Best HID kit for under $150?

[Mindspin311]

Looks like the Volt kit is priced right. What are people thoughts on its performance??

[istealfrombums]

DDM Tuning 30-50$ depending on size of ballast and wattage. Mine are perfect. Lifetime warranty on the ballast.

[TSiWRX]

For the price of the DDMs, just get two sets - that way, you'll have a spare, when/if you ever need to send something or the other in for warranty.

 

Yes, there's no shortage of complaints on DDM units failing. But look at just how many are out there - staggering, right?

 

Hear of one or two or three of the others failing? Even here on the Vendor threads advertising the other units, there have been warranty claims, no? Now, how many of these units are out there?

 

Once you do that math, and then ask yourself, honestly, if you can truly and absolutely determine from any seller that their X or Y components are exactly what they say they are, without any doubt whatsoever and with incontrovertible proof (all the while remembering the prevalence of cloning/badge-engineering that goes on in the Far-East) - does it really make sense, then, to buy anything else?

 

Particularly at those low prices, where you can afford to simply purchase a spare, outright - thus allowing you to not have to worry about a warranty claim's timeline.

 

Truthfully, unless you're willing to take the jump to known-source OEM take-off or even new componentry, you're better off just playing the price game.

 

At those prices, they're virtually disposable.

 

Worried about reliability/durability? Plenty of us here - and elsewhere - have used the DDMs for quite a while, without any problems. Heck, if you're really bothered, just carry a spare set of standard halogens with you: they take up virtually no space/weight. With a BL/BP, you can easily pull the leads from the plug-and-play kit and plug-in your backup H7s, even if you're on the side of the road, on a snowy night.

[istealfrombums]

It's funny that when you see pictures of some of the other ballasts from other manufactures they look exactly the same as the raptor kits from DDM. Branding bias even on cheap HID kits?

[TSiWRX]

I'm not saying what may or may not be. Like I said above, I also have no way of knowing.

 

And that's precisely it - that none of us really have a good way of knowing...so with that, I hedge my bets. That's all I can really do.

[Mindspin311]

For the price of the DDMs, just get two sets - that way, you'll have a spare, when/if you ever need to send something or the other in for warranty.

 

Yes, there's no shortage of complaints on DDM units failing. But look at just how many are out there - staggering, right?

 

Hear of one or two or three of the others failing? Even here on the Vendor threads advertising the other units, there have been warranty claims, no? Now, how many of these units are out there?

 

Once you do that math, and then ask yourself, honestly, if you can truly and absolutely determine from any seller that their X or Y components are exactly what they say they are, without any doubt whatsoever and with incontrovertible proof (all the while remembering the prevalence of cloning/badge-engineering that goes on in the Far-East) - does it really make sense, then, to buy anything else?

 

Particularly at those low prices, where you can afford to simply purchase a spare, outright - thus allowing you to not have to worry about a warranty claim's timeline.

 

Truthfully, unless you're willing to take the jump to known-source OEM take-off or even new componentry, you're better off just playing the price game.

 

At those prices, they're virtually disposable.

 

Worried about reliability/durability? Plenty of us here - and elsewhere - have used the DDMs for quite a while, without any problems. Heck, if you're really bothered, just carry a spare set of standard halogens with you: they take up virtually no space/weight. With a BL/BP, you can easily pull the leads from the plug-and-play kit and plug-in your backup H7s, even if you're on the side of the road, on a snowy night.

 

Wow, lots of words for you to say.. do a retrofit, all others are crap.

[TSiWRX]

Wow, lots of words for you to say.. do a retrofit, all others are crap.

 

^ No, that's *NOT* what I am saying, at all. You're reading way, way too much into the post.

 

Please don't put words in my mouth, particularly ones that I have neither said nor intended.

 

Search my past posts here - you'll see that I have repeatedly (since late 2005, once members of our own community showed us all that such can be achieved) said that a simple H7 plug-and-play for the BL/BP, given the optics, is more than sufficient to not only see a true increase in light-on-road, but also be of sufficient glare-control, given that the end-user is careful about aim.

