Also how about the 5000k bulbs. Do they do any damage, and are they blue enough for show purposes, etc.

Mike:

I think that the heat given by any given bulb is dependent on the wattage going through it. The colour of light (as espxressed in kelvin units or K) is dependant on other factors. The lights on my 1998 E320 are HID. They are nearly white, but burn a lot cooler than the lights in the 300CE.

Here is a brief write up (from wikipedia) regarding color temperature.

Colour temperature

The kelvin is often used in the measure of the colour temperature of light sources. Colour temperature is based upon the principle that a black body radiator emits light whose colour depends on the temperature of the radiator. Black bodies with temperatures below about 4000 K appear reddish whereas those above about 7500 K appear bluish. Colour temperature is important in the fields of image projection and photography where a colour temperature of approximately 5500 K is required to match “daylight” film emulsions. In astronomy, the stellar classification of stars and their place on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram are based, in part, upon their surface temperature. The Sun for instance, has an effective photosphere temperature of 5778 K.

Hope this helps.

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Current Benzes

1989 300TE "Alice"
1990 300CE "Sam Spade"
1991 300CE "Beowulf" RIP (06.1991 - 10.10.2007)
1998 E320 "Orson"
2002 C320 Wagon "Molly Fox"

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That actually does help. I will buy a pair of 6000k lights at 60/55 watts for show purposes. As for everyday use, the silverstars are perfect.

Thanks again