HID Kit – Help on Decision Making
05-02-13, 04:56 PM
#16
Lexus Test Driver
Negative--Install and go no adjustment on anything. fogs are close to the road so no issues but dang do you get some extra light down low haha
05-16-13, 08:58 AM
#18
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Booyah - I got my kit installed last Thursday ( a day after I rec'd it from UPS - LOL 
). I must say it's a very nice kit from Xenon Depot. The installation took me about 2 hours because I was running around looking for tools and other things. I actually used self-tapping metal screws to mount my relays and ballasts. I also used wire-covering tubes and many zip ties. It was a very clean installation. I took yours and Burgboxstr's (thanks!) advice and used dielectric grease on every parts where metal are meeting to transfer the electrical current. Thanks!
So far, no one has flashed me from using the new HID lights. But I believe the driver's side is a little higher than the passenger's side. I might need to adjust it.
I think I should have went with the 5000K. I do like how bright the 4300K is but after installing my newphew's Kensun kit and saw how the 6000K looked (matched his DRL LEDs pretty well), I wish my 4300K was little more crisper. Oh well, it's no big deal. Plus, after 100 hours, these bulbs should be at around 4700K. Or i can just get the 5000K bulbs later on.
Steve - The kit is awesome. Thanks!
I will be buying the Volt 3000K kit for fog lights later on.
). I must say it's a very nice kit from Xenon Depot. The installation took me about 2 hours because I was running around looking for tools and other things. I actually used self-tapping metal screws to mount my relays and ballasts. I also used wire-covering tubes and many zip ties. It was a very clean installation. I took yours and Burgboxstr's (thanks!) advice and used dielectric grease on every parts where metal are meeting to transfer the electrical current. Thanks!So far, no one has flashed me from using the new HID lights. But I believe the driver's side is a little higher than the passenger's side. I might need to adjust it.
I think I should have went with the 5000K. I do like how bright the 4300K is but after installing my newphew's Kensun kit and saw how the 6000K looked (matched his DRL LEDs pretty well), I wish my 4300K was little more crisper. Oh well, it's no big deal. Plus, after 100 hours, these bulbs should be at around 4700K. Or i can just get the 5000K bulbs later on.
Steve - The kit is awesome. Thanks!
I will be buying the Volt 3000K kit for fog lights later on.
05-16-13, 09:20 AM
#19
Booyah - I got my kit installed last Thursday ( a day after I rec'd it from UPS - LOL ). I must say it's a very nice kit from Xenon Depot. The installation took me about 2 hours because I was running around looking for tools and other things. I actually used self-tapping metal screws to mount my relays and ballasts. I also used wire-covering tubes and many zip ties. It was a very clean installation. I took yours and Burgboxstr's (thanks!) advice and used dielectric grease on every parts where metal are meeting to transfer the electrical current. Thanks!
So far, no one has flashed me from using the new HID lights. But I believe the driver's side is a little higher than the passenger's side. I might need to adjust it.
I think I should have went with the 5000K. I do like how bright the 4300K is but after installing my newphew's Kensun kit and saw how the 6000K looked (matched his DRL LEDs pretty well), I wish my 4300K was little more crisper. Oh well, it's no big deal. Plus, after 100 hours, these bulbs should be at around 4700K. Or i can just get the 5000K bulbs later on.
Steve - The kit is awesome. Thanks!
I will be buying the Volt 3000K kit for fog lights later on.
). I must say it's a very nice kit from Xenon Depot. The installation took me about 2 hours because I was running around looking for tools and other things. I actually used self-tapping metal screws to mount my relays and ballasts. I also used wire-covering tubes and many zip ties. It was a very clean installation. I took yours and Burgboxstr's (thanks!) advice and used dielectric grease on every parts where metal are meeting to transfer the electrical current. Thanks!So far, no one has flashed me from using the new HID lights. But I believe the driver's side is a little higher than the passenger's side. I might need to adjust it.
