simulated HID bulb recommendation

[benzdude]

I have a 95 c280.

Can anyone suggest the best brand of bulb to buy that will emit the brightest, blue-white light for both low and high beams? ( The ones that give the simulated HID look). PIAA? Philips?

Any pics of yours?

Also, what are the headlight bulb numbers again? H1 , H2, 9003?

[wolfeman]

I installed the PIAA ultimate white HID bulbs in my '97 C230 and they are pretty good. They are much brighter and whiter than stock, and they have a blue tint, as well. The sizes for your bulbs are listed in the back of the owner's manual or just call a MB dealership parts dept. for the correct sizes.

[BenzMeister]

give a excellent bright light. My 99 C280 uses H1 and H7 and in the Silver Star there great! The H1 highbean has a slight blue tint, the H7 low is very white. I also used H1 on the fog lights and they work very well also.

[max2105]

I've tried many bulbs that "simulate" HID's and although some give you the HID look, it loses light output and gives you poor visibility in return (in addition to being street illegal). All these were high output (100W to 130W). The best result (in a 55W bulb) will definitively come from using the Sylvania Silverstars. They are the best compromise between the HID look you desire and increased visibility. Light output is comparable to white 130W bulbs.
Good luck!

[BangnBenz]

headlights are h4 the integrated driving lights are h3.

use ebay and search h4 xenon and most people include a pic of the headlights on so you can get an idea of how they will look.

[lenwood]

try hoen-usa.com very pleased with their product, excellent cust service and they even warrantied one of my bulbs for free! they sent me a new set!

[unsp0ken]

lol i feel stupid. i can't even take out my old bulbs cause of that stupid little metal fastener behind it.

[WeatherMan]

have heard good things about Silverstars, don't seem to be many problems with them (have heard some nightmares about faux HID causing meltdowns).

[BenzMeister]

The Silver Star bulbs work well, compared to stock, however I did have a longevity problems, 1 burnt out about a month after I bought it and the second burnt out the other day, I replaced them for the time being with Sylvania Cool Blue which I had before the silver star. I read on the internet that philips offers a H7 and H1 12V with 70W that is DOT legal, but I haven't been able to find them, I am going to write my brother in Europe and see if he can pick them up for me. Also, as I mentione in a earlier post, make sure your headlights are aimed correctly, mine were a bit low, and having the, aimed correctly also made a big difference.

[BenzMeister]

Originally posted by unsp0ken
lol i feel stupid. i can't even take out my old bulbs cause of that stupid little metal fastener behind it.

What metal fastener? what number bulb is it?

[unsp0ken]

well the H4's. you know how theres a metal wire that hooks onto a metal hook to secure the bulb in place. when i unhook it, it still gets in the way of me being able to remove the bulb. im not sure if i'm supposed to pull the wires or if i'm missing some other step.

[BenzMeister]

Originally posted by unsp0ken
well the H4's. you know how theres a metal wire that hooks onto a metal hook to secure the bulb in place. when i unhook it, it still gets in the way of me being able to remove the bulb. im not sure if i'm supposed to pull the wires or if i'm missing some other step.

OK, I have H7 and H1 in my car, what year is your car?

[unsp0ken]

oh crap i typed H4 huh, i meant to say H7. sorry about that. i have a '98 C280.

[BenzMeister]

Originally posted by unsp0ken
oh crap i typed H4 huh, i meant to say H7. sorry about that. i have a '98 C280.

The piece of metal you are talking about is part of the spring that holds the headlight, take a look on how it is lock in and squeeze the opposite way and free up the bulb.

[wolfeman]

Replacement of MB Bulbs 101:

I have to admit that reading about this attempted removal and replacement of the bulbs is pretty painful - only because it is probably the easiest thing to maintain on your car, save for putting gas in it. But if this is your first time, I understand, so here goes.

For the high beam (H1's) simply push the metal retaining clip off of the plastic cover. Remove the cover. Then, you will see the back of the high beam bulb with a plug that connects to the rear of the bulb. Remove the plug, i.e., free the plug from the back of the bulb at the location where it plugs in at. Obviously, the plug should be separate and free from the bulb at this point.

There is then a metal clip that actually holds the bulb in place. As has already been said, push the metal clip in towards the bulb and push to one side to free the bulb from the raised metal points that hold the clip in place. The metal clip should then be free and you should be able to pull the bulb out from the metal prongs that are used for the plug in. If the metal clip appears to be in the way, hold the back of the bulb with one hand and use the other hand to push/hold the metal clip out of the way. Not a big deal, just take your time and you will be able to free the bulb.

Once the bulb is removed, you can replace it, and put the metal clip back into place, replug the bulb with the electrical plug in, place the black cover back into place and put the metal retaining clip back onto the back of the cover. Turn on the head lights to see if they work or not.

Remember, when you put in the new bulbs, do not touch the glass encasement of the bulbs, as the oil from your skin can damage the bulbs. Only touch the metal base of the bulb, as far away from the glass as possible, and do not bump or scratch the glass part of the bulb on parts of the car or light assembly, etc.... Take your time and install the bulbs correctly.

For the low beam (H7's) the process is pretty much the same, and you start by removal of the black plastic cover, except the black plastic cover should have a place at the top to press in with your thumb or forefinger and then you pull the plastic cover free.
There is no metal retaining clip on the back of the high beam plastic cover. However, there is one on the inside that will have to be pushed loose (just like the highbeam) after you have unplugged the bulb first.

Good luck. If this doesn't help, take the car to the dealership or a trusted mechanic and get some help with removal and replacement.

