Xenon HID upgrade

[mpt]

That's just the euro / US naming conventions (roughly) 9005 = HB3. Check out the very first post for high-beam H9B kit and caveats.

I started with 6000K but moved down to 4500k as the light output is higher, more white and more 'factory' if you know what I mean.

 

[ipdamages]

henry -

first, i'm not sure i ever thanked you for the j1772 adapter. i put it to use the first weekend i had it (on a trip to san diego), and it worked perfectly.

as for the paint, i have had a drawn out e-dialogue with elie rothstein, the owner of al & ed's #54 in horth hollywood, which is where i had my modifications/upgrades done, and you are correct that the paint is unique to that application. for the body i used the lamborghini yellow, but the brake calipers aren't the exact same color. close, but not the exact same. that paint doesn't have the metallic element that the body has. the calipers also require special prep work/primering.

if you want more details the best thing to do is to contact elie at this email address: elie at al-eds dot com.

and i'm sorry about the delay on responding. i hadn't seen the activity in this post until last week and it has taken some time to get the paint question sorted out.

- chris

 

[hcsharp]

Thanks Chris! I'll send Elie an email. We don't have Al & Ed's around here so I might check with the shop that powder coated my wheels.

henry -

first, i'm not sure i ever thanked you for the j1772 adapter. i put it to use the first weekend i had it (on a trip to san diego), and it worked perfectly.

as for the paint, i have had a drawn out e-dialogue with elie rothstein, the owner of al & ed's #54 in horth hollywood, which is where i had my modifications/upgrades done, and you are correct that the paint is unique to that application. for the body i used the lamborghini yellow, but the brake calipers aren't the exact same color. close, but not the exact same. that paint doesn't have the metallic element that the body has. the calipers also require special prep work/primering.

if you want more details the best thing to do is to contact elie at this email address: elie at al-eds dot com.

and i'm sorry about the delay on responding. i hadn't seen the activity in this post until last week and it has taken some time to get the paint question sorted out.

- chris

 

[smorgasbord]

It seams like many have gone with the 4500k color does everyone like that or do you wish you had more blue or yellow?

Since I didn't want to replace my high beams (can't flash them if you do), I wanted to match the stock high beam color as closely as possible. 4500K is bluer than the stock, which I think is 3200K or so, but not so much that's it's annoying. I think you can go up to 6500K (daylight) before the lights start getting too blue.

Also, since replacing the bulbs is technically illegal in many states, not going too blue helps you fly under the radar. Some cops will pull you over for lights that are too blue.

 

[jordanthompson]

I just installed the HID's in my 2010. I am very pleased with the results. I actually went ahead and installed the high beams also. If you decide to go this route, you will see that it does take a significant time for them to come on. I try not to drive at night (but it happens, of course.) I generally refrain from flashing people (but its nice to be able to do that occasionally.)
When they do finally come on, the results are very impressive.

I haven't decided to switch the highs out with the original ones (yet). I am extremely happy with the low's reasonably happy with the highs.

 

[smorgasbord]

This morning my front right low headlight (DDMTuning HID) isn't working. I'll take a look at it this weekend, but anyone got any pointers for debugging what's actually wrong? Here's what I think I'll do:

1) Check all connections.
2) Swap out transformer/ballast.
3) Swap out bulb.

That should pretty much cover it, right? Anything else? The car's telling the bulb isn't working, so I assume it's not the fuse - is that a bad assumption?
TIA

 

[jordanthompson]

Is it actually not working (is the car lying?)

 

[smorgasbord]

Is it actually not working (is the car lying?)

Yeah, that's the first thing I checked. The car is not lying.

 

[jordanthompson]

For what its worth, I have had an issue with my brights where the car says they are not working, but the problem goes away quickly and it rarely happens. From what I can tell (because it happens while driving) they are working during these events.
I replaced both low and high with DDMTuning lights.

 

[mpt]

Bulb check is just a current measurement - it shows up if you put LEDs in the side lights (grr).

