Hey guys, I'm about to put HIDs on my 06 150 cc. I know what size I need and I know what color I want but I'm trying to decide if it's worth the extra cash for the 55w bulbs over 35w bulbs? Any opinions are appreciated.

Btw, its a $10 difference. I know pocket change, I'd prefer the 55w but I'm considering the brightness for incoming traffic.

 

Are you putting these in the reflector housings (stock housings)? If yes, then just use the 35w. It's a massive increase in light output over the halogen bulbs, and the reflector housings aren't really the best for HIDs. A projector housing would be ideal, as the reflector housing is likely to give you some scatter. On coming traffic will appreciate your decision to go 35w.
If you want to look into a really good projector housing, check out Recon Lights. They make a nice replacement that would really help you focus the beam on those HIDs.

I guess it's safe to assume you're looking at the DDM Tuning HID kits?

 

Yeah for now I plan to keep the stock housings. And yes your correct in DDM Tuning.

Maybe I should wait till I'm ready to spend a little more for projectors.

 

That's up to you really.
Will the HIDs work in the reflector housings? YES
Will they likely scatter a little light, annoy on coming traffic, and potentially draw LEO attention to you? YES, possibly.

If you do put the HIDs in the reflector housings, then spend the extra time to adjust the lights down to hopefully reduce some of the scatter that could end up in the eyes of on coming traffic.

 

Definitely definitely cause I've been the on coming car when someone who gives customizing a bad name cause they put in bright headlights and don't adjust them.

My original plan was to put in silverstar ultras. I had them on my last vehichle and loved them. But these HIDs are about as cheap thru DDM so I changed my plans. But after thinking about what your saying the silverstars may be the better short term fix.

 

I hear ya.
FWIW I have Silverstars in my truck, both fogs and headlights. Are they bright? NO, but they are slightly better than the standard halogen. And with all 4 lights on I rarely find that I need more light. The only time I wish I had more is about to come up with the start of hunting season and the rut. Backroads at 45-55mph (posted speed btw) can be sketchy at times and I wish I had more distance with my projected light pattern.
Other than that, I'm mostly happy with my light output.

 

Cool cool. Thanks for all your quick input. You got me doing some more thinking.

 

I installed the DDM Tuning Hi/Low Beams on my rig a while back.

The good: Never got anyone flashing me in traffic because I was blinding them. They work with the stock reflectors really well.

The bad: They are a bit unreliable and sent me the wrong harness...twice. Also, after a few months I got a flicker on the passenger side that wasn't power related...it was the bulb wiggling in the housing. The Hi/low is actuated by a magnet that wasn't quite right. It was annoying. It's a PITA to do a return because you have to return EVERYTHING and wait for them to see if there is a real problem.

I got sick of waiting and put Silverstars back in.

 

Thanks for the input bridge.

 

I put PIAA intense white halogen bulbs (4000K) on my f150 with Silverstar ultras in the fog lamps and the 2 make a considerable difference over the crappy stock halogen bulbs. PIAA bulbs ran $80 while the Silverstars ran around $45. Easily install and took only 10 minutes or less to put them all in.

 

Humm. I don't have fogs, thinking swapping bumpers to get some thou. But that gives me another option to explore.

 

Chandler's right, if you decide to put them in the stock headlight housing stick with 35W. 55W hid are crazy bright. I have mine aimmed down slightly more to help compensate for the light scatter compared to the halogens and I find I rarely use my fogs anymore. I know, why use the hids if you have to aim them down, well it is worth it for me just for the brights which turn night into day driving around in the UP.

Best way to aim them is to park on a level area 25 feet away from a wall. measure the distance from ground to center of the headlight and then mark that point on the wall. Compensate for lift/leveling kit. Also for HIDs I found it helpful to park the truck somewhere where you can drive towards it in another car and then adjust them accordingly so they are not blinding from a distance.

 

I'm currently running both Silverstars and DDM's. The SS's have been in my F150 for about 4yrs now. When I first put them in, they seemed a little whiter than stock, but not much better in terms of brightness. I thought they used to be brighter and whiter than they are now, or they must have dimmed over time

I put in 2 pairs of the lowest temperature white light 4500K 35W DDM's in my F350 and there's simply just no comparison. I had a couple of instances where a lamp was out and another was firing but not staying lit. They were both connection related...the connectors must not be of terribly good quality. Reseating them fixed it; I've had no problems since. Nobody has flashed me in the past 2 yrs I've had them.

I was originally skeptical of HID's after reading all of the bad press on them. No regrets whatsoever. Considering the SS's are almost $15-20 per bulb, and DDM has lifetime warranty to boot, I'm getting a set of DDM's for my F150 one of these days.

 

After doing quite a bit of research (as I usually do before spending any money) I have come across some interesting information on projector housings. There is a halogen projector and an HID projector. These two look the same, yet are entirely different.

A halogen projector will help focus the light in a forward direction to slightly prevent the scatter you speak of. The light pattern can resemble many shapes but usually resembles an "O".

An HID projector will actually focus the light in a certain pattern. A proper HID light pattern resembles a backwards "Z" shape which is created with a cut-off. This creates a crisp line of light without the glare.


Some aftermarket "HID" projectors can resemble a lot of shapes. Ranging from an "O" to an "N" to a "W". The backwards "Z" will create a light pattern that will not blind oncoming traffic, and will not create any dark spots. The "O, N, and W" shape with create multiple dark spots leaving oncoming drivers blinded and possibly making your lighting worse.


If you are going to use HIDs, your best bet is to have a proper HID kit retrofitted into your headlights. Which is not cheap.

 

A basic retrofit will cost around $500.00-$600.00. The same price or close to as complete halogen projector headlights just way better. Or you can do it yourself for a bit cheaper. Link below

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-retrofit.html