[BenzMeister]

Originally posted by wolfeman
Replacement of MB Bulbs 101:

I have to admit that reading about this attempted removal and replacement of the bulbs is pretty painful - only because it is probably the easiest thing to maintain on your car, save for putting gas in it. But if this is your first time, I understand, so here goes.

For the high beam (H1's) simply push the metal retaining clip off of the plastic cover. Remove the cover. Then, you will see the back of the high beam bulb with a plug that connects to the rear of the bulb. Remove the plug, i.e., free the plug from the back of the bulb at the location where it plugs in at. Obviously, the plug should be separate and free from the bulb at this point.

There is then a metal clip that actually holds the bulb in place. As has already been said, push the metal clip in towards the bulb and push to one side to free the bulb from the raised metal points that hold the clip in place. The metal clip should then be free and you should be able to pull the bulb out from the metal prongs that are used for the plug in. If the metal clip appears to be in the way, hold the back of the bulb with one hand and use the other hand to push/hold the metal clip out of the way. Not a big deal, just take your time and you will be able to free the bulb.

Once the bulb is removed, you can replace it, and put the metal clip back into place, replug the bulb with the electrical plug in, place the black cover back into place and put the metal retaining clip back onto the back of the cover. Turn on the head lights to see if they work or not.

Remember, when you put in the new bulbs, do not touch the glass encasement of the bulbs, as the oil from your skin can damage the bulbs. Only touch the metal base of the bulb, as far away from the glass as possible, and do not bump or scratch the glass part of the bulb on parts of the car or light assembly, etc.... Take your time and install the bulbs correctly.

For the low beam (H7's) the process is pretty much the same, and you start by removal of the black plastic cover, except the black plastic cover should have a place at the top to press in with your thumb or forefinger and then you pull the plastic cover free.
There is no metal retaining clip on the back of the high beam plastic cover. However, there is one on the inside that will have to be pushed loose (just like the highbeam) after you have unplugged the bulb first.

Good luck. If this doesn't help, take the car to the dealership or a trusted mechanic and get some help with removal and replacement.

When I change the H1 high beams I push the metal clip up and it will grap the side of the H7 connector and won't fall down, I bet that is part of the problem the H7 connector makes a great "hanger" for the clip. Always put a dap of Dielectric grease on the bulb prongs, makes it a lot easier to pull them from the connector the next time, most auto parts stores have little packets of the stuff for for that purpose.

[unsp0ken]

thanks guys. i replaced my bulbs with silverstars. they're definitely brighter but not as white as i thought they would be. hey benzmeister, did you do the headlight aiming adjustments by yourself or did you have it done by someone else?

[BenzMeister]

Originally posted by unsp0ken
thanks guys. i replaced my bulbs with silverstars. they're definitely brighter but not as white as i thought they would be. hey benzmeister, did you do the headlight aiming adjustments by yourself or did you have it done by someone else?

CORRECTIONS MADE:

Yes, I did, I have a fence that is relatively flat. I choose one of the poles, drove the car close to it for a center line, then mesured 25' back with a tape measure. After that I duplicated the format from the owners manual. Everything seemed to work well, but I seem to have the highbeams out of horizontal, that is too far to the left, I'm going to realign the horizontal as soon as it stops raining, make sure by the way that you adjust the slider on the vertical adjust, if it doesn't move when you are making the adjustment. If you have any other ?? drop me an email.

Good Luck

Also, it tells you in the manual to line up the low beam bubble, so it is centered in the tube, I adjusted mine a little bit higher, because of bad night vision. If it doesn't pass inspection, I'll have the tech reset to pass and then reset to my specs. On my Mercedes you only adjust the low beams, the high beams are adjusted at the same time, the only other adjustment is the horizontal. which as I said I need to re -adjust

[unsp0ken]

thanks. i just adjusted my beams. while i was doin it, i realized that you didn't really hav to go as far as 25' to adjust the beams. i found that the distance between the vertexes are pretty much the same from whatever distance your car is from the wall. i backed up my car about 15' which allowed the light to be more focused and therefore easier to see where the vertex is. btw, are your silverstars very white? it just bugs me how one of the things on their ad says "whitest" when mine are not as white as some of the simulated HID bulbs i've seen

[BenzMeister]

unspOken: Thanks for the tip about the 15' as I said I need to correct the horizontal and perhaps at 15' it will be easier. Funny thing about the silverstars, they seem whiter at nite especially on a dark road, then on lite street or during rain, In Mass if you run your wiper you have to have your car lights on, I usually use the fogs, which are H1 SS or the headlights which are H7 SS.

[dilligaf]

I have used silverstars in the past and they were ok.

hella has their vision plus 100% out now with a purple coating. Anyone try these?

[BenzMeister]

Originally posted by dilligaf
I have used silverstars in the past and they were ok.

hella has their vision plus 100% out now with a purple coating. Anyone try these?

No, but I am a light freak and a sucker for new items, direct me to a web site and if there available and not to expenses I'll beta test them for the board group.

[dilligaf]

www.rallylights.com

They sell all of the Hella + bulbs. I have seen the 30 and 50% and they are basically just bright white, kind of like silverstars without the blue.

The new 100% have a purple coating.

BTW I have ordered stuff from that place b4 with no problems

[BenzMeister]

Originally posted by dilligaf
www.rallylights.com

They sell all of the Hella + bulbs. I have seen the 30 and 50% and they are basically just bright white, kind of like silverstars without the blue.

The new 100% have a purple coating.


.

BTW I have ordered stuff from that place b4 with no problems

Thanks for the information

[unsp0ken]

Originally posted by BenzMeister
No, but I am a light freak and a sucker for new items, direct me to a web site and if there available and not to expenses I'll beta test them for the board group.

ever considered becoming an illumination engineer?