bugblatterbeast Posted December 29, 2008 Author Share Posted December 29, 2008 I just got and install HID conversion kit from XENTAC with 6000K color temp H7 bulbs and they are sweet. Easy plug and play install in 30 min. Only small mod was adding a hole in headlight bulb access cover for weather tight wire plug and disabling DRL and that was most of my work. Function and look great. Pics will follow. Price was not bad $60 plus shipping from EBAY. PS I would NOT go with any New Slimmer HIDs Conversion Units that are on market since their bulb igniter are relocated on line, not in one unit, making them smaller. WOW !!! and because my friend have a bad experience with them. any chance you can post a pic of the ballast's back side? A few of my buddies have come by with the same ballasts sold under different private brandings. I suspect you have one made in the same factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phenryiv1 Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 bugblatterbeast- What do you think about the likelihood that the prolumen kit (35 or 50 watt) will be able to ignite reliably with our stock lighting system? Do the startup draws look like we might get any consistency and reliability out of them? Patrick Looking for spacers or adapters to install aftermarket speakers in the doors of your Legacy? CLICK HERE or PM me! http://www.carstereoadapters.com./ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugblatterbeast Posted December 29, 2008 Author Share Posted December 29, 2008 the startup draw is pretty reasonable for both kits. so far I've installed three of these kits (two on LGTs). the 35w kit has been running in one application with stock wiring for 3 years. the 50w kit (also on stock wiring) has a few months on it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniStiGuy Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 OEM HID's Rx330 Retro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xenon expert Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Holly thread revival! These kits have changed since then. Prolumen is a slim kit now too and made in China. If you want something better get kits that use Japanese parts and German parts like our Volt and Xtreme kits: http://www.xenonexpert.com/images/hid_comp_chart.jpg http://www.xenonexpert.com/volt_hid_sale.html http://www.xenonexpert.com/xtreme_hid_sale.html http://www.xenonexpert.com/xtreme_hid_h7sale.html Oliver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugblatterbeast Posted December 31, 2008 Author Share Posted December 31, 2008 No offense but the quality of a ballast does not depend only on the nationality of the parts put into it. I design high volume electronic goods for a living and can assure you that a botched design can contain parts of any nationality. If the kits I tested didn't belong to people using them on their cars, I would have done a destructive tear down and reverse engineering analysis on each. The goal of this thread is to make third part measurements on different kits. The moment someone local shows up with a Volt or Xtreme kit, I'll be happy to measure it and post the data (good or bad). Till then, I don't think we can really say if they are better or worse. I'm not here to promote one kit or another. What I want to do is provide real test data for the community. Too many decisions are based on "he says/she says" or "I feel my kit is good". We've already seen one case where the manufacturer's claimed test data was miles from what was measured (while other kits were spot on). Was the sample bad? I don't know. The manufacturer with super low efficiency never offered to swap the unit. If you can point me to someone in the GTA or KW area with a volt kit I'll measure it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugblatterbeast Posted December 31, 2008 Author Share Posted December 31, 2008 next in line (hopefully) for measurement is an OEM D2S setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniStiGuy Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 yay! can't wait to see results. OEM HID's Rx330 Retro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akscooby Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 No offense but the quality of a ballast does not depend only on the nationality of the parts put into it. I design high volume electronic goods for a living and can assure you that a botched design can contain parts of any nationality. If the kits I tested didn't belong to people using them on their cars, I would have done a destructive tear down and reverse engineering analysis on each. The goal of this thread is to make third part measurements on different kits. The moment someone local shows up with a Volt or Xtreme kit, I'll be happy to measure it and post the data (good or bad). Till then, I don't think we can really say if they are better or worse. I'm not here to promote one kit or another. What I want to do is provide real test data for the community. Too many decisions are based on "he says/she says" or "I feel my kit is good". We've already seen one case where the manufacturer's claimed test data was miles from what was measured (while other kits were spot on). Was the sample bad? I don't know. The manufacturer with super low efficiency never offered to swap the unit. If you can point me to someone in the GTA or KW area with a volt kit I'll measure it. +1...well said. I'm getting tired of seeing the same old posts claiming pretty broad things (i.e. the general assumptions going around that if it's German or Japanese it must be better...). Not only does it start to sound racist, it's ridiculous. Anyone can produce cheap and crappy lights or high-quality ones...doesn't really matter what side of a border they're on, especially in today's world of electronics where the final product is usually a conglomeration of parts from all over the world, then put together by a manufacturer. That said, there are legit general claims about quality control, but it is never universally true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugblatterbeast Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 The numbers for the KWD 50w kit were troubling me a little so I dug up some of my older testing notes to see just how large an impact the higher colour temp bulbs should have on the light output. With the 35w kits, a test with 6000k bulbs yielded an average reading of 36 vs 59. If we apply the same scaling to the KWD kit, we should get a reading of 87. When I get a chance, I'll make the actual measurement using lower colour temp bulbs. The percentage change in light due to the change in colour temp was much larger than I expected till I considered the spectral response curve of the photo cell. The cell was designed to mimic the eye's response to different colours so the shift up in colour temp would have compounded the lower readings with 6k bulbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugblatterbeast Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 Coles Notes Version The KWD kit is estimated to have about 90% the output of the more expensive Prolumen kit if the same bulbs are used (more measurements are needed). The output power stability is not as good as the Prolumen kit but the KWD kit is substantially cheaper. Since the kit comes with a lifetime warranty, one is left balancing the convenience of longer intervals between bulb changes and cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniStiGuy Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 any new updates for us? OEM HID's Rx330 Retro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugblatterbeast Posted February 11, 2009 Author Share Posted February 11, 2009 I'm waiting for the guy with the OEM setup to be in town at the same time. He's up in Collingwood on the weekends these days and I'm only in Toronto every other weekend now. I have a few photos of the KWD vs Prolumen kits but haven't had time to crop and post them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xenon expert Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Find someone on this board that has had a problem with the Volt or Xtreme kit. Maybe 1? Maybe. And we don't lie about the origin or the reliability of our kits. If you want to test them please email me and I'm sure you can pass via our warehouse in Toronto. Oliver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugblatterbeast Posted February 12, 2009 Author Share Posted February 12, 2009 PM sent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MH3.0R Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Bugblatterbeast, What range of HID Kits have you tested recently? I am also looking for a high quality kit due to my concerns posted at: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105017 post #8. My concerns pertain to the EMI and RFI susceptibility of vehicles that have extensive use of CAN Bus, like our Legacy/Liberty models. Any comments/feedback welcome. Kind Regards, Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugblatterbeast Posted February 16, 2009 Author Share Posted February 16, 2009 Funny you should ask as I'm a electrical engineer and do RF design for a living. I haven't tested any of the offerings for EMI/RFI as I didn't think anyone would be interested in the test results. I do have access to an certified FCC test chamber and most of the equipment needed to do an on car measurement. I can do on car measurements of the setup I currently have installed but I'll probably refrain from testing other setups on car because it would be too much of a PITA to do so. I have the following units on my shelf which I could do bench testing on : Prolumen old 35W, Prolumen Slim 35W, Apexcone old 35W. For an on car I can measure the new Prolumen 50W. If you look at the input current waveforms I posted, you can get a very rough idea as to how much filtering was done at the input of the ballasts. You won't be able to easily tell the frequency of the noise as I did a time domain measurement but you can bet that a cheap ballasts that doesn't filter the low frequency noise will likely have not added any high frequency filtering. As a general comment, I wouldn't expect that any of the aftermarket kits have actually gone through certification (even if they claim they have). Time in a sanctioned lab is $10000-$30000 per day. A typical set of compliance tests will run a day or two. That being said, there are many optimizations an EE can do to the product to get good noise performance even without certification. They just wouldn't be able to prove it easily. OEM car electronics is also, for the most part, very EMI immune. I would still avoid running the HV leads anywhere near a wiring harness (main, air bag, abs etc). When installing a kit, it is also good to keep the supply and return leads as paired as possible. This minimizes the available loop area for noise to leak off of. Conducted line noise is pretty easily filtered but till I make a measurement on some ballasts I can't really recommend a filter structure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MH3.0R Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Thanks for the response. Very enlightening and I will share the link with my Aussie compatriots. I would be interested in the testing of as many differnet kits as you can manage, so that we can all be either alerted to or allayed by the results. If you can only manage one, then make it the 50W version as it should have the most potential for EMI/RFI. I imagine the quality and placement of the installation must also be a consideration as you rightly indicated. Too close to other electrical harnesses would be a concern and electrical wiring rules should be observed when crossing or running in parallel to other Extra Low Voltage circuits. I have also noticed several vendors indicating E4 certified HID components. It would be interesting to check their credentials to allay our fears of ambit claims and promote any OEMs and vendors that are genuine. If you can manage some tests, I will try to verify the EMC E4 certification of the Kits. Kind Regards, Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MH3.0R Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Find someone on this board that has had a problem with the Volt or Xtreme kit. Maybe 1? Maybe. And we don't lie about the origin or the reliability of our kits. If you want to test them please email me and I'm sure you can pass via our warehouse in Toronto. Oliver Hi Oliver, I am not about targetting anyones kit or any vendors products. In fact, I will genuinely promote those products that we can confirm comply with the EMC E4 certification and have had their products tested in the laboratory to ensure our members are steered toward certified items in their vehicles. I am sure we are all on the same path here. Kind Regards, Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineRaven Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 So 50watt HID is better/brighter? but hotter? Cheers AP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniStiGuy Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Yes if add more power you get more heat. OEM HID's Rx330 Retro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phenryiv1 Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Yes if add more power you get more heat. True, but some manufacturers make their 50 or 55w ballasts with higher-quality internals, which aids in heat dissipation and promotes reliability and longevity. Just a thought. Patrick Looking for spacers or adapters to install aftermarket speakers in the doors of your Legacy? CLICK HERE or PM me! http://www.carstereoadapters.com./ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akscooby Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 HID's still generally run a lot cooler then halogen bulbs, regardless of whether they are 35 or 55w. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniStiGuy Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 the difference measured between a 35w bulb and 55w is like ~5ºF so its very minimal. I run 55w ballast on my 35w Phillips bulbs and have no problems with my projectors and my cousin runs 55w on his stock lamps for his LGT and has no issues either. Some projectors however have problems handling the increased heat with there coatings but the stock ones and the Rx330's I have run fine with no ill affects. OEM HID's Rx330 Retro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akscooby Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 I ran 55w HID's in my stock projectors. I could touch the lens and literally feel the difference in the heat output from the halogen bulbs. It's minimal with the HID's. In fact, in the winter I kind of liked the halogen better because they more readily melted snow and ice off the lamps.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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