HID noob

[tony9156]

Im going to get some HID for my 98 civic ex from ddmtuning.com because I have smoke headlights and the light output is terrible at night, I actually have to drive with my high beams on. So I need some bright HIDs. I have a few questions about their kit http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/Apexcone-Raptor-HID-Kit

1. should I go with 35W or 55W (+$10)?
2. are the 6000K going to be bright enough?
3. do I need to buy any of the options like the HID harness, adaptor cables or mounting brackets?
4. should I get the hi and lo beam HID kit or will just the lo HID and high HAL be bright enough with my smoked headlights?

 

[Puma]

Your first mistake was smoking the lens, instead of painting/baking the housing.

I ran 55w for mine, w/ 6k and bi-xenon. 6K will produce a more blue-white hue, and will take about 100hours to fade to a lesser blue. True white is going to be anywhere between 4300-4500, so since they're baked, I'd go w/ that. (also i prefer OEM white now anyhow)

One thing to realize w/ HIDs, the higher the Kelvin, the lesser the output will be, b/c it's not a true white output.

If you go w/ the bi-xenon you will have both high and low beams. If you don't, you will have NO high beams. When you attempt to switch to high beams, there will be no light.

Are you getting the slim ballasts? The 3m tape that comes w/ them holds, but not the best, or at least it didn't on my car. I also have no fender linings so all kinds of gunk gets into my bay.

 

[civic209]

35 watt.
6000 is fine.
You will need the harness.
Hi and Low beam.

Just use zip ties to tie your ballast to whatever place is convenient.

 

[Puma]

35 watt.
6000 is fine.
You will need the harness.
Hi and Low beam.

Just use zip ties to tie your ballast to whatever place is convenient.

You do NOT need the harness, just so you know. The factory harness does work.

 

[civic209]

You do NOT need the harness, just so you know. The factory harness does work.

Really? hmm...i wouldve thought it would be too much for stock harness. never tried it without the harness but ill take your word for it. If it burns the harness though dont say i didnt say anything

 

[Puma]

Really? hmm...i wouldve thought it would be too much for stock harness. never tried it without the harness but ill take your word for it. If it burns the harness though dont say i didnt say anything

Me, and quite a few of my friends ran/are running like that for years now. The stock harness can handle 55watts. None of us had issues of the housings burning up either, but I've read stories of it happening.

No matter what, an HID in a halogen housing is going to have a horrible glare and it won't be a solid output of light. My best advice is to get projectors w/ HIDS, but not the ricey ones.

 

[civic209]

Me, and quite a few of my friends ran/are running like that for years now. The stock harness can handle 55watts. None of us had issues of the housings burning up either, but I've read stories of it happening.

No matter what, an HID in a halogen housing is going to have a horrible glare and it won't be a solid output of light. My best advice is to get projectors w/ HIDS, but not the ricey ones.

Glare? Nah hes got smoked out lenses yo!

 

[Puma]

Glare? Nah hes got smoked out lenses yo!

He'll still project a (dark) glare.

 

[civic209]

He'll still project a (dark) glare.

Why dont you show me your headlights Kelly and ill project you a glare

lol but id think hed be alright with the glare though. Cant really tell until hes got them on. If he drives with his highs on all the time and doesnt get flashed then..

 

[lowlife9]

if i could go back i would have saved up for some philips hid bulbs and ballest ther only like 60 dollars more then DDM.

 

[Puma]

if i could go back i would have saved up for some philips hid bulbs and ballest ther only like 60 dollars more then DDM.

I personally do not like DDM. They're cheap for a reason. I had a set of Kaixens and I wish I had never sold them.

 

[civic209]

If you do go with DDM Tuning make sure you handle with care the hid bulb because the 3 brackets that hold the bulb in place break easily.

 

[tony9156]

Thanks for the input guys. I Think I'm gonna go with the 55W 4500K Hi Lo slim ballast kit.

 

[1997EK]

35w is all you'll ever need.

The color temp (k) has nothing to with brightness. 6000k is a nice balance of color and usable light output. Anything more is going to be too blue and will actually hinder your visibility at night and in the rain (not to mention 8000k and up looks way too ricey).

