Ordered my DDM HID Kit

Body kits, bling, lights
Learjet45
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Postby Learjet45 » Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:14

Just throwing this out there:
Driving to school this morning, passed some guy in a Blazer that had some crappy HIDs in there. He was literally blinding every oncoming driver. A few minutes later, I passed a civic with a similar problem.
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Postby mOOsE » Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:14

Learjet45 wrote:Just throwing this out there:
Driving to school this morning, passed some guy in a Blazer that had some crappy HIDs in there. He was literally blinding every oncoming driver. A few minutes later, I passed a civic with a similar problem.


HIDs require a projector lenses with proper cutoff. We all get that. The cars you saw don't come equipped with any projector lenses. I think mods should kill this thread. HID pissing match is beating a dead horse when all the OP was inquiring about was DDM. Expensive retrofits are nice, but there is nothing wrong with using the DDM kit in a projector housing with acceptable cutoff and ability to adjust leveling at least manually. Especially when the same headlight is also available with HID in a different trim. Comparing it to some crap Civic or other vehicle is just stupid... especially when its not the HIDs, but the lenses themselves. The level of poor information coming into this thread by HID "experts" is sad.

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kingtut
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Postby kingtut » Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:14

Integraautox wrote:I just ordered my 35W 6000K DDM HID Kit. Does anyone have any experience with these, I heard the install is pretty simple. How does the 6000K look? I figured for how inexpensive they are and the fairly good reviews about the product I couldn't go wrong. Worse comes to worse I can always resell them and take a $20 hit.


I like mine, have had zero problems. Price is great, customer service sucks.
Install would be easier if the headlight housings are pulled out/removed.

Good luck!
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Learjet45
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Postby Learjet45 » Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:14

So if we're gonna say that lenses are the main problem, and not projectors, then might I suggest upgrading the lenses.
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?cPath=29&products_id=150
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Justin
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Postby Justin » Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:14

Ugh...Facepalm. Lear, we're saying that in the MS3 both the lenses and reflectors are fine for HID use. The lenses you linked don't to anything to improve the functionality with HIDs, they're just clear to let out more light than the stockers do. Comparing the stock MS3 lights to a civic or a truck's non-projector lights is apples and oranges. They're totally different setups. The same lenses and reflectors are used in the MS3 in GT trim with HID bulbs. I wouldn't put HIDs in my wife's minivan, either because they aren't designed for it. The MS3 setup is and all you're doing is upgrading the bulbs to match those that come with the higher trim level. I agree with Moose, Mods, please kill this thread.

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RichB
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Postby RichB » Thu Dec 15, 2011 9:14

OK to summarize:

Civic headlights do not have projector lenses which means a HID bulb upgrade gives you poor unfocused light quality that blinds oncoming traffic

MS3 sport headlights already have projector lenses which means a HID bulb upgrade would give you the same or better quality lighting than the MS3 GT (Stock HIDs) that is properly focused and does not blind oncoming traffic.

The only reason people upgrade the projector lenses on the MS3 is to get crisper light output with an exotic blue/purple cut-off. Have you ever seen Porsche 911 headlights at night? That's why you'd change the lenses.

There should be nothing else to say about this in this thread.....
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Postby SecondGenPAt » Thu Dec 15, 2011 9:14

On the leveling, I was incorrect.
BMW taught us that is was legally required, which it is, in Europe, Japan, and any other countries that follow ECE regulations. They didn't mention that. I even went back though my Xenon material and that isn't specified.

Projector lenses:
Halogen versus Xenon projector lenses are engineered differently, simple as that. They are this way due to the difference in light output location. A halogen bulb has a fixed position where light emits from that is taken into account when the optics are designed.
Xenon bulbs are a tube of gas and metallic particles that, when excited, emit light from many different and undefinable points, this is why their lenses are engineered specifically for them be it reflective or projection.

Now, I'm a pretty easygoing person, and it takes quite a bit to really anger me. This subject however, is one that really gets me going. Having been blinded numerous times in both my F-150 and RX7, a few to the point that I literally came to a stop to avoid hitting anything, has forced this response whenever I hear of someone swapping Xenon bulbs into halogen housings as, in its' simplest form, is illegal; and for good reason. Now I get the point that you want to modify your car to your taste, but is it really worth it to put someone else in danger? So yes, I have no problem coming off as an asshat in my opinions on this subject.

-Pat
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RichB
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Postby RichB » Thu Dec 15, 2011 9:14

SecondGenPAt wrote:Halogen versus Xenon projector lenses are engineered differently, simple as that.


