Converting Hella 700FF's to 55W HID

[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.




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


Raptor Brand 35W HID H3 Conversion Kit, 5000K- $79.90

[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

[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

DDM 55W Slim Ballast HID H3 Kit- $80

[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!

[CJM]

Gotcha.

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