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Post by Agent11br on Oct 1, 2009 11:01:32 GMT -5
Wanted to thank Randy for the hook-up on the HID Kit, relay, and resistors harnesses! Installed this setup on my Cadillac SRX my work provides me. The lack of HIDs and LED license plate lights on a caddy irritated me. That and I have that DSM blood where I just like to mess with $hit on cars. Before anyone goes getting a sandy vag about HID retrofits and crap I'd like to put the general disclaimer out there that I have done and assisted with several HID retrofits. I had HIDs on my Acura. I also have spent a lot of time at HIDplanet forums. I have what I would consider "in depth general knowledge" regarding HID systems. The halogen projectors I had were THE SAME VALEO projectors they use with the HID option. The cutoff is the same, lens is the same, only difference is the back to accept a D1 type bulb. YES, I know the back will also change the output, but after seeing pics of 9006 retrofits installed on a CTS with the same Valeos I was sold. Minimal hot spotting, decent cut-off, I'm happy. Only thing is I sometimes wish I could have gotten a 4300k kit but the lowest temp he was able to get is 6000k, and it turned out GREAT! Once they get another 30-50 hours on them they'll settle out a nice white. Installation was a breeze other than having to remove the front bumper. I did end up using the relay setup for more consistent power but do not have pics of it wired in (pretty simple though). I'm really happy with how it all turned out. I was paranoid about moisture getting in due to the way the wiring goes but the gasket/rubber wedge works great. LEDs for the city lights and license plate lights were purchased from superbrightleds.com. They are the new 5LED-CW5's in white, 194 wedge application. The city lights were the flat versions for clearance issues. Thanks again Randy! HID Coverage, some hot spotting HID Cut-off Fog Light Cut-off (for reference)
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Post by absinthminded on Oct 1, 2009 11:57:19 GMT -5
Very cool man. I would really like to do something like that to my truck. Whats a ball park figure? I've never looked into it. I'd like to replace the stock fogs also. One is missing and the other holds water. They are junk.
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Post by wishihadatalon on Oct 1, 2009 13:03:57 GMT -5
Very nice. I was thinking about something like this for the mini cooper that we just bought (still pissed that the dealer couldn't get me one with hids) but I will probably wait to find a set of stock hid housings (they are different). The plate lighting is something that I am very interested in. I am pretty set on changing those lights and the lights on the bottom of my doors that illuminate the ground when you get out to leds.
So you say that you got the hids from Randy?
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Post by pinder91 on Oct 1, 2009 13:21:55 GMT -5
Baller! How's it feel to get some dirt under your fingernails again?
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Post by Agent11br on Oct 1, 2009 13:46:35 GMT -5
Thanks dude! I think Randy sells the basic kit depending on color temp for $125-130. The relay kit and resistor kit are extra. Yea one of the fogs was messed up, it just pissed me off every time I looked at it so getting to fix it was rewarding.
Thanks! Yea my stepdad used to have a mini cooper with the halogens, I looked at doing the headlight swap for him but they were expensive used and hard to come by at the time. You may want to consider buying a used set of halogens for cheap and doing a retrofit. I know Pinder has TSX projectors and some Hella ballasts he was looking to sell, I almost bought them until I found out the halogen ones I had were the same Valeo's used in the OEM HID headlights.
The door lights are cool, but make sure you do some research. They make the bulbs for those that are more directional so you don't lose light output.
Yea I picked them up from Randy, he gets them through one of his suppliers. His pricing for the quality kit you get is def a solid deal.
Thanks man! It felt rejuvenating! I don't mean to sound like a woman but it was an enjoyable experience. I had some minor issues here and there but nothing I couldn't tackle based upon previous DSM experiences. LOL. Knew it would come in handy one day!
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Post by blackGSX2g on Oct 1, 2009 16:05:22 GMT -5
Before anyone goes getting a sandy vag about HID retrofits and crap Ha, I was gonna chime in about that... ;D Awesome to see you do some modding again. I swear I've seen 4300k D1 bulbs pop up online if you ever want to come back down to the OEM level. Hows the cut-off color on those?
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Post by jesse on Oct 1, 2009 16:17:28 GMT -5
i put led bulbs in my plate lights a couple weeks ago on the yukon. hoping to start swapping out some interior lights soon too. they look way better than standard bulbs
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Post by Agent11br on Oct 2, 2009 9:16:19 GMT -5
Before anyone goes getting a sandy vag about HID retrofits and crap Ha, I was gonna chime in about that... ;D Awesome to see you do some modding again. I swear I've seen 4300k D1 bulbs pop up online if you ever want to come back down to the OEM level. Hows the cut-off color on those? LOL, figured you would! Thanks man, it feels good to get back into a hobby I sorely miss. They have the D1's online, but then I'd have to source the backs for the projectors. I found them relatively inexpensive on ebay since the Valeo's are used by Audi for their platforms. Depending on how the bulbs I have now settle out I may end up going that route. The hot-spotting isn't horrible and the current cut-off is great; however, having had my TSX and my gf has had her TSX for the past year I can notice the subtle difference in output quality. Either way, at least it's not blinding people, it's WAY BETTER than the halogens, and it makes the Caddy look like it should have driving at night. Cut-off coloring on the current setup is a real nice blue but lacks the spectrum you get with the lower temp/color. With the D1 OEM, pics I have seen dont give much a cut-off color at all. And Jesse, glad you swapped in the LEDs, they look ten times better IMO!
