W210 Projector headlights

[aadster]

I've found my headlights quite dim on the motorway, and whilst I dont want to blind oncomers, I would like them to be brighter, so am considering 50%/90% brighter bulbs.
I also find the frosted appearance of W210 lights (and mine arent that dirty at all!) quite out of date and if possible and practical, wouldn't mind replacing them with projectors such as:

http://www.carshine.com.au/shop/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1101

Has anyone tried installing these kind of W211 style projector headlights on a W210, be it halogen, Xenon, or Bi-Xenon?

I also have a few general questions:
1. do OEM projector headlights exist for the facelift W210?
2. will installing them invalidate the MB warranty?
3. I hear that the facelift 210 avantgarde has xenon lights and that a way to confirm is whether the car has the levelling dial, unclear lens and washers (as these are a requirement for xenons) is this true? Can I assume the bulbs in my W210 are Xenons? Are all bulbs which are "H" bulbs halogen? Do any "H" bulbs use Xenon?
4. How different are Bi-Xenons to Bi-Xenon HID, Xenon, and Halogen?
5. Are LHD parts adaptable to RHD?
6. Does anyone have experience of other problems with projectors or problems with Xenon / Bi-Xenon / HID lights?

Sorry for the many questions. I've done a lot of research on this, but some info ive found is conflicting (such as the legality of HID) and perhaps not applicable to the UK.

many thanks,
aadster

 

[ben12345]

Your headlamp lenses weren't frosted when they were new.
Because they are made from plastic, they yellow with age and suffer from pitting.

Before you change your headlights, you could try to restore the clarity of your existing lenses.

The way I did it:

First, open the bonnet, and mask the areas around the headlamps, to avoid sanding any of the surrounding paintwork.
I used 800, 1200, then 1500 grit wet and dry paper. Start with 800 paper and use a water/washing up liquid solution as your lubricant. Sand the headlamp lenses until the yellow has all gone, and the finish looks even. Wet the lense to mask the sanding marks see if they look clear now.
Move upto the 1200 paper, and sand out all of the marks/scratches left by the 800 paper. Do the same again with the 1500 paper.
Finish with a good rub with cutting compound to give the lenses a final polish. I used G3, you could also use original T Cut, or a 'Scratch-X' type product.

It was easy for me to tell the difference between what the lenses should have looked like - the previous owner of my car replaced one side with new just before I bought the car, so I had one nice clear new one, and one old yellow frosted one!


In answer to your other questions - Do you have a headlamp levelling control next to the headlight switch? I believe that this would be omitted if you did have Xenon, because the levelling has to be automatic with Xenon.

Legally, you shouldn't install Xenon headlights unless your headlights are designed for them, you have automatic headlight levelling and headlight washers.

Projection headlights do exist for the W210 in aftermarket form, but even those shouldn't be fitted with Xenon. People over on Benzworld have done so, and complained that the beam pattern is still rubbish. What they do is 'gut' their new projection lights, and retrofit a true Xenon HID projection unit into the space. This still doesnt get around the need for automatic levelling though.

Bi Xenon means that both high and low beams are xenon. Xenon is the type of gas used in the lamp or 'burner', and is the term most people associate with HID (High intensity discharge) lighting.

Unless you use all original MB items in your Xenon HID conversion, then I can imagine the dealer refusing to warrant anything to do with them.

 

[aadster]

thanks for your advice,
I perhaps shouldn't have used the word 'frosted' as my lights are actually pretty clean and are as clear as I've seen on W210's, its just that that glass undulations on the lens cover make the glass appear frosted, albeit, from a distance.

I'm sure the pattern on the lens cover is there for a reason, but was wondering if there is an updated (ideally official) part which both allows brighter bulbs, and a better cosmetic appearance?

My car does have the levelling dial, so I take it is not auto-levelling, apparently ruling out the use of HID legally, so I'm thinking more in terms of:
A) Brighter bulbs
B) better lens cover / projectors with...
C) decent pattern

If someone has managed the above with after-market / OEM, legally and without invalidating the warranty, I'd love to hear about which parts they used!

As I've seen pointed out on other posts, there are quite a few projectors on ebay which *appear* to be tried by buyers and then sold on after a few days, presumably due to unsatisfactory results, so any recommendation of good and robust ones is welcome.

Thanks again,

 

[whitenemesis]

......................

Bi Xenon means that both high and low beams are xenon. Xenon is the type of gas used in the lamp or 'burner', and is the term most people associate with HID (High intensity discharge) lighting.

Unless you use all original MB items in your Xenon HID conversion, then I can imagine the dealer refusing to warrant anything to do with them.

Bi-xenon means the xenon bulb can provide both high and low beam. Xenon means the bulb only provides the one beam, I can never remember if it's high or low :Oops: AFAIK on cars with 2 pairs of headlights one pair will always be halogens, you can't flash xenons

 

[whitenemesis]

thanks for your advice,
I perhaps shouldn't have used the word 'frosted' as my lights are actually pretty clean and are as clear as I've seen on W210's, its just that that glass undulations on the lens cover make the glass appear frosted, albeit, from a distance.

