Question on DDMtuning HID kit. 55w or 35w??

[reeso11]

Still skeptic on which one to buy the 55w is ten dollars more but im wondering if either of these kits will make my car throw a " headlight out" code?

[HIERLEVELZ]

No

[audi_nightrider]

Nope.....

55w is just more brighter than 35w

I think 55w was too bright so I changed mine with 35w instead

[reeso11]

what kind did you get?

[1.8Turbo4me!]

has anyone tried the RFB H7 HID kit from USP motorsports?

http://uspmotorsports.com/product_in...roducts_id=622

just curious as to what other HID kit others have tried/used?

[reeso11]

those r more pricey than the ddm ones and ddm offers lifetime warranty on it

[SPB.2127]

literally just walked inside from installing the 55w kits from ddm in my fogs..theyre super bright

[Auttro]

literally just walked inside from installing the 55w kits from ddm in my fogs..theyre super bright

Like too bright?

[SPB.2127]

potentially, i gotta see how i feel about them over the next couple of days..might switch to 35w

[Unum]

literally just walked inside from installing the 55w kits from ddm in my fogs..theyre super bright

Did you do anything about the possible heat issue?

[SPB.2127]

i was unaware of any heat issues

[Unum]

Someone correct me if i am wrong but have the 55W been getting too hot and melting parts of the fog light housing?

[Lusticles]

I used to have 35w just because I read about so many problems people had with the 55w.

[KGB]

Bought a 55w 5000k kit for my lows a couple years ago, so far so good.

[JEENYUS]

i got 3000k in 35w... they are great and work perfectly for what they are needed for. fog lights are not intended to be your primary headlights. 55w is overkill IMHO. the difference between a 35w and a 55w is not noticable enough to justify it and since it is not in a projector housing it will just be extra scattered light.

[EHOLT]

literally just walked inside from installing the 55w kits from ddm in my fogs..theyre super bright

Would you mind posting some pictures? I'm curious to see how it looks.

[reeso11]

Someone correct me if i am wrong but have the 55W been getting too hot and melting parts of the fog light housing?

your right it even says on the item description not to put in fog light housing due to the 55w producing too much heat

[a4darkness]

Before someone starts screaming about searching, lets clear a few things up.

* running an aftermarket HID kit in factory halogen housings (35w or 55w) will increase light output but will result in a scattered beam pattern (glare) for other drivers
(however, I've run one and it was infinitely better than stock halogens so pick your poison)

* 55w is FAR brighter than 35w in any housing

* running a 55w hid kit in both the fog and / or factory housings is fine, the majority of the heat / melting issues were a few years back (mostly B5's)... we're good to go

* some insist that 55w hid low beams produce too much light (regardless if used in halogen or xenon projectors) especially those who drive in the city
(frankly, I'm a fan)

* HID done right is OEM (factory xenon housings of some kind, standard OEM 35w ballasts + D1S bulbs)

* IMO, next best thing (and far more cost effective) is OEM xenon housings retro fitted with an aftermarket D2S HID kit (either 35w or 55w, up to you)

Yes, this entire board loves DDM. I'm running a set of their HIDs in my fogs. But my old Retro kit was worth the extra money... higher quality and better light output. But that's just personal preference.

For point of reference, I currently have an 03 with D1S factory xenon housings (not ecodes). The light output is good and I've swapped a few different bulbs trying to find the best one.
However, my 55w Retro Solution hid kit in my halogen housings (yeah yeah, I know) was so much damn brighter that I'm planning on buying another 55w Retro Solutions kit (D2S conversion) and trying that in my OEM xenon housings.

If I had halogens again, I would buy some kind of OEM xenon projector (either US or Ecode) in the classifieds and drop an aftermarket Retro D2S HID kit in it as the cost of OEM xenon HID equipment isn't worth it to me.

[1.8Turbo4me!]

Before someone starts screaming about searching, lets clear a few things up.

