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HID conversion - 98 Bird

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Old Feb 14, 2011 | 05:25 PM
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Default HID conversion - 98 Bird

So the time as finally come, I have the LMC housings for the 9005 bulb, and I also have the fogs switched out to an after market housing.

I was wondering what you guys would recommend in terms of an HID conversion kit, I'm looking for the maximum wattage I can get. I plan on doing a Heavy Duty wire upgrade as well, with 3 relays total (Highs, Lows, Fogs) to get the maximum current needed.

What kits would recommend that have some good ballasts, bulbs, etc. That are "high wattage". So no 35w H3s please
The housings can take whatever you want to throw at them wattage-wise, all metal construction with a glass lens.
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Old Feb 14, 2011 | 05:31 PM
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Since most HID's are the same, the kit with the lowest price and the best warranty is the way to go. I've bought quite a few Ebay kits and never had any problems with them. I have 35w HID's and they are more than bright enough, just make sure you get 4300K or 5000K for maximum light output.
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Old Feb 14, 2011 | 06:02 PM
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I've been casually looking around the net for some, most of the kits I've seen jump from 4300 to 6000 to 8000k... so I was going to go with the 6000, while I've seen bulbs @ 5500k and thats probably my favorite temp. of light

Do you, or anyone else here on the forum, know of any ~50w H3 kits
and >55w kits for the 9005/9006 housing?
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Old Feb 14, 2011 | 06:11 PM
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Higher wattage shortens bulb and ballast life, plus the kits cost more since very few places sell them. Spencers HID sells them but their prices are ridiculous. If you can't see the road with a 35w kit you shouldn't be driving.

http://www.spencershids.com/
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Old Feb 14, 2011 | 06:29 PM
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lol... There may be alternative reasons to me asking the question
Bulb life isn't an issue really.. I have a set of 100w halogens in there no, and I want to see a difference vs that, so this is why I'm asking for the higher wattages.
I was blown away vs the 55/65w difference in the stock bulbs.

And as for the website, I'll have to take a look around here!
Thanks.
Still open for any alternative suggestions though!





Also... anyone know the difference between 'regular' HIDs and Digital HIDs?

Last edited by Fosnot; Feb 14, 2011 at 11:35 PM.
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Old Feb 15, 2011 | 04:08 AM
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DDMtuning. All my HIDs are from there. I have 10k 55w in my bike and 10k 35w fogs for my TA and 6000k 55w for my lows. 55w kits are $40 and the 30w kits are $30. Plug n play
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Old Feb 15, 2011 | 07:34 AM
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HID "upgrade" kits that put HID capsules in halogen reflectors are illegal and dangerous. The light source is positioned differently so the combination causes light scatter and glare. But I'm sure you knew that and don't care.

So maybe you didn't know this... the most effective light temperature for visibility is 4300K-4500K. That's why all OEM HIDs use that temperature. At 8000K you lose about 28% of the effective light compared to 4300K. Anything higher than that and you might as well have stayed with halogen bulbs for the usable light they produce. Sure they look brighter but that's just because your eyes are affected by the glare.

55W HIDs are a gimmick. With a properly aimed HID projector housing, you won't even see the difference between 35W and 55W because the light is so well focused. Of course it will make a difference when misused in a halogen reflector - it will make even more dangerous glare for other drivers.
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Old Feb 15, 2011 | 12:32 PM
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Originally Posted by allout06
DDMtuning. All my HIDs are from there. I have 10k 55w in my bike and 10k 35w fogs for my TA and 6000k 55w for my lows. 55w kits are $40 and the 30w kits are $30. Plug n play
There's a recent thread saying that people have been having problems ordering from DDM tuning, so it's best to stay away from them.
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Old Feb 15, 2011 | 01:30 PM
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crazy ! my HID kits arrived to Cyprus in a week or so from DDM tuning.. My order was processed and shipped in 3 days .. and .I havent had any problems with both my kits..
I run 6000K lows and 8000K fogs .. but for max visibility , dont go over 6000K ..
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Old Feb 15, 2011 | 02:29 PM
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just did ddm a couple weeks ago everything came quickly
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Old Feb 20, 2011 | 11:59 PM
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Originally Posted by WhiteBird00
HID "upgrade" kits that put HID capsules in halogen reflectors are illegal and dangerous. The light source is positioned differently so the combination causes light scatter and glare. But I'm sure you knew that and don't care.

So maybe you didn't know this... the most effective light temperature for visibility is 4300K-4500K. That's why all OEM HIDs use that temperature. At 8000K you lose about 28% of the effective light compared to 4300K. Anything higher than that and you might as well have stayed with halogen bulbs for the usable light they produce. Sure they look brighter but that's just because your eyes are affected by the glare.