Get bixenon. Not only will you keep your high beams, you'll also have a much better beam cutoff due to the shields that come on bixenon bulbs. This will prevent you from blinding other drivers until you want/need to by pulling your high beams.

I went to walmart and bought some 3M heavy duty foam adhesive mounting squares (rated for 2 pounds per square inch, more than sturdy enough). I've had my ballasts mounted with them for 2+ years with no issues.

Good luck.

6K will produce a more blue-white hue, and will take about 100hours to fade to a lesser blue.

Actually, HID bulbs get MORE blue as time goes on. That's why some older cars with stock HIDs have nearly pink outputs sometimes. The bulbs shift color temp up as they get older.

 

[Puma]

35w is all you'll ever need.

The color temp (k) has nothing to with brightness. 6000k is a nice balance of color and usable light output. Anything more is going to be too blue and will actually hinder your visibility at night and in the rain (not to mention 8000k and up looks way too ricey).

Get bixenon. Not only will you keep your high beams, you'll also have a much better beam cutoff due to the shields that come on bixenon bulbs. This will prevent you from blinding other drivers until you want/need to by pulling your high beams.

I went to walmart and bought some 3M heavy duty foam adhesive mounting squares (rated for 2 pounds per square inch, more than sturdy enough). I've had my ballasts mounted with them for 2+ years with no issues.

Good luck.


Actually, HID bulbs get MORE blue as time goes on. That's why some older cars with stock HIDs have nearly pink outputs sometimes. The bulbs shift color temp up as they get older.

I have NEVER seen that w/ myself and all my other friends that are running them. Mine faded and so have all my friends.

 

[1997EK]

I have NEVER seen that w/ myself and all my other friends that are running them. Mine faded and so have all my friends.

After 100 to 200 hours, ALL bulbs start to color shift to a higher kelvin and may or may not become less bright. Keep in mind that brightness doesn't necessarily equal color.

HID bulbs are a variation on metal halide bulbs which are commonly used in warehouses, street lamps, etc... They have a mixture of xenon, mercury, and other "metal halide" elements. The manufacturers must make a ****tail of salts/gases which will last a long time, produce a uniform color over their life spam (called color shift), and ideally produce a good color spectrum.

All HID bulbs shift to blue, and become dimmer as they age,

You can read the entire write up here. it's actually quite interesting: http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?18954-The-Reality-of-HID-Kits-Truths-and-Myths

HIDplanet is the BEST source for HID related questions and solutions. Not calling you out, just providing more info for anyone that's interested

 

[1997EK]

This is what you can expect with the bixenon DDM setup in stock 96-98 reflectors.

Here's a quick shot of the cutoff I have with my 35w 6000k DDM high/low bulbs in stock housings. Both dip on the left for oncoming traffic, but slant upwards on the right to light up signs and whatnot. Not once have I been flashed by oncoming traffic in the 2+ years I've been running these. Also, the output is very wide on the road, though it may not look like it here because I was parked close to my garage door.

This is a phone picture so it's overexposed, but you can get the idea. The yellow towards the bottom is from my fogs.

 

[ceegeeaye]

i have a 98 civic ex and mine are:
1: 35w
2: 8k (I Think 6k's are bright enough)
3: Mine came with everything, yours should too i believe.
4: I'm using the bi-xenon which are both high and low beams which LowNSlow97 mentioned earlier in this topic.

 

[lowlife9]

if anybody is wants the cheapest philips HIDs online there at http://stores.mengmotorsports.com/-strse-559/Meng-Motorsports-Philips-HID/Detail.bok but the sizes are limited.

 

[1997EK]

if anybody is wants the cheapest philips HIDs online there at http://stores.mengmotorsports.com/-strse-559/Meng-Motorsports-Philips-HID/Detail.bok but the sizes are limited.

Neither size they have listed will fit the OP's car. 96-98 (maybe -00) Civics take 9003/H4 bulbs. The type of HID bulbs to look for are 9003/H4-3 (the bixenon ones).