* running an aftermarket HID kit in factory halogen housings (35w or 55w) will increase light output but will result in a scattered beam pattern (glare) for other drivers
(however, I've run one and it was infinitely better than stock halogens so pick your poison)

* 55w is FAR brighter than 35w in any housing

* running a 55w hid kit in both the fog and / or factory housings is fine, the majority of the heat / melting issues were a few years back (mostly B5's)... we're good to go

* some insist that 55w hid low beams produce too much light (regardless if used in halogen or xenon projectors) especially those who drive in the city
(frankly, I'm a fan)

* HID done right is OEM (factory xenon housings of some kind, standard OEM 35w ballasts + D1S bulbs)

* IMO, next best thing (and far more cost effective) is OEM xenon housings retro fitted with an aftermarket D2S HID kit (either 35w or 55w, up to you)

Yes, this entire board loves DDM. I'm running a set of their HIDs in my fogs. But my old Retro kit was worth the extra money... higher quality and better light output. But that's just personal preference.

For point of reference, I currently have an 03 with D1S factory xenon housings (not ecodes). The light output is good and I've swapped a few different bulbs trying to find the best one.
However, my 55w Retro Solution hid kit in my halogen housings (yeah yeah, I know) was so much damn brighter that I'm planning on buying another 55w Retro Solutions kit (D2S conversion) and trying that in my OEM xenon housings.

If I had halogens again, I would buy some kind of OEM xenon projector (either US or Ecode) in the classifieds and drop an aftermarket Retro D2S HID kit in it as the cost of OEM xenon HID equipment isn't worth it to me.

decisions, decisions. but good info.

[a4darkness]

Glad it helped.

So what do you have now, halogens or factory HID?

[Lout Jnr]

a4darkness - do you have any info on retrofitting the d2s bulb

[1.8Turbo4me!]

Glad it helped.

So what do you have now, halogens or factory HID?

i have halogens now. was thinking of putting ddm hid with xenon housings, but i'll try it on my halogen housing first.

[reeso11]

i just ordered the ddmtuning hid kit i got the 55w 8000k ones. and i noticed my left headlight is about 2mm higher than the right and how do i know if my car has the self leveling headlights?

[audi_nightrider]

35w headlights and 55w for the fogs....same color temp

I used to run 55w on my headlight but end up getting a 35w and placed the 55w for fogs instead

[A4.Rob]

get 35w since the halogen projectors are not auto leveling. Going over bumps or up hills will straight up blind people with 55w imo.

[a4darkness]

i have halogens now. was thinking of putting ddm hid with xenon housings, but i'll try it on my halogen housing first.

Again, while others will frown upon this it's such a vast improvement over halogens that I'd still highly encourage it.
But if you're in The City it'll make less difference than out in the cuts. IIRC, you're not so they'll likely be a nice improvement.
Just keep in mind that the H7 kit you'll need for the OEM halogen housings will not be a match for any OEM xenon projector housings if you choose to purchase those later.

Most important thing to do is aim them properly. Yeah, the cutoff with halogens isn't the greatest but it's still doable.

Here's a quick way to be sure you're lessening the likelihood of blinding oncoming traffic:
* Find a dark parking lot with a car parked up against a wall.
* position your car facing it about an intersection's length away (opposite lane)
* check your cutoff to be certain it's at their hood line and not in the cabin of their car

Here's what mine looked like after I got it dialed properly. Cutoff is not so good but the driver's side housing is adjusted low enough to not blind on coming traffic.

i just ordered the ddmtuning hid kit i got the 55w 8000k ones. and i noticed my left headlight is about 2mm higher than the right and how do i know if my car has the self leveling headlights?

And that's exactly how it should be, so don't go messing with it. ;-)
The left side housing (halogen or xenon) is aimed lower on purpose as to not blind oncoming traffic.
You're good to go.

get 35w since the halogen projectors are not auto leveling. Going over bumps or up hills will straight up blind people with 55w imo.

35w vs 55w in halogens is neither here nor there in terms of auto leveling. There will always be some glare to oncoming traffic.
As there is no auto leveling motor + electronics in a halogen housing it won't make any difference, just how the housings are aimed.

