If you're thinking of getting Hella Optilux 2500's you should know this...
 

As far as I know, basically the only option out there for "angel eyes" driving lights are the Hella Optilux 2500 series. As you can see from the pics below, they look pretty good, HOWEVER, they're not perfect out of the box, as I will explain:

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2..._fall_2006.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ghts_night.jpg

I installed these back in July. They work great - small size, the ring LEDs are bluish white and match my Xenon headlights fairly well, the main driving lamps are 55W each and REALLY help light up the night, etc...

HOWEVER...

About two weeks ago, I noticed moisture inside the passenger side lamp inside the glass. Thinking that they were just defective, I emailed Amazon and got a replacement. I also emailed Hella, and they said that it would be covered under the 1-year warranty.

I installed the new lamp, and about a week later it too had hazing inside. A few days later, the driver's side lamp was fogged. It's been raining pretty hard here in Ohio, so all I can think is that the wiring pass-through on the back of the lamp housing (which is sealed with a rubber grommit) is leaking just a slight bit.

I've re-emailed Hella for advice, since the fogged-over lights look like crap, and in the meantime I might experiment with sealing the wiring loom inside the lamp housing with a dab of silicone gel - I'll keep reporting my findings as I come across them. Since several people have PM'd me about the Optilux lights, I thought I'd "go public", even though I'm still working through the details.

If anyone has any questionsplease let me know.

"angel Eyes" also offered in the Hella Rallye 4000, but a much differrent price range:

http://www.rallylights.com/hella/4000Compact.asp

Yeah, those are QUITE a bit more... But the ring lights are Celis lamps, which are in effect cathode tubes. Those rings are clearly visible not just at night but also in the daylight.

Unfortunately, you get what you pay for as the Optis being the House Dressing. Sorry about that. Maybe there is a warranty?

1 year from Hella, but I got them from Amazon which is 30 days. They made a "special exception" for me, but now the replacements are hazing as well. I'm going to try experimenting with opening the lamps, drying them with a hair dryer and then sealing the wiring loom with silicone. I'll need to yank the wires out of the silicone if/when I ever need to replace the bulbs, but I think that will not be an issue. I'll let folks know what happens with my seal job, assuming the issue is with the wiring pass through and not the entire housing.

If all else fails. The Celis lamps come in a "small" version (about 6.5" across) which is a TAD larger than the Optilux, but the Celis rings are certainly appealing... Just not $250 appealing.

Celis is expensive

Best of luck getting it worked out:)

ImagoX, gonna resurrect this and see how things turned out with these lights. Also, I keep seeing people worried about using Xenon driving lights due to the cycling issue - has there been anything definitive on this especially given that the highbeams on the new model are now Xenon (aren't they?)

After winter they stayed fog-free for months, even though I did nothign to them. After a recent downpour they fogged again, but not too bad. I plan to yank them off and put some silicone around the wires where they pass through the rubber boot, just as soon as it bothers me enough... :) It's really not a big deal and I bet 99% of the people that look at my car would never notice. Considering how inexpensive the lamps were, I'm still thrilled with them and still would recommend tem to ANYONE that wants something a bit different in the way of driving lamps.

That said... If the lights ever rust out or break or something, I'll likely replace them with the more expensive Celis lights, just to be different (again).

NOt sure about Xenon driving lamps... The Hellas are 55W incandescents, and are plenty bright, especially when paired with the Xenons/Highbeams I have on my 2006.

Hella 2500 Optilux
 

Just so don't feel alone............
I recently installed the Hella 2500 Optilux driving lights on my 03 MCS. The install went very well as I used the step by step guide posted by another NAM member.

The fogging started about a week after install. Like you, I'm sure no one but me noticed but it is driving me crazy.
I bought mine through Auto Anything and I must admit that I am surprised and impressed by their customer service.:thumbsup:
I am working through them to get a replacement set of lamps from Hella sent to me right away.
Hella tried to tell me that I should drain the water from the lens by using the plug in the bottom of the housing!!!! :eek:
I can't write here what I told them about draining water from sealed lenses.
Anyway, Hella is sending me a set that should be arriving soon. Did you ever find a way to seal the housings? Did the silicone idea work?

