Converting Hella 700FF's to 55W HID

[mastacox]

Hey guys. So I bought some Hella 700FF's off of Elton, and after looking at some H3 HID converision kits, it turns out that they might be in my budget finally (I couldn't afford $600 for a pair, but $150 ain't bad...) I wanted to hear some feedback on what might be a good company to look at for some HID conversions for an H3 bulb reflector. Also, I'm not sure what "rating" light I should get, I want them to be the purset white possible- not too blue or yellow or purple (damn ricers). So I was thinking 6000K, opinions?

I was thinking about something like this:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/417T2c2UeFL._SL500_AA280_.jpg
JLM HID Conversion Kit H3 6000k Diamondwhite (http://www.amazon.com/JLM-HID-Conversion-6000k-Diamondwhite/dp/B0027IVN1S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1253108687&sr=1-3)

...or this:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/217VIUL1y6L._SS400_.jpg
XenTec HID conversion kit H3 6000K Single Beam Xenon (ultra white)
(http://www.amazon.com/XenTec-conversion-6000K-Single-Xenon/dp/B000OKM7L6/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1253108850&sr=1-8)

to go into these:
http://pictures.strikeforceniner.com/wp-content/gallery/photobucket-pictures/IMG_1247.JPG

[mastacox]

And while I'm at it on another note, what wire do I need to tap into to get these to turn on with my hi-beams? I know I can't just tap straight into the hi-beam's wires because it's ground-switched, so where do I tap in?

[YotaFun]

Brian,
to save a little cash you might what to look into these,
http://www.ddmtuning.com/index.php?p=product&id=102&parent=85

also, I took the dash cluster out. And just found the wire that controls the indicator bulb for the highbeams.
It worked great so I knew that the highbeams were on it also mention the aftermarket stuff was on too.

[mastacox]

Brian,
to save a little cash you might what to look into these,
http://www.ddmtuning.com/index.php?p=product&id=102&parent=85


Hey thanks for the link, those kits are incredibly inexpensive compared to when I was looking around a few years ago :bowdown: $80 for a pair is not bad at all!



also, I took the dash cluster out. And just found the wire that controls the indicator bulb for the highbeams.
It worked great so I knew that the highbeams were on it also mention the aftermarket stuff was on too.


That might be what I have to do too, what a pain! I've been wondering if I can come up with a engineered solution using some basic Radio Shack components and relays that allows me to tap into something under the hood...

[mastacox]

For turning on the auxillary lighting, this is basically what I need to do (but on my 3rd gen 4Runner instead of a 1st gen). I'm sure lots of people have done similar mods on their 3rd gens???

Corax's "Turn driving lights on with High Beams" Tech Article (http://www.ultimateyota.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=5942.0)

[4x4mike]

Brian,
to save a little cash you might what to look into these,
http://www.ddmtuning.com/index.php?p=product&id=102&parent=85



Oh boy, I didn't need to see these.

[CYi5]

I have 6000k in my hella 4000's and they look great. White with a slight twinge of blue. 5000k would be as close to white as possible but i'm happy with the 6000k.

I'm tapped into the high beam lead right behind the driver's headlight. You do need to setup a relay and all that to power the lights though. I have a switch on my dash to activate the lights, then once on, they'll come on when I flick my hi's.

[mastacox]

I have 6000k in my hella 4000's and they look great. White with a slight twinge of blue. 5000k would be as close to white as possible but i'm happy with the 6000k.


Cool, thanks for the feedback. I like the idea of a very slight blue tint to make it obvious they're HID's, but not super blue like the 10,000K's.



I'm tapped into the high beam lead right behind the driver's headlight. You do need to setup a relay and all that to power the lights though. I have a switch on my dash to activate the lights, then once on, they'll come on when I flick my hi's.


Could you take a picture of where you tapped in?

[CYi5]

Yea it's a definitely acceptable amount of tinge, you'll be more than satisfied i'm sure.