55W HIDs are a gimmick. With a properly aimed HID projector housing, you won't even see the difference between 35W and 55W because the light is so well focused. Of course it will make a difference when misused in a halogen reflector - it will make even more dangerous glare for other drivers.


Yeah, I know about the color, can't seem to find a kit that is 5000k, jumps right to 6.

So you're saying the LMC housing doesn't work for HIDs?
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Old Feb 21, 2011 | 07:18 AM
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Originally Posted by Fosnot
Yeah, I know about the color, can't seem to find a kit that is 5000k, jumps right to 6.

So you're saying the LMC housing doesn't work for HIDs?
That's exactly what I'm saying. The LMC setup is really nice and a definite improvement over the stock sealed beams but they are halogen bulb reflectors not designed for use with HID capsules. The only way to eliminate the dangerous glare using HIDs in those lights would be to aim them quite low which defeats the purpose of better lighting.

Most manufacturers don't bother with 5000K because the difference between them and 4300K on one end or 6000K on the other end would be unnoticeable. 6000K is somewhat whiter than 4300K without significant blue tint and is only about 10% less effective than 4300K.
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Old Feb 21, 2011 | 07:45 AM
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Honestly if you are going through all that work, either make your own projector kit, or buy the BLS kit. With the LMC housings you will not pass inspection, you will constantly get dirty looks from other driver's or get "fix it" tickets, and they are worthless if you aim them to prevent blinding others, because at that point you only light about 20 feet of the road in front of you.

The previous owner had them in the '99 Formula I have, I didn't like them, for one they were too blue. After my brother wrecked the car, my choice was either to buy 2 new headlight assemblies from a junkyard for $500, or spend the extra cash and do it right to have something TRULY better than stock lighting with no drawbacks and get the BLS kit.

Even if you can't do the BLS kit, you can still piece your own together from factory parts scavenged from the junkyard. Just do yourself a favor and don't go with the cheap LMC/HID set up. You'll just be redoing it down the road, either to dismiss a ticket, or because you realize it wasn't as good as people say.
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Old Feb 22, 2011 | 10:15 PM
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Originally Posted by $750 L98
Honestly if you are going through all that work, either make your own projector kit, or buy the BLS kit. With the LMC housings you will not pass inspection, you will constantly get dirty looks from other driver's or get "fix it" tickets, and they are worthless if you aim them to prevent blinding others, because at that point you only light about 20 feet of the road in front of you.

The previous owner had them in the '99 Formula I have, I didn't like them, for one they were too blue. After my brother wrecked the car, my choice was either to buy 2 new headlight assemblies from a junkyard for $500, or spend the extra cash and do it right to have something TRULY better than stock lighting with no drawbacks and get the BLS kit.

Even if you can't do the BLS kit, you can still piece your own together from factory parts scavenged from the junkyard. Just do yourself a favor and don't go with the cheap LMC/HID set up. You'll just be redoing it down the road, either to dismiss a ticket, or because you realize it wasn't as good as people say.
lol I love the look of that BLS setup, wish the price wasn't soo steep tho.

I was looking at making my own projector kit, but I lack several tools key to ensuring longevity of the housing.
Eventually...
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Old Feb 26, 2011 | 08:30 AM
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Lmc housings come with nice sylvania halogen bulbs. Just don't throw them away and on the way to court for the fix it, unplug the hid and twist in the halogen. Takes 5 minutes and your legal! Ps doubt anyone is gonna get a ticket as long as you keep the Kelvin In range. 5 6 7 k.

The problem we are having with ddm is they claim 7 colors and only sell 4. It sucks but other than that they are ok. Supposedly a the End of feb. They will no longer sell hids anyway, Probobly because of the bait and switch lawsuit.
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Old Mar 4, 2011 | 03:36 PM
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The LMC have a pretty decent cut-off compared with other cars I've seen not using a projector. Using 6k in fogs and lows, huge improvement over the halogen.
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Old Mar 4, 2011 | 03:59 PM
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My BLS kit installed before readjusting everything. Only downfall is my fog light housings are starting to warp/melt where you twist in the bulb...
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Old Mar 4, 2011 | 04:01 PM
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decent cutoff, lol, that picture shows the glare on the top of the lights.

Do it right with projectors, I had around $320 in my hella 90mm conversion, and to be honest the prjectors made all of the difference, I did not notice much difference in the HID's other than the "cool" factor that I added 1 year later.

Ryan
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Old Mar 4, 2011 | 09:32 PM
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Just installed my 4500k 35w HIDs from DDM. They took over a month to come, they buzz until they are warmed up, but the ballast is so tiny, and they work great! Overall, so far, I recommend them.
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Old Mar 4, 2011 | 09:35 PM
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I also want to point out that some of you might be color blind, 4500k is white, 5500k is blue. So anyone that claims 6000k is whiter is dead wrong
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