What is a good quality HID kit to purchase?

[bmw2nv2000]

Ive had good luck wioth Xentec

 

[cfiiman]

Ive had good luck wioth Xentec

Tried them and they flickered bad, did a google on them and it seems to be a huge issue with Xentec quality control glad you had good luck with yours though.

 

[Bird325]

Believe this is were Sharp may get there stuff from
HID Kits, BMW Aftermarket Bumpers & Lighting, DEPO - DDM Tuning


This link doesn't work any more. I was on the site looking at the different versions that they offer even a week ago and there were 3 choices. Looks like they only have one option now. Guess I'll go ahead and order. I'll let you guys know how it works out.

 

[Bird325]

OK, I called them to see what was going on. They don't have all the options as far as kits any more. Now they only carry one kit called a Raptor HID Kit. Before there were choices as to the size of the ballast ... not any more. I ordered the 9005 kit i 6000K in 35W. It will be a few days before I get it, but I'll post up my results when I get it.

I'll try to take pictures with one HID and one stock low beam to let you see the difference.

 

[Urhuckleberry]

35w HID kit from DDM 9005 6000k for my '02 RT/10...Taken with my Blackberry camera. Not the best photo, but they are really bright. 2 weeks so far and no flicker and no issues whatsoever. I may switch to a lower lumen...maybe 4500 or 5000...they seem a little brighter and no blue tint to them. But for now, they will do.

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[Bird325]

Thanks for the pic. Really looking forward to getting mine even more now.

 

[Urhuckleberry]

Thanks for the pic. Really looking forward to getting mine even more now.

No problem...I should have taken photo of ballast location, but I simply copied the way another member did it...here is a picture of his install...I did the same thing, but I also used 2 zip-ties to ensure they stayed in place because my DDM ballasts did not have places to use screws to secure. I like how he used the screws to secure in his photo. I cut the plastic fins off and placed the ballast inside. Was very easy after seeing his photo.

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[LifeIsGood]

35w HID kit from DDM 9005 6K Lumens for my '02 RT/10...Taken with my Blackberry camera. Not the best photo, but they are really bright. 2 weeks so far and no flicker and no issues whatsoever. I may switch to a lower lumen...maybe 4500 or 5000...they seem a little brighter and no blue tint to them. But for now, they will do.

I'm also in the market for HIDs for my low beams and fogs. I want to make sure that I'm understanding your post correctly...Are you saying that you notice the blue tint with the 6000K and that the 4500K/5000K bulbs are brighter?

 

[cfiiman]

^^^^ Yes, 5000K will be whiter/brighter, but 6000K looks best IMO and is as high as I would go b/c then you get into blue > purple in the high numbers and the light output goes down. 5000K or 6000K is best, I just like the "shade" of the 6000K personally.

 

[vancouver-gts]

You guys don't mix lumens with K values .

K value represent colour temperature not lumens .
Higher the K value the more blueish the light becomes .Wattage [ more wattage means brighter ] is a different animal and apples to oranges when incandescent , Halogen , HID and LED compared .
For example ; a standard 100 watt incandescent light bulb emits 1500–1700 lumens, while a 100 watt high-pressure sodium vapor lamp emits around 15,000 lumens . The 35W 6K HID has 3200 lumens.

 

[vancouver-gts]

URHuckleberry , your Iphone creates a lot of magenta when it's getting dark outside ,so take another shot of the 6K bulb and a lower K bulb later if you're going to replace the unit for comparison.

 

[Bird325]

I think the comment about the higher K numbers not being as bright actually meant that they do not ********* the darkness as well as the 'whiter'/cooler lights.

 

[Urhuckleberry]

I'm also in the market for HIDs for my low beams and fogs. I want to make sure that I'm understanding your post correctly...Are you saying that you notice the blue tint with the 6000K and that the 4500K/5000K bulbs are brighter?

Yes, the 6000k ones in my photo do have a slight blue tint. They look really nice, but the 4500k or 5000k will be brighter and whiter. I'm leaning towards the 4500k or 5000k for replacement. The DDM bulbs are only $15 for the pair...I may just buy another pair and try them out and keep the 6000K for spare. The 6000k aren't too blue for me, but I personally won't go any higher than the 6000k.

"vancouver-gts" put 4300k in his and from the photo he posted earlier on this thread, they look awesome!