Yea i'll grab some pics for ya. I originally had it done using the wiring harness from some IPF 968's, so it made tapping into everything really simple. That truck got totaled so I had to salvage some of the wiring and my installer friend did something a little more complicated...but i'll show you the connections...

[oly884]

Anywhere between 4300k and 5000k is going to give you the most light output for HID. I prefer 4300k as the warmer tone seems to give me a bit more contrast at night. I had, mistakenly, got 6000k's a while back, and while they were bright, I was very disappointed with the throw of them.

[CYi5]

Ok, it's not so confusing after all, I remember now we just replaced the IPF relay with a better one and that added to the complexity :-P.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e194/CYi5/IMG_0839Large.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e194/CYi5/IMG_0842Large.jpg

Let me know if I can clear that up any further.

[mastacox]

Well based on some pictures on the internet comparing light color, and Oly's input, I'm going with 5000K lights. I've narrowed it down to these two options, but I think I'm going to go for the JLM kit because its $20 cheaper and I have an Amazon Prime account which means I get free 2-day shipping on it (shipping on the Raptor kit would be around $15, meaking it $35 more than the JLM kit total). I like the slimline ballasts on the Raptor kit, but it's not like I'm REALLY starved for space under the hood.

I'm definitely going to have to keep these kits in mind for my wife's car also, her headlights are separate H1 and H3 bulbs (the hi-beams are H3) meaning I could convert her hi-beams to HID for around $60.

JLM HID Conversion Kit H3 5000k OEM White- $59.99 (http://www.amazon.com/JLM-HID-Conversion-5000k-White/dp/B0027ITQ80/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1253134802&sr=8-1)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41KusVpexrL._AA280_.jpg

Raptor Brand 35W HID H3 Conversion Kit, 5000K- $79.90 (http://)
http://www.ddmtuning.com/images/products/preview/hidraptor.jpg

[CYi5]

My ballasts look like the ones in your JLM picture, no problems in over a year. Good call on the 5000k, i'm looking into putting projectors into my headlights right now and will be going with a 4300k bulb. Simply because I will be using them all the time and they have the best lumen output. For auxilary I really think you can go with whatever temp/color you want, and you won't be disappointed, a lot has to do with the housing you're putting it in.

[mastacox]

Ok I have to ask, do you think the 700FF housing could put up with the DDM 55W HID kit? 5000 lumens per bulb is pretty fargin impressive... compared to 3400 lumen for the 35W HID and 1200 lumen for a "standard" bulb. The 55Watt HID H3 Kit from DDM is only $80 (the JLM kit doesn't have a Wattage rating, I'm assuming they're 35W).

DDM 55W Slim Ballast HID H3 Kit- $80 (http://www.ddmtuning.com/index.php?p=product&id=101&parent=85)
http://www.ddmtuning.com/images/products/hidddm.jpg

[mastacox]

Well call me crazy, I decided to go big or go home; so I bought the 55W'ers. $90 is cheap enough that I couldn't help myself. If overheating becomes a problem (which I sincerely doubt) I'll reevaluate at that time. Blind-o-beams, here I come :ban:

DDM 55W Slim Ballast HID H3 Kit- $80 (http://www.ddmtuning.com/index.php?p=product&id=101&parent=85)
http://www.ddmtuning.com/images/products/hidddm.jpg

[CJM]

Looking forward to see how it turns out.

As for wiring, imho making your own setup period is a better idea then tapping into something. I say this b/c although you will do a good job, there is always the potential to screw itup or overtime something happens and now you dont have either lights.

[mastacox]

Looking forward to see how it turns out.

As for wiring, imho making your own setup period is a better idea then tapping into something. I say this b/c although you will do a good job, there is always the potential to screw itup or overtime something happens and now you dont have either lights.


Oh the lights will be wired through my auxillary fuse block and switched, I just want to get a voltage signal out of the high beams and into a relay so that I can make the lights turn on and off with the headlights.

