Xenon/Xenon plus/Bi-Xenon
 

How do you tell them apart (and what is there likely to be in my 2002 S8?)?

And what's the best (practical DIY - not major refit) upgrade. Narrow B roads in the pitch black of a wet Glasgow morning are a real challenge!

Xenon plus are bi-xenon, same thing.

It basically means that the xenon bulb is used for both the high and low beam.

On a basic xenon, you have xenon low beam and a halogen main beam.

The xenon / xenon plus headlights are quite easy to interchange, I documented it somewhere I think.

Xenon plus:

http://images.a8parts.co.uk/parts/247.jpg

Standard xenon / Halogen (they look identical)

http://images.a8parts.co.uk/parts/2401.jpg

The xenon plus will physically lift the bulb up when you select main beam, if you get someone to pull the light stalk whilst you're stood outside you'll see what I mean.

all Facelift S8's had xenons as standard, and on a 2002 you will almost certainly have the bi-xenon like the top photo...

HTH +++

HTH???

Yep, mine definitely look like the bi-Xenons, but I could still use a little more candle-power. Is there a simple upgrade to bulbs that might light the way a little better?

It means happy to help, I was thinking about this too whilst driving last night.
Could it just be that the bulbs are getting on a bit now and a fresh set will make them brighter?
I think the bulb type is D2S or something and you can pick them up for £40.
My green S8 must have had upgraded bulbs as the Bi Xenons on that were in another league to the ones I have now!

I think my 2.8 was better too.

Need to find some upgraded bulbs somewhere....

Found these
http://www.carbulbsdirect.com/bulb_f..._id=994&bulb=1
Anyone had any experience?

They are the wrong type you need D2S not H1,
They cost £130 each at Audi iirc. I'll find some when on the laptop later and post them, I'm still in bed browsing on the I Phone at the moment!

What about these?
http://www.carbulbsdirect.com/produc...at1=39&cat2=37
But £50-£100 for each bulb - ouch!

And still in bed? Are you sick or was it a good night last night?

Both :ROFL:

I'm sure they are the right type, but now you need to decide if you want 4.3k or 6k bulbs. The K stands for kelvin and is a measure of the colour temperature, 4.3k is factory and is white with a blueish look to it and 6k is a lot more blue. I think 4.3k gives the best light output though, best to ask mkoneman as he changed his to 6k, which is probably what I'd go for if I changed as its a nice blue and not to blue in a chavvy way. +++

Mine are Bi-Xenon too, but not as bright as my old 2001 S4. I've just received a replacement set of 5000k units, will pop out during break and fit them.

I'll see if they're any brighter tonight than the OEM 4300k items, that have probably been on the car from new.

White is 5400k anything below is slightly yellow and above blueish and above 8000k it goes violet.
4300k will give out most light.

I fitted the replacement 5000k bulbs. I can safely say they're on a par with my old S4, and they were super bright.

D2R for the 02 S8 you can get on egay for £5 for a pair incl. shipping:). got me 4 sets just in case, works perfect:)

Damn! I got D2S's. I forgot the Bi-Xenon in the FL S8 doesn't employ projectors, so needs D2R's.

Oh well - ordering a new set now!

So is it definitely D2R as factory fit in bi-xenon lights? Just wondering as Etka suggests they're D2R but from what you read elsewhere most places state D2S and they ought not to be cross compatible due to different fittings?!

I'll pull one out to double check what's fitted now - I'm assuming they're original as they take an age to fire and reach full brightness and aren't terribly impressive at night as they're a bit too blue now. Can't rule out they've been swapped for the 'wrong' ones in the past though.....

Seen some new old stock ones on ebay that are local to me so planning a trip to collect some :D They have both types +++

Answered my own question - pulled a bulb this pm

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...8/1f19a208.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...8/464cb212.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...8/a67c6f40.jpg

So d2r fitting confirmed and 85126 identifier for Philips bulbs. No manufacturing date unfortunately so can only assume they're original by how slow they are to settle to a consistent colour

Need to see my local eBay specials to confirm they're the real deal....

Adrien, D2S/D2R have the same fittings, so cross-fitting is very possible. The D2S's I purchased had the same fittings as my original Phillips D2R's.

Yeah, from doing a bit of reading it's mainly the black bit around the glass and underneath it that's different to allow the bulb to be used in a non-projector lens unit as per Merc's original spec for the D2R. Using a D2S will just give more glare, most likely, as you've got light bouncing off parts of the reflector which aren't designed to do so.