[a4darkness]

a4darkness - do you have any info on retrofitting the d2s bulb

Yeah, a bit. Unfortunately, a tad inconclusive at the time being but should be enough for now.

Here's how it can be done.

Our D2S bulb is a D1S w/out the igniter.



So a D2S will work in any OEM D1S xenon housing (US or Euro).
The bulb just needs to be affixed and there's a very easy way to do so.
Drill one small hole in the metal part of the base/igniter holder and add a screw. Done.



Source:
http://www.hidconcept.com/install_guide_ignitors.html

Now just wire up the D2S HID kit accordingly.
The OEM ballast is completely bypassed and the aftermarket ballast connects directly to the battery and the bulb.

This is where I'm lacking some info... unsure exactly how the DDM or Retro Solutions D2S HID kits would be wired into an existing OEM D1S HID system (straight plug n play or in need of splicing wires).
Either way, it's doable. I just need some info as to how the aftermarket ballasts are designed to connect. On the Retro site it says, "universal pigtails for power input" so I don't know if this means it can be plugged in or not.
But once I find out, a 55w Retro kit is likely going in my car (with factory xenon projectors).

Additionally, there are many more D2S bulb options out there than D1S and they're less expensive too.
With this alteration, the bulbs are plug and play. So if you didn't like the bulbs that came w/the HID kit, you could swap at will.

(One item of note on the 55W systems. DDM ships 35w bulbs w/their 55w systems while Retro (Digital HID kits) provide a 55w bulb. Unsure about others.)


Side note, in case anyone just needs bulbs for their OEM HID system, I just bought some of these... OEM, great price, $92 shipped.

Sylvania 39663 D1S HID - High Intensity Discharge Lamp
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ef=oss_product

If you want to go full OEM, for good deals on OEM HID parts, you can PM mike@hidconcept or check his site.
http://www.hidconcept.com/Ballasts-valeo.html

[1.8Turbo4me!]

halogen housing with h7 HID kit is ok.

oem xenon housing with D1S kit is good.

oem xenon housing with retro fitted D2S kit is good as well.

the source you showed from hidconcept.com shows how to do so. but it also says it won't fit on Bi-Xenon housings. so what type of bulb/kit would be good for a Bi-Xenon housing? guessing the D1S HID kit would be the one for Bi-xenon housing.

[a4darkness]

the source you showed from hidconcept.com shows how to do so. but it also says it won't fit on Bi-Xenon housings. so what type of bulb/kit would be good for a Bi-Xenon housing? would D1S work on Bi-Xenon housing?

Yeah, I'm not entirely certain what that means either. I was only using that write up for the pics of a D2S bulb in a D1S bulb housing (but wanted to site the source accordingly). From what I can tell, that part is just fine.
It appears that they're referencing a full OEM conversion, but I'm unsure. It's not very clear.

The best bulb kit for a bi-xenon housing is OEM. It'll be more expensive but plug and play. And yes, with the exception of an 02 A4, everything OEM is D1S.

The OEM HID ballasts for single xenon and bi-xenon housings are different. IIRC, single is larger and mounted on the underside while bi is slim and mounted on the rear of the housing.

Again, keep in mind I'm looking at this from the perspective of someone who's already got OEM single xenon D1S HID and is looking to retrofit an aftermarket 55w D2S system into it.
Point being, our goals are a bit different. Hope I've not confused you with all this.

[Raiketsu]

I'm loving my DDM 55w 6000K low beams. I've had them for approximately a year, and have had zero problems thus far (knock on wood). They are super bright, and are the perfect mix of white and blue for my taste. They light up ALL reflective surfaces for a huge distance, even further than the visible light beam, which actually helps immensely when I'm driving in the dark, especially in unfamiliar areas.


P.S. If you level them correctly, they are not too bright. I've had only a few people flash me in my whole time owning them.

[Outerfroggy1]

Ive got a 35w 5000k kit in my fogs, and they are effen BRIGHT! I don't see the need for a 55w in the fogs other than to blind oncoming traffic. The 5000k match decent with the OEM bi-xenons, maybe a tad more blue.