[CJM]

^Thats no fun, I like my stuff to be totally independant. That way I can turn them on anytime, then again I dont leave stuff on and forget lol.

[mastacox]

^Thats no fun, I like my stuff to be totally independant. That way I can turn them on anytime, then again I dont leave stuff on and forget lol.


Well, I can't think of any situations I would want to have the auxillary lights on without the hi-beams. Additionally, I plan to use these for lonely highway driving as well and its a real PITA to have to turn off hi-beams and then aux lights when someone comes around the corner (I've already done many blindings with my Hella 500's switched separately).

So the plan is I will use my existing Hella 500 wiring setup, but it will be slightly modified so that when the switch is "off" only the hi-beams turn on, and when the switch is "on" the hi-beams also activate the HID's. Genius! :love:

[CJM]

Gotcha.

FWIW I hate to boast, but I dont have the issue of shutting them off like that.

[4x4mike]

X2, I like having them seperate. The high beams shoot high anyways and probably wouldn't be seen if the Hellas are on. Having them linked will give you a dark spot in front of the vehicle and all your light will be aimed high and far away (depending on the hella aiming but I assume you'd have 5000 lumens per bulb aimed high and far).

[mastacox]

X2, I like having them seperate. The high beams shoot high anyways and probably wouldn't be seen if the Hellas are on. Having them linked will give you a dark spot in front of the vehicle and all your light will be aimed high and far away (depending on the hella aiming but I assume you'd have 5000 lumens per bulb aimed high and far).


The "dark spot" is a myth in the first place- the aux lights put out enough light to light up anything in front of the vehicle and the first 5 feet in front of the vehicle can't be seen over the hood anyway...

But it's all moot anyway, if I decide I want to be able to turn on the aux lights without the hi beams, all I need is a 3-way switch and I can have off-on-hi beam functionality.

[CYi5]

Having them linked to your hi beams is the only way to actually use them on the road LEGALLY. It's also waaay more convenient than having to reach on your dash in the dark and flick a switch off; other drivers will appreciate this...if you care at least.

I've run them both ways, linked and independent, and i'll take the hi beam link every day.

[mastacox]

For people that are curious, I found this color chart useful for understanding the range of HID colors available:

http://www.ddmtuning.com/images/products/secondary/38.jpg

[CJM]

So 5000 would probably the best choice since its right in the middle.

[mastacox]

In addition to color preference, 4300-5000K lights have more total light output than 6000K and above.

I went and surfed around the CandlePower Forums some, and they've got some very good tech info on HID's there. But you apparenly have to be very careful in asking about aftermarket HID's for cars there, because they will jump all over you for being an a-hole and endangering motorists everywhere by using an aftermarket HID conversion kit in road-going lights. Always preface any posts there with "these lights are for off-road use or intermittent hi-beams only." They are very sensitive about people converting their halogen headlights to HID without properly controlling the beam pattern (at least for the lo-beams).

Check out some of these quotes:


You can not use HID bulbs in a halogen reflector assembly! Doing so would be illegal, and dangerous, not only to you, but to other drivers as well.


Putting an HID lamp in a housing designed for a halogen bulb will nearly always result in a corrupted beam pattern. In all likelihood, this poorly controlled beam pattern will throw glare into the eyes of oncoming traffic. Together with the huge boost in output from switching to an arc discharge lamp, your fog lights will be a menace on the roadways.

If you're just experimenting, or only using the lights off road, have fun. If you're using them on public roads, I hope the police ticket you and impound your car.



if you do decide to put a kit in there don't go 55W or I'll bash your fogs in if I see 'em


Putting HID lamps in reflectors is completely irresponsible.
Replacing dual beams with HID lamps is criminal.

Totally frackin stupid!

[CJM]

Wow, almost as bad as pirate.

