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Scratch · 05-13-2011, 03:02 PM

Ok, so for a week or two now I've been running DDMTuning's slim ballast 35w 4300k H11 kit. I bought them for my 2006 Honda Pilot early last year and just swapped them over when I traded in the big beast for the tC.

My issue is the color. Looking at the lights, and looking at the light on a wall it seems pretty white. I've found from other folks I know, that from a distance the color is way more blue than I thought.

Now, I've seen a number of folks running 55w kits and I figure I should just upgrade, but the DDM site only lists 4500k and 5000k as the closest to white colors. Here's the photo info from their site:

Now, I'm looking at the Raptor kits, a tad cheaper than the slim's I bought before, but I don't see space as an issue.

I'm essentially looking to duplicate the OEM HID that you see on Acura/BMW/etc, and to draw as minimal attention from any blue & whites out there.

Thoughts? Suggestions? (and yes I know DDM delivery times can be long, going to call them before ordering to get a real ETA)

DigitalPro · 05-13-2011, 04:21 PM

Recently purchased the Raptor 5K 55W kit, was looking for pure white which their 5K bulbs are not, little to yellow for me, reordering the replacement 6K bulbs soon, hopefully they will be pure white. 2 1/2 for delivery, can't be the low price, no fancy packaging, just another toxic product from China!

ogi1der · 05-13-2011, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigitalPro

Recently purchased the Raptor 5K 55W kit, was looking for pure white which their 5K bulbs are not, little to yellow for me, reordering the replacement 6K bulbs soon, hopefully they will be pure white. 2 1/2 for delivery, can't be the low price, no fancy packaging, just another toxic product from China!

I have the 6K and they are a little blue lol! If they madea 5500K they would be perfect.

MightyP · 05-13-2011, 05:02 PM

Biggest drawback to DDM products seems to be inconsistencies in bulb color. Quality control doesn't seem to be great, so one batch of 5K bulbs may be a different color than another.

4300K-5000K should be the whitest color (and what you would see in OEM Xenon headlights). 55W tends to be whiter than it's 35W counterparts (burns hotter???).

I have the 6000K, 35W and it's actually pretty blue...

DigitalPro · 05-13-2011, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ogi1der

I have the 6K and they are a little blue lol! If they made a 5500K they would be perfect.

Disappointing the 6K are a little blue, can't have that. I did switch mine last night with a set of 5K from my other 35W V-LED kit, there pure white! Anyone else know of a good supplier of quality HID bulbs?

MightyP · 05-13-2011, 05:15 PM

^HID extra is also very common on the forums, but I can't speak to their quality.

Scratch · 05-13-2011, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MightyP

Biggest drawback to DDM products seems to be inconsistencies in bulb color. Quality control doesn't seem to be great, so one batch of 5K bulbs may be a different color than another.

4300K-5000K should be the whitest color (and what you would see in OEM Xenon headlights). 55W tends to be whiter than it's 35W counterparts (burns hotter???).

I have the 6000K, 35W and it's actually pretty blue...

Exactly my concern... my 35w 4300k appear white but with a hefty blue tint. I'd like to white it out as much as possible, but going to 55w only gives a 4500k/5k/6k option. I'm concerned that 5k would be off, DigitalPro hass them and says they are yellow-ish...

Guess it's a bit of a crapshoot...

07specTC · 05-13-2011, 06:17 PM

Are you saying the light looks blue when you are looking at the car from a distance?
you can blame the projectors for that.
any oem hid equipped car with projector housings have that blue flicker from a distance.
even halogen projectors can flicker blue from a distance.
its the same blue flicker that prompts misinformed people to buy 6k+ bulbs because they want that "blue light that audis and bmws have."

Scratch · 05-13-2011, 08:04 PM

a little of both, the 4300k seems a bit blue which looks way off based on the chart. i'm mainly looking to get as white as possible, projectors in any model will have that blue flicker to them as they pass you but i've been told from a distance following people that my lights look blue.

