DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Robert the 'back and forth' is exactly the same content you're asking for in this new thread. Let's keep it in one place and I suggest you use the search tool to look for member posts in the forums about experiences with both vendors, as well as look at any support response from the vendors in the forums when they have a problem.

skiz88

iTrader: (2)

Here is a more straight away pic to compare to the Red GS. The 6000k on the Red GS clearly has blue (as it should being 6000k) vs my 5000k. As for brighter, not as clear cut as you stated above. If someone wants to throw me a set of 6000k bulbs to test, we can do a real nice comparison. As for which set of ballasts would last longer, probably something we'll never know although it's probably the most important factor.

robertoyou

iTrader: (1)

great pic man. looks real good. i like it
yes its very difficult to test, we probably never will know.
now im more confused than when i stared the thread LOL

...i think il just get some halogens and call it a day.
lol jp, i will still try and find some.
should i try them hidextra for the price? if i go with hidextra, i could buy hids for all lights right now LOL but if i want xenon just for fogs, il have to wait a week or so. hahah

robertoyou

iTrader: (1)

http://www.carid.com/product.php?pro...=67569&cpage=3

elite7

Now they look more similar. To me the 6000k hidextra kit still looks brighter especially when you look at the edges. The 5000k hidextra kit provides more lumens. Remember you are comparing a $70 kit vs a $200 kit and its a 6000k vs a 5000k. That xenondepot kit costs 3 times as much. Is the difference really worth $130 more? Not to me.

Contact Michelle from Hidextra. If you really dont like the hidextra kit after you install it she would probably let you return it for a refund. If you do get hidextra get the slim ballast. Its worth the $10 more. Thats the one i got. Its higher quality. You really cant go wrong with it. For some high quality halogens your gonna have to shell out $50. So for $20 more than halogens would cost its worth gettin the slim hidextra kit.

I saw that carid link. They look decent. They carry a 2 year warranty. Problem is they are the fat ballast and cost 2 times that of the hidextra slim kit .

The slim kits are easier to install in terms of the wiring as well as placing the ballast and the components are higher quality in the slim kit vs the regular kit. Im extremely happy with my hidextra kit. Been running it about a month now with no issues like flickering, bulb out, color mismatching, radio interference, or bulb out lights on the dash. I'm extremely happy .

If you want pure white go 5000k. This would also provide the most light. This is what i have and it looks similar in color to my OEM LS430 HID's when looking head on except its even more white. Then again the headlight housing on the LS430 is plastic and it has a light green tint to it. The headlight housing on my LX470 is glass and its clear not tinted.

This is how 5000k looks:





If you want white with a light blueish appearance head on go with the 6000k.

This is 6000k on the low beams:

robertoyou

iTrader: (1)

your pics dont show, man.
post them again.
good thing you brought it up. the slim vs the regular kit. idk which one i should get whats the differrence between the two? the regular is bigger and produces more light? or is the bigger for cars with bigger larger light bulb housing and the smaller for smaller light bulb housing?
if it were my lows im sure id go with the regular, but its my fogs, the housing is pretty small so i guess the slim might be better, and it might not need the big one.

damn im stil a pretty undecided on which brand. this sucks. i keep doing searches on google and stuff and everything i type in related to hids just brings up a ton of purchase results (all look cheap and wana be knock offs). not much info on hids or anything good that will help me decide.
im leaning towards hidextra for pretty much ONE reason- price. their like fifty bucks, i guess i can try them. for fifty, i have very little to lose. im still very "iffy" on their quality, but i guess for the price i can try them out. if i dont like them, il get the warranty replacements, get them brand new and hpoefully sell them to someoen on here, or locally.
xenondepot still gets my vote for what they make look/sound like good product.

is there an ORIGINAL maker of hids that i can look into? i thought for hids there would be a few "top makers" just like there is with everything else, that make really good prodcuts and everyone can agree are good, but i guess not?

elite7

Cant believe this thread has almost 1000 views .