I think I should have went with the 5000K. I do like how bright the 4300K is but after installing my newphew's Kensun kit and saw how the 6000K looked (matched his DRL LEDs pretty well), I wish my 4300K was little more crisper. Oh well, it's no big deal. Plus, after 100 hours, these bulbs should be at around 4700K. Or i can just get the 5000K bulbs later on.
Steve - The kit is awesome. Thanks!
I will be buying the Volt 3000K kit for fog lights later on.
Danny
05-16-13, 02:43 PM
#20
Lexus Test Driver
Booyah - I got my kit installed last Thursday ( a day after I rec'd it from UPS - LOL ). I must say it's a very nice kit from Xenon Depot. The installation took me about 2 hours because I was running around looking for tools and other things. I actually used self-tapping metal screws to mount my relays and ballasts. I also used wire-covering tubes and many zip ties. It was a very clean installation. I took yours and Burgboxstr's (thanks!) advice and used dielectric grease on every parts where metal are meeting to transfer the electrical current. Thanks!
So far, no one has flashed me from using the new HID lights. But I believe the driver's side is a little higher than the passenger's side. I might need to adjust it.
I think I should have went with the 5000K. I do like how bright the 4300K is but after installing my newphew's Kensun kit and saw how the 6000K looked (matched his DRL LEDs pretty well), I wish my 4300K was little more crisper. Oh well, it's no big deal. Plus, after 100 hours, these bulbs should be at around 4700K. Or i can just get the 5000K bulbs later on.
Steve - The kit is awesome. Thanks!
I will be buying the Volt 3000K kit for fog lights later on.
). I must say it's a very nice kit from Xenon Depot. The installation took me about 2 hours because I was running around looking for tools and other things. I actually used self-tapping metal screws to mount my relays and ballasts. I also used wire-covering tubes and many zip ties. It was a very clean installation. I took yours and Burgboxstr's (thanks!) advice and used dielectric grease on every parts where metal are meeting to transfer the electrical current. Thanks!So far, no one has flashed me from using the new HID lights. But I believe the driver's side is a little higher than the passenger's side. I might need to adjust it.
I think I should have went with the 5000K. I do like how bright the 4300K is but after installing my newphew's Kensun kit and saw how the 6000K looked (matched his DRL LEDs pretty well), I wish my 4300K was little more crisper. Oh well, it's no big deal. Plus, after 100 hours, these bulbs should be at around 4700K. Or i can just get the 5000K bulbs later on.
Steve - The kit is awesome. Thanks!
I will be buying the Volt 3000K kit for fog lights later on.
I went with 5K on my Fogs too, and I been throwing the idea to call Steve and throw some 3K in there but havent done it yet..lol
05-17-13, 07:48 PM
#21
Steve and the team at Xenon Depot got me squared away with their HIDs and 4300K Philips bulbs. They're night and day better than stock. Pics don't do them justice.
No fogs, yet.
Pics don't do them justice. No fogs, yet.
05-18-13, 08:46 AM
#22
Hey man.
I was in a similar situation about which kit to get. I decided that I wanted a 55W HID kit, and ddmtuning (www.ddmtuning.com) were among the very few companies that offered it.
I ordered their 55W kit with 5000k HID bulbs (as to emulate the factory look as close as possible and avoid the cheesy blue look of higher temp kits)
Upon buying their kit and installing it I have the following comments:
1) I ordered their 5000K bulbs and the color is an amazing white with zero blue to it. I loved it.
2) I had issues with one of my ballasts: It would fire up and shut right off. If I left the swithch on for a few seconds and switched it off and on, the second bulb would fire right up and lights would be fine. This was obviously an issue since only one light would fire up with the auto-lights and I'd have to manually recycle the light switch for both lights to come on. The things were under warranty, and I called them about it, they gave me instructions for the return, but disassembling everything was just too much of a hassle for this busy man, so I ended up with faulty headlights for a year :/. About one year+ after the install, the bad ballast finally gave up, and I ordered a brand new kit from them again. The Ballasts that came in the new kit were both fine, but the bulbs were too blue (although I ordered 5000k as I had done in my first order). I thus installed my old 5000K bulbs that came with the first kit I bought, and they work perfectly to this day (about two years later).
