I ordered the APEXCONE ones, but got the DDM slim ballasts. ??? These things just keep getting cheaper! Tempted to order up a set of the 55w for the high beams on my wife's cars to complement the 35w lows . . .
Dunno on the 04/05. Essentially it's like changing the bulbs. If you don't have to take out the lights to change the bulbs, then you don't need to for the HID kit. On my wife's car, you have to take out the coolant reservoir, the washer tank fill neck, and the airbox to get to the bulbs, but that's pretty extreme (and not a Subaru).
I did bulbs with out taking the lights out, but it seems hard to get to the harness with them in. Got any tips?
I had them on my 04, very easy install. Dream, it should only take 20 min. to install, same as the 09.
I'm thinking of getting some for my '05 rs and see on http://www.xtralights.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=57 that i need the H1's that don't have a high low kit (bummer). i'm pretty tempted to get the 55w 8000k or 6000k, (white with a tint of blue vs pure white) any thoughts? also i see on xtralights that no where do they have 9007 or 9004 like they do on the DDM tuning page. whats with that?
so are the 55w brighter then the 35w? I'm gonna put some in my hella 500ff driving lights, insert evil grin
taken from http://www.ddmtuning.com/ap55wwesa.html What is the difference between 55w and 35w kits? Our 55w HID kits are 40% brighter than the standard 35w kits.The 55W system ballasts are about 1 cm longer than the 35W ballasts. 55w kits tend to wash out some of the color of the HID bulb due to the light output( for example, a 55w 8000k will look similar in color to a 35w 6000k kit).55w Kits are not recommended for smaller fog light housings because they tend to concentrate a large amount of heat in a small area. makes since to me, now how badly do i want to blind people? ps. How adjustable are subaru headlights?
Having them too bright gets old, fast. People get pissed. We have an RDX that has CRAZY bright HID's stock and we get people flashing us, get behind us and flash their lights at us ect. I would suggest getting the 35w.
I couldn't find the full specs on the Acura's lights but i will vouch that our neighbors MDX does have some bright xenons, it could be though that they are set higher up and peer down into peoples car's (and straight into their eyes). Our Suby lights are probably a foot lower then an MDX's and point into peoples bumpers when horizontal. our Bimmer lights up the night with its xenons but never gets flashed, could be partly be because of the hight they are mounted at, and that they are self leveling.
Pleas don't run the 55W ballasts in your low-beams. Even the 35W ones will make things plenty bright, and with the beam pattern on lows, going a lot brighter just doesn't work, as the light that bounces back will affect your vision more. Now, in a long distance beam, the extra wattage is more usable, but running high beams with HID is problematic, as short cycles will kill the HID bulbs quickly. HIDs should go on, and stay on for a long time, not be on and off. Plus they take a while to warm up when started. Regarding putting HID bulbs into the 500FF. The 500 series lights use H3 bulbs, which are very short, and have an element that is placed side-to-side. The HID capsules are fairly long, and the arc is longitudinal, so the light is going to come from all the wrong places. The focus will be completely different, and you may well end up with some very small hot spots and poor overall lighting. It' possible they won't even fit, as the 500s are pretty shallow lights. If you want a driving light that will work well with a HID kit, I'd look at the Hella 1000FF series, as they use H1 bulbs, which are a very close match in dimension to the HID capsules. I can't say for sure how well it works, as I never got around to trying the HID kit in my FF1000s, but the bulbs look like they're pretty compatible. There's also a good chance with any driving light, that you'll have to modify the rear of the housing, because while the kits let the lights fit in the same opening, they have different wiring, and fairly bulky connectors.
thanks for the help and recommendations Mark! :bowdown: i'll for sure go with the either the 5000k or the 6000k 35w then, (will the 5000k have a hint of blue to it?) Also seeing how your a Nissan guy check out road and track's new article about the 2009 350z here http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=10&article_id=7241 It sounds like they've cleaned up there act with fit and finish as well as quality of materials. enjoy :biggrin:
The 5000K will look blue compared to halogen lights (2700K), but actual daylight white is closer to 5500K. Natural color for HID lights is about 4300k, so anything other than that is done by tinting the bulb, which reduces actual light output. Anything else is cosmetic and will reduce to varying degrees the effectiveness of the lights. Also, anything higher than about 5000K will be noticeably different than OEM lights and may attract unwanted attention from law enforcement. Pretty much all of these kits are actually illegal, but in the case where the lights work well with the HID capsules, and the color looks OEM, they're probably not going to bother to hassle you about it. Oh, and while I do like the Z a lot (I wouldn't turn one down, that's for sure!), I'm actually a lot more excited that in 2010 Nissan is supposed to come out with the next generation S-series car, which is supposed to be a small, light RWD platform. Not with a ton of power stock, but we all know that can be fixed, don't we?