Matter of fact I dont think I would put 55w in the headlights either. 35w should be plenty to get the job done.

[reeso11]

Again, while others will frown upon this it's such a vast improvement over halogens that I'd still highly encourage it.
But if you're in The City it'll make less difference than out in the cuts. IIRC, you're not so they'll likely be a nice improvement.
Just keep in mind that the H7 kit you'll need for the OEM halogen housings will not be a match for any OEM xenon projector housings if you choose to purchase those later.

Most important thing to do is aim them properly. Yeah, the cutoff with halogens isn't the greatest but it's still doable.

Here's a quick way to be sure you're lessening the likelihood of blinding oncoming traffic:
* Find a dark parking lot with a car parked up against a wall.
* position your car facing it about an intersection's length away (opposite lane)
* check your cutoff to be certain it's at their hood line and not in the cabin of their car

Here's what mine looked like after I got it dialed properly. Cutoff is not so good but the driver's side housing is adjusted low enough to not blind on coming traffic.





And that's exactly how it should be, so don't go messing with it. ;-)
The left side housing (halogen or xenon) is aimed lower on purpose as to not blind oncoming traffic.
You're good to go.



35w vs 55w in halogens is neither here nor there in terms of auto leveling. There will always be some glare to oncoming traffic.
As there is no auto leveling motor + electronics in a halogen housing it won't make any difference, just how the housings are aimed.

how did you get your tach blue is that a b6??

[1.8Turbo4me!]

Yeah, I'm not entirely certain what that means either. I was only using that write up for the pics of a D2S bulb in a D1S bulb housing (but wanted to site the source accordingly). From what I can tell, that part is just fine.
It appears that they're referencing a full OEM conversion, but I'm unsure. It's not very clear.

The best bulb kit for a bi-xenon housing is OEM. It'll be more expensive but plug and play. And yes, with the exception of an 02 A4, everything OEM is D1S.

The OEM HID ballasts for single xenon and bi-xenon housings are different. IIRC, single is larger and mounted on the underside while bi is slim and mounted on the rear of the housing.

Again, keep in mind I'm looking at this from the perspective of someone who's already got OEM single xenon D1S HID and is looking to retrofit an aftermarket 55w D2S system into it.
Point being, our goals are a bit different. Hope I've not confused you with all this.

no, i'm not confused.

i'm just wondering what other options/hid kit would be good with bi-xenon housings other than Valeo D1S OEM HID kit that HIDConcept.com suggested.

[a4darkness]

how did you get your tach blue is that a b6??

Weird, never noticed that. It does look kinda blue.

Yup, that's my old B6. It's standard white / red, never did anything to it.

[a4darkness]

no, i'm not confused.

i'm just wondering what other options/hid kit would be good with bi-xenon housings other than Valeo D1S OEM HID kit that HIDConcept.com suggested.

Ah, it's me that's confused. ;-)

In that case, you could try retrofitting an aftermarket D2S kit like I'm looking into.

But I just checked DDM's site and they're now carrying D1S kits!

http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DDM-HID-Kit-D1SR-35W

[1.8Turbo4me!]

^
wonder how that D1S Kit would fit on Bi-xenon though.

[a4darkness]

You mean the mounting of the ballast? It looks pretty small but obviously won't be a flush fit. You'd have to fab something up, seal it inside etc.

[1.8Turbo4me!]

yeah, it'll need some work to fit the ballast nicely. think i'll give it a shot with this kit.

[bode]

I didnt go through and read all the posts, but I figured I woudl add my 2 cents. 55 watt is a bit washed out "color". What I have always done is 55 watt lowbeams, and 35 watt fogs. BUT to match the "color" you cant get 6000k 55watt and 6000k 35 watt and expect them to look the same. 35watt tends to be more blue so whatever 55watt "color" you order, get 1000K less on your 35watt fog light set up...example 55watt 6000k and 35watt 5000k= same look...and at those temps your getting pure white, anythign above your getting blue....If your getting HID's invest in the correct housings, it will look better and you wont screw people in front of you over. oh and +1 for DDM.

[a4darkness]

^^ well said