300E Euro Lights Impressions

Hi All,

I just installed euro lights on my 90 300E - here are some initial impressions...

I got lights from Mr. Partsman - thanks Phil! Very expedient and courteous service. 6 pin Connectors - important! ($400)

Bulbs - PIAA H4 (55W light equiv. 100W) - from a local race shop, $70. Fog - H3 plasma, blue tint, $30.

Deinstallation is straightforward, with the exception of the headlight washer system - make sure that the various pins and connectors are not broken- VERY EASY to break (spoken from experience... The lights are connected with 5 8mm screws, including the front panel holding the washer assembly.

Installation is going to depend on your choice - whether to put the washer stuff back or not. If yes, swap the sides (R-->L and vv) as the new position of the washer motor rod is about 30mm to the OUTSIDE. You'd also need to drill new holes in the front panel to accomodate the rod...

I just removed the washer assembly altogether (because of a broken little piece...) - Plug the hose coming from the washer fluid tank...

The screws on the radiator side are a particular pain to put back in.

The lights assembly has 3 adjustment screws - 2 for the main light and 1 for the fog light. Only the vert one seems to change anything... Neither of the other two moved the pattern in any apparent way...

There's obviously more light on the road - esp. immediately in front of the car. You 124 owners know what a pain were the stock US lights - the Euros are MUCH better. Fog lights seem to be pre-adjusted and have a nice pattern (as per the excellent instructions on this site...). High beam is very impressive!

Overall, I was hoping for something closer to my 2002 ML - euros are not. There's more light on the road and anything compared with stock US lights is an improvement.

Visually, the front looks cleaner and somewhat more aggressive because the lights are larger...

Hope this helps...

Andre
90 300E
02 ML 320