AudiOn19s Posted October 27, 2011 Report Share Posted October 27, 2011 How do you tell good from bad these days. Market is flooded with junk $35 kits on eBay but I'm having a tough time telling if a lot of the "nicer" kits are really any better than the junk I got a top of the line kit nearly 10 years ago now. Philips ballasts and Osram Xenarc bulbs. Big money back it was a great product Last year a a bulb finally went out so I replaced the bulbs with a a middle of the road bulb. I constantly have issues with them staying lit lately and light output is very bad these days. In all fairness this could be the ballasts finally giving up though Finally the adhesive on one of the ballasts fails, ballast falls off the car and I run over it leaving the neighborhood. Despite my bulbs being only about a year old I think it's time for a whole new kit. Don't want to spend a million bucks ( car does have 200k miles) but don't want junk either Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMeanGreen Posted October 27, 2011 Report Share Posted October 27, 2011 http://ddmtuning.com/Product-Categories/HID-Kits-Lighting/HID-Kits Best bang for the buck on the market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted October 27, 2011 Report Share Posted October 27, 2011 the $35 kits are total junk. you should just step up to the $40 kit for a real nice set up. i had a $100 kit that i got off corvette forum in the vette and never had any issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SICKNESS22 Posted October 28, 2011 Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 http://ddmtuning.com/Product-Categories/HID-Kits-Lighting/HID-Kits Best bang for the buck on the market. What he said. I've had there HID kit for going on 4 years now in my truck and like 3 years in my Camaro. I recently had a bulb blow a few months back, called them and they gave me a claim number and address to send both bulbs back too, they warrantied both and sent me new ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01WS6 Posted October 28, 2011 Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 What he said. I've had there HID kit for going on 4 years now in my truck and like 3 years in my Camaro. I recently had a bulb blow a few months back, called them and they gave me a claim number and address to send both bulbs back too, they warrantied both and sent me new ones. DDM Tuning FTW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirks5oh Posted October 28, 2011 Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 pretty sure i had a ddm kit on my GTO, and it worked very well. bought it from a vendor on the GTO forum who offered a lifetime warranty on the ballasts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fubar231 Posted October 28, 2011 Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 like 3 years in my Camaro. Did you get new headlights when you installed your hids? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moe7 Posted October 28, 2011 Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 http://www.hidextra.com/ I ordered this over the DDM kit and have no issues. It has been a while, but I think the main difference was the addition of a digital ballast. However DDM's lifetime warranty is hard to beat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SICKNESS22 Posted October 28, 2011 Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 Did you get new headlights when you installed your hids? Nope everything is in factory housings. I got the 35W ballasts and 6000k bulbs. You do not want to run the stock housings with 55w ballast because they tend to get very hot and burn out fast. Here's a pic of the fogs, couldn't find a headlight one. http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/1343/phonepics185.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted October 28, 2011 Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 I've used a DDM kit in my Passat. Ballasts are in a coated rubber case, seems like high quality. Coming up on 2 years of "Road Warrior" daily driving in all kinds of weather and a lot of miles and they are still going strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRTurbo04 Posted October 28, 2011 Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 x3 for ddm tuning. had them in my grand prix in my ranger and have them in the srt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudiOn19s Posted October 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 Which DDM kit is everyone using? The Regular kit which has external ignitors or the slim kit? The philips units on my car are all one unit, guess the ignitor wouldn't be too hard to mount though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted October 28, 2011 Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 Which DDM kit is everyone using? The Regular kit which has external ignitors or the slim kit? The philips units on my car are all one unit, guess the ignitor wouldn't be too hard to mount though. Regular kit, 4500K. I just like blinding oncoming traffic and pissing off half of CR. :gabe: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudiOn19s Posted October 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 Regular kit, 4500K. I just like blinding oncoming traffic and pissing off half of CR. :gabe: I have proper HID projector housings for them. But my housings are e-codes (european spec) which pisses people off on the freeway at night when I pass them ( The cut-off for the beam throws light up a good bit to the right of the car but not in front. blinding people in their mirriors when you pass on the left). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted October 28, 2011 Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 I have proper HID projector housings for them. But my housings are e-codes (european spec) which pisses people off on the freeway at night when I pass them ( The cut-off for the beam throws light up a good bit to the right of the car but not in front. blinding people in their mirriors when you pass on the left). I looked at Hella E-codes for my B5 Passat, but they were hella-spensive. My stock housings are so clouded over now it's not funny...may have to look at an upgrade... