Morimoto 3.0 upgrade halogen to LED
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Joined: Aug 2016
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From: Redmond, WA
718 BGTS, ‘20 C63 Coupe
Morimoto 3.0 upgrade halogen to LED
Very interesting new LED bulbs that seem to recreate halogen beam patterns very well. It also circulated hot air in the light housing to melt ice and snow. Anyone try it or know if it’s compatible with the updatedlate model GLK?
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/h7...-H7?quantity=1
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/h7...-H7?quantity=1
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From: WI
GLK 250
It probably circulates the heat that is created because it HAS TO, not that it was designed to melt ice and snow...
The biggest challenge you'll face is getting the bulb spring circlip back on. It's a tight fit for anyone with normal sized hands.
The biggest challenge you'll face is getting the bulb spring circlip back on. It's a tight fit for anyone with normal sized hands.
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2013 glk 350
Heat is the enemy of led life, what happens in summer when it’s hot out? It overheats I’d guess. LEDs I’ve seen have fans on the back to remove heat, and when the cheap fan fails , the bulb fails. Better is HID , 2.5x more light than halogen , I got a Philips kit.
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From: WI
GLK 250
Agreed, stick with HID for better light output and general performance overall.
But only if you have projector housings; typical reflector housings are not designed for the intense light that HIDs put out, you will be blinding oncoming traffic.
But only if you have projector housings; typical reflector housings are not designed for the intense light that HIDs put out, you will be blinding oncoming traffic.
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That's what I was thinking. While it may not even produce enough significant heat to clear a headlight in winter I imagine it will produce enough to shorten the LED life. The little fans are there because they're needed and I agree the fans probably won't last that long. Basically you're blowing the heat around inside a closed/confined space. Heat needs to be removed and not re-circulated. The most interesting concept (POSSIBLY useful) is the ability to rotate the LED. Other than that it seems like a failure waiting to happen unless you live in constant cool/cold climate.
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Definitely something of a compromise and I think by federal regulation you have to have the automated motors to lower the beam as the front end rises up due to rear seat and cargo area loading. I imagine the GLKs that came with standard lighting did not come with that ($$). Seems a lot of the GLKs delivered to the U.S. did not come with HIDs :-(
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2013 glk 350
That’s not true that you will blind oncoming traffic with normal glk lenses if you do it right, my glk was aimed so high the light output with original bulbs was a joke, I Put in hid and aimed the fixture all the way down, the light pattern is excellent , you really see pot holes, and it doesn’t blind oncoming cars, I’ve had them in for 5 years and never a car flashing me, I have had another person drive it and it’s not blinding , you must though, aim the light all the way down, a two minute procedure. The road I drive I pass parked police several times every day, sometimes 4 cars, its never been an issue.
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If you've adjusted your headlights all the way down so as not to blind other drivers then they're either too low and not throwing light as far down the road as they should or they're just right all the way down and then will be pointed too high up when the rear of the car is loaded. There's no free lunch. The fact that you're at the end of travel in vertical adjustment is not normal and indicates a compromise. There's a requirement for active self-leveling of HIDs because of their much greater light output. If you're not blinding people and you're really lighting up the potholes then it's pretty much a given you're not projecting light as far down the road as you could be and defeats some of the purpose of HIDs extra light output. There's a reason for the self-leveling systems and it's not just to increase the price of cars.
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From: WI
GLK 250
There's a reason for the self-leveling systems and it's not just to increase the price of cars.
This is true. And it's also true that most GLKs here did not have the adaptive HIDs option. Luckily, mine does.
You can mount replica style projectors from fleabay, they may or may not work, they'll need SDS coding at the very least and they still won't be self-leveling or turning with steering input.
Regardless of what others have done, I wouldn't install HIDs in reflector housings, period.
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What you have is brighter headlights. That was already a given as it's known HIDs are significantly brighter than halogen bulbs - and thus the legal requirements, in some countries, for a self-leveling system. Theses photos are not suitable for an accurate comparison of any type other than, again, brightness level - already established with the use of HIDs.
It's a compromise, and as such, is not optimal. However, I don't doubt that you consider it an improvement and are pleased with it.
It's a compromise, and as such, is not optimal. However, I don't doubt that you consider it an improvement and are pleased with it.
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From: WI
GLK 250
Simply put, HIDs in housings not designed for them is incorrect. No matter what you adjust, it's not going to be right.
To the OP: if you're considering a lighting upgrade, please do everyone else on the road a favor: do not put HIDs in relfector housings. If your lowbeam bulbs are original, you'll be surprised how well a new set light up the road. Stay away from blue marketing hype; blue light is not your friend when it comes to seeing down the road. You want natural color light, at or below 4500K color. Most OEM lights are 4300K with a very sharp cutoff which produces that blue halo at the lights' edge.
My advice is do it right, or don't mess with it.
To the OP: if you're considering a lighting upgrade, please do everyone else on the road a favor: do not put HIDs in relfector housings. If your lowbeam bulbs are original, you'll be surprised how well a new set light up the road. Stay away from blue marketing hype; blue light is not your friend when it comes to seeing down the road. You want natural color light, at or below 4500K color. Most OEM lights are 4300K with a very sharp cutoff which produces that blue halo at the lights' edge.
My advice is do it right, or don't mess with it.
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From: South East US.
2015 GLK350
Simply put, HIDs in housings not designed for them is incorrect. No matter what you adjust, it's not going to be right.