Check now the pics should be up.

If you want pure white go 5000k. This would also provide the most light. This is what i have and it looks similar in color to my OEM LS430 HID's when looking head on except its even more white. Then again the headlight housing on the LS430 is plastic and it has a light green tint to it. The headlight housing on my LX470 is glass and its clear not tinted.

This is how 5000k looks:





If you want white with a light blueish appearance head on go with the 6000k.

This is 6000k on the low beams:







I would recommend the slim kit. The regular/bigger ballast doesnt give you more power. It supposedly runs hotter than the slim ballast. Its only about $10 more than the regular kit and its gonna be easier for you to hide the ballast and the wiring is not as thick. The regular kits gonna run you like $58 shipped while the slim is like $71 shipped. Also from my research the slim kit has higher quality components. Michelle from HIDextra told me that the slim kit tends to be more reliable too so for the extra $10 i didnt even think twice on the slim vs regular kit issue . I read on another forum that the slim kit components are high quality and much more efficient (and cooler running) than the fat ballasts. One guy said that he has disassembled both a HIDxtra Fat ballast and a $400 Bosch fat ballast. Only notable difference? Xtra uses leaded solder where Bosch is using pure silver, and the wire insulation in the Xtra unit is softer. That's about it. The customer service from hidextra is top notch. Michelle responds super fast and she is active on the clublexus forums.

Im sure there is an original maker of hid's since they have been around 1990. Then again doesnt mean they are the best.

I am sure there are better kits than hidextra or xenondepot but its a matter of price and customer service. Some kits may run you $400 if you really want to get an expensive one. Its not worth it though as you arent gonna be able to tell a big difference.

Its just like buying aquafina or dasani water. Your not gonna be able to tell a big difference but the price will be higher depending on the brand if that makes sense.

One things for sure whatever you go with its gonna be much better than your halogens anyhow .

According to their website: (http://www.hidextra.com/HID+Conversi...2faa85a8499cbc)

What makes the HIDExtra Conversion kit beat the competition :

The common fuse is often replaced by resistors, relays, or modules. However, newer vehicles 2006 and up are now using computer controlled modules for headlights. Due to the update, relays, resistors, & even some fuses are now being eliminated. HIDExtra HID Kit has specially programmed our digital chips inside our ballast to function with OEM standards; thus giving you no errors, no flickering and no DTC codes. We have designed size specific plug-in type connectors to connect to OEM power cable without any cutting, which makes it a simple Plug-and-Play installation. When it comes to putting an aftermarket HID lighting kit on your car, buying some cheap generic HID kit is not the way to go. Why take the risk of burning up your $2000 computer, damaging your Headlight system, or even your housing and wiring $600? We at HIDExtra.com don't play a guessing game when it comes to designing our ballast for your vehicle. We went through 1000's of hours of testing and programming making sure our kits works with all vehicle manufacturers. Our HID bulbs were designed to meet OEM standards like Philips and Osram quality, but at an affordable price for all to enjoy. We strongly believe our color rendering is amongst the best in the industry. We have the widest selection of Kelvin colors. Our bulb's life is 5000 hours and can easily withstand harsh conditions. The HIDExtra HID bulb colors are very rich and guaranteed not to fade or burnout.

WHY OUR BALLASTS ARE CONSIDERED THE BEST QUALITY :

The most advanced HID ballasts made in China use a CPU programming controller (Digital Ballast). The program is so easy to copy that an electrical engineer could easily make this type of ballast in his living-room. This is why HID makers in China have grown so rapidly. These types of ballasts are not capable of real-time lamp monitoring (lamp current always changing). The operation is not smooth and safe, and then it causes many problems from electrical damage to possible fire loss. We used to sell these so called “Super Digital Ballasts”. The price was good and the quality was ok at first, and then a few months into our new product line the phone calls came pouring in. Blub out, ballast out, color faded, warning light on the dash, flicker problems, etc. Many customers always say that an HID system that is made in China is no good, and their one year warranty is difficult. In our testings of ballasts, we concluded the supposed 2000-3000 work hours were really only 500-1000 hours. Analog ballasts which most other sellers use only lasted 200-300 hours.

