vinflouen

Hi folks.
I have been reading up on putting in LED headlights to replace my halogens on my 2005 S430. Is it as simple as plug and play?
I see they come with connectors to kill the potential error code.
The ones I have been looking at are 60W, 6K Lumen/cool white. H7 size.
Is it really a plug and play?

AZN Optics

You need canbus enabled kit to work. Would recommend HID conversion kit though in halogen housing setup. You'll get better performance.

vinflouen

The ones that I am seeing have CANbus in the form of a plug looking thing....

wallyp

So far, most of the halogen replacements appear to work okay, but the light pattern is poor - lots of near scatter, very little projection.

vinflouen

Thats interesting to note. I guess LED light does not travel too well as a focused beam. It is already scattered via the fiber optic in the LED. I have also seen the housing replacement with the LED's on the bottom. It looks sharp, but a few sources I spoke to told me they can cause issues even with capacitors inline. For now I am going to stay stock, but I am looking to upgrade to something brighter and a cooler color of light. Like a 6000k...

AZN Optics

HID conversion is your only option then as halogens can't reach those color temps.

vinflouen

Thanks AZN Optics. Cant do LED on this car?

AZN Optics

You can... And we offer kits, but HIDs will outperform it. It's due to the housing really as opposed to the technology. The housing isn't designed to capture LED surface mounted light spread and you end up with light scatter, uneven lighting, and dark spots. It'll probably still outperform standard halogen, but your halogen housing will better capture HID 360 light spread to project forward. LEDs are ideal for short throw lighting (rear plate, interior etc) or indication (parking, signals, reverse, etc).

vinflouen

I went with Philips diamond vision for headlight and fog light....5k lumen.
My other car is a 2017 Infiniti Q50, in that one its all LED....but we are talking about a 13 year span in years of tech and 2 automakers with different philosophies.

I should have the Philips in tomorrow and will report back with what they look like.


I understand that the Philips are halogens, but they use a gas to make it brighter.

What should I be looking for on your site? I am obviously looking to be error free as I keep my S430 in showroom condition. (not kidding)
Thanks
V

vinflouen

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AZN Optics

DV are the whitest halogen bulbs on the market, but lack in brightness. That's why they're only rated for off road use. They cheat by putting a blue film on the bulb which restricts lighting and also will eventually flake off not only resulting in gradual progression back to Yellow, but also leaving a message in your housing. Granted it'll be years before they degrade, but have seen it happen.

All the units on our site are canbus enabled for error free operation.

kraut56

The human eye has great difficulty to "see" in the higher blue-white lights.
The H7 is still the best bulb for visibility at night, but not as "sexy".

AZN Optics

Well, itsi not just Kelvin rating... You want to look at lux as well. Stock halogens have terrible lux rating.

vinflouen

I put them on, I did the running lamps and fog lights with them. It is a huge improvement over the stock. Its a blueish light but still white, and I did notice the little tiny statement on the back of the bulb saying not for US/EU USE.....

Nonetheless they look great and do a good job of projecting light on the road.

The install is very easy and straightforward. Squeeze the tab of the black cover. Pull that off and put away.
Then Just gently but firmly wiggle the plug off the back of the bulb, and then get the wire retainer pushed back (look to see how it comes out). Then pull the bulb out. Reverse order for reinstall.
For the fog lights, the bulbs are firmly in there so there is no retainer. Just make sure to properly seat the bulb, but don't push too hard. Then put the black cover back on (make sure you get it in the 2 slots on the bottom before clicking, and watch for the wire to the window washer bottle when you reinstall on the pass side. It likes to try and get in there when you put the cover back on).