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Post by blackGSX2g on Oct 2, 2009 12:08:56 GMT -5
LOL, figured you would! Thanks man, it feels good to get back into a hobby I sorely miss. They have the D1's online, but then I'd have to source the backs for the projectors. I found them relatively inexpensive on ebay since the Valeo's are used by Audi for their platforms. Depending on how the bulbs I have now settle out I may end up going that route. The hot-spotting isn't horrible and the current cut-off is great; however, having had my TSX and my gf has had her TSX for the past year I can notice the subtle difference in output quality. Either way, at least it's not blinding people, it's WAY BETTER than the halogens, and it makes the Caddy look like it should have driving at night. Cut-off coloring on the current setup is a real nice blue but lacks the spectrum you get with the lower temp/color. With the D1 OEM, pics I have seen dont give much a cut-off color at all. I thought you said your OEM projecters were set-up for D1? You need to change the projector bowl? Yea, the TSX set-up is pretty much one of the best budget projectors you can get without spending a boatload. Thats actually what I'm running in my DSM now, a set of color modded full TSX projectors. They aren't as wide as my OEM BMW ones which kinda sucks, but they definately have a prettier cut-off and the area under the cut-off seems a bit more intense than the BMW. Are those clear lens projectors, or beveled? The clear ones usually yield more intense color. I'm glad I ditched the beveled ones on my last setup. I've also been wanting to mess around with having boosted 55w ballasts instead of the 35w. People on HIDP seem to have awesome results with that mod.
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Post by Agent11br on Oct 2, 2009 12:46:11 GMT -5
I thought you said your OEM projecters were set-up for D1? You need to change the projector bowl? Yea, the TSX set-up is pretty much one of the best budget projectors you can get without spending a boatload. Thats actually what I'm running in my DSM now, a set of color modded full TSX projectors. They aren't as wide as my OEM BMW ones which kinda sucks, but they definately have a prettier cut-off and the area under the cut-off seems a bit more intense than the BMW. Are those clear lens projectors, or beveled? The clear ones usually yield more intense color. I'm glad I ditched the beveled ones on my last setup. I've also been wanting to mess around with having boosted 55w ballasts instead of the 35w. People on HIDP seem to have awesome results with that mod. The OEM HID projectors when you get the option is a D1. But the lens and cutoff shield used in both the Halogen and HID are the same, they just use a different bowl. So I'm running a 9006 based 6000K bulb. That's why there is that hot-spotting but the cut-off is still decent. I debated getting the bowls but didn't want to go through all the hassle and added cost. They are not beveled. They are clear which to your point also helps. One benefit of them being a good halogen hybrid projector. I know Valeo isn't the best but at least it's not some chincy thing and from a reputable company. I did see some of the 55w discussion on HIDP. Didn't sound horribly complicated but if I remember correctly required some modding of the ballast internal board. If this wasn't my daily and/or I had an extra set of ballasts I would consider tinkering with them. Let me know if you do and def post some pics!
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Post by Ecl1psE5 on Oct 2, 2009 17:16:44 GMT -5
Very nice install, I love the cutoff on them. Its the only thing I wish I had in my truck. I also installed an HID retrofit kit with the 9006 6k bulbs. I have a 96 tahoe, and I changed the headlight housings to a clear lens with defuser in front of the bulb, but they dont have the cutoff like projection systems. So I had to aim them way lower to not blind everyone. But I still get flashed sometimes. Its at that point I hit the high beabs and all 4 bulbs kick on. I wired in a relay kit so the low beams stay on when the highs are on. Works great on country roads.
I have considered installing a retrofit kit on the talon at some point, but have never got around to it.
Well done, and nice write up.
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Post by KEGSdale on Oct 2, 2009 19:11:26 GMT -5
Excellent job! That looks great. Can't believe it didn't come out of the box with HID's??
My HID kit from ddm tuning comes in monday. 35watt 8k low and 50watt 8k high. ;D
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Post by jesse on Oct 3, 2009 2:15:25 GMT -5
tons of people on a truck forum i'm on buy from ddm and they're all really happy with their kits
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Post by KEGSdale on Oct 3, 2009 10:52:56 GMT -5
tons of people on a truck forum i'm on buy from ddm and they're all really happy with their kits There's a guy that works for ddm on triumph675.net and he give us permanent forum pricing, it was well under 100 shipped. Everyone loves their kits.
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