I'm sure the pattern on the lens cover is there for a reason, but was wondering if there is an updated (ideally official) part which both allows brighter bulbs, and a better cosmetic appearance?

My car does have the levelling dial, so I take it is not auto-levelling, apparently ruling out the use of HID legally, so I'm thinking more in terms of:
A) Brighter bulbs
B) better lens cover / projectors with...
C) decent pattern

If someone has managed the above with after-market / OEM, legally and without invalidating the warranty, I'd love to hear about which parts they used!

As I've seen pointed out on other posts, there are quite a few projectors on ebay which *appear* to be tried by buyers and then sold on after a few days, presumably due to unsatisfactory results, so any recommendation of good and robust ones is welcome.

Thanks again,

The pattern is there on the lens to help shape the beam.

There is no problem in fitting brighter halogen bulbs. Both Philips and Osram do 50 or 80% brighter types. These would not effect the warranty.

The only way you can change the beam pattern is to fit different lighting units.

 

[aadster]

The pattern is there on the lens to help shape the beam.
The only way you can change the beam pattern is to fit different lighting units.

This is why I'm concerned buying projectors or other lenses will be problematic. I dont have a problem with the stock lighting pattern, moreover the brightness and cosmetic appearance, so if I were to change the unit to a different design, I would want to be sure that the pattern is as good as the stock unit.

I'll certainly try the brighter bulbs, but if anyone has found a good, better looking headlight unit which retains the pneumatic levelling control and has a decent pattern, please let me know! (the one I posted above looks fine, but I cant confirm whether the pattern is any good!)

 

[ernieh]

Word of Warning!

When I asked my local dealer about brighter bulbs for my 204 which also uses projector type units, they referred me to the local Bosch agency who told me not to waste my money as any improvement would be marginal unless I increase the wattage. In addition, I was told that if I did swap the bulbs to be careful about the amount of heat that can be generated by non-standard bulbs, as the plastic lamp units can be damaged.

Oh for the good old-fashioned Lucas flame throwers!

Ernie

 

[turbopete]

while we are on this subject, mine are pretty poor too, on BOTH beams. the high beam lights seem to point 1 in the air and 1 at the road nearer the car than dipped beam. are they adjustable seperately from the standard dipped beam unit adjustment?

 

[Wirral_guy]

This is why I'm concerned buying projectors or other lenses will be problematic. I dont have a problem with the stock lighting pattern, moreover the brightness and cosmetic appearance, so if I were to change the unit to a different design, I would want to be sure that the pattern is as good as the stock unit.

I'll certainly try the brighter bulbs, but if anyone has found a good, better looking headlight unit which retains the pneumatic levelling control and has a decent pattern, please let me know! (the one I posted above looks fine, but I cant confirm whether the pattern is any good!)

I had have had quite a good improvement on the CLK with Philips X-treme bulbs so might be worth trying them. My first go with the Osram equivalent (Nightbreaker?) was very poor as the beam pattern was atrocious (the bulbs are slightly shorter than standard so may have sat too low in the reflector on the CLK as others have had good results).

Could it be as simple as you still have the original bulbs in? After 8 years these would have lost a fair proportion of their brightness as the filamant has burnt/carbonised. This would explain the poor throw on your lights.

Dave

 

[whitenemesis]

When I asked my local dealer about brighter bulbs for my 204 which also uses projector type units, they referred me to the local Bosch agency who told me not to waste my money as any improvement would be marginal unless I increase the wattage. In addition, I was told that if I did swap the bulbs to be careful about the amount of heat that can be generated by non-standard bulbs, as the plastic lamp units can be damaged.

Oh for the good old-fashioned Lucas flame throwers!

Ernie

I'm assuming you don't have xenons?

Projectors are not the better unit for halogens. The 'normal' style is more versatile and one can use the brighter bulbs without trouble.

 

[whitenemesis]

while we are on this subject, mine are pretty poor too, on BOTH beams. the high beam lights seem to point 1 in the air and 1 at the road nearer the car than dipped beam. are they adjustable seperately from the standard dipped beam unit adjustment?

Have you checked the high beam bulbs are correctly seated?

 

[turbopete]

Have you checked the high beam bulbs are correctly seated?

as far as i know they are, but then again ive never had a reason to look. thought theyd only fit in 1 way anyhow? they have always been like this since ive had the car, poor dipped beam and high beam all over the place, but its been annoying me more recently as ive been doing less motorway and more 'back road' driving recently. i can see more using front foglights (tried as an experiment, with headlights still on) than i can with headlights!

 

[ernieh]

Halogens

I'm assuming you don't have xenons?

Projectors are not the better unit for halogens. The 'normal' style is more versatile and one can use the brighter bulbs without trouble.

No, mine are the standard halogens, pity as the car has just about every other desirable extra!

Ernie

 

[whitenemesis]

turbopete - There doesn't appear to be any adjustment for the main beams