mobile hid
08-17-09, 12:30 PM
#31
I hope I am not overstepping my limits here but I wanted to step in here for cliff as well as him and I have been answering these types of questions for years.
1) Warranty: It's very easy to advertise a warranty. Keep in mind that a warranty is only good so long as the company you purchase from stays in business. You guys have no idea how many emails or phone calls we get from people telling me that they purchased a kit from another company and and require some technical support however they can't get a hold of their vendor. It's funny that when making a purchase they were quick to discount the importance of reputation, technical support (with a phone number) and customer service and simply go for the best price. However, when push comes to shove and they actually need to speak to someone about dealing with a problem all of a sudden the "great deal" they thought they had turned into a nightmare. Remember, buying online is not like buying from a brick and mortar store. You can't drive up and demand your money back. Both Cliff and I have been servicing the clublexus community for years and have a proven track record to back us!
2) Bulbs and ballasts are not created equally. It is far from it. You can find HID kits that are made in factories that are nothing more than a little room where each component is hand assembled or you can purchase components from high tech facilities that are ISO certified, TUV certified, and work with the OEM industry. You can buy ballasts that will have very low efficiency meaning that they will burn out quicker and produce less light or you can buy ballasts that are E4, E13, and CE certified and are manufactured to the same standards as OEM components. Naturally purchasing from a high tech facility will result in higher costs. You can purchase cheap HID bulbs or you can purchase double layered Philips Quartz glass capsules to ensure you do not damage your vehicle's headlights to to UV. Just because you cant "see" a difference does not mean that there isn't a difference.
Cheap HID kits can have failure rates of around 10% right of the box and could last only months (occasionally 1-2 years). Our kits are at approx a 0.05% failure rate and this is based on statistics from years of selling HID kits.
Price: No one does anything for free. There are lots of fees to consider when selling HID products just like any business. There are transactional costs, selling fees, shipping fees, overhead, operating costs, etc.. The manufacturer also has their costs to worry about such as raw materials, labour, etc... When you break it down to how much margin there really is in the product you start to wonder how a $50 HID kit (or even less) being sold can truly be a quality product and is comprised of quality components. Something has to give so that there is enough margin for people to be satisfied. What usually gives is the quality...
Steve
1) Warranty: It's very easy to advertise a warranty. Keep in mind that a warranty is only good so long as the company you purchase from stays in business. You guys have no idea how many emails or phone calls we get from people telling me that they purchased a kit from another company and and require some technical support however they can't get a hold of their vendor. It's funny that when making a purchase they were quick to discount the importance of reputation, technical support (with a phone number) and customer service and simply go for the best price. However, when push comes to shove and they actually need to speak to someone about dealing with a problem all of a sudden the "great deal" they thought they had turned into a nightmare. Remember, buying online is not like buying from a brick and mortar store. You can't drive up and demand your money back. Both Cliff and I have been servicing the clublexus community for years and have a proven track record to back us!
2) Bulbs and ballasts are not created equally. It is far from it. You can find HID kits that are made in factories that are nothing more than a little room where each component is hand assembled or you can purchase components from high tech facilities that are ISO certified, TUV certified, and work with the OEM industry. You can buy ballasts that will have very low efficiency meaning that they will burn out quicker and produce less light or you can buy ballasts that are E4, E13, and CE certified and are manufactured to the same standards as OEM components. Naturally purchasing from a high tech facility will result in higher costs. You can purchase cheap HID bulbs or you can purchase double layered Philips Quartz glass capsules to ensure you do not damage your vehicle's headlights to to UV. Just because you cant "see" a difference does not mean that there isn't a difference.
Cheap HID kits can have failure rates of around 10% right of the box and could last only months (occasionally 1-2 years). Our kits are at approx a 0.05% failure rate and this is based on statistics from years of selling HID kits.
Price: No one does anything for free. There are lots of fees to consider when selling HID products just like any business. There are transactional costs, selling fees, shipping fees, overhead, operating costs, etc.. The manufacturer also has their costs to worry about such as raw materials, labour, etc... When you break it down to how much margin there really is in the product you start to wonder how a $50 HID kit (or even less) being sold can truly be a quality product and is comprised of quality components. Something has to give so that there is enough margin for people to be satisfied. What usually gives is the quality...
Steve
08-18-09, 01:31 AM
#32
^^ a great example of #1 came in today...