To the OP: if you're considering a lighting upgrade, please do everyone else on the road a favor: do not put HIDs in relfector housings. If your lowbeam bulbs are original, you'll be surprised how well a new set light up the road. Stay away from blue marketing hype; blue light is not your friend when it comes to seeing down the road. You want natural color light, at or below 4500K color. Most OEM lights are 4300K with a very sharp cutoff which produces that blue halo at the lights' edge.
My advice is do it right, or don't mess with it.
To the OP: if you're considering a lighting upgrade, please do everyone else on the road a favor: do not put HIDs in relfector housings. If your lowbeam bulbs are original, you'll be surprised how well a new set light up the road. Stay away from blue marketing hype; blue light is not your friend when it comes to seeing down the road. You want natural color light, at or below 4500K color. Most OEM lights are 4300K with a very sharp cutoff which produces that blue halo at the lights' edge.
My advice is do it right, or don't mess with it.
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You don't really "have to do it" as the problems created are well-documented. But, I've purchased a HID kit and LED replacement bulbs and mounted them in halogen lamp headlight assemblies for a few of my different cars. So, for me, I've done that and I really do know. In each case the non-original lighting technology was subsequently removed by me. No bueno.
I'm currently testing Truck-Lite 7" round LED headlamps to replace original 7" round halogen bulbs/lamps in one of my vehicles. Initial results look quite good. The SIGNIFICANT difference is the reflectors in these replacement lamp assemblies are designed from the ground up with their LED technology. You don't stick in your own LED or any other type of bulb. They come as an engineered unit.
I'm currently testing Truck-Lite 7" round LED headlamps to replace original 7" round halogen bulbs/lamps in one of my vehicles. Initial results look quite good. The SIGNIFICANT difference is the reflectors in these replacement lamp assemblies are designed from the ground up with their LED technology. You don't stick in your own LED or any other type of bulb. They come as an engineered unit.
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2013 glk 350
No you don’t “know” with the glk , you haven’t done it. And you don’t “know” if the “documented “ cases had the fixtures lowered all the way down.
I bet lowering the fixture or not blinding oncoming traffic Is not on the minds of 99% of those that do the conversion. For me it was a priority. it works.
I bet lowering the fixture or not blinding oncoming traffic Is not on the minds of 99% of those that do the conversion. For me it was a priority. it works.
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No you don’t “know” with the glk , you haven’t done it. And you don’t “know” if the “documented “ cases had the fixtures lowered all the way down.
I bet lowering the fixture or not blinding oncoming traffic Is not on the minds of 99% of those that do the conversion. For me it was a priority. it works.
I bet lowering the fixture or not blinding oncoming traffic Is not on the minds of 99% of those that do the conversion. For me it was a priority. it works.
Regarding documented cases... I was not referring only to GLKs but rather any vehicle that had their halogen reflector assembly fitted with non-original lighting technology. In any event, needing to adjust the light fixtures all the way down on any vehicle should be a red flag. There's a reason they're made adjustable. If your vehicle is repaired after an accident, but not perfectly, you may need to adjust one or both headlamps downward but..... you've lost that margin of adjustment. If the rear springs on your GLK start sagging a bit over the years you would need to adjust the headlamps downward... but you've lost that ability. If, at some point, you decide to start towing a trailer of some type, on a regular-ish basis, you probably should lower the headlamps a bit.... but you can't. Obviously, I don't mean just you in these scenarios. I mean anyone that makes such a mod. and adjustment.
Headlamps also must be able light up the road as far forward as possible so you don't "over-drive" them. All this, of course, without blinding on-coming drivers. I think it's likely, because of your adjustment, you're not lighting up the road as far away as you could/should in your valid effort to not blind other drivers. Not blinding on-coming drivers is critical. So is being able to see far down the roadway.
Standing by for you to reply that you're able to see far down the road with no problem, that it works and that it's great in that respect too.
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From: WI
GLK 250
Headlamps also must be able light up the road as far forward as possible so you don't "over-drive" them. All this, of course, without blinding on-coming drivers. I think it's likely, because of your adjustment, you're not lighting up the road as far away as you could/should in your valid effort to not blind other drivers. Not blinding on-coming drivers is critical. So is being able to see far down the roadway.
Correct, and I would also add that properly designed and aimed lights also serve to light up reflective informational signs on the side of the road. It's not very helpful if you're only lighting up the 25 feet in front of you.
You need to be able to see the distance in which you would need to stop, along with road signage.
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I think the enclosed fan/motor will certainly help it last longer as the fan/motor will not be "ingesting" tons of dust and crud. The downside is you recirculate the hot air but the heatsink and lamp assembly will help dissipate some of that - maybe even a fair bit. Ideally, the heat sink would be much larger but that's not realistic as there may not be enough space in all the thousands of different vehicles it may be fitted to. Would be interesting if the they had done some type of test to show the ability to melt ice/snow off the headlamp lens. I'm guessing the ability is not significant.
The ability to rotate or "clock" the LED may be very useful/helpful. The beam pattern they show looks quite good. I would keep in mind that the people doing the test are also selling these LEDs and they acknowledge they are not DOT certified and are only for off-road use. That could be significant from an insurance/liability standpoint in the event of a serious accident on normal roads and where lighting may have come in to play and a detailed investigation is done.
Seems like progress is being made. I would consider these bulbs if they last a long time (have a good warranty) and also if you were able to test them for a short period of time to check the beam pattern in a particular headlamp. After all, they're not inexpensive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWDjFQuT7Gs