IN summary:
1. ddmtuning kits are cheap (less than $60)
2. Their bulbs seem to last very long (two years in my truck and still going)
3. Some of their ballasts are faulty. For this reason, since the overall kit is cheap, order 2 kits instead of 1. If everything in the packages comes good, save it just in case!
4. If you want 5000k bulbs, order the 5000k kit, and an additional pair of 4300k. in case they mess up their order like they did the second time I ordered.
5. You do not need the long wiring harness that they sell (I ordered one and its sitting in the garage because lights work fine)
6. You do not need the mounting brackets for the ballasts. Use tie wraps.
7. HONESTLY, It's unlikely that you send things back for warranty unless they are not installed in the car, hence, since their suff is not too costly, ordering overkill is the best way to go. Once your setup works, it works very well and for a long time (my second kit was installed in November 2013. Today, May 18, 2013 it is perfect). I would not mind paying 2X or 3X their price for a higher reliable kit, but it is what it is. Warning: I don't think Phillips makes kits that are bolt-on to the GX (I ckecked 2 years ago when decidng on my first kit). I have heard of counterfit "Phillips" kits.
Conclusion:
55W DDM Kit is worth it, but you'll be better off over-ordering to make up for their flaws.
The light output of the 55W kit is definitely superior, and worth the hassle of items 1-7 above. This is the reason why I ordered from them again after my first kit had a bad ballast, which later gave up. I have not come accross a car with HID light output better than mine.
Best of luck in your decision.
OA
I was in a similar situation about which kit to get. I decided that I wanted a 55W HID kit, and ddmtuning (www.ddmtuning.com) were among the very few companies that offered it.
I ordered their 55W kit with 5000k HID bulbs (as to emulate the factory look as close as possible and avoid the cheesy blue look of higher temp kits)
Upon buying their kit and installing it I have the following comments:
1) I ordered their 5000K bulbs and the color is an amazing white with zero blue to it. I loved it.
2) I had issues with one of my ballasts: It would fire up and shut right off. If I left the swithch on for a few seconds and switched it off and on, the second bulb would fire right up and lights would be fine. This was obviously an issue since only one light would fire up with the auto-lights and I'd have to manually recycle the light switch for both lights to come on. The things were under warranty, and I called them about it, they gave me instructions for the return, but disassembling everything was just too much of a hassle for this busy man, so I ended up with faulty headlights for a year :/. About one year+ after the install, the bad ballast finally gave up, and I ordered a brand new kit from them again. The Ballasts that came in the new kit were both fine, but the bulbs were too blue (although I ordered 5000k as I had done in my first order). I thus installed my old 5000K bulbs that came with the first kit I bought, and they work perfectly to this day (about two years later).
IN summary:
1. ddmtuning kits are cheap (less than $60)
2. Their bulbs seem to last very long (two years in my truck and still going)
3. Some of their ballasts are faulty. For this reason, since the overall kit is cheap, order 2 kits instead of 1. If everything in the packages comes good, save it just in case!
4. If you want 5000k bulbs, order the 5000k kit, and an additional pair of 4300k. in case they mess up their order like they did the second time I ordered.
5. You do not need the long wiring harness that they sell (I ordered one and its sitting in the garage because lights work fine)
6. You do not need the mounting brackets for the ballasts. Use tie wraps.
7. HONESTLY, It's unlikely that you send things back for warranty unless they are not installed in the car, hence, since their suff is not too costly, ordering overkill is the best way to go. Once your setup works, it works very well and for a long time (my second kit was installed in November 2013. Today, May 18, 2013 it is perfect). I would not mind paying 2X or 3X their price for a higher reliable kit, but it is what it is. Warning: I don't think Phillips makes kits that are bolt-on to the GX (I ckecked 2 years ago when decidng on my first kit). I have heard of counterfit "Phillips" kits.
