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Headlights upgrade

6K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  LeftCoastGeek 
#1 ·
Been reading about headlights on this forum and seems like Euro headlights are highly recommended versus stock headlights. A lot of threads are few years old but Deppo seems to be a reputable brand (an example below).
For example:
DEPO 1994-1995 Mercedes-Benz W124 Euro Glass Headlights Set Left + Right | eBay

Wanted to see if there are better options, may be something with LED lights?
My car is a Canadian car and hence, have daytime running lights. Is City light feature the same as DRL?

I read from few other threads and thought that Euro headlights had different bulbs for low and high. But, the listing above shows one bulb (H4) for low/high.

Appreciate any recommendations/feedback. Thanks
 
#2 ·
the city light is not the same as DRL. city light is a small bulb in the bucket that dimmly lights up the bucket as a marker light, for instance, when you're parked. DRL runs the low beam filament on a lower current.

the post-face lift (94, 95) lamps are about as good as it gets, short of real euro lights, which aren't DOT approved, and won't pass any state inspection where they check for DOT approval (some states check, others don't)..
 
#5 ·
the best would be real Bosch euro lights but those are unobtanium in the US other than via direct import (friend in europe buys them from Mercedes and ships them...). 2nd best are the Depo reproduction lights as sold on fleabay, I have these on my 93 300CE cabrio, they work just fine. either of these use a different plug than the US headlights, with one additional pin (for the europe style 'parking' light, which is a small low wattage bulb in the bottom of the headlight bucket), so you need to dink about a bit with the connector.
 
#6 ·
I've had my DEPO Euro's for 7 years and they are still like new. Its a no brainer choice. If you are intent on exceptional light, put some HID's in it and aim them properly by finding a building that you can face from 50ft away and make sure that they are pointed low. Since they are high powered, you don't need them anywhere near stock levels. Keep it low and you wont blind anybody.
 
#7 ·
I have had both the Depo lights and genuine Bosch lights in my cars and I cant tell any difference in the light output between the two. If you do upgrade you will need to do some minor modification to your headlight wiring plugs. Very simple but its important to use the correct plugs and not the pigtails that Depo sends with their lights.
 
#10 ·
Or if junkyard not available nearby and dealer is more convenient, just buy the 6 connector receptacle for the tail light, new from the dealership. I think they go for 3 or 4 dollars each. Either way is fine.

Do not order the supposed easy connect wiring harness available on the net. They are expensive and if you want the "city lights" function, they do not provide it. I wasted some $20 on the wiring harness before doing it the right way.

There are instructions on the internet on how to connect up everything.
 
#9 ·
I have set of good 2nd hand Hellas (genuine MB ones) on hand and can get brand new as well at very good prices (cheaper than MB, more expensive than DEPO), but shipping is not going to be peanuts since it is coming out of Europe.
 
#12 ·
I have the DEPO lights and they're better than the crappy OEM lights. I also tried HID in the Depo and that was simply idiotic. The Depo fixtures are not meant for such a high lumen light output and consequently threw the light everywhere regardless how much I've tried to adjust them. I was "that" guy on the road with lights that were simply too brilliant. It's pure physics, there isn't the correct projection properties in these lights for HID bulbs.

I hate driving in front of modern cars with HID lights that are adjusted properly so I can't imagine what it'd be like driving in front of me with the HID lights inside the Depo fixtures. I quickly replaced them with the proper halogen bulbs.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
#13 ·
the right way to do HID is via complete projector lamp assemblies. Saw someone on this forum had ground off the 'bumps' on the inside of the headlight glass to make a 4" flat circle, then mounted HID projectors from a late model BMW in them, it looked like worked great...
 
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