[YotaFun]

I am looking up the info now,
But a friend at school has a kit that has a hallogen low beam and an HID higbeam in his 05 Tacoma, and as you know thats a dual function single bulb.

Its a great set up but I need to find the damn site lol!

[CJM]

^ Interesting, lemme know when you find out.

[YotaFun]

^ Interesting, lemme know when you find out.


There based out of Jersey and are called Advanced Lighting, but thats not really an original name so its hard to find anything...

[mastacox]

I was reading around and found a couple of nice write-ups for converting Hella 500's and Hella 700FF's to HID using the DDM raptor 35W HID conversion kits:

http://www.tacomaterritory.com/forum/showthread.php?t=134110

Hella 500 Converted:
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk235/nwitaco/HID%20Conversion/DSCF5825.jpg

Hella 700FF Converted:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oJh5dgNo-iY/SjdMtgoj8II/AAAAAAAAB2o/0tP1lE5snLI/s400/P6151010.JPG

[mastacox]

So I got the lights in Friday, and the HID kit came in at lunch time today! I plan to do the first few steps of the conversion process tonight!

The Hella 700FF's:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7072.jpg

The "slim" 55W HID ballasts:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7066.jpg

The ballasts are actually much smaller than I thought they would be...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7068.jpg

The 5000K bulbs:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7069.jpg

Closeup of a bulb:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7070.jpg

[oly884]

In addition to color preference, 4300-5000K lights have more total light output than 6000K and above.

I went and surfed around the CandlePower Forums some, and they've got some very good tech info on HID's there. But you apparenly have to be very careful in asking about aftermarket HID's for cars there, because they will jump all over you for being an a-hole and endangering motorists everywhere by using an aftermarket HID conversion kit in road-going lights. Always preface any posts there with "these lights are for off-road use or intermittent hi-beams only." They are very sensitive about people converting their halogen headlights to HID without properly controlling the beam pattern (at least for the lo-beams).

Check out some of these quotes:


You can not use HID bulbs in a halogen reflector assembly! Doing so would be illegal, and dangerous, not only to you, but to other drivers as well.


Putting an HID lamp in a housing designed for a halogen bulb will nearly always result in a corrupted beam pattern. In all likelihood, this poorly controlled beam pattern will throw glare into the eyes of oncoming traffic. Together with the huge boost in output from switching to an arc discharge lamp, your fog lights will be a menace on the roadways.

If you're just experimenting, or only using the lights off road, have fun. If you're using them on public roads, I hope the police ticket you and impound your car.



if you do decide to put a kit in there don't go 55W or I'll bash your fogs in if I see 'em


Putting HID lamps in reflectors is completely irresponsible.
Replacing dual beams with HID lamps is criminal.

Totally frackin stupid!


While they may think they have a legitimate concern, I think their anger is misdirected at those few who put HID's in a reflector housing for the idiots who don't adjust their headlights, drive with their high beams on, etc. In the handful of times I've seen people driving down the road with HID conversion's in reflector housings, I've been far from blinded, even in cars. However, in the countless times I've been driving in either a car or my truck and been blinded by an idiot with his headlights out of whack or high beams on, that is far more of a danger because just about every car can do that.

Let's also not forget the fact that most who do put HID's in their reflector housings know how bright they are/can be, and are more aware of other people on the road as well as the effects that their lights can cause, vs the idiots who don't know a dipstick from their own dipstick.

Anyways, enough with the rant. If they wanted to conduct a study with a light meter and clearly show that HID bulbs in reflector housings is significantly brighter, or enough to cause a distraction to another motor vehicle, then I'll join their side. Until then, I'll just keep ignoring them.

[mastacox]

While they may think they have a legitimate concern, I think their anger is misdirected at those few who put HID's in a reflector housing for the idiots who don't adjust their headlights, drive with their high beams on, etc.