 

What's more, I currently own two sets of the DDM 55W H7 (4300K) units, using one as a spare, just as I'd advised, and am currently "testing" the simple H7 plug-and-play (I'm on "fun" projects now, and this is one I enjoy, as I've said many times previously, I'm taking things step-by-step with this one, and I've gone through the plug-and-play w/o filling squirrel-finder stage, and am currently on the filled-finder stage; as I've both written here, publicly, as well as have told members such as praedet in private conversations, I ran out of "dark time" to truly test this setup this past spring, and I will continue where I left off this fall) - check my vBGarage.

 

Again, please don't put words in my mouth.

 

What I am saying is simple - that there's no way for us, as individual consumers, to verify what *any* of the Vendors are saying is true. They say that their parts are sourced from X or Y? How do we know that's actually true? And even if it were, where did X or Y, in-turn, source their raw components from? And even then, does it really matter?

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/hid-kit-comparison-tests-measurement-data-99296.html?t=99296&highlight=HID

 

I don't consider the aftermarkets "crap" - nor do I consider the plug-and-play non-viable for our application. You're taking my statements and somehow drawn a conclusion that's 180-degrees what I've actually said, and accused me of saying something which I have not.

 

All that I am saying is that unless you somehow source verified OEM componentry, don't put too much onto the "quality" aspect of the equation.

 

And as for plug-and-play H7 versus retrofit?

 

Again, I'll reiterate that in the past, as with now, I have consistently said that our BL/BP optics, even totally unmodified, offers sufficient glare control - provided that proper aim is sought - as well as does offer an improvement in absolute light-on-road, with either a 35W or 55W H7 HID setup.

 

Nevertheless, it is also true that aberrations/defects such as hot/cold spots, a narrower-than-ideal beam-spread combined with excessive foreground flooding, and slightly increased glare does present, versus a proper and well-executed retrofit.

 

I took so many words to explain to you what I truly meant in the simple hope that you'd read through it and understand why I said what I did.

 

I didn't want to give you a single-word or otherwise truncated reply, only to have you try to infer what was actually behind the words.

 

By using so many words, I was giving you a full presentation of *exactly* what I thought. So, please, don't try to read beyond the scope of those words.

 

And furthermore, before you accuse me of anything more, please search my past posts to see where my actual stance on the issues are.

[Kaptan]

I'd reccomend McCulloch HID kits. I've had these since I got my LGT in '04. I haven't had any problems since installing, but I don't think there are any vendors on this site that sell McCulloch. You can find many vendors selling McCulloch HID kits with a google search.

[Bolksey85]

I'm happy with my 65W Osrams with no fear of burnouts.

[Windy Road]

I'm happy with my 65W Osrams with no fear of burnouts.

 

 

+1

 

 

I have a DDM HID kit for my fogs. There 3000k bulbs suck, they aren't even yellow, more like a neon green. I have other HID bulbs but the ballasts are still going strong for over a year now any they are always on. I rock fogs 24/7

[TSiWRX]

I'm happy with my 65W Osrams with no fear of burnouts.

 

^ Be careful, bro....remember, the H7 isn't a long lasting element to begin with - Daniel Stern quotes the 65W Osrams at no more life expectancy than that of the OEM. I still carry spares.

 

I have a DDM HID kit for my fogs. There 3000k bulbs suck, they aren't even yellow, more like a neon green.

 

^ Something is not right...it may be greenish at-startup, but it should burn-in to a good amber/yellow, no different from any "selective yellow" film covering or halogen bulb. I got a set of el-cheapo no-names to fool around with earlier last year, and that was both what I saw as well as what I'd expected, from having seen others.

 

My biggest problem with the 35W HID solution was that while it produced as much light, subjectively, as my current overwattage fog application, it didn't generate enough heat to melt snow.... Given my use, that became unacceptable.

[Bolksey85]

^ Be careful, bro....remember, the H7 isn't a long lasting element to begin with - Daniel Stern quotes the 65W Osrams at no more life expectancy than that of the OEM. I still carry spares.

True. I still have my OEM bulbs in the package my Osrams came in so I'm good with spares. And Stern is based out of MD and I'm in SE PA so a day's wait for bulbs is no biggie.

[TSiWRX]

^ Nice!!!

[Windy Road]

^ Be careful, bro....remember, the H7 isn't a long lasting element to begin with - Daniel Stern quotes the 65W Osrams at no more life expectancy than that of the OEM. I still carry spares.