07specTC · 05-13-2011, 08:13 PM

I'd first suggest having someone else drive your car so you can see for yourself how blue it looks.

Then I guess you can try 4300k / 5000k bulbs from other sellers and see if that helps.
Also, 55w ballasts can be used with bulbs in any k rating...the higher wattage will fade the colors out a bit more so the 4500k might end up looking more like a 4300k with a 35w ballast.
55w ballasts also shorten the life of the bulb and usually creates more glare aka unwanted attention.

ogi1der · 05-13-2011, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 07specTC

I'd first suggest having someone else drive your car so you can see for yourself how blue it looks.

Then I guess you can try 4300k / 5000k bulbs from other sellers and see if that helps.
Also, 55w ballasts can be used with bulbs in any k rating...the higher wattage will fade the colors out a bit more so the 4500k might end up looking more like a 4300k with a 35w ballast.
55w ballasts also shorten the life of the bulb and usually creates more glare aka unwanted attention.

A 55w 6K DDM tuning would be pretty close

DigitalPro · 05-16-2011, 10:53 PM

just a quick link to some HID candy! http://www.theretrofitsource.com/index.php

biglilsteve · 05-16-2011, 11:20 PM

Wow, that site is really over-the-top price-wise, but I really respect that they carry OEM luxury projectors and components for retrofits.

Here's a photo of my 55w 6000k...gorgeous diamond white...

When viewing them from a distance at the edge of the cutoff, it glimmers some light blue and violet.

MightyP · 05-17-2011, 02:18 AM

Off topic... 07specTC, that is possibly the coolest signature block/link on Scionlife!

rAaR · 05-17-2011, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biglilsteve

Wow, that site is really over-the-top price-wise, but I really respect that they carry OEM luxury projectors and components for retrofits.

Here's a photo of my 55w 6000k...gorgeous diamond white...

When viewing them from a distance at the edge of the cutoff, it glimmers some light blue and violet.

did you photoshop around it to be darker? or are your lights tinted?

2tCornot2tC · 05-17-2011, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MightyP

Off topic... 07specTC, that is possibly the coolest signature block/link on Scionlife!

Mmmm, doughnuts …I mean cupcakes!

biglilsteve · 05-17-2011, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rAaR

did you photoshop around it to be darker? or are your lights tinted?

No, it was a combination of it being dusk and me using a lower ISO setting on the camera to try to weed out any remaining light pollution.

Scratch · 05-17-2011, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biglilsteve

Here's a photo of my 55w 6000k...gorgeous diamond white...

When viewing them from a distance at the edge of the cutoff, it glimmers some light blue and violet.

Damn, now that's what I'm talking about. Seems the added power of the 55w vs the 35w does wash out the color and make the white...even whiter.

So in theory, the 5k 55w 'should' have a tad more yellow to them.

Also biglilsteve which ballasts are you running with that kit, slim/thick/etc? ...any issues with them at all? Mine just started having problems igniting, I almost need to flick them on twice to get them to power up. Not even sure if it's worth calling on the lifetime warranty, $40/$50 for a new set at a different color/power may be what I need anyway.

biglilsteve · 05-17-2011, 02:37 PM

The 55w ballasts wash the color out, they don't just simply reduce the color temp. So no matter what temp bulb you have (blue or yellow), they will both burn hotter and whiter. Blue will be less blue and yellow will be less yellow.

I've got the Raptor kit, which is the full-sized ballasts. They are about an inch and a half thick from what I remember.

I haven't had any reliability issues whatsoever. I got them at the beginning of the winter season and they sparked right up no matter now cold it got. 55w definitely FTW!

Scratch · 05-17-2011, 08:58 PM

Appreciate it, now i just need to decide on a color temp... still leaning towards 5k, but 6k is so tempting.

...and I had someone else drive my car down the street last night, and there is seriously something wrong with my kit. They looked blue enough to be the 6k 35w kit!! I may have gotten shipped the wrong bulbs. Bleh.