Exactly and I have said a few times now that the MS3 has Xenon Projector Lenses on BOTH the Sport and GT models. swapping out Halogen bulbs to Xenon bulbs on an MS3 doesn't have the same effect as doing this on an F-150 or an RX-7 which doesn't already have a Xenon Projector Lense.

Why is this such a hard concept to grasp?
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Learjet45
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Postby Learjet45 » Fri Dec 16, 2011 9:14

RichB wrote:Exactly and I have said a few times now that the MS3 has Xenon Projector Lenses on BOTH the Sport and GT models. swapping out Halogen bulbs to Xenon bulbs on an MS3 doesn't have the same effect as doing this on an F-150 or an RX-7 which doesn't already have a Xenon Projector Lense.

Why is this such a hard concept to grasp?


Pat isn't saying that he was blinded by someone who did it in an F-150 or a 7, but it has happened to him while driving both HIS f-150 and 7.
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Postby mOOsE » Fri Dec 16, 2011 9:14

SecondGenPAt wrote:On the leveling, I was incorrect.
BMW taught us that is was legally required, which it is, in Europe, Japan, and any other countries that follow ECE regulations. They didn't mention that. I even went back though my Xenon material and that isn't specified.

Projector lenses:
Halogen versus Xenon projector lenses are engineered differently, simple as that. They are this way due to the difference in light output location. A halogen bulb has a fixed position where light emits from that is taken into account when the optics are designed.
Xenon bulbs are a tube of gas and metallic particles that, when excited, emit light from many different and undefinable points, this is why their lenses are engineered specifically for them be it reflective or projection.

Now, I'm a pretty easygoing person, and it takes quite a bit to really anger me. This subject however, is one that really gets me going. Having been blinded numerous times in both my F-150 and RX7, a few to the point that I literally came to a stop to avoid hitting anything, has forced this response whenever I hear of someone swapping Xenon bulbs into halogen housings as, in its' simplest form, is illegal; and for good reason. Now I get the point that you want to modify your car to your taste, but is it really worth it to put someone else in danger? So yes, I have no problem coming off as an asshat in my opinions on this subject.

-Pat


Pretty arrogant person is a better description. So how is your MS3 that you have clearly researched and confirmed that the projector lenses are indeed different?

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Postby Justin » Fri Dec 16, 2011 9:14

SecondGenPAt wrote: So yes, I have no problem coming off as an asshat in my opinions on this subject.

-Pat


Success! You accomplished that goal. We get that they're different. We even already knew why they were different (I did, anyway, I know Moose well enough to suspect he did as well). The thing that is frustrating me about this conversation is that you're going off a general knee-jerk reaction without ever having first hand experience with this specific platform. After doing my conversion I went through a couple of different steps to make sure I wasn't blinding anyone. The main one was actually looking into my headlights from about 100 feet away with my head lower than the average driver height. They were fine. I'm 35, not some teenager driving a riced out Civic, and am an actual responsible member of society. My lights were safe, and this is confirmed by having _never_ been brighted by an oncoming driver over a couple of years of use. As I've stated a couple of times before, I haven't put HIDs in my other vehicles because I don't feel it would be a safe mod. Please help me understand how the "facts" you're sharing have any foundation in actual hands-on reality. Oh, wait, you read it in a book at BMW school...

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alex_n/a
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Postby alex_n/a » Fri Dec 16, 2011 9:14

I have a problem when someone says "what is your EXPERIENCE, with product a" and people respond with "I heard from some complete stranger on the internet that they suck and product b is better because it cost 10x more and is at least 50% better"

what part of the word experience is so complicated. This goes out to many subjects not just hid's.

I have NEVER OWNED hid's in any of my car so I have no advice to give to the OP. therefore I will shut my mouth.

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Postby kingtut » Sat Dec 17, 2011 9:14

So I keep seeing vehicles driving at night with hid conversions in non-projector housings...one of which was a H2 "Hummer".
I chuckle and think of this thread.

I've yet to be blinded by any of them, for what its worth...
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RichB
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Postby RichB » Sat Dec 17, 2011 9:14

^^^Lol
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mOOsE
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Postby mOOsE » Mon Dec 19, 2011 9:14

kingtut wrote:So I keep seeing vehicles driving at night with hid conversions in non-projector housings...one of which was a H2 "Hummer".
I chuckle and think of this thread.

I've yet to be blinded by any of them, for what its worth...


haha, leave it to tut.

BTW, you are supposed to get in front of them then slam on your brakes.... That's what the experts do.


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