Conclusion:
55W DDM Kit is worth it, but you'll be better off over-ordering to make up for their flaws.
The light output of the 55W kit is definitely superior, and worth the hassle of items 1-7 above. This is the reason why I ordered from them again after my first kit had a bad ballast, which later gave up. I have not come accross a car with HID light output better than mine.
Best of luck in your decision.
OA
Last edited by oardila99; 05-18-13 at 09:03 AM.
05-19-13, 09:54 AM
#23
Lead Lap
Glad you were successful and happy w/ your results. That being said, WOW! With all those exceptions, caveats, hints, questionable quality and extras to order or not order, it would seem a more reliable source like Steve from XD/KB Car stuff (who is also a CL sponsor) would be a more prudent choice for those wanting success in one shot. Regardless, thanks for providing an alternative for those looking.
05-19-13, 11:36 AM
#24
Yes. Since the kit it is cheap, it compensates for the hassle. Once it is installed and works, it works well, and the light output of the 55W ballasts is phenomenal. I am satisfied with the kit. I'll post some pics or video of the headlights some time. I hope this info provides valuable information.
05-21-13, 07:56 AM
#25
BTCTexas: Thanks for posting up some feedback! I'm glad to hear that you're happy with the Xtreme HID kit. Let me know when you are ready for the Volt kit for the fogs!! You can use your reward points from your first purchase and apply them towards your next purchase to save even more $$$
oardila99: Careful with the 55W kits. What you actually got was 50W ballasts with 35W HID bulbs. The ballasts end up overdriving the 35W bulbs meaning that they burn hotter and will burn out faster (FYI).
Steve
oardila99: Careful with the 55W kits. What you actually got was 50W ballasts with 35W HID bulbs. The ballasts end up overdriving the 35W bulbs meaning that they burn hotter and will burn out faster (FYI).
Steve
05-21-13, 11:17 AM
#26
Thanks for your input Steve.
I could not tell you if I got the setup that you describe. My bulbs have been working fine for 2 years now with the 55W ballast and seem to be perfect. Light output is still excellent. No flickering or any other signs of trouble. Also, I was concerned with the possibility of melting or damaging the housing of the GX headlights with the 55W HID set up, as I read this somewhere. That however was absolutely not an issue. Housing is perfect and lens is pefect. Lights actually seem (to the touch) to run cooler than with hallogen bulbs. Measuring housing temperature would actually be a nice experiment for someone to try when installing.
I could not tell you if I got the setup that you describe. My bulbs have been working fine for 2 years now with the 55W ballast and seem to be perfect. Light output is still excellent. No flickering or any other signs of trouble. Also, I was concerned with the possibility of melting or damaging the housing of the GX headlights with the 55W HID set up, as I read this somewhere. That however was absolutely not an issue. Housing is perfect and lens is pefect. Lights actually seem (to the touch) to run cooler than with hallogen bulbs. Measuring housing temperature would actually be a nice experiment for someone to try when installing.
05-22-13, 08:33 AM
#28
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Sweet, I told ya its a simple kit to install and everything fits perfect. I felt exactly as you on the 4300K they are Very nice and bright! But when I got the 5K Bulbs installed--There was my extra crisp light I was wanting and it was perfect. I wouldnt go 6K as they bring in to much blue for me.
I went with 5K on my Fogs too, and I been throwing the idea to call Steve and throw some 3K in there but havent done it yet..lol
I went with 5K on my Fogs too, and I been throwing the idea to call Steve and throw some 3K in there but havent done it yet..lol
05-22-13, 08:35 AM
#29
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Johnny - Thanks for the posting pictures. When I pull in to the garage, these 4300K HIDs really lit the place up and yeah, they are way brighter than the halogen. Glad I had made the switch as well. The sad part is that these new lights made my stock fog lights looked extra dull but it's a great excuse for the next upgrade!
05-22-13, 08:39 AM
#30
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Hey man.
I was in a similar situation about which kit to get. I decided that I wanted a 55W HID kit, and ddmtuning (www.ddmtuning.com) were among the very few companies that offered it.
I ordered their 55W kit with 5000k HID bulbs (as to emulate the factory look as close as possible and avoid the cheesy blue look of higher temp kits)
Upon buying their kit and installing it I have the following comments:
1) I ordered their 5000K bulbs and the color is an amazing white with zero blue to it. I loved it.
2) I had issues with one of my ballasts: It would fire up and shut right off. If I left the swithch on for a few seconds and switched it off and on, the second bulb would fire right up and lights would be fine. This was obviously an issue since only one light would fire up with the auto-lights and I'd have to manually recycle the light switch for both lights to come on. The things were under warranty, and I called them about it, they gave me instructions for the return, but disassembling everything was just too much of a hassle for this busy man, so I ended up with faulty headlights for a year :/. About one year+ after the install, the bad ballast finally gave up, and I ordered a brand new kit from them again. The Ballasts that came in the new kit were both fine, but the bulbs were too blue (although I ordered 5000k as I had done in my first order). I thus installed my old 5000K bulbs that came with the first kit I bought, and they work perfectly to this day (about two years later).
IN summary:
1. ddmtuning kits are cheap (less than $60)
2. Their bulbs seem to last very long (two years in my truck and still going)
3. Some of their ballasts are faulty. For this reason, since the overall kit is cheap, order 2 kits instead of 1. If everything in the packages comes good, save it just in case!
4. If you want 5000k bulbs, order the 5000k kit, and an additional pair of 4300k. in case they mess up their order like they did the second time I ordered.
5. You do not need the long wiring harness that they sell (I ordered one and its sitting in the garage because lights work fine)
6. You do not need the mounting brackets for the ballasts. Use tie wraps.
7. HONESTLY, It's unlikely that you send things back for warranty unless they are not installed in the car, hence, since their suff is not too costly, ordering overkill is the best way to go. Once your setup works, it works very well and for a long time (my second kit was installed in November 2013. Today, May 18, 2013 it is perfect). I would not mind paying 2X or 3X their price for a higher reliable kit, but it is what it is. Warning: I don't think Phillips makes kits that are bolt-on to the GX (I ckecked 2 years ago when decidng on my first kit). I have heard of counterfit "Phillips" kits.
Conclusion:
55W DDM Kit is worth it, but you'll be better off over-ordering to make up for their flaws.
The light output of the 55W kit is definitely superior, and worth the hassle of items 1-7 above. This is the reason why I ordered from them again after my first kit had a bad ballast, which later gave up. I have not come accross a car with HID light output better than mine.
Best of luck in your decision.
OA
I was in a similar situation about which kit to get. I decided that I wanted a 55W HID kit, and ddmtuning (www.ddmtuning.com) were among the very few companies that offered it.
I ordered their 55W kit with 5000k HID bulbs (as to emulate the factory look as close as possible and avoid the cheesy blue look of higher temp kits)
Upon buying their kit and installing it I have the following comments:
1) I ordered their 5000K bulbs and the color is an amazing white with zero blue to it. I loved it.
2) I had issues with one of my ballasts: It would fire up and shut right off. If I left the swithch on for a few seconds and switched it off and on, the second bulb would fire right up and lights would be fine. This was obviously an issue since only one light would fire up with the auto-lights and I'd have to manually recycle the light switch for both lights to come on. The things were under warranty, and I called them about it, they gave me instructions for the return, but disassembling everything was just too much of a hassle for this busy man, so I ended up with faulty headlights for a year :/. About one year+ after the install, the bad ballast finally gave up, and I ordered a brand new kit from them again. The Ballasts that came in the new kit were both fine, but the bulbs were too blue (although I ordered 5000k as I had done in my first order). I thus installed my old 5000K bulbs that came with the first kit I bought, and they work perfectly to this day (about two years later).