I definitely think their agression is misdriected. It seems like they're a bunch of grumpy old men that hate anything brighter than a 55W halogen in a reflector... :chair:



Let's also not forget the fact that most who do put HID's in their reflector housings know how bright they are/can be, and are more aware of other people on the road as well as the effects that their lights can cause, vs the idiots who don't know a dipstick from their own dipstick.


So true... A lot of people there make the argument that an HID bulb is a COMPLETELY different light source than a halgoen, and therefore will never be able to be used in a reflector. The fact is that if the two very small light sources (HID is an electrical arc, Halogen is a glowing tungsten coil) are of similar size and located at the focal point of the reflector, the beam pattern will be essentially the same. A coil that takes up a 5mm^3 volume, and an electrical arc that takes up a 5mm^3 volume are indistinguishable to a reflective optic like a headlight.



Anyways, enough with the rant. If they wanted to conduct a study with a light meter and clearly show that HID bulbs in reflector housings is significantly brighter, or enough to cause a distraction to another motor vehicle, then I'll join their side. Until then, I'll just keep ignoring them.


Well there's no doubt that HID is brighter, but I'm sure a halogen reflector can be aligned properly for an HID bulb, as long as the HID bulb's arc is located at the same point that a Halogen bulb's filament would be. Sure, projector optics make a more perfect cutoff and uniform beam pattern, but they aren't 100% necessary IMO.

[YotaFun]

I agree with all posted.
I live close to the rich snobs around my area,
who all have nice vehicles with HID projections who ALWAYS forget they have there High beams on,
and when I am in the 4Runner it feels like its beaming right into my truck.

There is a guy around here that has an 02 sport like my stepdads with HIDs in it, and they are positioned correctly and I haven't had issues when I pass him or he is behind me on our early morning commute (I leave the house an hour before sunrise, still dark out...)

Really looking forward to thise, Brian you a re pioneering a lot of the stuff I do on Tess, right now I am in the process of preparing the limited rims I have for paint and following your right up.
Also I will be PM'ing you later on a little more detail on those spacers :-)

[mastacox]

Progress-

So I mounted the HID bulbs in the lights this evening. It was a relatively easy thing to do, but required some "custom engineering" to clip them in. I thought about only converting one light so I could mount them up and compare 100W H3 vs. the 55W HID, but decided I'd rather convert both together and be done with it. I will have comparison shots against my 130W Hella 500's, and that will have to be good enough :flipoff:

The HID bulb, the center oval is where the light is emitted from-
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7073.jpg

100W H3 bulb vs the HID bulb. Notice that the light emitting part of the HID bulb lines up with the filament in the H3 bulb.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7079.jpg

Well, I don't know how the heck I'm going to clip the HID bulb into this housing...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7092.jpg

Maybe if I try unbending/modifying the H3 clip...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7093.jpg

... aw damn I guess not. The metal was heat treated and so brittle it just snapped in two...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7095.jpg

SO since this is an HID conversion on the cheap, rather than custom bend a new clip I went the impatient route and bent the light housing tabs down to hold the bulb in. It is retained well right now, and we'll see how it holds up. For now, I have a 55W HID Hella 700 and that's all that matters IMO :asshat:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7096.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7097.jpg

The bulb in the reflector:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7103.jpg

[mastacox]

The HID conversion kit comes set up so that the stock H3 plugs can be plugged in right next to the light to use the stock harness to turn on the setup. I didn't want to run power out to the housing, only to run it back to the ballast; so I snipped the wires and will run new connectors behind the grill straight to the control relay. Now the only two wires going through the boot are for power to the HID bulb, and I'll plug the extra two holes with RTV.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7098.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7099.jpg

I dremeled out the housing's hole for the stock boot, and pulled the new one in. It looks like it was made that way.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7101.jpg

Finished light 1:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7108.jpg

Both lights done:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7109.jpg

Stopped for the night:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7112.jpg

Tomorrow- wiring and mounting!

[4x4mike]

Good stuff, can't wait to see how bright those suckers are.