"I bought a 9005 12000k hid kit for my brights on my 08 tC hooked it up properly but it doesn\'t work, i got the kit from gothidkit.com and he told me to contact you, and you might have a solution. I read some of the trouble shooting tactics and i double checked my wires and i didn\'t blow a fuse and my battery is fine, but it did say some thing about haveing to add a relay which i do not have i have the single beam kit for my lows and they work fine but the new kit is not working do you have an answer for me?
thanks in advance"
*rolls eyes*
"I bought a 9005 12000k hid kit for my brights on my 08 tC hooked it up properly but it doesn\'t work, i got the kit from gothidkit.com and he told me to contact you, and you might have a solution. I read some of the trouble shooting tactics and i double checked my wires and i didn\'t blow a fuse and my battery is fine, but it did say some thing about haveing to add a relay which i do not have i have the single beam kit for my lows and they work fine but the new kit is not working do you have an answer for me?
thanks in advance"
*rolls eyes*
08-23-09, 01:06 PM
#37
Ran into warranty issues with mobilehid and xenondepot and were fixed immediately...
Steve from XD has helped me on many different occassions and stands behind his product 100%. Great customer service. friendly and was generous enough to help me out even when i was out of warranty. Some people are like "hey your stuff's out of warranty so in order for me to help you and for you to continue getting this great customer service... you are going to have to buy that product again
" not steve... steve will help where he can... it has to be reasonable though if your out of warranty...Cliff from Mobilehid is the same... stands behind his product 100% with great customer service... the only thing different between Cliff and steve as customer service goes....... cliff has AIM that's on 24hrs a day... LOL... sorry steve he got you there... and for the most part always responds... and helps without hesitation even afterhours.... and when i say afterhours... like i AIM him at midnight... due to work or something ridiculous... i don't expect a reply... but if he does great... if not it's okay too... like i woulda expected from him "Do you know what time it is?" but i never got that once... lol... i try not to do that only if something goes wrong during carshow season... otherwise... i would try and wait until regular hours.
buy from these two... and you'll get what you paid for... great products and customer service
I hope I am not overstepping my limits here but I wanted to step in here for cliff as well as him and I have been answering these types of questions for years.
1) Warranty: It's very easy to advertise a warranty. Keep in mind that a warranty is only good so long as the company you purchase from stays in business. You guys have no idea how many emails or phone calls we get from people telling me that they purchased a kit from another company and and require some technical support however they can't get a hold of their vendor. It's funny that when making a purchase they were quick to discount the importance of reputation, technical support (with a phone number) and customer service and simply go for the best price. However, when push comes to shove and they actually need to speak to someone about dealing with a problem all of a sudden the "great deal" they thought they had turned into a nightmare. Remember, buying online is not like buying from a brick and mortar store. You can't drive up and demand your money back. Both Cliff and I have been servicing the clublexus community for years and have a proven track record to back us!
2) Bulbs and ballasts are not created equally. It is far from it. You can find HID kits that are made in factories that are nothing more than a little room where each component is hand assembled or you can purchase components from high tech facilities that are ISO certified, TUV certified, and work with the OEM industry. You can buy ballasts that will have very low efficiency meaning that they will burn out quicker and produce less light or you can buy ballasts that are E4, E13, and CE certified and are manufactured to the same standards as OEM components. Naturally purchasing from a high tech facility will result in higher costs. You can purchase cheap HID bulbs or you can purchase double layered Philips Quartz glass capsules to ensure you do not damage your vehicle's headlights to to UV. Just because you cant "see" a difference does not mean that there isn't a difference.
Cheap HID kits can have failure rates of around 10% right of the box and could last only months (occasionally 1-2 years). Our kits are at approx a 0.05% failure rate and this is based on statistics from years of selling HID kits.
Price: No one does anything for free. There are lots of fees to consider when selling HID products just like any business. There are transactional costs, selling fees, shipping fees, overhead, operating costs, etc.. The manufacturer also has their costs to worry about such as raw materials, labour, etc... When you break it down to how much margin there really is in the product you start to wonder how a $50 HID kit (or even less) being sold can truly be a quality product and is comprised of quality components. Something has to give so that there is enough margin for people to be satisfied. What usually gives is the quality...
Steve
1) Warranty: It's very easy to advertise a warranty. Keep in mind that a warranty is only good so long as the company you purchase from stays in business. You guys have no idea how many emails or phone calls we get from people telling me that they purchased a kit from another company and and require some technical support however they can't get a hold of their vendor. It's funny that when making a purchase they were quick to discount the importance of reputation, technical support (with a phone number) and customer service and simply go for the best price. However, when push comes to shove and they actually need to speak to someone about dealing with a problem all of a sudden the "great deal" they thought they had turned into a nightmare. Remember, buying online is not like buying from a brick and mortar store. You can't drive up and demand your money back. Both Cliff and I have been servicing the clublexus community for years and have a proven track record to back us!
