP68



More details, including how to determine if your purchase is impacted and what you should do next can be found in the following notification:

https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=21E002000



If you made this purchase for someone else, please notify the recipient immediately and provide them with the information.



Sincerely,

Customer Service

Amazon.com

www.amazon.com



Please note: this e-mail was sent from a notification-only address that cannot accept incoming e-mail. Please do not reply to this message. Please be aware that links contained in this message may not be owned by Amazon.

thammel

Hmmm.....I don't know what to make of this. Yes, they are bright. As long as they are aimed correctly, I hope there is not a problem.

BlownV8

Wow, that's a first.

srfav5

Hi Chao Hang Lu,

I am considering this option as well. Which led bulbs did you buy from lastfit? How would you rate the install 1-10?

Did you have to leave the dust covers off from the back?

Did you find them to throw the light further out into the roadway or were they just brighter?

Bill Baird

Hang Lu,
The first LASFIT I installed was the LC Plus with adapters. Not a big improvement and I wouldn't recommend them. I bought the Custom H7's with built-in adapters but haven't installed them yet. They all install about the same and you have to go through the fender liner for the low beams. We were not able to install the high beams because both Steve and I have big hands. The Hikari's are the best out of all sets I tried. They were better than the Morimoto 35W HID's. I have 50-watt ballasts I will try also but it's going to be at least a week. I'm waiting on my Morimoto 2-stroke 3.0's which are back-ordered plus it's going to be cold as -10F this week.

I left the dust covers on. The Hikari's throw light farther.

Bill Baird

OK gents, Steven at Star European installed the MORIMOTO 2-Stroke 3.0's today. They are supposed to be the latest and greatest. I watched him check with his LUX meter and the MORIMOTO's came in at 1142 LUX. The HIKARI ULTRA came in at 2245 LUX. I told Steven the testing is over and the HIKARI ULTRA's are the best I've tested for GLE headlights. I've spent over $1,000 on LED bulbs and HID kits. None perform as well irregardless of what you see in the ads or on Youtube. I hope this helps you all.

gearFX

Thanks for your helpful data and insights, Bill. Is it safe to assume that if the Hikari Ultra were the best you tested, that the Hikari Acme-X H7 would theoretically perform even better than the Ultra?

Bill Baird

Theoretically, they should be better but every time I tried the latest and greatest, nothing performed like the Ultras. They remind me of the Morimoto's which are twice the money. I really like your Estate.

gearFX

That's good to know. Amazon reviews suggest an improvement with the ACME (but there's got to be a downside, heat, shorter lifespan? cost is similar)

Thank you!

Bill Baird

I think it has a lot to do with individual designs of the lamps by manufacturers. What works in a Mercedes may not be very good in a Ford or vice versa. Theoretically, good xenon should be the best because it's not so sensitive to the position in the housing. I only tested Morimoto 35-watt even though I had 50-watt ballasts, too. The other thing is the quality of the projectors. There a lot of choices out there.

thammel

Hi Bill - I need some guidance! I have the hikari ultras and adapters but I don't see how this works for installation. It seems like the adapters should fit snugly on the bulbs to install the bulb/adapters together. But I can't see how to do this. Any pointers? I have the canbus decoder anti-flicker also. I guess you mount this somewhere in the wheel well? Or did you put it on the non-wheel well side of the wheel well liner? Did you strap it down or use 2 sided tape? Links to the parts I purchased...

adapters - hikaris - anti-flickers -
It seems like you need to get the adapter somehow behind the bulb's metal seat....

Thanks so much!
Tom

Bill Baird

Tom,
This video shows how to mount the bulbs in your GLE. You need to detach the ring on the bulb by turning it to the proper position and sliding it off. Then you install the adapter with the bumps on the adapter to the rear of the bulb. Then re-install the ring.

The bulbs install through the fenderwell. There is a rectangular cover held in place by a plastic pin. Then you have to remove the dust cover to get to the original bulb. It's a little tricky making sure the adapter engages correctly and the most important thing is to make sure you clock the LED bulb so the LED filaments are straight up and down. Otherwise, they won't perform very well.

I just left the anti-flickers loose inside the housing. I've had them installed for a year with no problems. I hope this helps and there are a lot of videos on youtube for help.

thammel

Bill - no video attached, but I did pull the ring off the bulb so things should be smooth. I certainly know about the rectangular piece of plastic and pin. Laos I did purchase hemispherical covers to replace the flat plastic covers which I'm sure won't fit anymore with the LED bulbs. I'd still like to see the video - thanks so very much for all your help and patience with this!

Bill Baird

Tom, sorry.

gearFX

Which size dust caps/covers did you go with? (Please share link if you have URL)

Is the reason not many have upgraded the high beam H7 bulb at the same time simply physical clearance?

Bill Baird

I never installed different covers. I'm still using the stock covers.

thammel

GearFX - I'm not quite ready to do the installation yet but will update you when I do - waiting for a slightly warmer day! I don't intend to change out the hi-beams so can't answer that one.

Bill Baird

One of these days I will mount LED's for high beams. Steve is convinced we have to remove the bumper cover. I sure hope not.