 

 

 

^ Something is not right...it may be greenish at-startup, but it should burn-in to a good amber/yellow, no different from any "selective yellow" film covering or halogen bulb. I got a set of el-cheapo no-names to fool around with earlier last year, and that was both what I saw as well as what I'd expected, from having seen others.

 

My biggest problem with the 35W HID solution was that while it produced as much light, subjectively, as my current overwattage fog application, it didn't generate enough heat to melt snow.... Given my use, that became unacceptable.

 

 

They are greenish at start up, but onced warmed up they are a pale yellow. My other bulbs are a deep deep yellow. Almost like a halogen bulb yellow. My buddy who has the same DDM 3000k kit, his are the same way, a pale yellow, which leads me to think its something with their bulbs.

[TSiWRX]

^ That's most interesting....and disappointing, too.

 

The ones I got - "HID King" ?WTF? - took a long time to burn-in, but once they came in, they were a nice, deep yellow/amber.

[Longitude]

$40 DDM kit is ridiculously the best bargain by bar. Plus I just drove down to the local place to pickup. Got them in both my Subies and very satisfied with the 5k slim kit.

[JayRez33]

i have a set of the ddm slim ballast 55w 6000k HIDs and love them and for fifty bucks ill have no problem replacing them when they go bad and will not be upset if they go bad. Ive had them in for about 5 months now and have had no issues with them. I run them almost 24/7. Like TSi+WRX is saying its really hard to test which is the best and this has been discussed quite a bunch here.

[08LGT80]

anyone have the o-nex 3000k hid kit from automotivelightingusa.com? any opinions? does it produce the deep yellow/amber color? i read a few bad reviews about the ddmtuning 3000k kit.

 

I have used the o-nex 6000k kit for my headlights and the ballast crapped out after a year. i know it's the ballast because i tested both bulbs with the working ballast. but what i'm interested in is opinions on the 3000k kit. help please!

[08LGT80]

They are greenish at start up, but onced warmed up they are a pale yellow. My other bulbs are a deep deep yellow. Almost like a halogen bulb yellow. My buddy who has the same DDM 3000k kit, his are the same way, a pale yellow, which leads me to think its something with their bulbs.

 

do u have a pic of the color? i'm thinking about getting the 3000k kit. it would help me out alot! thx.

[Windy Road]

do u have a pic of the color? i'm thinking about getting the 3000k kit. it would help me out alot! thx.

 

 

Here you go.

 

35watt DDM Kit

3000k Bulbs

With relay harness

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/StevenCole/Auto%20Photo%20Shoots/Legacy/DSC_9810.jpg

 

 

Wow I forgot what my stock grill looked like

 

Now my other bulbs are a deep yellow. I should have my replacement bulb in the next couple days I hope and if you want a photo of them let me know.

[08LGT80]

Here you go.

 

35watt DDM Kit

3000k Bulbs

With relay harness

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/StevenCole/Auto%20Photo%20Shoots/Legacy/DSC_9810.jpg

 

 

Wow I forgot what my stock grill looked like

 

Now my other bulbs are a deep yellow. I should have my replacement bulb in the next couple days I hope and if you want a photo of them let me know.

 

thanks windy road! those lights don't look yellow/amber! What brand/kelvin temperature is your other bulbs?

[TSiWRX]

^ +1. That's really pale looking.....

[Windy Road]

Ha told you guys they are pale yellow

 

The other bulbs are 3000k from Diode Dynamics. I have a spare bulb in the mail to me now since one burnt out on me.

 

I actually have a photo of what they look like. Its daylight but you can tell how much deeper they are.

 

 

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/StevenCole/Auto%20Photo%20Shoots/Legacy/Winter%2009/DSC_0770.jpg

[TSiWRX]

^ That's more like it!

[08LGT80]

Ha told you guys they are pale yellow

 

The other bulbs are 3000k from Diode Dynamics. I have a spare bulb in the mail to me now since one burnt out on me.

 

I actually have a photo of what they look like. Its daylight but you can tell how much deeper they are.

 

 

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/StevenCole/Auto%20Photo%20Shoots/Legacy/Winter%2009/DSC_0770.jpg

 

 

i like that color!! are those hids or replacement bulbs?