I just bought a pair of those super white blueish headlight bulbs (H4) and I think I got something now thats a bit too much in wattage. They are rated 100-120 Watts. I also got a set for the fog lights and they are (H3) 100watts.

Will they do any harm? I got them last minute as this guy was selling them for a good price so didnt have the chance to research. They work great and look like the car has Xenons.

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i remenber reading a post by larry bible where he said if you go over the recommended wattage the excess heat could melt the adjuster housing, if you are looking for xenon style, go with the sylvania silver star light bulbs. i have them in all my cars

bulb comparison

My freind has those Silverstars....not a big deal and dont look like xenons. I want that blue tint to the lighting like the ones I got offer but im just panicking now about the wattage.

I did take the covers off behind the bulbs for added cooling if that helps.

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if you uses the bulbs you have they will melt the reflectors, i have driven next to mercedes with xenons and theses are similar in their clarity,

Ill have at look at the silverstars but the problem is I cant return the ones I bought!

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thats what happens when you buy before researching. the sylvannia silverstarts ST are the whitest that they have. but if you want a blue look to it then get the Sylvannia CB which stands for cool blue. piaa also makes great bulbs but the life span is shorter than the sylvannia ones

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Car which i own - 1987 Mercedes Benz 300e shown here http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/790052

Hi Benz

I once used 100/120W clear rally H4 bulbs in my Euro 123 headlights. There were no problems with heat at the housing but when I started to play around with my "optical horn", ie flasher, there was a burning smell from the combination switch from over arcing. The combination switch was marginal to begin with. Other than that I experienced no problems.

I do have to add that after that incident I changed them back to the normal ones for the following reasons 1) the 100W were blinding to oncoming traffic 2) Alternator/battery drain (60W alternator) and 3) incident above.

Oreo

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1992 124 E200 (Euro)

Hi oreo....what exactly is the optical horn flasher? Is that when you flick the lights to other drivers?

I did notice at standstill at idle...when I turned on the lights the idle lowers ever so slightly.

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Yes - the optical horn is when you flash your headlights. That's what MB calls it in their fuse panel. I was playing around and flashing the 100Ws and then uh-oh, what's that smell??? Anyway it was not really a big deal. This was in my 79 123 and everything was already a little marginal.

IMO I think the Euro housing, switch and wiring can take the wattage. I used it for about 3-4 months (normal use with no exessive flashing!) with no side effects, only uncertainties because of my marginal alternator. If you are uncertain, there's a lighting harness you can make up or buy with relays. If you really like using them then I wouldn't worry about it. But I didn't really need the extra lighting....

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1992 124 E200 (Euro)

Over-wattage bulbs require relays to prevent melting at the switch.
read here how to install, etc. This guy can sell you all the parts. He also has all the research on the blue bulbs.

danielsternlighting.com

thanks!


But basically to him every bulb is crap besides stock/plain halogen so forget that.

What im thinking of doing is going back to the guy and haggle him for a lower wattage bulb of the same kind.

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Benz

Actually, I have driven a car with the "blue" light and although it looks cools from the outside, it dosen't throw out as much light as a stock halogen. If you're going with the stock 55 wattage, you will be very disappointed with the lack of light. Yellow does indeed show up very well with the signages, etc but blue will dazzle - sign boards as well as oncoming cars. Either get the whiter higher kelvin ones or just go with the normal ones, but the blue flitered ones will not cut it. My opinion only.

Oreo

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1992 124 E200 (Euro)

Daniel Stern is a respected individual in the lighting industry. If you want maximum performance and saftey, follow his suggestions. Boring, standard, bulbs from Osram, Philips, Narva, GE, Sylvania, etc will give you the best performance. Everything else is marketing and will give you the impression of more light, without it really being there. Which I feel is dangerous as you may drive faster than you should because you feel you can see better, but you really see less.

Relays and larger wires will make a noticable difference that will actually give you more performance, and will put less load on your stock, 22 year old, electrical harness.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html

Im guessing these are for your SEL with Ecode headlamps? Do you have sealed beam replacements or are they the flush fitting lamps? If you have sealed beams replacement H4s (easy to replace if you should over heat one), you can use highwattage bulbs with relays and fuses. But I would stick to 55/100 watt to prevent causing excessive glare to other drivers. Remember, the higher the wattage, typically the shorter the life. So with a normal 55 watt low beam, you will get the same bulb life, but your high beam will be much more useful. Keep the fog lamp at 55watt. You will only hurt your and other people's vision, not to mention they are not as easy to find as 200mm H4 sealed beam replacements.

If you have the flush fitting Ecode lamps, stick with standard, boring, cheap, 55/60 watt H4s and 55watt H3 for fog. These headlamps are too expensive if you should melt something in there. Add relays/fuses/heavy duty connectors, and stick with standard (No blue or highwattage!) bulbs. If you dont have the leveling hooked up, put the money you would have into bulbs into this to improve you vision with a heavy load.

You could toss your highwattage bulbs up on ebay, and buy the fuses, relays, and heavy duty H4 connectors from Daniel Stern. Sure, blue bulbs are all the rage right now, but you wont be too worried about looking cool when your car is in a ditch cuz you couldnt see where your going.

Xpel.com has great headlamp protection products, and if you have the sealed beam replacement H4s, you can buy plastic headlamp protectors from Daniel Stern.

Dont forget to check out Dan's Aiming Page! Even if you go with SuPer Yo! BoI, BlInG BlInG, BuLbs! wOoT! wOoT!

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

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2002 VW Golf TDI-169,000 miles B20

HIDGolf....thanks for the extensive info aswell as others.

What about me replacing the same blue ones for less wattage? What would be the MAX wattage to put in this system? Yes I have the euro lights with the H4 and H3 for fogs. I did also put the 100W bulbs for fogs but im gonna leave those as I dont use the fogs often...I'll just change the headlights.

Lighting is important to me but so is the look. Im really after that blue effect.

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if the glass of the bulb itself is not clear, you will be loosing light. blue bulbs are like putting blue sunglasses on your headlights, you will loose vision. By adding relays to standard 55/60 watt bulbs, you will notice a difference. Like I said, I would not exceed the stock 55/60 wattage in the flush mounted headlamps. The recessed 200mm rectangles found on the 300SD, are safe for highwattage, but stick with 55/100s, anything else will cause you to increase the glare levels on low beam for you and others. Going over 100 watts for high beam is excessive. As you increase the wattage, the lumens emitted from the bulb do not increase linearly (30% more watts do not equal 30% more light). So paying extra for 130 vs 100 watts will give only a small amount more light.

I understand that people want the look and all, but beauty is in eye of the beholder. I love that I can drive for hours at night and not have to worry about what the road puts in front of me. With my headlamps aimed every 10K miles (about every 3 months), well protected with Xpel.com's 3M headlamp protectant (to prevent pitting or cracks in the glass lens), relays and 14 gauge wiring for reduced voltage drop, and my headlamp leveling and washing system working together to keep the lights level with heavy load and clear of dirt, respectively...it makes driving at night a whole new experience.

If your gonna do highwattage, reguardless of bulb color, add relays and new wiring. Melting a harness or causing a fire is a horrible way to end a day (night). Your loved ones will thank you for it.

Form follows function in my book.

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2002 VW Golf TDI-169,000 miles B20