You mentioned 100W H3's in your 700FF's. Did you replace the stock 55W bulbs? I thought those lights came as 55w. You also mention 130W 500's. Mine were 55w stock and I upgraded them to 100w bulbs and they got pretty hot, I can only imagine what 130w would do.

I've got 100w's in my 500ff's and will probably go your route. Just waiting to see how yours turn out and for a little time.

[mastacox]

Good stuff, can't wait to see how bright those suckers are.


Yeah, I suspect they will be quite amazing :lol:



You mentioned 100W H3's in your 700FF's. Did you replace the stock 55W bulbs? I thought those lights came as 55w.


When I bought the lights from Elton they had 100W H3 bulbs in there. I would run them without hesitation (or 130W), but I'm going brighter and better instead.



You also mention 130W 500's. Mine were 55w stock and I upgraded them to 100w bulbs and they got pretty hot, I can only imagine what 130w would do.

Yup my Hella 500's have 130W H3's in them. There have been debates as to whether my housings would melt and burst into flames, but I've been running them in my lights since I bought them (what's it been, 6 months maybe?) and no problems. I also ran 130W bulbs in my Hella 500's on my 1992 4Runner for something like 3 years, and didn't have any problems (I sold it last winter and it still had the same 130W bulbs in the Hellas that I got when I bought the lights). The Hella 500 housing is probably a little on the small side for a 130W bulb, but I didn't have any problems FWIW :ban:




I've got 100w's in my 500ff's and will probably go your route. Just waiting to see how yours turn out and for a little time.


Well I'm glad I can be a trend-setter for you! The conversions are so cheap these days its hard to say no :thumbup:

[troyboy162]

how much were the 55w hids? those are not that common yet are they?


edit opps $80! thats a good deal....they sure have come down in price. my 35W ebay ones were 75 a few years ago. 55w ones used to be really expensive

[mastacox]

This is it they're installed and I have comparison pics :smokin: Suffice to say, they're so bright I can basically turn my headlights off and not notice any difference. Installed pics will come later, but for now here are the comparisons:

Comparison 1:
Low Beams:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7116.jpg

Hi Beams:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7117.jpg

HID Hellas:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7118.jpg


Comparison 2. This one is better because the road is a lot longer
Low Beams
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7120.jpg

High Beams
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7121.jpg

HID Hellas- the road in the distance (probably around 500ft away) is lit up bright as day :spit:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7122.jpg


Nuff said. They're so bright I'm still a little shocked :shake:

[CYi5]

Yep, I always say they make the stock headlights seem unsafe...

[4x4mike]

Cool. How is the heat coming out of them? I know you went with the 55W and were wondering. Also the color tint seems a little cold/blue. How are they in person?

[mastacox]

Cool. How is the heat coming out of them? I know you went with the 55W and were wondering. Also the color tint seems a little cold/blue. How are they in person?


They are very cool-running lights. It turns out that HID's have higher irradiance in the visible and UV, and less in the IR which means they actually heat up the housing less than a standard 55W halogen bulb would (and far less than a 100-130W bulb). You can basically put these in any housing that is rated for a 55W H3 halogen bulb.

As for the color, they did turn out a little on the cool/blue side, which I'm ok with (they look pretty blue against the "yellow" headlights). I'm definitely glad I got the 5000K bulbs instead of the 6000K bulbs. In the future I may go with 4500K bulbs if I feel like it, but for now these are plenty bright and have a "cool HID" look to them.

I'm also pretty happy with the Hella 700FF beam patterns. They have much better throw than the Hella 500's I had, but are broad enough to cover the road ahead of me, and have enough diffuse emission to light up the sides of the road and directly in front of me (see what I mean about the "dark spot" in front of your vehicle being a myth?)

I'm probably going to end up dumping my little crappy Wal-Mart H3 driving lights too, they just don't do anything for me any more... I may end up replacing them with some yellow fogs, because the HID lights will be completely useless in fog and snow given their cool color and huge brightness.

