Hello all. I just purchased a pair of Philips Vision Plus H4 bulbs for my stock headlights on my '87 300E. Has anybody else tried these bulbs? I'm just trying to get an idea if there will be any type of improvement over my stock bulbs. They claim up to 50% more light (http://www.powerbulbs.com/pvph4.htm) and I remember reading somewhere that these bulbs aren't DOT approved, but I'm not sure. Any experience with these would be appreciated. Brian

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'87 300E
Debadged
Euro Clear Corners
Updated '95 Tail Lights

Hi Brian.......nice name

I installed Sylvania halogen xtra-vision in my 88 300E and have been really satisfied with the results. I couldn't find the Philips ones so I can't help ya there. I highly recommend the Sylvanias since the wattage will not tax your electrical system (65/45)

HTH.........

I ordered the same bulbs from the same site for my 1994 E420. I noticed improvement in the beam quality right away. The headlights were brighter, and they also illuminated the road signs a lot better. They are NOT DOT approved, but who is going to stop you? The only thing that might get in the way of the improved quality of the bulb is the quality of the headlight assembly. If you have lousy reflecters in your headlight assembly in the first place, then the problem with poor lighting and bad beam pattern is in the headlight assemblies themselves. In 1994, they changed the headlights in all W124s, so I enjoy semi-Euro headlights. Hope this helps.

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1994 E420 (W124)
1968 250SE (4 speed manual)
http://www.users.qwest.net/~colhurd/signature.jpg

rockjockjh -

Do you know what the wattage is on these new bulbs? I couldn't find any information regarding the wattage on their website, and I am hoping that they are the same wattage as my current stock bulbs so they won't tax the electrical system (i.e. melt my wiring). Thanks.

Brian

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'87 300E
Debadged
Euro Clear Corners
Updated '95 Tail Lights

I switched to these bulbs in my Euro headlights and they made a substantial difference.

I'm not sure how much more improvement you'll get in your stock lamps.

~Paul

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'91 300E, 206k mi, "Smoke Silver"

I don't know their exact wattage, but I know that they ARE NOT over-wattage bulbs. They will not melt the headlight assembly. Something like 45/60 rings a bell, but I am not for sure. Like I said before, though, they are not overwattage bulbs. They have been in my Benz for about 6 months now, and there have been no problems caused by them.

brian 300e

the bulbs are 55/60 watt [standard]. i also have a pair. i took them out after a couple of days and put my 80/100 watt hella's back in.
i'll put them back in when the others burn out. i prefer the extra
"kick" of the 80/100's

they are very "white"in appearance.

mine also came from www.powerbulbs.com

my experience from them was very positive, no shipping charge, good product, fast delivery [8 days]

peter

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*92 400e 124.034, SOLD

*92 300e 124.030, SOLD

Brian,
The are the bulbs you put in actually H4's? I thought the stock bulb was the 9004??

CJ -

Yup your right. I looked in my owners manual and the stock bulbs are 9004. Does this means that I won't be able to run the H4's? What are the differences between these two bulbs. powerbulbs.com doesn't even offer any type of 9004 bulbs. Hopefully i can return these if they won't work. Thanks.

Brian

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'87 300E
Debadged
Euro Clear Corners
Updated '95 Tail Lights

yea, you are pretty much outta luck. The H4 bulbs look completely different than the 9004 bulbs, so you can't swap them out. On another note, I did pick up a pair of superblue philips 9004 bulbs at walmart. They definetaly were a lot better than the stock bulbs that came with my car.

Yup, you guys are right. My car does use the 9004 so I am going to try to cancel my order. I let you all know what happens.

Brian

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'87 300E
Debadged
Euro Clear Corners
Updated '95 Tail Lights

Philips Vision Plus or any other bulb with H4+ technology (brighter than regular H4s but without going into xenon-look alike blue bulbs or higher wattage bulbs) may provide a slighlty better lighting pattern, but only if your car is fitted with the original European standard reflectors. U.S. pattern beams and reflectors do not allow the H4+ bulbs to shine as they are supposed to.

If your car is a pre-93 W124 model with the made only for U.S. reflector, you will not notice any gain in brightness. If your car is a post-94 W124 with the U.S. reflector beam, you may notice a very marginal increase in brightness.

Most of the gains that owners report with these bulbs are proven to be only pshycological, according to the local dealer, since tests show that the limited scope that the U.S. reflectors allow (even facelited post 94 W124s) only a very limited gain in H4+ bulbs.

A. Rosich
S320, 1998
E320T, 1995

Thanks A. Rosich for the help. I went back and did my homework (what I should have done before I ordered these bulbs) and read about 15 posts about the proper type of lights. I think I am going to get the Sylvania 9004 like btw77 recommended, just for the slightly brighter light even if it does reduce peripheral visibility. They're cheap and I can always switch back if I need too. Thanks for everybodys help.

Brian

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'87 300E
Debadged
Euro Clear Corners
Updated '95 Tail Lights