Installed the ApexClone kit.

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
The cutoff depends on the reflector design. I noticed in my fiancee's 09 Honda Fit the cutoffs are quite good. I'm hazarding a guess the reflectors are similar on an Accord. My personal car has terrible reflectors for halogens. An HID kit would be a nightmare for glare.

A junk reflector or projector means a junk conversion. It's all in the reflector.

I'd like to see pictures as well.


Most European cars have very good cutoff, specially the ones with E-code headlight. My '00 E430 has E-code headlight and very good cutoff for low beam.

This DDM HID kit is very interesting, for only $29 you get 2 HID bulbs and 2 Ballasts with wiring and easy to install. It costs more than $30 for a pair of +50 H7 bulbs for my '00 E430. I might buy a set of this HID kit just in case I need to replace the current bulbs.

 

[BigNick]

So.. You don't cut any factory wires? The power source is the original wire-clip???
After that.. What do you have to connect?

 

[Russell]

Originally Posted By: BigNick
So.. You don't cut any factory wires? The power source is the original wire-clip???
After that.. What do you have to connect?



It basically connects in series with the existing wiring on my BMW with no cutting. The existng wiring fires the ballast, then the HID bulbs. I think most kits work the same. The following link should get you started.

http://www.ddmtuning.com/index.php?p=product&id=102&parent=85

 

[Vikas]

For the last month, they had "permanent" $25 price but now it is back to "temporary" $29

- Vikas

 

[UNC197]

Originally Posted By: Russell
Originally Posted By: BigNick
So.. You don't cut any factory wires? The power source is the original wire-clip???
After that.. What do you have to connect?



It basically connects in series with the existing wiring on my BMW with no cutting. The existng wiring fires the ballast, then the HID bulbs. I think most kits work the same. The following link should get you started.

http://www.ddmtuning.com/index.php?p=product&id=102&parent=85


I did not order mine directly from DDM tuning. But, mine came with a harness that draws power directly from the battery so I used that. The only wires that needed to be cut were the ones that signaled the lights to turn on/off. I also cut two plugs of the harness that were not used in my application. However, the battery harness is not necessary, it just gave me piece of mind knowing that the lights are being powered directly from the battery, on a separate harness, not from the factory wiring.

 

[UNC197]

I just noticed that the ballasts shown of the DDM site do not look like mine. They may have changed them since when I bought mine.

Mine look like this:

This is what they look like now:

 

[BigNick]

Audi Junkie (or others)

Why would you/anyone, get the 35w ones over the 55w?

From what I know, most headlights are 55w, so why not go with the 55w set up?

Do you get the 35w ones for less power consumption? but why? less risk of problems?

 

[UNC197]

OEMs use 35w HIDs because even though they are brighter than 55w Halogens, they are not so bright that they are blinding like 55w HID lights. For example, my 55w HID lowbeams are brighter than my highbeams. The only difference is that they are pointed at different angles.

 

[UNC197]

Some pics of my 55w 5000k bulbs. (Taken from camera phone)

With highbeams on. You can see the color difference between the HID and Halogen bulbs.

Low beams only.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: CharlieJ
Some pics of my 55w 5000k bulbs. (Taken from camera phone)

Low beams only.


This last picture shows a lot more light on the left side than the right side. I would adjust the light patterns to the right and a little lower to reduce glare to oncoming traffic.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
This last picture shows a lot more light on the left side than the right side. I would adjust the light patterns to the right and a little lower to reduce glare to oncoming traffic.
That's because there's a lot more building on the left side for the light to reflect off of - the picture is misleading at best, useless at worst.

I would take a better picture and leave the lights alone for now.

 

[UNC197]

I know that the beam patterns are different, but they should resemble this when on a flat open surface.

The headlights in this car are NOT adjustable. The bulbs screw into place and that's it, there is NO adjustment screw like on a Jeep Cherokee for example.

 

[Audi Junkie]

I took some pics. Will post tomorrow. The cutoffs actually look pretty sharp.

No problems or complaints. Finding mounting points for the ballasts was tough. Wish I had the slims, but the new bigger ones are supposed to be more robust and they upped the warranty to lifetime.

btw-, the power IN is a bulb socket, so the old lines plug right in. Was I not clear about that??? It's a shame they did not simply label the wires themselves, the directions suck and the type is smaller than a phone book. I guess I'm getting old.

 

[bmwjohn]

BEFORE I BELIEVED THE $30 PRICE I WOULD CONSIDER NEEDING THE HIGH - LOW COMBINATION BULB ASSEMBLY AND THE HD WIRING HARNESS, WHICH MANY VEHICLES WILL NEED TO WORK PROPERLY. IT IS STILL AN EXCELLENT PRICE, BUT YOU HAVE NOW ADDED $40? TO THE COST. SOME FOLKS ALSO SELL OPTIONAL SMALL DIGITAL BALLAST AT EXTRA COST. THE DEVIL IS ALWAYS IN THE DETAILS.
BMW JOHN IN INDY

 

[Audi Junkie]

 

[Russell]

ON my BMW there is no kick-up on the right of each bulb. The pattern is flat.

 

[Vikas]

The pattern looks like it was optimized for driving on the "wrong" side of the road! The asymmetry is on the "wrong" side. Have you owned this vehicle since new? I wonder if the lights were replaced with Japanese/UK type.

- Vikas

 

[NightRiderQ45]

I'm sorry Audi Junkie...those pics are not good. Multiple hot spots and no cut off on garage door which would be throwing light/glare into incoming traffic face. I don't think people flash anymore because some people are getting used to so many hid kits on the market. I myself don't flash but if I run into one with annoying glare, I turn my lights on bright.

 

[Russell]

Originally Posted By: NightRiderQ45
I'm sorry Audi Junkie...those pics are not good. Multiple hot spots and no cut off on garage door which would be throwing light/glare into incoming traffic face. I don't think people flash anymore because some people are getting used to so many hid kits on the market. I myself don't flash but if I run into one with annoying glare, I turn my lights on bright.


I flash if i think they accidently leave their high beams on. If they stay on I turn my lights on bright.

 

[Smokescreen]

Originally Posted By: XS650
Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
.... I installed it in a reflector housing. Beam is fine and nobody is flashing me back, so all the static about aftermarket HIDs is just that, static.


Unfortunately, this evaluation is seriously lacking any technical data to support evidence of no or minimal glare. Your lights would undoubtedly fail a headlight beam analysis without question. I encourage you to become more aquainted with Daniel Sterns website, and other DOT documents which reveal the many points of testing headlamps must endure to qualify as safe and usuable.


I have a high opinion of D. Stern, but that doesn't necessarily mean that all possible HID conversions are bad.

I also have a high opinion of AudiJunkie, but even if he has a truly good HID conversion, that doesn't necessarily mean that most HID conversions aren't garbage.

AudiJunkie, would you take some pictures of your beam patterns on the road and on a wall or garage door? If you can also take pictures with stock bulbs, that would be even better.


It actually does mean that all HID conversions are garbage, except full HID retrofits. Even putting HID in projectors that originally came with halogen bulbs is not a safe bet as the projector enclosure is designed to handle a specific location light source of a the filament at a certain intensity. The HID arc is at a different location and different intensity. Lose-Lose situation.

The beam patterns pictures prove it. Unwanted glare everywhere. Without doubt it would fail a beam analysis.