I'd guess that the controller is not connected or not using enough power which could be the bulb. I think that you're on the right investigative track.

 

[smorgasbord]

Well, turns out I do have a bad bulb. Doesn't look bad, but it doesn't work with 3 different ballasts.

BTW, got a new jack and set of jack stands - see details at this post: http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/8433-What-equipment-do-people-recommend-to-change-tires-at-home?p=302455&viewfull=1#post302455

EDIT: When you lock/unlock the car, it flashes the lights briefly. Does this lead to premature failure of the HIDs?

 

[jerry33]

Does this lead to premature failure of the HIDs?

HID bulbs do not like to be turned on and off. It's similar to range charging the battery and then not driving.

 

[JohnGarziglia]

HID bulbs do not like to be turned on and off. It's similar to range charging the battery and then not driving.

Is there a way to disable the headlights from flashing when locking and unlocking the car?

BTW, I agree with the other posts that state that the 4500K bulbs for the low beams are ideal. It is an amazing difference in drivability with the HID bulbs installed.

 

[strider]

HID bulbs do not like to be turned on and off. It's similar to range charging the battery and then not driving.

They're getting better about this as the technology improves. The newer ones are less affected by this than the earlier ones.

The nice thing w/ the DDM lights are they're so cheap just replace them if/when they fail. I have had mine installed for 2 years and 5 months of daily driving (so 2-3 "unlocks" per day) and no problems.

 

[jbadger]

My 4500k 55w's from DDM came in a few days ago. I bought a jack, and will be performing this upgrade tomorrow. Hope it goes well, I could really use some brighter head lights!

 

[PV-EV]

If you read through these posts you shouldn't have any problems with the upgrade. Ours have worked perfectly all winter and I'm glad we did it. You will be too.

 

[smorgasbord]

Well, turns out I do have a bad bulb.

I sent it back to DDM Tuning, and just received my replacement yesterday. Note that shipping one bulb back to them (in CA) cost me almost as much as a single bulb costs from DDM Tuning. So, while DDM Tuning is good about supporting their warranty, if you're ordering a new set, I strongly recommend ordering a spare bulb set (it's around $15 for 2 bulbs). That way you're not down for 3 weeks, with 4 bulb replacement cycles (putting both halogens back, then putting both HIDs back) and you can batch up two bad bulbs before you send them back for warranty replacement to save on shipping the bad bulbs to them.

 

[wiztecy]

Got my new HID lights back and retrofitted in the stock halogen Roadster Headlight assemblies. No longer a $2500 wallet shock for lights that'll most likely save you one night. Thanks Augie for the giving me your old set of Halogen assemblies for this experiment.

The company who did the retrofit are "The Retrofit Source" and they're located in Georgia.

The Retrofit Source online: headlight upgrades for all applications

https://www.facebook.com/TheRetrofitSource

I worked with Andrew and he's a person who's skilled and passionate in this area.

The change included the full glass projector, HID kit which is the bulbs and ballasts. I'm VERY happy with the results! Below are the pics. The new projectors with the HIDs give that nice straight line across the front and also it really extends far left and far right. I went with the 5500k temp since its a pure white and offers some contrast. If you go higher the light turns blue which is annoying, go lower and it turns piss yellow which my halogen high beams exhibit. I may look for a whiter halogen to make the HID/Halogen blend clean.

If anyone would like theirs retro-fitted or to purchase the kit and install them inside their headlight assemblies themselves let me know. I'll forward the intrests on. Also if you need any headlights retrofitted to HID I highly recommend these guys, they're pros and you'll be pleased I'm sure with the end product:

Low Beams on a night drive:

 

[shrink]

wiztecy,

Those look awesome! Congrats!

Love the last picture. That visibility is so much better. The stock headlights are just plain scary when there are no surrounding streetlights. This is a great upgrade.

If I weren't already the process of upgrading mine, I would pursue this route.

 

[bart513]

Wow!!!!!!!! They look fantastic. They are Xenon's correct?