Infra

iTrader: (1)

Stick with 35W. Your projector is not designed for HIDs, and you will already be increasing the glare caused to other drivers. Don't exacerbate it by getting a brighter bulb that causes more glare with little to no gains in usable light.

hotwheels1

Hello Infra,

could you please explain the main differences between a projector headlight designed for HID and a projector designed for Halogen bulbs?

Have you ever opened a projector headlight unit?

Have you ever taken apart a projector itself?

Just answer the above questions honestly please.

Thanks

G.T.

hotwheels1

what?


If the watt load is too high then the first thing to go would be the fuse.

hotwheels1

what is the difference between a halogen and HID projector?

Have you ever taken apart either a halogen or a HID one?

Thanks

G.T.

hotwheels1

the light cut off won't change by having stronger bulbs.

SKURD

iTrader: (1)

my friends and i always use a 55w set up, I have seen them melt shrouds a little bit though. i would recommend 55w time and time again, my accord has been running them over a year, no melting and the shroud is right next to it, and i put many more miles on my hids than my friend within that time.

simply, if you want more light get a 55w kit, i know some people will think its too bright, but really just dont aim them up, and you'll be fine. never found any real 75w and 100w kits, never bothered buying gimmicks though

kumquatism

iTrader: (10)

It's not that it's a stronger bulb that changes, it's that H11 (halogen bulbs) are designed for halogen bulb outputs. An HID bulb that fits the H11 will most definitely NOT be OEM, therefore the build quality is generally not equal. Heat is a main concern. Also, the bulb shape of HID and how it outputs light is different from halogens.
I snapped a quick shot of the difference here:
001-1.jpg?t=1300777139
The bulb on the left is the OEM OSRAM halogen bulb, and the bulb on the right is a Morimoto HID bulb (yes it's aftermarket, but I've heard very good things about them). As you can tell, the shape very different. The reflector bowl in the back of HID projectors are specifically designed for HID bulbs, and likewise to the halogen reflectors. I don't have a spare halogen projector to take apart and take a picture of it, but in a few weeks, I'll be taking apart my headlights to retrofit. If you really want, I'll take pictures of it to show you.

XenonDepot

iTrader: (11)

Many vendors use 35W bulbs with 55W ballasts. They say that the 35W bulbs are rated up to 60A. While the bulbs will work, they will burn hotter an can potentially damage the vehicle's headlight housing. Aside from that, the bulb will burn out ALOT quicker as it is not designed for 55W. 55W kits will produce more glare and uneven light spread.

Steve

korupt1

iTrader: (1)

I am running a 55W head lights and 35W fog lights HIDs on a 2006 IS250 with the 6000K bulbs and have not had any problems at all. Got mine from DDM, straight plug and play all around. Required a lil imagination mounting the second pair of ballasts but I worked it all out behind the bumper shell

Tchan1

iTrader: (1)

If you are running the kit bulbs at 55w in your headlights then I bet if you open up your headlights and take apart your projectors you would see some burnt marks and bubbles on your reflector bowl. Kit bulbs burn hotter which is why I run oem Philips bulbs at 55w in my retro.

Pnuge88

iTrader: (1)

If you were running 3000k then a 55 watt would be ideal cause its a lot more yellow. I bought 3k for my car but it was a 35watt slim ballast and its not very yellow compared the my iS when i retrofitted RX350 ballast running 3k. If you want visibility stick with 4300k. No matter what you lose visibility with 6k but upgrading from 35 watt to 55watt does help. Standard ballast for lexus run at 55watt.

IXI187IXI

iTrader: (3)

maybe but not all the time. I saw a member in the 3GS forum run too high of a wattage hid on his car and completely melted his harness to the bulb. Cost over 1k to just replace the wiring.

We're all giving you good advice based off previous experiences. you can take it for what its worth but in the end its your decision on what you want to do.

XenonDepot

iTrader: (11)

DDM uses 35W bulbs with 50W ballasts. They actually specify on their website that their 35W bulbs are rated up to 60W...

ELL Y

iTrader: (1)

Yep. They don't have special bulbs that are designed to run higher. It's the same thing as their 35w bulbs.

hotwheels1

Hi kumquatism,

thanks for the pic, i know the difference of the halogen and HID bulbs, I used to sell HID kits locally a couple of years ago but gave it up as i had no time.

For previous retrofit projects i opened some HID projectors of a VW Touager and some halogen projectors out of a Mercedes model. They both look very similar and the reflector part was chromed metal.

It would be good to know if the same part on my projector headlights is also metal. If you can take a photo of your HID headlights would be great.