2000UZJ's big HID thread - what, where and how

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BROKEROB1 said:
I was able to get my kit mounted/completed over the weekend. I ordered the Apexcone Raptor 55w 5000k, along with the harness, from DDM tuning. I have to say, everything went pretty smooth and I referred to the mud community several times, specifically on light removal and installation locations. I ended up putting my ballast boxes in behind the side marker lights, behind the front quarter panels (thanks Hoser). My kit only came with double sided tape, so I used it (hopefully to minimize vibration) and dug out some old training wheel brackets from my kid's bike and made mounting brackets. I have one major regret.... that I did not have JB Weld on hand to fill in the small holes in the actual projector lamp, above the cutoff. These lights are BRIGHT! The holes (normally included in halogen lamps to light up signs, etc) are totally unnecessary and are distracting, as they light up houses :) I also would say that if I did not have the Lexus projectors, I think I would be changing these back, as they are BRIGHT. With the projectors, the cutoff is sharp and crisp. I would think anything else might be dangerous to oncoming drivers (especially the 55w). The color and cutoff is surprisingly similar to my BMW 7 series. I was driving at night last night and could not get over the major difference. It is again a pleasure to drive at night.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with this mod. For the money, this is a no brainer if you have projectors. I was also holding out for the Xenon Depot (and had a $500 set of the Philips in my cart), but hopped on this DDM deal, as the Lifetime warranty makes lots of sense to me. Now that I have done this, I could swap ballasts out in 20 minutes. This weekend, I am going to pull out the projectors and fill the four small holes in the projector above the cutoff with the JB Weld. I will try to get some pics uploaded tonight, when it gets dark. Unfortunately, I don't have any before pics. But really, the lights were so bad on this thing that I could just post a picture of a candle :)
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Im glad to hear about your results with the LX projectors. If its possible, can you post pics of how you fill in the hole with JB Weld?
 
I will take some pics of the holes when I fill them over the weekend. For now, here are two pics of the result. The holes in the pic are obvious, as there are two in each headlight. If I back up another 20 feet, there are four rectangles :) It seems pretty obvious to me in these pictures, but I also took some height measurements last weekend and my drivers' side front is currently sitting about an inch low... dang Lexus' AHC :grinpimp:
mud1.webp
mud2.webp
 
:eek: That cutoff is SHARP!!! People always say that Halogen projectors wont work with HID bulbs.....wtf? Those pictures blow that claim out of the water.
 
agreed... as mentioned, I was fully prepared to take these out, if the cut-off wasn't sharp and crisp. For the total investment of $70 and a half a day's worth of work, I am thrilled! Learning more, I regret buying the 55w and wish I would have purchased the 35w. Also, the ballasts are surprisingly noisy. Time will tell if the 55w ballasts last. I had these on (while stationary-ambient temperature was about 55 deg) for about an hour last night to test the heat build up in and around the projectors and was surprised that they didn't get too hot.

I'll try to get some additional pics up over the weekend!


pman said:
:eek: That cutoff is SHARP!!! People always say that Halogen projectors wont work with HID bulbs.....wtf? Those pictures blow that claim out of the water.
Click to expand...
 
BROKEROB1 said:
the ballasts are surprisingly noisy.

I'll try to get some additional pics up over the weekend!
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Noisy? Like a buzz? Mine has a slight buzz but you have to put your ear up to it to hear it.


and please post some pictures, I'm trying to find ways (not a retro) to possibly make my cutoff a little nicer.
 
BROKEROB1 said:
agreed... as mentioned, I was fully prepared to take these out, if the cut-off wasn't sharp and crisp. For the total investment of $70 and a half a day's worth of work, I am thrilled! Learning more, I regret buying the 55w and wish I would have purchased the 35w. Also, the ballasts are surprisingly noisy. Time will tell if the 55w ballasts last. I had these on (while stationary-ambient temperature was about 55 deg) for about an hour last night to test the heat build up in and around the projectors and was surprised that they didn't get too hot.

I'll try to get some additional pics up over the weekend!
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Any updates?
 
I don't have any updates... Unfortunately, this time of year (tax season) is difficult on my weekend projects :crybaby:
pman said:
Any updates?
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I regret purchasing the 55w because they are ridiculously bright. I will reiterate that they have a SHARP cut-off. I have been driving several hours each night and these units are performing flawlessly. I counted last night, and noted about a 7 second warm up. I have yet to have another vehicle "flash" headlights at me. I also had my wife follow me around (close distance and far) in my small Integra (this car sits pretty low) and the lights were not annoying, even sitting at stop lights. I think the front of my truck is currently sitting a hair low, as the PO dropped on an ARB and winch and may not have made the proper TB adjustments. I intend to leave them aimed as they are, as they seem perfect. I have been spending lots of time on HID, Bimmer, Club Lexus, etc. forums and have read lots of discussion surrounding the heat output of a true 55w RMS HID set-up. Some have reported melted wires and "burnt" projector housings with the 55w set-up (most seem a couple of years old). Many report fine results, as well, especially the last 18 months, as technology has progressed. As I mentioned previously, I ran my truck for an hour at idle and did not have high temperatures around my projector housings.
pman said:
Originally Posted by BROKEROB1 View Post
Learning more, I regret buying the 55w and wish I would have purchased the 35w.
Im curious, please explain.
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I have a good friend who owns a new BMW 5 series and we are going to compare HID set-ups to contrast brightness, cut-off, color, etc. Also, he told me over the weekend his high-beams are also Xenon/HID... true? My old 7 series had the Xenon as low, then the fog and high beams as Halogen. He told me that when he flips his brights on, it truly is spectacular! I will catch up with him soon and try to get some comparison pics up, as well.