I also had this issue with my first set of PIAA 520's so it's not necessarily just a "cheap" light issue, but my second set didn't fog at all. I fixed the problem on my first set after I had to replace a bulb, I thoroughly cleaned the casing and rubber seal ring, made sure the the glass lamp pressed in without rolling the rubber ring seal, tightened the trim ring with the same number of turns each side and siliconed the wiring entry rubber grommet. A friend also ran a clear silicone bead between the trim ring and the lens on his Hella's.

Mine have been nice and dry since I (a) silicone sealed around the rubber plug for the LEDs and (b) dipped the back of the main bulb area where the wires come out in black rubber dip a few times. Looks better, too... :thumbsup:

Black rubber dip...good idea. I did the silicone thing but one is still fogging. It looks like @$$. Did you just hold the wiring sort of sideways or what?

Has anyone tried getting the lens off in order to dry them better?

I've also had 2 broken by rocks. Eesh. Thank God they are cheap!

Bingo.

Nope - I looked at it - but didn't look practical. I just pulled the bulbs out and blew my heat gun in there a bit. Worked fine.

Yikes (knocking on wood)...

As an alternative, I built a new set of brackets for my lights so they are right side up. I still have light fogging on occasion, but nothing like what I had with the brackets that came with the lights.

The reason I replaced my first set of PIAA's was from a rock smashing one , my second set I put a clear film over the lens same stuff as the invisible hood mask, so far so good!

Hmmmmm....I live in the Panhandle of Florida and have had my Optis on since August of 2005 and no fogging. The only problem I've got is the clear coat around the housing has peeled and cracked. I would have figured with the humidity down here, they would have fogged. Sometimes I think it's just certain lights. I have the crystal black side marker lights from Moss Mini, and the passenger side always fogs up. The driver's side never has. Good luck everyone.

I got my set about a year ago.
The started fogging after about a month. First it was one then the other one started. I sealed the back rubber boot with silicone and everything seemed fine until late fall. One of them started fogging again. I took it off, removed bulb and dried it out. Put it back together and resealed with silicone again but over the winter it started fogging again.
Last weekend I was painting my grille with PlastiDip and had to take the lights off so I decided to take it apart again and dry it out. Too bad that only this time i discovered that over the winter the condensation actually carried salt into the light and started corroding the mirror/reflector. After solid drying there was still some water and salt in so i decided to crack the lens open. I baked it in the oven for some time but the glass still cracked when i tried opening the lens.

So now I'm shopping around for another set or just one as one of my old ones is perfect.

I'm running PIAA 510's now and am VERY happy... they're MUCH nicer lights... just don't have the angel eyes...

But the angel eyes is the THING, bro... :)

Yeah, I know... If I did an angel eyes LED retrofit for the PIAA lights, that would be da bomb, eh? Hmmm....

There are How-tos on the web for making acrylic diffuser rings for LEDs... You start with clear miniblind wands, bend them to size and use a Dremel to cut in the diffuser notches. Then you use LEDs fitted into the cut ends for the glow. They'd be like the Optilux if you did that - visible at night but not bright enough for day use.

Or, you can see if any of Oznium's CFL kits will work - they ARE bright enough for day use, and come in several sizes. If one is appropriate for the driving lamps you have, I bet you could fit them inside. If one is the right size be sure to let us know - at only $25 a pair, they're cost effective too, but I'd definitely use a bead of silicone to insulate them in the lamp housing. CFL tubes are glass and are extremely fragile, so a backing of silicone should insulate them against moisture and vibration all in a single stroke...

As you can see, they're quite bright:

http://www.oznium.com/product_photos/large/1108.jpg

http://www.oznium.com/product_photos/large/1111.jpg

Those are pretty sweet... I'm looking into this now...

*raises hand*

I am back in Opti hell. More fogging, rusted out the LEDs, you know the drill...

Paul, did you ever get a chance to measure your 510s to see what size CCFL would fit in there? I have plans brewing...I think...

Crapola... I got distracted and forgot... I'll measure them when I'm in the garage.

Ok thanks :) I might have figured it out but it'll be good to be sure!