Retrofitting Xenons...

[mrbon]

Anyone got any info on what i need to buy and whether its more hassle than its worth?

Are there any parts that need replacing that arent obvious etc, and would i be better off with a HID conversion kit or the standard MB CLK xenon kit?

Thanks

 

[Steve_Perry]

Anyone got any info on what i need to buy and whether its more hassle than its worth?

Are there any parts that need replacing that arent obvious etc, and would i be better off with a HID conversion kit or the standard MB CLK xenon kit?

Thanks

Just my two penneth...

If you're seriously considering a HID Xenon upgrade then always go the OEM route. If you have any consideration for other drivers then steer clear of 3rd party conversion kits. Retro fitting HID capsules into a housing that was originally designed for halogen bulbs is usually a bad idea as the resulting beam pattern is all over the place and subject to hot-spots; more often than not it's the poor on-coming traffic that will be blinded by poor light distribution.

Having said that, the OEM solution is, unfortunately, usually an exbenzive route to take but will offer the best (and more importantly safe) results. Some members have done quite a bit of research on this for their W202's and I think that Bosch offer an upgrade kit that is identical to the factory fit option. I'm afraid I don't know if there is a corresponding kit for the W208 CLK. Basically you will need replacement headlight assemblies, the HID capsules, ballast units to drive the capsules and probably your ECU reprogramming to recognise the new set-up. I think (but again not totally sure) you'll probably need to fit the headlamp wash/wipe system too as this is a mandatory requirement for HID headlight equipped cars in the UK.

Try a forum search for 'Xenon upgrade' or HID*, you'll see that the topic has been cropped up quite a bit in the past.

Sorry if I come across a bit self righteous but badly aligned headlights is one of my pet peeves along with numpties who insist on driving with their front fogs on all the time because they think it increases their appeal to the rest of the world

S.

 

[sasha]

yep OEM is expensive

thing is, the oem xenons for the 208 are dipped beam only

high beam is still from the halogen "inner" main lights

point is, when you actually need lots of light, you're back to the halogens

 

[mrbon]

Cheers for the info guys....

Im not too bothered about having brighter lights, just eager to 'modernise' the look of the car, as my lights are terribly yellow, also the xenons come with clear lenses which look newer.

Are the halogen bulbs that are on sale that promise to give a xenon look, with a super bright light any good or are they a gimmick?

As i said i dont need more light etc as xenons offer, just the nice bright, clean look they provide.

Can the clear lenses be fitted onto my oem headlights or will the lack of reflectors in them pose problems to light distribution etc?

 

[sym]

PIAA bulbs might be a good compromise, if you are not going to do a full Xenon retrofit.

Have a search for PIAA to find some previous threads.

S.

 

[Steve_Perry]

I agree with Sym, PIAA is probably your best bet. There's comparison pictures in past threads too.

S.