[mastacox]

Some daylight pictures:

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7123.jpg

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7125.jpg

I swear my headlights and mini driving lights have never looked more yellow/brown...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7124.jpg

The lights do have a little bit of wobble to them (which is expected, they're just bolted to the stock bumper after all), I'm thinking about making a custom strap and holds the top of the light to the grill, to help with that...

[Scuba]

That's awesome Brian !!

[YotaFun]

Hey Brain, if you do think of swtiching out those little driving light to fogs, you should put the yellow HIDs in them :D

A friend of mine with a taco got some fogs from a 4th gen runner and did that and he swears by them.

[mastacox]

Hey Brain, if you do think of swtiching out those little driving light to fogs, you should put the yellow HIDs in them :D

Yeah I thought about that. DDM has the 3000K 35W Raptor kit which would be a good choice for that I think; unfortunately the little driving lights I have don't have a wide enough beam pattern to be a fog light otherwise I'd just convert them.

I need to find myself a cheap set of H3 fog lights on ebay or something.

[4x4mike]

Anything new to report since you've had these lights for a month?

How is the heat with the 55w?

Can you tell if it's any hotter than it was with the 100w bulbs?

What about the ballasts? How about the heat at the ballasts? Where did you mount the ballasts? Are they sealed? Just wondering if they can stand up to rain from the front of the vehicle.

[mastacox]

Anything new to report since you've had these lights for a month?


No problems, they work great! I haven't hooked them up to the hi-beams yet, I need to do that eventually...



How is the heat with the 55w?

Can you tell if it's any hotter than it was with the 100w bulbs?


They are significantly cooler than a 100W halogen bulb, or even a 55W halogen bulb. HID lights have more emittance in the visible and UV wavelengths and less in the IR wavelengths compared to a halogen bulb, which means they actually heat up a reflector less than a halogen bulb does (the heating of a reflector is primarily due to IR emittance). As such, the 55W and 35W kits are perfectly fine to run in any reflector that can use a 55W or higher halogen bulb.

Theoretically you could put them in a 55W H3 fog light housing if you wanted, although those would be some pretty damn bright fog lights!



What about the ballasts? How about the heat at the ballasts? Where did you mount the ballasts? Are they sealed? Just wondering if they can stand up to rain from the front of the vehicle.


I haven't checked the ballasts, but I seriously doubt they heat up at all (the power throughput is not all that much). The ballasts are mounted (zipp-tied) behind the grill on the radiator support kind of behind the headlights. The ballasts and voltage regulators are completely waterproof, they could even be submerged under water and be fine.

Edit:
On the topic of waterproofing, you can also see in my pictures that the connections to the bulbs and ballasts have o-rings to help seal the connections. They are a tight fit in the connector body and I suspect do a good job of sealing the connections against water.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7066.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7069.jpg

Keep in mind with the DDM kits that the DDM 35W and 55W kits come with a lifetime warranty on the ballast and voltage regulator, so if it ever goes bad you can have it replaced for free (minus shipping I assume). The DDM Raptor 35W kits on the other hand only have a 1 year warranty. It's very hard to beat the price, but you have to skimp somewhere when they are only $40/pair.

[4x4mike]

Thanks for the reply. I've got the 500ff's and ordered the 55w DDM kit today. I got an email back saying they are back ordered until next Wednesday but that's fine as time is at a premium. I was worried about the heat in the 500's with 55w HID's. I've read a lot of write ups on conversions and everyone mentions heat and that they get hot but nothing about damage. Sean mentioned his ballasts get hot but I was wonder how hot they really get. Since they're sealed I guess I'll mount them on the radiator support on the front side. I figure that when I have these on, especially for an extended time, I'll be moving.