IN summary:
1. ddmtuning kits are cheap (less than $60)
2. Their bulbs seem to last very long (two years in my truck and still going)
3. Some of their ballasts are faulty. For this reason, since the overall kit is cheap, order 2 kits instead of 1. If everything in the packages comes good, save it just in case!
4. If you want 5000k bulbs, order the 5000k kit, and an additional pair of 4300k. in case they mess up their order like they did the second time I ordered.
5. You do not need the long wiring harness that they sell (I ordered one and its sitting in the garage because lights work fine)
6. You do not need the mounting brackets for the ballasts. Use tie wraps.
7. HONESTLY, It's unlikely that you send things back for warranty unless they are not installed in the car, hence, since their suff is not too costly, ordering overkill is the best way to go. Once your setup works, it works very well and for a long time (my second kit was installed in November 2013. Today, May 18, 2013 it is perfect). I would not mind paying 2X or 3X their price for a higher reliable kit, but it is what it is. Warning: I don't think Phillips makes kits that are bolt-on to the GX (I ckecked 2 years ago when decidng on my first kit). I have heard of counterfit "Phillips" kits.
Conclusion:
55W DDM Kit is worth it, but you'll be better off over-ordering to make up for their flaws.
The light output of the 55W kit is definitely superior, and worth the hassle of items 1-7 above. This is the reason why I ordered from them again after my first kit had a bad ballast, which later gave up. I have not come accross a car with HID light output better than mine.
Best of luck in your decision.
OA
With the time I had put in making my installation closet to the professional’s, I would hate to have to take it all apart due to a ballast failure and also having to ship back and/or wait for the store to replace my bad ballast or whatever that might need replacing. That’s why it was difficult for me to make this decision. I just wanted to get it right the first time.
I saw a YouTube video where this guy was comparing and showing the different color outputs on a 55w ballast versus a 35w ballast using bulbs with different temperatures. The 55w produced brighter and whiter light than the 35w ballast. However, I didn’t want to go with the 55w ballasts because that would defeat the whole purpose of using HIDs. Plus, the 35w ballasts are bright enough for me.
In regards to the mounting, I used self-tapping metal screws (feels more secured) for the ballasts with the 3M adhesive tapes (came with the kit) on the back and zip ties (kit came with 4 zip ties but I probably used 10 or more) for the wirings and tubing. The Xtreme kit came with a long wiring harness because the passenger’s side ballast/relay is also connected to the positive terminal (with fuse) on the battery and not just to the factory H11 connector. This wire ran across and under the bar above radiators (with tubing and zip ties). I know it seems like an overkill, but to me, the kit seems very solid and the extra wiring gives me a peace of mind that this kit will fire up all the time. For the fog lights, I’ll probably just order the Volt kit from Steve, which doesn’t have all the wiring harness and relay like the Xtreme kit does. I wanted the Philips bulbs for my low beams and only the Xtreme kit came with them (I couldn’t be wrong though). I have read many positive reviews and multiple successes with the Volt kit.
Philips does make aftermarket HID kits. However, they are not sold in the U.S. due to the rules/restrictions. The ballasts and bulbs (re-mounted like Xenon Depot’s) are all made by Phillips but I read somewhere that Phillips now has a manufacturing plant in China (with Philips’s strict quality control) and not everything is coming from Germany. Again, not sure how accurate this article was.
Here’s the link:
http://www.lighting.philips.com.au/v...p?id=1012984#0
Here’s another link to an on-line store that sells these kits and was one of my options.
http://www.philipshidkits.com/Xenon-Philips-HID-Kits/
Either way, HID rules over halogen any days!