ASIC HIDExtra ballasts are equipped with an ASIC chipset controller which, is the same type as HELLA(BMW, Mercedes HID Manufacturer); Matsushida (Nissan HID Manufacturer), etc. This type of chipset is very difficult to design, and cost our Engineering Department $600,000 to develop. This chipset has the capabilities of real-time lamp-monitoring and protection. HIDExtra chipset stabilizes the unit for perfect function at all times in all conditions. This crucial point is why our HID ballasts can last up to 10,000 Hours without any problems. HID bulb life is 5,000 hours using our ballast, compared to only 2,000 hours using CPU controller found in China ballasts. HIDExtra HID systems can be put in a class of quality that very few companies can reach. If you look at any company in our class you’ll see they all charge $1,000 + for the same system.

HIDEXTRA hid kit BENEFITS :

Standard Kelvin colors reproduce the color spectrum of daylight exactly
3x the improved visibility at night & bad weather
Great choice for people suffering from bad night vision
Reflects road markings and signs better than any conventional halogen lights
Enables drivers to concentrate better on the roads, less eye fatigue
Increases reaction time to better visibility with its added contrast to the road
Super bright 3600 Lumens compared to standard stock halogen bulbs
35% less power consumption compare to halogen bulbs
Directly replace all OEM/stock HID bulbs of domestic & imported vehicles
Simple & quick, Plug & Play Installation
Extra long life expectancy: Over 5000 hours of bulb life
This kit can last the entire life or your vehicle once installed.
NO ERROR Messages
E-Mark , TUV ISO 9001-2000 certified

robertoyou

iTrader: (1)

haha thanks man.
yeah pics are up now. they do look great!
im really leaning towards hidextra now. i guess il try them out.
and about the slim ballast, i thought the slim ballast was the cheaper between the two? i dont mind the extra ten, if its really that much better, i just always assumed that with the name "slim" it meant for "lighter" applications, or smaller cars, or cars with smaller bulb housing. but great if i go with hidextra il get the slim. thanks for letting me know.

someone early in the thread mentioned this, im look at it again:

http://www.xtralights.com/hidxenonkitscomparsion.aspx

xentronics looks pretty solid also, but again, the price is compared to xenondepot.

elite7

Not a problem. Just trying to help you out. I was torn between the ddmtuning kit and the xenondepot kit. Then someone suggested i go with hidextra. I started to do more research and i decided to get the hidextra kit rather than the ddmtuning or the xendondepot kit.

Yeah the hidextra kit would be like the Xetronic Digital $369 kit. The other 2 kits are not digital.

Hidextra kits are digital.

The slim kit is actually more expensive. The regular kit is $75 with no coupon code and the slim costs $90 with no coupon code. Yeah the slim is so it can be hidden easier and according to Michelle from HIDextra the slim kit is more reliable.

I didnt mind the extra $10-15 either since its worth it.

robertoyou

iTrader: (1)

i guess il order and try them. if not il take them out and sell them. or put them in another car.

how do i pick a slim kit though? dont i need to pick the bulb type? i dont see an option for that

elite7

I had trouble with that too. Scroll to the bottom of the page after you click "slim automobile kit"

Then you pick your model and color in the options all the way at the bottom of the page. Hit add to cart and keep going from there. I made an account so in the future it will be much easier to order and plus you can track your shipment from your account.

djyoshi626

iTrader: (5)

Hey guys,

Rebumping this thread.

So the general consensus is that:

Cheap HIDs (under $100) do NOT necessarily differ from or are guaranteed to be inferior to their $200 competitors?

alan003

i have a few problems with hid kits before. now i run oem ballasts such as hella gen 3. no problems