Lighting upgrade to pre-facelift W204

[Trigger6167]

Hi guys,

Interested in getting some clarity on this, particularly from people who have done it/found alternatives!

I have an 09 W204 C220 and would love the look of white headlights and daytimes.

I looked at just replacing bulbs, but it seems the headlight unit is set to magnify a certain lighting intensity, so a stronger bulb is illegal if it sets the beam too high overall?

I've seen things about xenon headlight units costing a ridiculous amount of money, and I've seen some advertising s 'xenon look' - is there a cheap alternative and are they cheap in the illegal or unreliable sense?

Keen to know if anyone has any experience eithe replacing bulbs, or replacing the entire unit, and links would be even better!

Cheers
Niall

 

[Athey]

Osram bulbs for these sidelights.

 

[Alfie]

Depends on your budget.

If you have well over £1,000 for the project then look at replacing the entire headlamps with xenons. If you prefer a more modest budget then Osram bulbs will give you much better lighting.