 

[vancouver-gts]

I think the comment about the higher K numbers not being as bright actually meant that they do not ********* the darkness as well as the 'whiter'/cooler lights.

That's correct. If you ever had those yellow Hella lights on a car , that's best to ********* darkness and fog. I had a 50w yellow highbeam light on a motorcycle back in the 60's , could see far and clear.

Ps; when I installed the HID lights ,I was concerned about breaking the plastic fasteners that keeps the inner shield over the wheels , while unscrewing it. I sprayed some WD 40 on the threads prior to removal ,yet 3 of those suckers broke ,because the metal nut inserts were corroded. After drilling out the plastic thread from the inserts ,I had to re-tap the threads in the inserts .Tipically , the dealer added some Viper tax on those fasteners [ a normally 20 cent part is $10 ea for the Viper nation ,lol.] and told them to pound sand.
I'm going to make my fasteners using never seize too for future maintenance .

 

[Urhuckleberry]

URHuckleberry , your Iphone creates a lot of magenta when it's getting dark outside ,so take another shot of the 6K bulb and a lower K bulb later if you're going to replace the unit for comparison.

I will do that as soon as I get the new bulbs. You are correct...the photo does make them appear more blue than they really are. My apologies for mixing up the lumens and color temp.

I still like the 4300K's you are running.

 

[vancouver-gts]

I like it thanks. My son has a bunch of LED'
s from VisionX on his FX Level II Ford Ranger he likes offroading with.Those are even more efficient with same wattage as the HID ,drawing very little power from the battery and it lights up the scenery like a movie set

 

[Bird325]

I got my HIDs installed and grabbed some pictures for everyone to enjoy. The install went well with only ONE glitch. I'll tell you about that in a minute.

2001 GTS
I bought my HID low beams (9005) from HID Kits, BMW Aftermarket Bumpers & Lighting, DEPO - DDM Tuning. The price was REALLY good ($30/set). Read the 'about us' section to see how the company got set up and why the ridiculously low price for good quality HIDs. The ballasts are full size, not the 'slim' version that often doesn't last long or supply the necessary kick that the lights need. I got the 6,000K, 35W set. Did I mention that this set comes with a LIFETIME WARRENTY on the whole kit - bulbs and ballasts?

My install followed RTTTED's illustrated guide with the ballasts being installed inside the headlight enclosure. There was plenty of room in the headlight enclosure for the ballast and wiring. Just pre-check your wiring (I had to remove one of the wiring harness tie downs) and anchor the ballasts with silicone calk so you can remove the ballast if you ever have to. I like the color and brightness that the new bulbs produce. Install time took longer than it should have because the new bulbs just WOULDN'T go into the 9005 fixture at the back of the reflector. I spent about an hour just trying, looking, cussing and backing up to think about it. Turns out that the o-ring that came on the new bulb setup was a little bigger OD than the one on the stock bulbs. I replaced the new o-ring with the one off the old bulb and they went right in.

Brightness:

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Colors:

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3 of 4 with HIDs:

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If you're thinking about doing HID on your Viper, just DO it. At the low price that these were, how can you go wrong? In case you couldn't tell, the driver's side has the new HID installed.

 

[DarcShadow]

I like it thanks. My son has a bunch of LED'
s from VisionX on his FX Level II Ford Ranger he likes offroading with.Those are even more efficient with same wattage as the HID ,drawing very little power from the battery and it lights up the scenery like a movie set

One thing to be aware of and careful with LED lights is they generate just as much heat, if not more then standard bulbs but the heat is more focused in a single area and not all standard setups have enough heat dissipation to keeps things at their optimum level.

I was involved with the team that created the first LED tail lights for Cadillac and heat was one of the biggest issues they had to overcome to get things to work correctly and last the desired life time.

 

[vancouver-gts]

This is what my son uses on his truck and offroad bike. No heat issues what so ever. Heavy duty aluminum housing .

Off-Road Lights :: VisionX...

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WlcUG-TQHw[/media]

 

[KNG SNKE]

I'm also in the market for HIDs for my low beams and fogs. I want to make sure that I'm understanding your post correctly...Are you saying that you notice the blue tint with the 6000K and that the 4500K/5000K bulbs are brighter?

If you drive with your foglights on all the time don't put hids in them. I just upgraded mine and man the light is all over the place, you will definitely get a ticket. If you only use them for fog then definitely add them.

