Best hid kit?

Morimoto Elite HID kit.

H11: Morimoto Elite HID System - HID Component Kits from The Retrofit Source Inc

Excellent product, excellent warranty, and a very excellent company (TheRetroFitSource.com).

 

I got mine from Xenonsupply. The one F8L recommended is very good too. If you want to go cheap, DDM... but I don't reccomend them.

 

I was about to buy genuine Phillips HID kit but my friend suggested me to buy DDM (ddmtunning.com). They are cheap and last long (my friend has been using more than 3 years without any problem). I bought DDM only $40 with slim ballast and it works perfect so far, but it was quite difficult to installed due to "cheap built" china product....

 

The DDM bulbs are complete crap.

The ballasts are ok but I started having problems with them not firing on one side or the other. This occurred with both the raptor and slim digital ballasts. I thought it was my wiring but after prepping my car for sale I realize my wiring was fine for the fogs and the headlights. DDM customer service sucks too.

They are cheap but you get what you pay for. Especially with the bulbs. I bought 4300K, 5000K and 6000K bulbs and they were all the same bulb but in differently labeled boxes. I gave up on DDM and went with Morimoto. I also recommend the XenonDepot kits. Both have been tested by the folks at HIDPlanet.com which is THE resource for HIDs and headlight information.

I'm not trying to slam your post, Justana, I just want to provide readers with my experiences and other sources of info.

 

I'd stick with Xenon Depot or Morimoto.

Xenon Depot offers 3 different flavors these days.
Volt ($94), Xtreme Digital ($159) and Xtreme Digital with genuine German Philips 85122 ($265) bulbs.

Only the last 2 come w/ the relay.

XenonDepot HID Conversion Kits | HID Kits | HID Replacement Bulbs

Use coupon code "PC" or "CL" for $25 off.

 

Don't worry, i dont feel offended.... i just bought few weeks ago, if there's something wrong, i'll buy other brand. DDM is very cheap anyway. I doubt myself if they will last long...

 

Does Phillips bulbs will make a different? Do you use relay? I bought the relay but i returned it...

 

Isn't it illegal to fit a HID kit to a car as the headlight aim isn't designed for the HID and you will then dazzle oncoming cars, as well as the car in front of you?

Put it another way - if I'm ever hit head on at night the first thing I'd have my lawyers investigate is whether the other car had illegal headlights. And if it did I'll be suing them so hard their life will be miserable for the next 5 years.

 

Ok good.

Phillips bulbs make a big difference in terms of quality, reliable coloration, and actual lumens output. Unfortunately they do not make Phillips bulbs in all of the sizes we often use like H1 or 9006. So then you are stuck with aftermarket brands like the Morimoto which are very nice but not as good as Phillips or Osram (Sylvania). Also be VERY careful when attempting to purchase Phillips bulbs because there are a large number of fakes on the market that even have Phillips markings on them.

Please refer to these threads for more info on Fakes and general HID bulb information:

General Info:
Everything you ever wanted to know about HID bulbs..

Spotting Fakes:
http://priuschat.com/forums/knowled...n/101472-not-all-hid-bulbs-created-equal.html

Are these Philips bulbs real?

 

Well the Phillips kit only comes in 4300k. I've always like the clean white light from a 5000k kit. I have the normal Xtreme kit and love it. I wouldn't install an HID kit without the relay. Friends and coworkers swear by it in their German and misc. Japanese cars.

 

Wow, DDM is everywhere. My friends had nothing but trouble with them. Lots of other great recommendations in here though.

 

Indeed it is illegal but some cars like the 2010-2012 Prius come with projector style headlights. Projectors have a built-in cutoff that keeps light from being projected above a certain point which is usually aimed such that no or little light is projected above the door line of the typical sedan. This drastically reduces the amount of light hitting the eyes of oncoming drivers and thus reducing flash blindness. That being said, even halogen projectors put out extra light that could be blinding in the right circumstances but this is not usually a problem with well designed projectors. In the case of the 2010-2012 Prius I find it acceptable to put HIDs into the halogen housing. It is completely unacceptable to put HIDs into the 1997-2009 Prius reflector-style headlight housings!!!

HIDS in a reflector-style housing


HIDS in a projector style housing
2005 Prius with projector retrofit


Corolla with projector retrofit


2011 Prius with HIDs


Nice How-To video for HID install on 2010+ Prius
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...65253-installed-some-hids-my-10-prius-20.html

 

That's very bright. Is that 35W or 55W? Is that true 55W is more risk compare 35W? I was about to install 55W, but they said 55W is easier melting on the wiring system because they produce more heat compare 35.... Im actually happy with 35W...

 

I had DDM 55w 8000k in my Tundra and they lasted through the off road trips pretty good as well as being jumped in the desert. Had a H13 Hi/Lo 35w 8000k on my Eclipse for 30k miles with no complaints.

Currently on the Prius, my low beams are a 35w 6000k and my high beams (which I never use) are 35w but custom green bulbs. These are in his Lexus ES300.

This is in a friends garage.

 

I'm not sure which picture you are talking about. The 2005 Prius (mine) was using 55w ballasts but there was very little difference between 55w and 35w. The Corolla is using 35w ballast but duel projectors of very high quality. The 2011 Prius is using 35w I think.

I would not recommend the 55w ballasts in anything but a high end retrofit.

 

sdtundra brings up another important point.

The lower the kelvin rating the higher the lumens until you reach about 4300k. 4100k-4300k is the OEM bulb rating for most high end vehicles. Anything above 4300k will put out less lumens. So 6000k or more puts out MUCH less usable light than a 4300k bulb. The 5000k bulbs are a big seller due to the whiter light and the compromise between max lumens and cool color.

 

yeah, 8000k is way too blue especially with 35w, the 55w washes it out a little. I would stick with 4500-6000.The 6000k in the Prius right now have a slight tint but not noticeable

 

What does the relay do? I have seen it mentioned a few times, but I don't know what it is used for. Thanks for any information.

 

The relay helps to provide a more reliable power source to the ballasts. It will eliminate the flickering that some experience. The xtreme digital kit I have has a dual relay setup so that each side is completely independent of the other. With this setup, if a fuse/relay ever goes out only one side will be affected. If something failed on a single relay/fuse HID kit both headlights would go out.

Here are some pics from my setup: