Fitting projector lights to W463 G500
Just finished the first and probably only real modification I wanted to do to my 2000 G500.
Purchased the lenses from ebay.de and they arrived very quickly. It wasnt mentioned on the listing that they were the DEPO ones, but I took a bit of a gamble that they would be and they were. Came nicely boxed in a couple of days.
I had read some mixed reviews on the DEPO lights and the quality but the posts were all from 2010/2011. They seem nicely finished and made to me, but time will tell.
I bought locally the best 4300K H7 HID kit I could find, as the projector lights really need HIDs to look their best. I also went to mercedes and bought the seals for the headlights as mine were missing.
I spent half an hour in the house cutting the holes in the lights and wiring up the HIDs so that I had less to do in the garage. It was all pretty straight forward and this guide is pretty good (I took no photos of the fitting part). If you have had to change a bulb, this really isnt any harder.
http://blog.mercwheels.com/mercedesnews/how-to-install-g-wagon-w463-head...
Really pleased with the outcome once I had adjusted the aim and beam to work. These are meant to be LHD headlights, but I cannot see what difference RHD would make as the beam once I had finished was level with a kick to the left, I had been worried they would shoot right but that was not a problem.
The factory cars are apparently 5000k colour HIDs but I really didnt want it looking aftermarket, so the 4300 is perfect.
I do hope you get the chance to test them by sitting in a saloon car traveling in the opposite direction at night. HID bulbs in fittings (lenses, reflectors) not designed for them typically result in excess glare that blinds other road users at night.
Other than the bling, what is the advantage? I assume that most G kitted out this way actually spend most of their time at night in well lit cities.
Now if someone could tell be how to stop the H4 lamps getting condensation in them that would be good.
Nice Upgrade..
I considered the Mansory ones which are supposed to be a plug and play upgrade.. but £1500!
Hi Jay,
It has made a big difference to the appearance and has knocked years off the look of the front end. After some careful aiming and adjusting the light output is usefully better as well.
The DEPO black model looks quite similar to the Mansory version. I was sceptical of the quality before they arrived, but they are nicely made and should stand up well. I don't generally like cheaper gear as I feel things always cost less for a reason but these seem good vs. price. They are also plug and play, apart from the adjuster spindle which you have to transfer across from the old lights.
I did read the post and image, and have seen the DEPO version as it's been on sale in the UAE for many years. What led me to think you fit a HID conversion (xenon bulb to fit in a halogen fitting) was the type you mentioned "H7 HID". H7 like all H-bulbs is a halogen bulb type. Xenon bulbs have names starting with D (D1 and D2 are common ones). A headlamp is either designed for Xenon or Halogen, so if the DEPOs take H7s originally a D1 or D2 bulb would be a compromise.
More info on here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_lamp_types
Daniel Stern is a lighting "expert" often quoted by our US forum friends, some interesting detail:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversion...
It is of course up to you what you do with your car, but I would hate for a fellow G Wagen owner to be in the same category as those annoying souped-up wannabe racers with glaring headlights.
Thank you M for posting the Daniel Stern article - well worth reading.
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I do hope you get the chance to test them by sitting in a saloon car traveling in the opposite direction at night. HID bulbs in fittings (lenses, reflectors) not designed for them typically result in excess glare that blinds other road users at night.
I do hope you get the chance to read my post and see that they are entirely new headlamp units with the projector ball which takes an HID bulb. Not, as you put it, reflectors with HIDs fitted which I agree look blinding and would fail MOT. I'm assuming that (like on my phone) half the pics are cut off and you cannot see the first photo which is the old lenses on one side and the new projectors on the other. I have no idea why this forum does that.
Clicking the pic should show the full image.