Does anyone have any experience with the Solaris Xenon filled 9004 bulbs? If so, are they worth the $70 (as opposed to a gajillion bucks for replacing everything) or a waste of money? Can the relays and wiring harnesses on a 190 handle 100W/55W units vs the stock 65W/45W, or is this a big no no?

I'd like to try to improve the low beam lighting on my car as the Bosch reflectors/lens units seem quite "spotty" and don't distribute the light very evenly. I know the bulbs won't necessarily help this, but more/better(?) light might help some. Are there other reflector/lens units that have better spread characteristics on low beam? High beam doesn't seem so bad.

Thanks for any info.

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89 190E 2.6 Auto, 48k mi

I'd be dubious, although I've never heard of this bulb, it is, after all, just a light bulb. Even in this wattage you shouldn't pay much over $10-20 or so. You still have the stock reflector with its poor lighting pattern.

Also, the stock wiring may not be up to a 100W load. You'd have to add relays, heavier wiring, etc. or risk melting the factory wiring. Remember, 100W at 12V is over an 8 amp load (each).

There's a good site that I found; they recommend E-code reflectors (Cibie). For not much more than this $70 light bulb, you can get an improved reflector, and use the stock $6 H4 bulbs.
http://lighting.mbz.org/

I had Cibie's in my 108 280SE and was very pleased. They're not exactly legal in all states, but this site discusses this issue also. As I recall, the inspection station in Penna. said "oh, you have those type headlamps" and skipped testing their alignment :) and still passed it for state inspection :) :)

Hope this helps...

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Robert W. Roe
1984 300SD 165K miles




[This message has been edited by Robert W. Roe (edited 08-15-1999).]

Robert,
Thanks for the tip. I used to have Cibie's in my 2002 and loved them. I'll check out the site.