ekim

Why kind of HId kit is everyone using for the fogs? I know there's a slim digital ballast and a regular balast(big bulky one). What do y'all suggest?

CJITTY

I like the older bulky ones because I had a set on my TL that has lasted since 2006 with absolutely NO issues. I sold the car to my friend and they still work great after all these years..and only two pairs of bulbs since 2006. They are the yellow 3K bulbs, so over time they wash out, but never actually burned out. Those are the same ballasts on ebay for under $40 shipped in most cases.

Many folks on here have the DDM Tuning Raptor Hid kit, great product. Just installed some 4500Ks for the wifey's Camry..perfect color

Brian@Vossen

http://www.lightingtechniks.com/

I have used this kit and the owner is a Lexus owner. Extremely happy with this 3000k kit in my fogs and installation was a snap. Very impressed with the quality too.

Lextrician

I think ballast are hit or miss but never had a problem with ebay ballast. warranty are great but normally it is hit or miss.

Mikey100

DDMtuning as CJITTY said, for several reasons:

1) They have a full-time Technical Support staff, that you can call either Pre-Sale or Post Sale. And they know their stuff, and are VERY HELPFUL.

2) DDMTuning strongly recommends the ANALOG - NOT "digital" ballasts - for Lexus LS460's. They clearly will tell you that you will have LONGER LIFE and FEWER PROBLEMS using the "analog" ballast. Analog Ballasts - as contrasted to "Digital" ballasts - are THICKER (ie, bulkier). DDMTuning calls these their RAPTOR Ballasts.

3) The bulbs vendors supply are NOT all equal in light/color emission. The bulbs supplied by DDMTuning will yield a STRONGER color palatte, especially noticeable if you do choose the 3000K "Amber" (Yellow) color. Far more DEEP GOLD. A VERY VERY APPEALING color choice !

4) DDMTuning gives you a Lifetime Warranty on BOTH Ballasts - AND - both Lamps/bulbs. No other company/supplier we investigated does this. They make this warranty very clear on their website.

5) In general, except for "cheap" units on Ebay (that come with NO WARRANTY and NO "live" support staff whatsoever) DDMTuning offers you probably the highest Quality kit for the lowest price.

Other than these 5 decisive reasons, I offer and have no opinion at all. LOL And of course, I should add I have no affiliation whatsoever with this company, and have not been compensated in any manner, financial or otherwise, for my statements contained herein. Whew ! The legalities are now done.

http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/Ap...Raptor-HID-Kit
Wishing you good luck and success in whatever you choose. PLEASE make sure you choose the 35W kit - NOT the 55W watt.

Mikey Lulejian - Fishing on Lake Oconee, GA

cheez80

iTrader: (1)

ddm kits are very similar to the midrange kits you can find on ebay -- there's nothing really special about them. they're all about the same, and prone to failure. the best bet is to buy original toyota/matsuhisa ballasts from theretrofitsource or similar, but those are ridiculously expensive.

Mikey100

Cheez: I guess I am totally confused now. As far as I know - or could determine .......
1) NO SELLER of HID kits on eBAY offers LIVE, free, Telephone Support.
2) NO SELLER of HID kits I saw (and I looked at hundreds of listings) offered LIFETIME WARRANTY< and with a company that has a real, brick-and-mortar storefront.
3) The lamps provided by the EBAY sellers are known to be of a Low quality color palatte, especially when choosing the 3000K Yellow lamps.
4) Many, Many Club Lexus members have posted here (other threads over the years) and in other forums on C.L. about their particularly great success with DDMTuning kits and how satisfied they are with the virtually perfect performance and ZERO problems and LACK OF ANY FAILURE whatsoever.

So I guess I am surprised by your remarks, Mr. Cheez, but I guess it's simply that I don't understand. So please accept my apologies in advance. I was simply attempting to be off assistance to this member in recommending a dependable, known kit. By the way, the DDMTuning kit I mentioned costs only about $ 50.00 delivered to your door.

Best Wishes and I apologize for causing any confusion by providing clear, concise facts about the DDMTuning kits. Mike Lulejian - Lake Oconee, GA

cheez80

iTrader: (1)

hey mikey, not everything is as black and white as you make it seem -- i've heard horror stories about their customer service from friends who are local to them.

anyway, my previous post made no mention of their customer service or support. not sure what you're confused about.

at that price point, you will not find an HID kit that's really quality. you might luck out and get one that works reliably for a while or you might get one that doesn't work at all -- it's a crapshoot. good luck getting replacements from vendors if you have a string of bad luck. also, like i said, the only really "good" HID ballasts are OEM ones. you can find OEM toyota/matsuhisa ones online.

ekim

Well I'm gonna give it a shot anyway. I just ordered a ddm raptor kit. It's only 50 bucks. I say screw it and take the risk. Thanks for all the responses.

cheez80

iTrader: (1)

good luck! let us know how your experience was

stas2007

I agree with the above.
I bought over ten sets of HIDs and other stuff from them( for me and friends) some of their products are nice and some not so , for example their angel eyes are terrible. Overall I never had any problems with their HID kits or ballasts, you just have to understand that they are low quality and cheap products; however two points:
-DDM customer service is good, but they are always busy and many of my orders took forever to ship, returns take even longer.
-Their bulbs loose lumens very quickly(just like most cheap bulbs from ebay) in comparison to high quality hid bulbs, which is normal considering their bulbs are under 50$
I know that for sure because my E38 had HIDs from DDM and then my buddy decided to get some and I put them in for him. 2 identical cars, hid kits and headlights, his were about 2 times brighter just because his are new and mine are 1 year old.

I am not bashing on them, I think they are very good company, but you get what you pay for. If replacing HIDs on LS took 5 minutes like on my other cars than I would buy from them no doubt, but since LS fogs and headlights are pain in the rear, its not something I would wanna do once a year or so.
Honestly I think some high quality bulbs that match the factory low beams would look a lot cleaner than HID kit and produce pretty much same amount of light.

datplayaz

iTrader: (9)

I'm using the 3000k XexonDepot Xtreme kit and I love how the color is.

Falbz

Is it ok to run these kits without a relay harness or are they included? I know some cars require then so they do not draw too much charge from the factory wiring. Not sure on the Lexus though.

Tee

Ekim,

I have been running the raptor kit 3000K with the fat ballasts for over a year and they are still hella bright w/ no issues. I'm pleased with my set from DDM Tunning, I hope you have the same drama free experience as well.

ekim

Cool. And how long was shipping time?