DDM Tuning HID Kit

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Sep 9, 2007
Messages
325
Location
OH
I recently moved out into the rural area of Ohio and find myself driving on country roads at night very frequently. Since country roads have poor lighting, I find myself struggling to see at night while driving. Deer and other critters are abundant in the area and I would like to avoid them as much as possible. I feel better lighting will help me out.

I have been thinking about putting a HID kit in my 2009 Honda Accord.

The kit I am considering is from DDM Tuning plug and play kit.

Here is the direct link - http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DDM-HID-Kit-Slim-Ballast-35W-or-55W

Which kit would be more reliable? 35 watt or 55 watt?

I am aware that putting HID lighting into a halogen housing can potentially cause some glare to be produced. That being said, I have a few friends that have done this install and have never been flashed or had an encounter with the law. Let's try to stay on topic and not focus on this aspect.
 
What about some quality HID driving lights? Then you could use the halogens around town and the night-blasters only when you need them. Plus with four bulbs/ lenses you'd get a better pattern.
 
I'd install some auxiliary lighting long before using one of those HID kits. They really don't improve your vision. HID bulbs emit light differently than a halogen bulb, so they can't be aimed properly when you put them in a housing designed for halogen bulbs. (This is also the reason they're illegal.) If you want HIDs, you need to do a complete retrofit with projector housings designed for HID lights.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
What about some quality HID driving lights? Then you could use the halogens around town and the night-blasters only when you need them. Plus with four bulbs/ lenses you'd get a better pattern.


Could you link me to an example?
 
Originally Posted By: KD0AXS
I'd install some auxiliary lighting long before using one of those HID kits. They really don't improve your vision. HID bulbs emit light differently than a halogen bulb, so they can't be aimed properly when you put them in a housing designed for halogen bulbs. (This is also the reason they're illegal.) If you want HIDs, you need to do a complete retrofit with projector housings designed for HID lights.


Me too.

I have seen so many buggered up HID conversions. Burnt wiring, melted housings, etc.

And IMO nothing looks dumber than the car running up behind you with the blinding blue headlights...
 
Get your eyes checked too, had a buddy thought he was going blind cause he could not see at night- turns out he had bad cataracts, after cataract surgery- his vision was vastly improved.
 
The lighting for my wife's Civic is abysmal. I didn't realize it until now, after having moved to a much more rural area. Coming home in the dark I felt that I was leaning over the steering wheel the entire ride home after work!

I need to look into a solution, because I don't feel that such little light is safe in inclement weather. I know for the same body style Civic SI (sportier, 2005 version of my wife's car) Acra RSX HID lights were an easy upgrade.

I've heard others mention sending off their non-HID projector headlights off to be properly retrofitted, but it has been too long and I don't recall much about it. Also, at least for the Civic, i'd either have to find a place to swap in projectors or some how retro reflector HID's if that's the route I take.

In the mean time, take the above-posted advice and try a new bulb. The bulbs in my wife's Civic are what came with the vehicle when we purchased it 40k miles ago, so looking for a better bulb isn't a bad idea.

In the end, a bad housing is a bad housing, IMO, so even a brighter light may not make even a moderate difference. In that case, dedicated driving lights would be great!
 
The ddm tuning kits are bulletproof if you don't go slim ballasts.

The larger stainless ballasts I use in offroad and ATV lights...tons of vibration and water and they keep on working.

The housings in the new accord don't glare bad at all with hids. But... 35w hids will cloud the plastic lenses after a while. No way around it. Just saw it earlier on my cousin's car.

Silverstars...not ultras...are a good upgrade over stock. Ultras always seem to throw more light sideways.

Have you considered an led bar hidden behind your grill?

I too live 20 miles of two lane into woods... my solution? Get a vehicle with a bumper. I don't even tap my brakes anymore. The steel directs them under and to the side.

Though I will be replacing my stock headlight setup with rigid LED offroad lights soon. Small spotlights for low beams, huge floods for the highs. DOT certified and I should have more directed low beams to reduce glare to other drivers to less than stock levels.
 
Originally Posted By: SuzukiGoat


Silverstars...not ultras...are a good upgrade over stock. Ultras always seem to throw more light sideways.



For what you will spend on SilverStar bulbs for this application, buy HIR bulbs for the same price and get much better lighting along with OEM bulb life.

