Can anyone recommend a HID headlight kit? What wattage and where to buy, Thanks

 

I am running DDM HIDs from www.ddmtuning.com . The price of the kits are reasonable. Some of the guys are going with the 55W ballasts. I am running the 35W for both main headlamps and fogs. You will need the H13 bulbs with the Hi/Lo option for the main headlights and H10 bulbs for the fogs.

These bulbs do have a spectral spread and I have found that the bulbs are not all the same. Since these trucks are designed for halogen bulbs, there is no projector to focus the HID light. As a result, you will see that the light pattern can and does spread. I have bought several sets and picked out the bulbs with the least amount of spread.

 

I'm using the Digital 55W setup from RetroSolutionsLLC and couldn't be happier. Lifetime warranty on both the ballast and the bulbs. The H13 kit comes with everything that you need to install including the wiring harness, relay, both ballasts, both bulbs, wire ties, ballast mounting brackets, and a very good customer service policy to back it all up. The choice that you make as far as kelvin temperature of the bulb is up to you, but the 4300K will give you the most usable light. The higher the kelvin number, the more blue the light will become and thus, less usable light. I don't have the HID fogs on my truck, so I cannot comment on them, but RetroSolutions is definitely top notch and certainly a quality product. Here is a link to the ones that you need for a 2011 F250/350/etc.

55W H13 9008 DIGITAL BIXENON HID LIFE WARRANTY

Tell Todd that Vernon from E. TN sent you.

 

Thanks for the help i will check them out!!!!

 

The vast majority of these are all made by one of several Asian manufacturers....some are assembled in Germany, but the guts are from China. They're all about the same. We had some guys on a BMW forum buy a bunch of different ones from the $40 variety to the $300 units and they found that they were all so close (some were the same units rebadged and marked up 200%) Like most electronics, if you're going to have a failure it's usually an infant mortality failure and would be covered by the initial warranty. So buying a high dollar unit really isn't buying you anything other than an extended warranty you'll probably never use. Check ebay for the ones in the $60 range. The VME kits have a great reputation, 2 yr warranty and cost $62 shipped. I have 4 sets of them. One in my BMW R1200GS, one in my Honda TRX700XX which gets the crap beaten out of it on a motocross track several times a month with no failures to the HID system, one in the Toyota and one in the Hyundai. I've had zero failures in 3 years. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMEWAX%3AIT

One thing to be aware of...DOT and the NHTSA have been investigating HID lights in non projector housings and are planning to issue legislation making this practice illegal as the scatter can blind oncoming cars.

 

I'm running ddm tuning 55w in the headlights and 35w in the fogs and couldn't be happier with their performance.

 

Just ordered from DDM.... because of all the good comments here.... 55 watt for headlights and 35 watt for fogs....

 

Wow! The comments on the kits can't be more true. The DDM Raptor kit and harness looked EXACTLY like the one for the retrosolution.com one recommended above. The only difference is the label they put on the box.

I also agree with the last comment above possible legislation on these. I have been following the federal comments on this and I believe NY has incorporated in their MV inspection to look for non approved applications.

These lights are a lot brighter and I found, even with the 35W ballast I needed to aim the lights down pretty low to eliminate the traffic in the opposite direction from flashing me. So much in fact, that the effective range has been limited. It is all due to the spectral spread. Although I bought several sets of bulbs to pick the best pattern, it still has errant light above and outside of where the lights are aimed.

The unfortunate part is that non of the retro projection kit manufacturers can find a way to make them for less than a grand...