My install was straightforward. The supplied wiring harness from DDM was adequate, but I could have used an additional 12" of length on the run between sides, as I had to get really creative in mounting the relay (stretched just past the radiator, just short of the battery). The area of the harness surrounding the battery/relay was really long. In retrospect, I would have purchased the harness as a template, made my own, then sold it on fleabay, as I am not smart enough to figure it out:cheers:

As mentioned, I mounted my ballasts in the front fenders, so (in fairness to the DDM harness) they were far apart. I ran my harness under the top of the radiator mount, under the foam (where there is already a wiring loom). I also intend to post some pictures of the install (although, this install has been pretty well documented by other members). My goal was to have no evidence of a conversion, at quick glance opening the hood. The trickiest part of the install was getting those darn side markers out :) I will try to get some pics of those illusive side-marker tabs, along with the two spaces above the cutoff (in each projector) I am going to fill. I actually purchased Quicksteel's product to fill those holes, which claims plastic bond up to 500 degrees (actual JB Weld has about half of the heat resistance).

Still, this was the best $70 I have spent in a long time! :beer:
 
BROKEROB1 said:
I
I have a good friend who owns a new BMW 5 series and we are going to compare HID set-ups to contrast brightness, cut-off, color, etc. Also, he told me over the weekend his high-beams are also Xenon/HID... true? My old 7 series had the Xenon as low, then the fog and high beams as Halogen. He told me that when he flips his brights on, it truly is spectacular! I will catch up with him soon and try to get some comparison pics up, as well.
Click to expand...
The 5 series has Bi-Xenon headlamps and so the high beams are indeed HID. Also compare light uniformity which is rather important. Have your buddy turn the steering wheel left to right and you'll be able to see adaptive headlamps. I think they work well. The 5 series HID's are nicer than my LX retrofit HID's for sure.

I'm not sure what's with the color in this video because it isn't accurate but I'm posting it to show the projectors moving.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl2dOtpy-WE&feature=related
 
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BROKEROB1 said:
I think the front of my truck is currently sitting a hair low, as the PO dropped on an ARB and winch and may not have made the proper TB adjustments.
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Your AHC should compensate for that. No matter what weight is on the front, unless it is too much weight for the system to handle (which you would get an error message for), it should compensate for the height difference. See if there is some kind of issue with your AHC height sensors or pump.

BROKEROB1 said:
I have a good friend who owns a new BMW 5 series and we are going to compare HID set-ups to contrast brightness, cut-off, color, etc. Also, he told me over the weekend his high-beams are also Xenon/HID... true? My old 7 series had the Xenon as low, then the fog and high beams as Halogen. He told me that when he flips his brights on, it truly is spectacular! I will catch up with him soon and try to get some comparison pics up, as well.
Click to expand...

My parents own an e66 7-series (an 06), and my 55w bulbs are just as bright as its 35w 4200k bulbs. Cutoff is just about the same too (apart from those annoying squirrel finders). I'm surprised at how well this turned out. Also, about that crystal clear cutoff: If you pay close attention at night, especially if you're driving into a parking garage or into your own garage, on the ceiling, there are a few stray beams of light. I think this may cause some added glare to oncoming traffic, but it shouldn't be too bad. Overall, LX+HID's=lots and lots of extra light without lots of extra glare.

P.S. Remind me to get DDM's 4500k kit... I feel like I'm driving a riced out civic. Not a fan of the blue HID look. :whoops:
 
Did you already install a kit? What color did you order? I installed the 5000 and was surprised at the lack of "blueness".
cmfhsu said:
P.S. Remind me to get DDM's 4500k kit... I feel like I'm driving a riced out civic. Not a fan of the blue HID look. :whoops:
Click to expand...


I am going to pay close attention to this. I pulled into my pitch black garage a few nights ago and did not notice any scattering or stray beams.
cmfhsu said:
Also, about that crystal clear cutoff: If you pay close attention at night, especially if you're driving into a parking garage or into your own garage, on the ceiling, there are a few stray beams of light. I think this may cause some added glare to oncoming traffic, but it shouldn't be too bad.
Click to expand...
 
I thought it would be whiter than it is. I ordered the 55w 5000k kit. It seems a bit blue. It's color shifted a bit over the few hours I've been using them and have become a little more blue than when I got them. Maybe they'll get better over time. I guess I just like my lights a little on the yellow side.

Maybe your bulbs are different, but whenever I pull out of the garage, I see light beams scattering on my garage door (when it is up). I think it's reflecting off the bottom of the projector housing (the chrome stuff outside the projector). It also could be because my garage doors are really low. I have about two inches clearance between the top of my roof rack and my garage door when the door is up.

EDIT: Also, does anybody know how to get the low beams not to flash when you pull the headlight stalk? I've been flashing people by turning my fogs on and flashing my corner lights and fogs at people (not to be an a******, but because there's a four way intersection near my house and nobody in the known universe understands how to negotiate one. I usually let the other person go first, thus the flashing)
 
BROKEROB1 said:
yes... but not so slight. With the engine off, standing 10 ft away, very noticeable.
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One of my ddm kits is like this to. Very loud. You can actually hear it with the engine running.
 
lndcruz said:
One of my ddm kits is like this to. Very loud. You can actually hear it with the engine running.
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Is the noise a Humm or a vibration? Are the 55w the only ones making noise?

Mine should be here any day? I went 35W for the 1st round.
 
LandCruiserPhil said:
Is the noise a Humm or a vibration? Are the 55w the only ones making noise?

Mine should be here any day? I went 35W for the 1st round.
Click to expand...

Its a hummm. Mine are 35 watt.
 
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