HIDs versus OEM headlights

[Drewa]

Angry, thank for the quick reply. Did they just send you a weaker bulb at first? I assume I have a choice of wattages in them then? For the price they sound worth a try, very economical upgrade.

 

[Humvee21]

Angry, thank for the quick reply. Did they just send you a weaker bulb at first? I assume I have a choice of wattages in them then? For the price they sound worth a try, very economical upgrade.

They sent him a higher temperature bulb. I recommend DDM tuning as my transaction went smoothly. However, I did have my fair share of "hiccups" if you will. If you watched my install video, you can see DDM left a ballast unboxed. Luckily, the ballast wasn't damaged from the shipping, but it was very possible that it could have been.

Also, I'm not 100% sure my 55W ballasts are 55W. They don't seem nearly as bright as BlueSTI's 55W 5000K HID system.

FYI, the 55W's are $10 more than the 35W's, I believe.

 

[AngryBird]

Angry, thank for the quick reply. Did they just send you a weaker bulb at first? I assume I have a choice of wattages in them then? For the price they sound worth a try, very economical upgrade.

All cheap HID bulbs are technically rated for 35 Watt. You over power them with a 55 or 70 watt ballast and that makes the xenon-arc inside them brighter. I went with 35 watt ballasts because I was worried about scattered light in the reflector housing. They are still ~3x brighter than stock IMO.

DDM sent me 10000k bulbs instead of the 4500k bulbs I ordered they are finally replacing them now but in the mean time I ordered some 4300k bulbs off of amazon.

See My 10000k lights here: http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f81/purple-11088/#post156227


I ran 55watt ballasts in my FJ but the cutoff was better than that of the Raptor.

 

[Drewa]

Thanks guys.

 

[AngryBird]

Thanks guys.

 

[BlueSVT]

I have the 55-watt 5000K kit from Retro Solutions.

Lens does not get hot, just lightly warm... No issues running hours and hours on end at night.

 

[AngryBird]

I have the 55-watt 5000K kit from Retro Solutions.

Lens does not get hot, just lightly warm... No issues running hours and hours on end at night.

That stuff looks identical to the DDM 55watt stuff except with different stickers. My guess is it comes from the same warehouse in China. The fancy case it comes in is kinda cool though!

 

[Humvee21]

That stuff looks identical to the DDM 55watt stuff except with different stickers. My guess is it comes from the same warehouse in China. The fancy case it comes in is kinda cool though!

AngryBird, did you get the DDM slim kit? If so, did it come with any branding of any kind?

 

[AngryBird]

AngryBird, did you get the DDM slim kit? If so, did it come with any branding of any kind?

I have the DDM slim kit on my Raptor (which takes too long to warm up) I had the DDM Raptor 55watt ballasts in my FJ which warmed up much quicker. I don't remember seeing any branding. The housings, wires, and connectors look the same as what is on retro solutions site.

They also look the same as the Kensun here

I bought Kensun bulbs off of Amazon to use in the raptor while i was waiting for DDM. They plugged directly into the DDM harness. So I think they are pretty much all the same.

 

[Humvee21]

I have the DDM slim kit on my Raptor (which takes too long to warm up) I had the DDM Raptor 55watt ballasts in my FJ which warmed up much quicker. I don't remember seeing any branding. The housings, wires, and connectors look the same as what is on retro solutions site.

They also look the same as the Kensun here

I bought Kensun bulbs off of Amazon to use in the raptor while i was waiting for DDM. They plugged directly into the DDM harness. So I think they are pretty much all the same.

That's odd because DDM says their slim ballasts "fires" faster than the Raptor ballasts. Not sure what that means but maybe some with better knowledge can tell us. https://www.ddmtuning.com/support/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=35&nav=0,2

---------- Post added at 02:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:22 PM ----------

Angry, do you mind taking a second and checking out my HID output video to see if you think they're brighter than your 35W? I honestly think my 55W kit is actually 35W.

Ford Raptor HID - YouTube