2) Bulbs and ballasts are not created equally. It is far from it. You can find HID kits that are made in factories that are nothing more than a little room where each component is hand assembled or you can purchase components from high tech facilities that are ISO certified, TUV certified, and work with the OEM industry. You can buy ballasts that will have very low efficiency meaning that they will burn out quicker and produce less light or you can buy ballasts that are E4, E13, and CE certified and are manufactured to the same standards as OEM components. Naturally purchasing from a high tech facility will result in higher costs. You can purchase cheap HID bulbs or you can purchase double layered Philips Quartz glass capsules to ensure you do not damage your vehicle's headlights to to UV. Just because you cant "see" a difference does not mean that there isn't a difference.
Cheap HID kits can have failure rates of around 10% right of the box and could last only months (occasionally 1-2 years). Our kits are at approx a 0.05% failure rate and this is based on statistics from years of selling HID kits.
Price: No one does anything for free. There are lots of fees to consider when selling HID products just like any business. There are transactional costs, selling fees, shipping fees, overhead, operating costs, etc.. The manufacturer also has their costs to worry about such as raw materials, labour, etc... When you break it down to how much margin there really is in the product you start to wonder how a $50 HID kit (or even less) being sold can truly be a quality product and is comprised of quality components. Something has to give so that there is enough margin for people to be satisfied. What usually gives is the quality...
Steve
I hear ya on wanting to understand the differences man. As with all products, there will be differences with the materials used to make them. The thickness or types of the materials used will have an impact on the performance, durability, longevity, etc... I've tested many different kits on the market and you wouldn't believe what kind of corners will be cut to save money at the end user's expense.
When you pick up a mobilehid ballast. If you've played with HID balalasts before, the first thing you notice is the weight. They are noticeably heavier than just about ANY other ballast on the market. The reason why they're heavier is because there weren't any corners cut to compromise the integrity of the components inside and the solid exterior case that houses the electronics. Additionally, they are injected with a rubber compound to ensure the electronics do not come loose under constant or sudden vibration and to ensure they are absolutely waterproof. You can see a demonstration of this durability on the main mobilehid site:
( http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KFlZZuk...ient=mv-google ) where a ballast is subjected to the most ridiculous stress test imagineable. In the video a ballast that was used for approximately 10,000 miles was taken out of service to undergo a beating with a hammer. The ballast was turned on and powering a light at the time and what's not mentioned in the video but should be noted is the fact that the video was the 3RD TAKE! The ballast already had sustained cosmetic damage from earlier beatings and you can see the dents in the case before the hammering starts.
It's this kind of quality construction that is used to produce a product that will continue to run long after other ballasts have failed when subjected to the same tests. Customers in the past have shared some crazy stories about these ballasts continuing to work under the most unlikely situations.
A past customer installed a set into his car and simply secured the ballasts with a couple of zipties on the shock towers of his car. He drove for a few weeks and reported that his lights were flickering every now and then but his old set from some other company did too so he didn't give it much thought and didn't report the issue. Turns out, when the ballast failed and he opened his hood, his ballast had slipped over to the engine and had been rubbing against a pulley which created a half inch deep gouge into the edge of the ballast. It still functioned while rubbing against the pulley even under intense heat caused by the friction and even after the exterior case was compromised.
Another story, this one from one of our members here, happened in Texas where a GS owner had a ballast fall out of his engine bay while driving. It was seen dragging on the pavement by other CL members while they were all driving. The ballast finally unclipped from the wires and got run over by the rear tires and subsequently other cars behind him before he had a chance to turn around to get it. Once he did, he connected it back into his car and it still worked.
So materials wise, the ballast is designed tonbe very stout. With regards to the kit as a whole, many other kits do not come with a relay harness and if you are going to get a kit, I suggest you look for one that comes with one to prevent the need for all your OEM electrical equipment that is being fed power to compete with your ballasts.
Hope that helps explain the advantages of the kit.
Thanks.
Clifford
When you pick up a mobilehid ballast. If you've played with HID balalasts before, the first thing you notice is the weight. They are noticeably heavier than just about ANY other ballast on the market. The reason why they're heavier is because there weren't any corners cut to compromise the integrity of the components inside and the solid exterior case that houses the electronics. Additionally, they are injected with a rubber compound to ensure the electronics do not come loose under constant or sudden vibration and to ensure they are absolutely waterproof. You can see a demonstration of this durability on the main mobilehid site:
( http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KFlZZuk...ient=mv-google ) where a ballast is subjected to the most ridiculous stress test imagineable. In the video a ballast that was used for approximately 10,000 miles was taken out of service to undergo a beating with a hammer. The ballast was turned on and powering a light at the time and what's not mentioned in the video but should be noted is the fact that the video was the 3RD TAKE! The ballast already had sustained cosmetic damage from earlier beatings and you can see the dents in the case before the hammering starts.
