1996/97 C230 HID Conversion or Xenon

[Steviegee]

I wondered if anyone had succesfully found fitted and was happy with a HID conversion kit for 1997 (P) C230 W202 (old style headlights) Some companys claim to sell kits others say not available. Also any suggestions as to just replacing the standard bulbs with better brighter ones is it Xenon bulbs? Can anyone tell me what the type of bulbs are as there seem to be so many differant fitting types. Many thanks

 

[Rappey69]

It can be confusing, especially if you hunt through all the misleading ads on ebay.
Many sellers advertise hids but what they mean is halogen bulbs with xenon gas with a colour range so it "looks" like a xenon hid.
Price is a guide, a genuine xenon hid for a c-class is around £70-90.
Bulbs on ebay around £25 for a pair are not high intensity discharge type.
There are hid kits to replace most bulb types but- replacing a halogen bulb with a hid is not allowed, it will give a different beam pattern and dazzle on-coming motorists and will fail an mot.
to swop to hids you have to change the whole headlight for one that is made for a hid bulb.
You can buy halogens that have a much whiter light and also claim much better light output.
Many web sites have "bulb finders" where you input the make/model of your car and it will tell you what type of headlight bulb you have, ie h6, h7 etc.

 

[Miffy]

I used http://www.aceparts.com/ for replacement xenon bulbs (gas filled not discharge)

much whiter light than normal halogens but not a lot brighter, i just need to get some nice white side lights as now they look quite yellow when i have dipped beam on