Hid Question

[Kyle_KleinSS]

Hey guys Im going to get some new hids from ddm tuning. Question is has anyone ran 55w fogs? I was debating the 55w headlight, are they worth it over the 35? Also if I cant run 55 fogs, which 35w would match my 55w 8000k headlights? Thanks

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

1) Your font color is basically impossible to read

2) Why 8000k? Just for the color? You're going way into the range of having worse light output

 

[Huachipato]

I wouldn't recommend 55W in the fog housings - it just is not big enough to dissipate the heat well. I'd actually not recommend 55W without a retrofit conversion for the headlights either - just due to the glare the stock housing normally puts out.

As for the color - I guess do what you want. I think you lose a lot of visible light once you get above 6000K. But you should be able to find matching color light for both headlights and fogs regardless of the wattage you decide to move forward with.

 

[Kyle_KleinSS]

Not sure whats with the font. I am thinking going 6000k now actually. The chart ddm has shows a bit of a color difference between the 2 wattage choices.


Fixed the font.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

i have aftermarket smoked housings and had the 6k 35 watt lights for a while. The blue-ish light with smoked housings didnt work all that great. Next time it will be a projector retrofit and 4500-5000 or something in there

 

[Kyle_KleinSS]

I dont have smoked housings so I have that going. I am thinking I might try the 6000k headlights and try whichever fogs to match. DDm told me you want to go one step down going from 55w to 35. So 55w 8000k headlights you want 35w 6000k fogs to match

 

[Zemedici]

I wouldn't recommend 55W in the fog housings - it just is not big enough to dissipate the heat well. I'd actually not recommend 55W without a retrofit conversion for the headlights either - just due to the glare the stock housing normally puts out.

As for the color - I guess do what you want. I think you lose a lot of visible light once you get above 6000K. But you should be able to find matching color light for both headlights and fogs regardless of the wattage you decide to move forward with.

Please listen to anything and everything this man has to say about lights. He truly is an expert on the subject.

 

[Kyle_KleinSS]

Please listen to anything and everything this man has to say about lights. He truly is an expert on the subject.

Will do, so what I garther is stay with the 35w in both? and 6000k? Which brand is recommended or is ddm a good one?

 

[olympic]

I run Morimoto Elite 50w 4500k in the fogs. They've been in there for over a year, no problems so far. In the headlights I have 50w Morimoto Elite D2S with a projector retrofit in dark smoke housings. Again, no problems with it and light output is adequate, roughly equivalent to stock. With clear lenses the light output would be AMAZING!

I'd recommend against HID's in the stock headlights. I tried it before upgrading to projectors and the light pattern emitted is absolutely terrible and the high beams were completely useless.

 

[Huachipato]

After looking at what DDM is offering - I have to admit that this may be different product than what I had ever used in my stock housing. So, instead - I'll share what I do know from using products available years ago.

I'll admit I'm not aware of the difference in colors when changing based on the wattage of the bulbs. I foresee me spending money to experiment on the differences now..

My favorite color is actually 6000K - I think it looks the best on the car. Looks great in pictures for sure. As a driver though - my favorite color is around 4500K as it puts out the most visible light.

The headlights can handle 55W fine. I ran the 9007 bulb in my stock headlights for a while. There was a trace of heat damage (white coating above light bulb) on the reflector chrome, but I really didn't notice it till I carefully looked at it and I was able to remove the bulb and clean it up through the same hole. The issue that I had was the glare that it puts out. I found the glare to be okay with the 35W, but the 55W is somewhat annoying and blinding to oncoming traffic. I also noticed cars got out of my way more often at night when using 55W bulbs - which was cool - but at the same time an indication that I was annoying the drivers in front of me.

I've had 3 different sets of 9007 Bulbs in my car - and the High Beam for each as been pitiful to say the least. It just seems to change the light pattern but not really give a true high beam light.

That said - I have not tested the kit sold by DDM. In reading their description I noticed that they use Phillips bulbs - I will say that they make quality products, so your experience may be better than mine. But I do have to raise a few red flags here. I am a little concerned that the images look like the same generic ballasts and bulbs that are sold on Amazon. Normally when an established brand is making a bulb - they like to put their mark on it. For example - just search for Morimoto bulbs and you will see that they brand the heck out of their products.

They also list the 9007 and 9004 as they same bulb. The 2 bulbs are really only the same base (and even that it keyed differently). The pin out is different between the two bulbs so I would make sure they are pre-pinned correctly for the 9007 application. If they sell the 9004s as 9007s, then you are left swapping the high and low beam pins to make it work right. From a very technical standpoint - the bulbs have the filament placement in different spots. So this would be a bit concerning to me as well. I do believe this is also the reason why most 9007 users experience sub par lighting when we just swap a bulb nothing much else.

Image and explanation of difference can be seen here: http://candlepowerinc.com/pdfs/9004_9007.pdf

As for the fogs - prior to the Cobra I had increased the wattage of the bulbs on other cars and cracked the lenses often. I never subjected my Cobra's fog housings to that level of power as I always assumed that the housing were too small (and quite honestly still do). It looks like it would work fine as others have done with good results. Just be sure to grab the correct base bulb which is the 9145 bulb (aka H10). The 9005 can be made to work, but I have had issues with them not sealing correctly.

I'll kind of leave it at that. Most of my expertise is with projector lighting. I will admit most of the bulbs I used prior to projectors were more on the cheap side of the market. Something that would cost a few dollars to replace parts if needed. It was only after some experimenting with different projectors and bulbs that I came to realize there is something to it when a big brand name (such as Phillips) really puts their brand on a product. The quality many times is night and day when you compare it to the cheaper items found on the market.

I do have to mention an option between HID bulbs and going for the full projector retrofit option. Several members on here have found good results in switching to LED lights instead of HID in their stock headlights. It is a little more expensive than HID, but it seems like it throws out a better light pattern than HID bulbs do.

 

[03_uni-B]

My personal favorite was 4200k, but that was ran through an FXR retro. I wouldn't recommend to run HID's in halogen housings. Aside from being illegal, its blinding and unsafe for other drivers.

 

[Kyle_KleinSS]

I have them in stock lights on my f350 and cobra currently. Just looking to upgrade to a better set. I have read about the leds before. What brand is good for the leds?

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

unless DDM tuning has changed, they give you a blue connector to attach to the stock one and you have to plug the harness ends into that and make it work. The problem is trying to match them up because on mine the wire colors were wrong and it was kinda hard to tell which one was supposed to be high beam and which was low beam

 

[Kyle_KleinSS]

Thats how my current hids are. I am looking to upgrade to a higher quality kit. Or perhaps an led kit. What brand are people liking for leds? I have been redoing my house for months and probably missed out on most of the good threads.

 

[2004cobra615]

I have basic ddm kits in my car. 5000k. Headlights and fogs. I don't think it's bright enough.

I would skip and try led.

They are aimed correctly vertically but these lights have no horizontal adjustment and my driver is pointed incorrectly. I'm sure it's due to prior owners mods and not putting it back correctly.

A user by the name of Tractionless did a good led review
Just do a search