Xenon Look-alike bulbs?

[digisatman]

Hi all,

I have a w211 e270 Classic MB, and am wanting to upgrade the standard bulbs to give them a legal xenon look.

I bought a pair from ebay and fitted them, while they do give off a blue tint, i find they are not that bright and the standard white ones give more vision.

So i was wondering if anyone else here has upgraded the bulbs and may have any reccomendations to solve my dilema!!

Thanks,

Digi

 

[noops]

Have a look at PIAA XTREME FORCE BULBS, I installed a pair for my fog lights (H1) and they are brilliant, they are a lot brighter and give a nice Xenon look, you will looking to spend about £35 including VAT and P&P.

 

[Dieselman]

see:

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=31941&highlight=bulb

 

[spaceman763]

Hi digisatman

I havent posted in ages.... in fact ive been so busy i almost stopped visiting this site!

Back to your question.... i have tried two different types of ''xenon'' look bulbs..

1. Philips BlueVision

2. Osram Silverstar

This might not be what you want to hear but in my opinion its not worth the hassle... Admittedly the lights are a little whiter and brighter but you wont even notice the difference unless your driving in complete darkness.

I drove from London to Leicester with normal bulbs on one side and 'xenon' look bulbs on the other. On a lit motorway there was no visible difference. only after Junction 19 on the M1 went it goes pitch black at night was there a slight difference..... it wasnt anything to shout about though.

I also had the opportunity to look at the car from the outside... and to tell the truth the difference is not noticable unless you are actively looking.

Best bet............. get a HID conversion......

Regards

 

[Howard]

And just to throw another opinion into the mix ...

My Osram Silverstars are a massive improvement over the standard bulbs ... there are different types of Silverstar though i believe , different temps.

Much brighter , really noticeable .

But i didn't do it to get the Xenon look , just to be able to see better ...

 

[whizzkid11]

HID conversion is the only way to acheive what you are after...

You can't M5 performance out of 535i or 540i ... its really a simple as that...

Try some salvage yards or Ebay.de for cheaper Xenons that you may be able to retrofit...

Once you have had xenons - normal lights are just nightlights...

 

[pammy]

It depends what you are after. You say you want a xenon "look" - that's different to the quality of light given ie xenon performance

For a xenon look - ie a whiter/bluer light to look at rather than manky yellowy colour - try PIAA Platinum whites. I changed my sides to those as the yellow clashed with the xenons of the main beam. Makes the car look much better But sidelights are not there to light the road simply help you be seen.

Personally I would now always change standard bulbs to something whiter simply because it looks better and costs pennies. jmho

 

[tmienterprises]

My 2p - given that I have just changed a bulb on my w203 - went and asked for the Osram bulbs and was told - they are the same quality as the house bulbs, go out every 5 minutes and was recommended to use normal Bosch ones - fitted them yesterday and they seem no different...

 

[Howard]

Was that bog standard Ossies or the Silverstars ...

All I know is that I fitted the Silverstars (same rating as the old ones 55/60) in mine and the difference was markedly better ...

I wasn't looking for the 'xenon look' as personally I believe it to be a bit cheesy and makes the car look silly , if you haven't got xenons, then get used to it .. putting bluer bulbs in just marks you out as a wannabee ...

I was just looking to make an improvement in lighting on the car , a lot of my work involves me driving down unlit country lanes in the dead of night ..

And to this extent , they have worked wonders ...

 

[spaceman763]

Howard... that is spot on. For your type of driving on unlit country lanes the Silverstars are definitely an improvement on standard bulbs. I do however question the 50% increase in visibility as quoted by some manufacturers.

I guess what it boils down to is the type of driving you are doing....

If you are mainly in the city under streetlights then personally i would not have them. However on country roads... i probably would (if only they made the w203 bulb housing easier to remove on the drivers side!!!!)

Regards

 

[Alps]

I must admit i had some hella xenon bulbs (H7) before my HID upgrade and they looked whiter but visibility was actually worse!

Im still using them as a high beam with my xenons, but dont really add much to the light factor when on. I just replaced my sidelight bulbs with some extreme white (actually blue bulbs) which i got free from autobulbs.com, and they also emit less light but are extremely white compared to standard. this is def cosmetic!

HID is the only way for better light IMHO. But it has to be a proper full install not the dodgy "blind everyone in your path" install!