W204 bulb replacements LED??

[Karlbon]

hi am looking to change to yellow looking bulbs to white or bluish type LED bulbs, are there some straight plug and play replacements you guys would recommend? Halfords seem to list I need H7 477 bulbs and some of there “better spec” ones are coming up at almost £20 per bulb, but the reviews aren’t very convincing.

If anyone has done this upgrade please can you let me know some decent looking bulbs to replace to, obviously would want error free ones please

Thanks

 

[markjay]

The resident LED expert is forum moderator KillerHERTZ.

 

[Chrishazle]

As is GLK, who has many times on previous threads given chapter and verse on changing a car equipped with normal halogen bulbs to LED bulbs without also changing the headlight unit itself to a correct LED unit. Basically it's illegal, plus the chances are the beam pattern with the LED will be wrong. Do a serch on here and MBOA, there are many threads about this subject.

 

[Deletedmember130310]

hi am looking to change to yellow looking bulbs to white or bluish type LED bulbs, are there some straight plug and play replacements you guys would recommend? Halfords seem to list I need H7 477 bulbs and some of there “better spec” ones are coming up at almost £20 per bulb, but the reviews aren’t very convincing.

If anyone has done this upgrade please can you let me know some decent looking bulbs to replace to, obviously would want error free ones please

Thanks

Im not so sure it is an upgrade - the lens is designed for a standard filament bulb, so you may well end up with a worse light display. In case you are referring to side lights, not main headlights....

 

[Karlbon]

If LEDs are not available then it’s all good.

But if you guys know of a decent halogen upgrade to give bigger brighter white/blue lighting it would be much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[GLK]

As Chrishazle said above, fitting LED bulbs in place of halogen, in a headlight unit not designed for LED, is illegal.

If, for argument sake, you want to explore such option anyway, e.g. for off-road use, I can advise on types and fitment - PM me.

In any case, it would be practically impossible to achieve the correct light pattern, for a non-projector lamp (as are the majority of full beam lamps), but it is certainly possible to get this for a projector lamp (as are most of dipped beam lamps, in recent cars), in fact the best LED bulbs will provide a better, "textbook", lights spread, than a standard halogen ones.

Replacing other bulbs, i.e. turn indicators; position lights; reversing lights; brake lights; numberplate lights is not illegal, and can be done relatively easy (I have all of these done), as is all the interior lights.

Obviously for the exterior lights, which are monitored by SAM, compensating resistors or dummy bulbs must be fitted, particularly for anything other than W5W (these are mostly fine in what Chinese insisting on calling CANbus bulbs). As this will render failed bulb warning algorithm redundant, it would be good to adopt a routine check of all of these, ideally before every journey, or at least once a day, etc.

 

[Karlbon]

So am I right in just replacing the standard halogen bulbs with a brighter white light then, as I think this might be the safest option, I know Halfords do some so might just have to pop there and see what they think

H7 477 Car Headlight Bulb Halfords Advanced Up To +150 percent Brighter Single Pack

 

[markjay]

So am I right in just replacing the standard halogen bulbs with a brighter white light then, as I think this might be the safest option, I know Halfords do some so might just have to pop there and see what they think

In terms of brighter H7 Halogen bulbs, the best are Osram NightBreaker Unlimited (or Laser), and Philips X-tremeVision.

There are plenty of comparative reviews in car magazines.

The swap is straightforward and legal. The only downside is considerably shorter service life compared to traditional Halogen bulbs - but this is unavoidable, because the filament burns brighter and so will inevitably not last as long as the dimmer traditional bulbs.

 

[Gazwould]

The Ozzy and X-treme Vision aren't the top bulbs anymore , haven't been for years .


Best car headlight bulbs 2018

None will be white either , an improvement but still a warm white .

 

[markjay]

In terms of brighter H7 Halogen bulbs, the best are Osram NightBreaker Unlimited (or Laser), and Philips X-tremeVision...

The Ozzy and X-treme Vision aren't the top bulbs anymore , haven't been for years .


Best car headlight bulbs 2018

I stand corrected.

It seems that Philips RacingVision is the top bulb now.

 

[Gazwould]

It is but is flawed by the shortest of life compared to the others .

 

[markjay]

Philips RacingVision 150 are rated at 200 hours.

Ring Xenon 150 are rated at 350 hours.

In comparison, standard Halogen bulbs are rated at between 500 and 1000 hours.

I had 3 sets of NightBreakers on the W203... a couple failed after just 6 months, the longest lasting bulb lasted for 2 years (the W203 had no DRLs, so I used to have the headlights permanently on).

Great bulbs, but personally I got fed-up replacing them... so for now I am back on standard Halogen bulbs. I might look at fitting brighter bulbs again at some point.

 

[Gazwould]

Funny how the Ring Xenon 130 beat the 150 version .

Had an old version of the NB's , Night Breaker Plus and a mates went within a year.

 

[Chrishazle]

I've had NB Ultimates in my dips for 2 years now, no DRL's so have them on full time, also have Lasers in mains but do not find them any better than Ultimates - just more expensive! Haven't tried the latest Laser - it's the only NB I haven't tried over the past 7-8years! Started with original NB's in the S203, IIRC they only lasted about a year and both dips went within a week - both times driving in the dark and wet so had to change bulbs at the roadside, not fun!

 

[GLK]

Never tried Lasers, but have Unlimited in my full beam, and had Cool Blue Intense in dipped beam.
They were no whiter than Unlimited. Now removed and keeping them as spares.

 

[cheddar]

I fit the Osram nightbreaker bulbs at work for people, and I do find I change them a lot, rarely lasting over a year.
My wife’s Audi had the unlimited ones last, our replacement stock was the laser ones and I honestly cannot see any difference, but time will tell if they last any better (I doubt it).
When comparing one to a standard bulb in the other side though, they are a noticeable improvement.
Also tried the cool blue intense ones, they do look better but a bit disappointing with regards to light output once you get on a dark unlit road. They are best used for main beam, sidelamps, and fog lamps etc for a car with xenon’s so the colour matches better I find.
In most real life tests, I’ve seen LED headlamp bulbs rarely produce any more light than halogen, although the colour clearly looks more fashionable.

 

[Gazwould]

Ozzy NB in model order .

NB Plus +90%
NB Unlimited +110%
NB Laser +130% ( actually tested worse than Unlimited )

Newest -

NB Laser Next Generation +150% .

 

[ash59fifty-uk]

My previous w204- blue 501w sidelight bulbs + Nightbreaker Unlimiteds= legal perfection

 

[Karlbon]

Anyone got any pics of the night breaker unlimiteds on the car please? What sort of light do they give off....

Thanks

 

[Gazwould]

A warm white 3700K .