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC66Bronco Posted October 28, 2011 Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 Honestly wouldnt touch DDM tuning but that is just my opinon. http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1438/5181883649_3338e404ec_o.jpg take that for what it is. http://www.theretrofitsource.com I use these guys and no I am not getting paid to plug their products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble Maker Posted October 28, 2011 Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 I looked at Hella E-codes for my B5 Passat, but they were hella-spensive. My stock housings are so clouded over now it's not funny...may have to look at an upgrade... My dad got the mothers headlight polish stuff and it worked pretty well. He had some left over so I did both our our cars. His were a little fogged as were mine and they are 99% clear now. The womans were pretty bad and this helped, but didn't completely clear them up. I'm sure if I spent more time and/or preped better I could have gotten them pretty clear. I may try it again sometime to see if a second pass helps anymore. The kit comes with enough polish to do at least three cars. Might be worth a try before you throw money at new housings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted October 28, 2011 Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 My dad got the mothers headlight polish stuff and it worked pretty well. He had some left over so I did both our our cars. His were a little fogged as were mine and they are 99% clear now. The womans were pretty bad and this helped, but didn't completely clear them up. I'm sure if I spent more time and/or preped better I could have gotten them pretty clear. I may try it again sometime to see if a second pass helps anymore. The kit comes with enough polish to do at least three cars. Might be worth a try before you throw money at new housings. Earlier in the '00s I put some CATZ 55w bulbs in and crazed the inside of the plastic lenses. I remember washing the car during the night, spraying the hose on the headlights, and steam coming off of them...also too hot to touch. On top of that, the rubber caps were lost by a service guy years ago, so dirt has easily migrated into the housings. Plus, parking outside in Florida for 3 years baked the top edges of the lenses. They're like sandpaper and as clear as sea glass. Trust me, bromingham, I've thrown some good product at these 125k mile headlight lenses with little success. Any improvement would require removing the plastic lenses from the housings and redoing the front and back...and I STILL would have a broken vertical adjuster on the passenger side. Come to think of it...I definitely do need new headlights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrblunt Posted October 28, 2011 Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 I'm actually in the market as well and have been reading a lot. The g8 forums have shifted away from the DDM kits, mainly bc of a constant back order situation, to the kits by VVME - vvme.com is their website - and they swear by them. I also have a friend with the V-LED.com kit in his g8 and he loves them but they are much more than the VVME kit. The g8 guys get the digital slim 9006 kit from vvme which is 35 watt. It's what I plan to order, for 50 bucks shipped its the same price as a set of Silverstars from Autozone so I don't mind the risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alty941647545539 Posted October 28, 2011 Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 I've purchased multiple kits from VVME and have never had a problem. I'm running a set of 6ks from them in the 240 right now. Bright as hell, quick ballasts and easy install. Good price too. Best to go in with a few other people since they only charge flat rate shipping. Split the shipping and save some money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrblunt Posted October 28, 2011 Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 I've purchased multiple kits from VVME and have never had a problem. I'm running a set of 6ks from them in the 240 right now. Bright as hell, quick ballasts and easy install. Good price too. Best to go in with a few other people since they only charge flat rate shipping. Split the shipping and save some money. Good idea. Andy if you decide to go that route let me know and I'll go in with ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruizin01 Posted October 29, 2011 Report Share Posted October 29, 2011 Im gonna try a set of the Volt branded HID's for the spring. looking for 3k for my fogs. Supposedly they arent "green" like the cheaper ddm and vvme ones. still reasonably priced at like $120. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
04r1 Posted October 29, 2011 Report Share Posted October 29, 2011 Would also like to go in on a set from VVME. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudiOn19s Posted November 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 ...so I bought the DDM tuning kit. They were on sale for $30 so why not I thought. One of the balasts was DOA. Hopefully the exchange doesn't take nearly as long to get here as the initial order did. Not holding my breath. Guess I'm not totally upset because I only had one side out. The DDM 5k bulb is exactly the same color as my current 6k bulb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asiansensation78 Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 I've purchased maybe 10 or 15 pairs of DDM HID kits, and while they are better than ebay kits, they're not the best. I did notice a difference between 4500K and 5000K, as well as 6000K and 8000K, so I'm not sure on the false advertising thing. But one thing I do hate is their so-called "Lifetime Warranty". The customer service rep was really nice, and apologized for their returns and exchanges policy being so crappy, but the first exchange I had to initiate was on a pair of failed bulbs. I sent the bulbs in and received new bulbs almost 3 months later. That's pretty unacceptable, but at least they sent me the bulbs. On my latest dealing with their warranty, the control unit that switched between the High/Low functions on my headlights had failed within 6 months. I recognized that it was a relay issue because the bulbs would flicker on/off if I shook the control unit. I called in and received an RMA, but was still charged $40 for a non-refundable deposit and some processing fee, plus $7.50 to ship the unit to them (the entire kit was $70). Received a new unit 2 months later, and that was that. My friend then had the same issue with the DDM high/low control unit a month later in his car. I called in for an RMA, but learned that because I had cut a few of the wires going to the control unit to shorten them and not have a wad of extra wire tied off, the unit was non exchangeable because according to DDM, the unit and harness had been "modified". Their prices are great for what they offer in terms of HID components, but their warranty is just about worthless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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