First off, I've been lurking for quite some time and finally decided to (hopefully) start contributing something here, so Hello everyone!

My question for all you wonderful NAMers out there is this: I have a 2007 MCS that came with standard headlights. I want to put in Xeon headlights but wanted to know if anyone has experience doing this? Can I just get OEM Xeon lamps and replace what's already there or will there be additional electrical wiring that needs to be done? If I can't do it OEM does anyone have a reccomendation for a brand/location to buy?

I'm slightly handy but definately not a mechanic. I want to learn more about how to work on the car and am trying to 'start out small'

Thanks in advance!

 

You can--but it will be fairly expensive to purchase all the OEM parts required (ballast, bulb, headlamp assembly). It costs more than twice what the xenon option costs at purchase.

Bottom line is... if you're looking for better visibility, upgrade to better halogen bulbs. If you're doing it for cosmetics, it's probably not worth it--pocket the money for your next car.

 

You can do the swap. But those Xenon headlamp assemblies are expensive. And technically your suppose to install the headlight leveling system sensors and washer system. Personally the washer system is a joke, it really just sprays all over the front of the car and gets everything wet. Then you would have to have the dealer recode the car telling it you had Xenons now. But you could always just install the Xenons and adjust them properly forgetting all the other parts. But technically you wouldn't be legal as self leveling is a law. But do they check that, if you arn't blinding people?

 

Thanks for the responses, I'm really just looking for "more bright" since the stock halogen kinda suck at night. Any suggestions then on better Halogen bulbs? (brands/types)?

 

I know that there is at least one thread on NAM with recommendations for better lights, so you might try searching for it if no one has any strong recommendations. Good luck!

 

I'm currently in the process of getting some new halogen bulbs for my R56. The recommendation I found was for Phillips X-Treme Power bulbs. No luck finding them locally, so I have some on order from bulbs.com - hopefully they will be in before I leave on my long journey later next week. If so, I'll try to remember to post some impressions here (between all my other travel to-dos).

 

I just went to PepBoys yesterday and bought some Sylvania Silverstar H13 bulbs. I think they cost $39.99. As far as I can tell, they're a bit brighter at night, and they look a lot better than the standard yellow bulbs.

I only have a days worth of experience with them, so I can't really recommend them, but I think they were a good buy.

Now I just need white bulbs for the driving lights to match.

 

Definitely let me know how you like them. I found another thread with a bunch of recommendations but I left the link at work. I'll post it on here on Monday to try to connect the two threads.

 

When I had halogens on my last few cars, I replaced the bulbs with either Osram Silver Stars (made by Sylvania but the Sylvania SS's they sell in the States are not the same) or Phillips Night Vision Plus. Both lasted for years and were a noticeable improvement over the standard bulbs. I purchased them here . There are multiple threads regarding the topic and are worth the read.