Interested in HID's and Options

[cyb593]

I was looking at ddmhid and i see on the site they have like 5 different kits. I was thinking about the bixenon kit. Is this the right kit or does it matter? Which number for color is the brightest or does it not matter? Should i upgrade to 55w? What about the relay harness/LBF modules? Also can i use the same balasts for high beams too? Sorry i am new to HID's and anything you can tell me will help me lots.

[richee3]

As a general rule, lower Kelvin ratings produce more usable light. Usually, 4,300-4,500K is the whitest light and 12,000K is purple and difficult to see with at night. 3,000K is yellow.

Don't go for the 55w upgrade. The general consensus is that the light output is marginally better than the 35w kits but it's so much hotter that it cooks the insides of your headlights.

HID's have a warmup and cool down period, making them usually unsuitable for high beam/fog light applications, unless you never use your brights.

You really should go for the harness, as the ballasts are not part of the car's electrical system.

Last, and by far most importantly, you really shouldn't put HID's in factory USDM headlights. These headlights were designed to scatter light and with HID's, you scatter intensely bright light into oncoming traffic. JDM projectors are better at controlling the light, provided you have fixed the cutoff. Granted, we've all broken these rules and gotten away with it but it's still irresponsible. I did it and never caused any accidents but I did make plenty of people mad.

Edit: The issue with HID's and the stock headlights is that the focal point is different between HID's and standard halogen bulbs. The bulb itself doesn't sit in the same place inside the headlight and therefore, the light housing can't control the light output properly. A much better option are a new type of bulb called HIR's. Same light output as LED's, yet it's the same style bulb as a regular halogen bulb so your housings control the light much better. Plus they cost about the same as a DDM kit, and they don't have a warmup or cool down period so they're great for high beams and fog lights.

This post has been edited by richee3: Aug 29, 2012 - 7:49 PM