My old bulb doesn't actually look in bad condition but they don't have the best light output....

I thought D2R was for Reflector style housings and D2S for Projector style.
So using D2S to replace D2R doesn't make sense - or if it does please explain..... :Confused:

Correct :)

No it doesn't make sense, but it's possible you might find the wrong bulb type previously fitted and it would work of sorts.

I'll be popping up to Sutton in the next week or so to see if the 'Philips' D2R bulbs this bloke is selling look the genuine article or not at 27 quid a pop

Is that each, or for a pair?

Thats each, but they do appear to be genuine philips

Being a newbie (who now has Iceblue8's first S8 mentioned at the start of this thread back in 2010!) I have been trying to get to grips with this b-xenon thing. I do have the bi-xenon unit (as shown earlier) and the xenon lamp does move when switching from dip to main. The problem initially confusing me was that there is a main beam halogen supplementary light which comes on too at high beam. (I guess I thought that the bi-xenons did away with halogen altogether.)

This does appear quite yellow compared with the xenon so i wondering whether that halogen lamp could be upgraded to a better (halogen) lamp without disturbing the system? At present it is a Osram 63210 12v 55w H7U.

The halogen lamp in the bi-xenon cluster has 2 functions,

1) its used when you flash your headlights by pulling the indicator stalk towards you, and in this case the xenon remains off. Xenons do not like being turned on / off for short periods and take a while to warm up to temperature and provide full light, far longer than a quick flash.

2) it supplements the main beam when in use, although most of the main beam light is xenon.

Any H7 bulb should the bill as a replacement.

I fitted Philips X-treme Vision +100% bulbs to my high beam assist and front fogs - you can actually tell when the lights are on now in the dark whereas the old ones made no difference whatsoever to the light output!!

You can pick them up for a tenner on ebay from the Channel Islands and they turn up nice and quick +++

Thanks for the help guys. It is all becoming as clear as, well, xenon! I shall probably look at some improved output halogen H7s. Iceblue8 is right - its often dark and wet up here and you need every bit of help you can get.
I did check the xenons and they are D2R.+++

Here in the USA, we don't have the Bi-HID lights on the D2's, but my D3 had that feature, and it just flipped a small panel in the projector lamp.

But, as noted here, the "high beam" was still an halogen 55 watt bulb. (Easy upgrade to a higher watt bulb if you want, or going to a "silver star" or similar light, whatever they might call it in your neck of the woods. :))

Not legal in UK and probably not anywhere in the EU. :(
But there are plenty of "higher output" legal filament bulbs available and that's what I have in mine.

Not legal in the USA either.

But how much do you run around with your high beams on?

They do not check them here in Idaho, but I suppose some states might, but it's more if they work, than what the wattage of the bulb on the high beams is.

I've run 55 watt HID's in non-HID housings/lamps for a few years now, and they are very bright.

My daughter got pulled over for speeding, and the officer asked if she had her bright lights on, but she was only cited for speeding, no issue on the lights once the officer saw the van was loaded with people, and that explained the high light pattern. (I see it all the time around here, especially trucks pulling trailers have the lights too high on low beam, but nobody does much about it.)

Personally, I have my lights adjusted so the cut off/pattern does not blind other traffic, but provides a better than stock view at night.

I wouldn't run higher-wattage bulbs. If they aren't relayed (as I suspect they're not) you run the risk of melting the wiring, burning out your switch contacts, or worse burning your entire dash wiring harness.

^^^^^ This 100% +++

The OEM fog lamps are 55 watt I do believe, or at least 35 watt.

The HID kit for the fogs that I'm using is 35 watt, so no worries there.

The low beams on my car are OEM HID's, but I have no doubt that putting 55 watt ballasts on this system will not create any undue heating stress on the wires/loom/switches etc.

All the halogen light low and high beams are 55 watt OEM, so again, no issue if you are upgradeing or changing out from Halogen to HID.

And the reality is after the first draw of power to ignight the bulb, HID's draw a lower current value than does a halogen bulb. That reduction in amps puts less stress on your alternator over time, so I don't see a downside.

I'm referring to upgrading 55W halogens to higher (90/110/130). These will cause issues. Upgrading 35W HID to 55W won't cause any issues.

OEM foglamps are 55W halogens. If you're fitting a HID kit, I wouldn't exceed 3000k, in either 35 or 55W guise. If you go too white, they will be useless in fog. The glare will actually blind you.