 

[Bird325]

My fogs are HID and have been since I got it a little over a year ago. If my headlights are on, the fogs are on too. Haven't gotten pulled over for it yet.

When you say 'all over the place' is that due to the fogs vibrating and moving around with the bottom of the fascia? I haven't noticed my fogs changing their focal point at all. Maybe because I don't drive very fast at night?

 

[LifeIsGood]

If you drive with your foglights on all the time don't put hids in them. I just upgraded mine and man the light is all over the place, you will definitely get a ticket. If you only use them for fog then definitely add them.

I rarely use my fogs, but this is what I ordered...

Low beams (9005): 35 Watt, 5000K
Fogs (H3): 35 Watt, 3000K

I should get them tomorrow...the fascia is pulled and the front wheel wells and headlight dust panels have also been removed.

 

[KNG SNKE]

My fogs are HID and have been since I got it a little over a year ago. If my headlights are on, the fogs are on too. Haven't gotten pulled over for it yet.

When you say 'all over the place' is that due to the fogs vibrating and moving around with the bottom of the fascia? I haven't noticed my fogs changing their focal point at all. Maybe because I don't drive very fast at night?

Nothing to do with the driving portion, it has to do with the cut off. The fog lights don't have a cut off and dont control the output of the light. If you look inside your low beam projector there is a piece of metal that controls how much light output and in what fashion. The foglights have a deflector but it has to be bent up to allow the hid bulb to fit. Basically putting hid's in your foglights will shine almost as high as a second story of a house. I know you can adjust the lamps down but it would have to be adjusted really far.

 

[Bird325]

My fogs were already installed, so they must be a complete set with the projector/reflector already designed for the HID bulb rather than putting an HID bulb in a non-HID enclosure.

 

[KNG SNKE]

My fogs were already installed, so they must be a complete set with the projector/reflector already designed for the HID bulb rather than putting an HID bulb in a non-HID enclosure.

Um, no such thing. Off the top of my head Mercedes is the only company to install hid's in a non projector housing. For fog lights Lexus is one of the few companies to install hid's in a projector style fog light housing. Your fog lights might be angled down as far as possible but I assure you you don't have a "complete set". There is not an incomplete set as our fog lights were NOT designed for hid's. If you look at your low beam, there is a round piece of plastic that the light shines through instead of an open bulb, that is called a projector. If you look at your fog lights, there is no round "lens" that the light shines through, it is an open bulb inside the fog light with a little piece of metal used to direct the light. This piece of metal is for normal sized bulbs and keeps the light low. With HID's and the size of the bulb this piece of metal has to be pushed forward and up slightly which does not direct the light properly.

 

[Bird325]

Well knock me over with a feather! I didn't know that. Guess when I run out of things to fool with, I'll have to pull the fogs and see what I can do with them. Next time I'm out at night I'll pay a little more attention to the altitude that the fogs reach for. Never had anyone flash their their brights at me, so they can't be too bad.

 

[KNG SNKE]

Well knock me over with a feather! I didn't know that. Guess when I run out of things to fool with, I'll have to pull the fogs and see what I can do with them. Next time I'm out at night I'll pay a little more attention to the altitude that the fogs reach for. Never had anyone flash their their brights at me, so they can't be too bad.

You have inspired me to go and attempt to aim my headlights down. The hids haven't been on long in my fogs so I have zero adjustment over stock. Parked and looking at their beam on my garage door looks good but coming down my street I shine in my neighbors second story window.

 

[LifeIsGood]

...The foglights have a deflector but it has to be bent up to allow the hid bulb to fit...

This is a picture of the deflector (the picture is taken from the back of the fog lamp from inside the fascia, with the bulb removed)...

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...but I didn't touch it at all in my installation. I used a couple of o-rings to back the HID bulb (which is longer than the OE) a little further out of the fog light socket. I also bent the bulb retainer wire, so that it would hold the new HID bulb in place...

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...here is the bent retainer wire holding down the new HID bulb...

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[KNG SNKE]

I had O rings lined up to back it out but I didn't like that the bulb would be sitting that far back. That is the deflector however it is not a cut off. I will see what I can do to mess with mine but is a non issue for me since I dont drive with the fogs on.

 

[ACR_Matt]

Is DDM Tuning still the go to place for HIDs? Has anyone had any problems with these kits now that they've been installed for awhile?