[slosurfer]

Yeah, Mike, most the stories I've heard with problems with heat and HID's are with those types of lights that have the ballast built into the light and they leave them on when they aren't moving. The ballasts can get pretty hot but the bulbs are much cooler than halogen.

[paddlenbike]

I've got the 500ff's and ordered the 55w DDM kit today.

I knew I would win that bet! (When Mike ordered the 500ff's I told him he would convert them to HID before the end of the year. He hasn't even had them for a month, LOL!)

[strykersd]

Can I ask why you chose the Hella 700FFs over the Hella 4000s?

[slosurfer]

I've got the 500ff's and ordered the 55w DDM kit today.

I knew I would win that bet! (When Mike ordered the 500ff's I told him he would convert them to HID before the end of the year. He hasn't even had them for a month, LOL!)


:laugh: I knew he would do it, but I really knew he was done for when the DDM kit was posted. :laugh: I'm working on getting a kit or two of theirs as well. :)

[4x4mike]

I've got the 500ff's and ordered the 55w DDM kit today.

I knew I would win that bet! (When Mike ordered the 500ff's I told him he would convert them to HID before the end of the year. He hasn't even had them for a month, LOL!)


:laugh: I knew he would do it, but I really knew he was done for when the DDM kit was posted. :laugh: I'm working on getting a kit or two of theirs as well. :)


Damn you all. First it was the 4runner itself and now look. Naw, it's a good thing and I like mods. Chris, the built in ballast makes sense and I know the early Hella's were like that. I worked with a guy that had a $1500 pair that never worked. Looks like I'll have to wait a week because of the backorder but once they're installed I'll drive over to Ken's and park in front of his front window to let him know he won the bet.

[mastacox]

Can I ask why you chose the Hella 700FFs over the Hella 4000s?


Because I bought the 700FF's used off a guy for cheap! :lol:

[mastacox]

Small update-

The lights are working amazingly, I've had no problems with them and there are SOOOO bright! I was able to tighten the lights down enough that the vibration is minimal mounted to the stock bumper, but I still would prefer a stiffer mount. Maybe if I get an aftermarket bumper in the future...

I also got around to hooking the lights up so they turn on with the high beams, and I'm much happier with that setup. The only thing I had to change with the wiring was take the ground from the coil side of the relay, and tie it into the hi-beam ground wire at the driver's side headlight. Now when the switch is on for the lights, flipping on the hi-beams turns them on too. I have noticed however that the HID's will turn on if I have the AUX switch on and I turn the parking lights on; apparently all 3 plugs on the headlight harness get grounded when the parking lights are on. Small issue, and all it takes is making sure the switch is off when I don't want the aux lights.

Taking my DMM to the headlight harness also showed me why aftermarket headlight harnesses are so popular- my headlights only get about 11.5 volts at the plug (with the engine off). I'm not planning on upgrading any time soon, but I could get about 10% light from my headlights with a simple wiring upgrade...

[YotaFun]

Brian, for that switch to activate the relay for when the high beams come on,
I used the wire that goes into the instrument cluster for the High Beam Light.

just an Idea

[mastacox]

yeah the majority of the wiring I'm using to determine if the headlight are on is leftover from the PIAA fog lights I used to have, and I think they're tied into the driver's side corner light. I'm not really interested in mucking with it right now, so it stays the way it is :ban:

When I remove the cheapo walmart lights (they are already unplugged) I'll probably clean up the wiring a bit. I'm probably going to chop the lower plastic valence off also... I need to start saving up for a winch bumper so I'm not stuck with the ghey stocker :loser:

[YotaFun]

When I remove the cheapo walmart lights (they are already unplugged) I'll probably clean up the wiring a bit. I'm probably going to chop the lower plastic valence off also... I need to start saving up for a winch bumper so I'm not stuck with the ghey stocker :loser:


I went in the same direction already, all I have at the moment is the metal part of the bumper, its legal so it will do till I get my revenge fab bumper, should be ordering that in a few weeks.