Nothing except a HID projector retrofit beats HIR 9012/9011 bulbs for a 9006/9005 application.
 
I love HID's, but I get angry when I see the bulbs installed in halogen housing. It's dangerous, and not just for other drivers, I've seen numerous cases of the bulbs burning the housing, wires, and even starting fires.

Get a set of quality (QUALITY!) HID projectors, proper 55W ballasts with a gauge thicker wire than even the recommended thickness, and the highest quality 4500K bulbs you can find. The difference in visibility is greater than going from halogen lows to highs, or more dramatic at least.

I have (proper) 55W HID's for low, high, and fogs, with 200-LED Angel Eyes serving as DRL's. I love the setup so much that I run it on my M3 now too, and am in the midst of converting my 325i DD to the same.
 
To the OP, I don't think the results will be pleasing to you if you have a real need to see.

The HID kits tend to release too much light in the foreground, which actually becomes real bright and ok for city use, but tends to reduce your night, and therefore distance and side vision.

It is worth every penny, if you want to go HID, use a projector kit. You will be far happier with it.

(note, I am avoiding the glare/upper cutoff/ ethical mods discussion as requested. my own experiences with drop-in kits in those areas were lousy at best).

You really want that proper foreground-distance distribution if you want to spot the critters and stuff far out.

Having tried HIR lamps, I will absolutely agree. They are fantastic. Use the oem-engineered optics, which were designed for that specific lamp height and application, throw a nice even spectrum of light, no issues with wiring, ballasts, flashing problems. I did it to my mother's and my last car and it was great. I have HID projectors in my truck, but if there had been an HIR option, I would have done that.

Remember, an HID may have 3-4x the lumen output, but half of it gets shuttered out, by design. So a 2000 lumen HIR, with all of that light sent to ground, could be about the same.

good luck---

m
 
Originally Posted By: nleksan
I love HID's, but I get angry when I see the bulbs installed in halogen housing. It's dangerous, and not just for other drivers, I've seen numerous cases of the bulbs burning the housing, wires, and even starting fires.

Get a set of quality (QUALITY!) HID projectors, proper 55W ballasts with a gauge thicker wire than even the recommended thickness, and the highest quality 4500K bulbs you can find. The difference in visibility is greater than going from halogen lows to highs, or more dramatic at least.

I have (proper) 55W HID's for low, high, and fogs, with 200-LED Angel Eyes serving as DRL's. I love the setup so much that I run it on my M3 now too, and am in the midst of converting my 325i DD to the same.


can you recommend products?
 
Last edited:
check out theretrofitsource.com. excellent service, the products are good, you get what you pay for. Morimoto hi/lo's are a nice upgrade. I've purchased 2 sets there when I couldn't use HIRs. there's still a bit too much foreground light but it's far better than stock, and I've had zero issues with stray light glaring others.
 
Originally Posted By: lancerplayer
I am aware that putting HID lighting into a halogen housing can potentially cause some glare to be produced. That being said, I have a few friends that have done this install and have never been flashed or had an encounter with the law. Let's try to stay on topic and not focus on this aspect.


You really can't separate the two.

Rule #5 of BITOG prohibits the discussion of something that breaks ANY law.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/944248/Forum_Rules#Post944248

That should be the end of the discussion on an HID retrofit kit.

As others have posted, the best way to add HIDs, and the only legal way, is to add engineered HID lamps to the front of your car.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: lancerplayer
I am aware that putting HID lighting into a halogen housing can potentially cause some glare to be produced. That being said, I have a few friends that have done this install and have never been flashed or had an encounter with the law. Let's try to stay on topic and not focus on this aspect.


You really can't separate the two.

Rule #5 of BITOG prohibits the discussion of something that breaks ANY law.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/944248/Forum_Rules#Post944248

That should be the end of the discussion on an HID retrofit kit.

As others have posted, the best way to add HIDs, and the only legal way, is to add engineered HID lamps to the front of your car.

Bit extreme IMO
 
Originally Posted By: Russell
Bit extreme IMO


Which part? Every sentence of my post states a fact.

It's a fact that you cannot separate the legality of HID retrofit kits and glare production (they're illegal BECAUSE they cause a lamp to become non-compliant). It's a fact that the rules here say that we cannot discuss illegal activity. It's a fact that the only legal way to add HIDs to a car is with engineered solutions.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top