It's this kind of quality construction that is used to produce a product that will continue to run long after other ballasts have failed when subjected to the same tests. Customers in the past have shared some crazy stories about these ballasts continuing to work under the most unlikely situations.
A past customer installed a set into his car and simply secured the ballasts with a couple of zipties on the shock towers of his car. He drove for a few weeks and reported that his lights were flickering every now and then but his old set from some other company did too so he didn't give it much thought and didn't report the issue. Turns out, when the ballast failed and he opened his hood, his ballast had slipped over to the engine and had been rubbing against a pulley which created a half inch deep gouge into the edge of the ballast. It still functioned while rubbing against the pulley even under intense heat caused by the friction and even after the exterior case was compromised.
Another story, this one from one of our members here, happened in Texas where a GS owner had a ballast fall out of his engine bay while driving. It was seen dragging on the pavement by other CL members while they were all driving. The ballast finally unclipped from the wires and got run over by the rear tires and subsequently other cars behind him before he had a chance to turn around to get it. Once he did, he connected it back into his car and it still worked.
So materials wise, the ballast is designed tonbe very stout. With regards to the kit as a whole, many other kits do not come with a relay harness and if you are going to get a kit, I suggest you look for one that comes with one to prevent the need for all your OEM electrical equipment that is being fed power to compete with your ballasts.
Hope that helps explain the advantages of the kit.
Thanks.
Clifford
08-24-09, 03:43 PM
#40
08-25-09, 08:43 AM
#41
Lead Lap
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i baught the 4300K fig kit from cliff...most of the time it's white but soemtimes i see the yellow. however my stock HIDs are 4300K and when i pull into my garage i can clearly see the new 4300K fogs are whiter then my stock hid's.
i want to change out the stock hids, either to cliffs 4300K bulb and maybe it will make it whiter on top compared to stock or go with a 5 or 6K bulb and leave the 4300K fogs.
cliff how much of a color difference is there between the 4300K and 5K. mind you the 4300K i in a no projector fog wile the 5k will be in the projector. i have played around with the idea of going with a 6K bulb but i know i will definitely see the difference as well as a more of a blue color.
advice help, i'm going nuts here...
08-25-09, 03:31 PM
#43
this is my same issue,
i baught the 4300K fig kit from cliff...most of the time it's white but soemtimes i see the yellow. however my stock HIDs are 4300K and when i pull into my garage i can clearly see the new 4300K fogs are whiter then my stock hid's.
i want to change out the stock hids, either to cliffs 4300K bulb and maybe it will make it whiter on top compared to stock or go with a 5 or 6K bulb and leave the 4300K fogs.
cliff how much of a color difference is there between the 4300K and 5K. mind you the 4300K i in a no projector fog wile the 5k will be in the projector. i have played around with the idea of going with a 6K bulb but i know i will definitely see the difference as well as a more of a blue color.
advice help, i'm going nuts here...
i baught the 4300K fig kit from cliff...most of the time it's white but soemtimes i see the yellow. however my stock HIDs are 4300K and when i pull into my garage i can clearly see the new 4300K fogs are whiter then my stock hid's.
i want to change out the stock hids, either to cliffs 4300K bulb and maybe it will make it whiter on top compared to stock or go with a 5 or 6K bulb and leave the 4300K fogs.
cliff how much of a color difference is there between the 4300K and 5K. mind you the 4300K i in a no projector fog wile the 5k will be in the projector. i have played around with the idea of going with a 6K bulb but i know i will definitely see the difference as well as a more of a blue color.
advice help, i'm going nuts here...
Thanks.
Clifford
08-26-09, 09:20 AM
#45
Lexus Test Driver
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: California
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Great Guys!
I bought two sets of Volt 9006 hid kits for my father and my LS 400's fog lights from Steve and love the output! We also bought 2 sets of 6000k D2r's from Clifford. Both are great guys and you could not go wrong purchasing from either.
Just wanted to say thank you again to Cliff for taking Excellent care of me on my order. Even though he didn't have to he went way above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that I was taken care of when there was an unexpected delay that he had no control over! Thanks Man!
Just wanted to say thank you again to Cliff for taking Excellent care of me on my order. Even though he didn't have to he went way above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that I was taken care of when there was an unexpected delay that he had no control over! Thanks Man!