hella headlight upgrade....EASY?? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

jeremy · #1 12-20-2003, 11:18 PM

according to A catalog I have it says its an easy up grade to install hella headlights the 7'' round ones in A 240d. shows NO NEED for relays or any mods of any kind. any body have any luck with these,they look great but don't want to make it A big job. also are the bosch fog lights any good? sorry but hella site doesn't really have an applcation guide,they just have a bunch of lights and you have to figure out which one is right,do they make fog lights cause I didn't see them on there.

sixto · #2 12-20-2003, 11:25 PM

The main headlight swap, to a housing that takes an H4 bulb I hope, is easy and you don't need to upgrade the wiring if you stay within 65 watts. You won't need more power if you're getting E-code lenses. I don't think anyone offers a plug-n-play replacement for the fog lights.

Have you considered a full Euro light upgrade?

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL
83 300SD ... $950, see cars forum

rwthomas1 · #3 12-20-2003, 11:39 PM

Swapping from standard USDOT headlamps to E-code Cibie or Hella units is as easy as changing a standard lamp. The benefit is a superior beam pattern and the option of upgrading to high-power bulbs for even more output provided you also upgrade the wiring to handle it. I changed to E-code Hellas and the difference is quite remarkable. Take care to aim the E-codes correctly or you WILL blind oncoming drivers. Take a look here http://lighting.mbz.org/home.html for info on aiming, E-codes and replacing/converting the stock fogs to dedicated high beams. I cannot justify the cost of coverting to the true Euro lights and truth be told, I don't really care for the look anyway. RT

jeremy · #4 12-20-2003, 11:41 PM

bascially I want to upgrade the ''pepboys'' special that are in the car right now. I like the look of the round lights besides I don't have the money for the ''euro'' look just want to make it quick and simple I have bosch foglights in there right now maybe new boscg ones will go right back in.don't like to name names but the lights are in performance products catalog,cause I have no idea what model the lights are

BoostnBenz · #5 12-20-2003, 11:46 PM

Back when I had my 84 I bought these 7" round H4 housings and new 55/100watt bulbs. Well I got euros after that (got the light, but wanted the look) so I installed the 55/100s in the euros and are they bright!!

Anyway JcWhitney had them on sale I think I paid $11 for 2 of the 7" lights, normal price seems like a little bit more.

#6 12-21-2003, 10:10 AM

I ran these back in the eighties. I will not use high power bulbs because the added current is hard on the wiring and the added heat is hard on the headlight assemblies. After the Hella sealed beam replacements started aging thanks to rocks and water, I simply went to Sylvania Xtra Vision sealed beams with great success. Then I went to Euro lights, the ultimate.

My two cents,

BoostnBenz · #7 12-21-2003, 12:59 PM

What kind of bulbs are you using in your E-codes Larry? I originally anticipated on getting some e-code lights as well, but for $45 for a set I ended up sticking with my overwattage no names (already had them, nearly new). Seems like one of the good lights were Osram, and the other was Sylvania, but there are particular models which are shipped from another country which are supposed to be the best.

#8 12-21-2003, 04:13 PM

I am using standard wattage Osrams and I'm quite pleased with them.

The shape of the reflector and lens has MUCH more effect on the usable light than does the wattage of the bulbs.

Merry Christmas,

BoostnBenz · #9 12-21-2003, 11:15 PM

I would imagine since these lights I have are so cheap that they probably have a little more than normal wattage going to heat and less to light but the lights themselves are just stunning (ask a deer that ran out of in front of me

) so I still ponder whether it is worth the extra $40. Perhaps I'll let this set kill itself in time and replace them with Osrams eventually.

Nice seeing you back Larry, merry christmas to you (and everyone else reading this) as well.

jas2wa · #10 02-13-2004, 11:04 AM

I swear by the Hella e-code headlamps. I have converted a an e30 chassis BMW, and three M-Benz's, including my recent H1/H4 setup on my 108. See pic, I think these look awesome, and for driving in the country at night, the difference in lighting is amazing. With all conversions, I ran/run 60/65 watt stock bulbs.

JHZR2 · #11 02-16-2004, 08:44 PM

I just installed bosch &" E-code lights... Great lighting, a definite improvement on the low beam... High beam is an OK improvement as well.

Id avoid the hella setup though. Daniel Stern (The MBZ.org lighting guy) showed me some studies of the beam pattern, and the cibie/bosch lights were far superior. Have a look at the daniel stern lighting consultancy (do a search on yahoo, youll find it easy). He has all the info you need, and good prices as well.

JMH

#12 02-17-2004, 02:11 AM

I've been using Sylvania Xtravisons for a while, and they have worked great... But e-codes would make things better (my ford truck has some, but they are old and falling apart, not worth putting on the benz).

With my Subie i am spoiled, the headlights are sort of a combintaition of an euro beam pattern and a DOT pattern, so I get the best of both worlds...

wolf_walker · #13 02-17-2004, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JHZR2
I just installed bosch &" E-code lights... Great lighting, a definite improvement on the low beam... High beam is an OK improvement as well.

Id avoid the hella setup though. Daniel Stern (The MBZ.org lighting guy) showed me some studies of the beam pattern, and the cibie/bosch lights were far superior. Have a look at the daniel stern lighting consultancy (do a search on yahoo, youll find it easy). He has all the info you need, and good prices as well.

JMH

Off hand question, are all bosch replacements, such as mercedes source sells the kit for, e-code, or just a replacement that accepts a bulb? $75 for the pair with bulbs seems a pretty fair deal in comparason to the other options.

JHZR2 · #14 02-17-2004, 07:24 AM

Mine are e-code lights, with the distinct beam pattern, and the H4 bulbs.

I think at **************, they are implying that these are an improvement over 7" sealed beams without having to buy the full-front euro headlights (the ones that replace the entire lighting setup on our cars, and are big $$$.

JMH

Brian Carlton · #15 02-17-2004, 11:35 PM

I put in the European Hella headlamps with standard 65w bulbs in the 126 and the light output is just fantastic. The low beams light up the road for about 150 feet, however, the high beams can literally send light 700 feet down a dark road. You can easily drive 60 mph on roads without any public lighting with complete confidence. I never had this much light from any sealed beam and I have tried most of them.