I think they may have sent me the wrong bulb set, when I compared my stock h1 bulb and the ''h1'' HID, the HID seemed longer and the bulb didn't seem fit in housing properly. It seems like it needs to go in upside down and it didn't fit it the housing that way.Would anybody be willing to give me a hand installing these? I know its probly pretty easy but I'm a monkey when it comes to electronics. Also the wiring didn't seem right too.?. Help please
if i do get the 55w for the brights/highs bill thought there would be a chance of melting the wires or houseing, thoughts on this? also hey bobafett let me know how your install goes cuz i'm not handy on a car either and would be putting in the same H1's
No 55W HIDs wouldn't melt the housings. Typical halogen high beams are 65W, so they'll still generate less heat.
Wattage doesn't = heat. Higher IR light from the lamp can damage the housing especially if the lamp isn't coated really well. That aside, just stick with the 35W versions.
Yes, but a higher percentage of the power to a HID is converted to visible light, which is why a 35W HID is brighter than a 55W halogen. Therefore a smaller percentage of the energy is being converted to heat. x * 55 < y * 55 where x < y
But remember that Metal-Halide lamps generate tremendous amounts of IR light, unlike Halogen's. and IR also = heat
Its looking like they'll be a while out. I got suckered into getting the 55w ones, as I'm finding myself doing more and more country driving. I've got projectors, and I'll aim them low. haha 5k for max light. :biggrin: I'm so excited.
4700 is what I've heard? Not 100% sure. But from testimonials, the 55w will make it closer to natural.
I'm getting mine for free in exchange for installing my friends hids in his truck, haha. Hella 500ff w/ hids, its gonna melt the deer!
not for the high/low beam kit... I just checked, I am guessing he ordered the DDM ones not the apexacone ones.
I was on teh apexecone site... I thought.. man now I have to check... are they different?? not with high/low beam and shipping and taxes....
[FONT=arial, helvetica]APX3555W [/FONT] [FONT=arial, helvetica]Apexcone is a 3/4 size ballast kit. It is a fully digital ballast and integrated ignitor design that has an analog under/over voltage input circuit that does two things. First of course, it senses the input voltage from your car and will shut the ballast off if the incoming voltage is below 9V or above 32V. Its second function is that as the lights are starting up, the circuit functions to act as a stand-in for the bulb during computer self checks. While this works on early detection circuits like those on most BMWs, there are some car makes like Mercedes and Chrysler that use more advanced self diagnostics and those may require the BOW-3 Bulb Out Warning Adapters. But when operating normally, the ballast is totally digital and works amazingly well with all the speed and arc control accuracy of a fully digital design to ensure long bulb life. Contains your choice of low beam bulbs (H1, H7, 9006, H11, etc) in the color of your choice. Ballasts are our absolutely Rock Solid Apexcone 35W or 55W ballasts. Of course this product comes with our Lifetime Warranty. What is the difference between 55w and 35w kits? Our 55w HID kits are 40% brighter than the standard 35w kits.The 55W system ballasts are about 1 cm longer than the 35W ballasts. 55w kits tend to wash out some of the color of the HID bulb due to the light output( for example, a 55w 8000k will look similar in color to a 35w 6000k kit).55w Kits are not recommended for smaller fog light housings because they tend to concentrate a large amount of heat in a small area. APX3555WRegular price: $55.00Sale price: $49.95 Bulb Type: H1H3H4H4 Hi/Lo (+ 25.00)H6H6MH7H8H9H10H11H13H13 Hi/Lo (+ 25.00)90049004 Hi/Lo (+ 25.00)9005900690079007 Hi/Lo (+ 25.00)880D2S (+ 15.00)D2R (+ 15.00) Bulb Color: 6000K3000K (+ 5.00)4500K5000K8000K10000K12000K Upgrade to 55W: No ThanksYes Please (+ 15.00) Lifetime Warranty: Included Free [/FONT] these are what I got.. they say the apexcone ones.... so they better be them or I will be sending them back...
The DDM ones are the slimline ballasts, and more expensive vs. the ApexCone ones. So if you get the DDM ones, it's not a big deal. I ordered the 3/4 size ballast ApexCone kit, but they subbed the 1/2 size ballast DDM ones. Turns out to have been fortuitous, as the Altima is really tight for space by the headlights.
