HID...55W vs 35W....

DevilishT2003

Original poster
Member
Nov 21, 2011
70
Anyone compared the two? Any thoughts on the two? Heard rumors of 55W kits melting stock wiring on some vehicles.
 

Boricua SS

Member
Nov 20, 2011
3,080
Ohio
DevilishT2003 said:
Anyone compared the two? Any thoughts on the two? Heard rumors of 55W kits melting stock wiring on some vehicles.

i have seen 35W and 55W in person... 55 is waaaay brighter.. and (this happened to my friends 08 LT) melts the fog light housing since its so small... he does have 55W for his lows, but he has the relay harness, so all is ok.. hes had them a little over 8 months now.. no issues.. (our factory bulbs are 55W), but for HID sake.. 35W is plenty bright over our factory halogen... 55W just pisses off the other drivers :crackup:
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
My lows are 35watts from VVME. Welcome to stop by and take a look at them if you want. They seem good to me.
 

ItsOnVoy

Member
Nov 21, 2011
2,401
Boricua SS said:
i have seen 35W and 55W in person... 55 is waaaay brighter.. and (this happened to my friends 08 LT) melts the fog light housing since its so small... he does have 55W for his lows, but he has the relay harness, so all is ok.. hes had them a little over 8 months now.. no issues.. (our factory bulbs are 55W), but for HID sake.. 35W is plenty bright over our factory halogen... 55W just pisses off the other drivers :crackup:

:iagree: it will annoy a ton of people and bring cops attention to you!! I would stick to 35w because they are plenty bright! Now keep in mind, if you do go with 55w (hope you dont lol) the color on them do get washed out a bit. So a 55w 8000k will have the same color as 35w 6000k and so on.
 

Bub

Member
Nov 21, 2011
159
I have 55w 6000k HID in both low beams and fog lights, my fog lights are stock housing however aftermarket wiring so I have no issues other than on my low beams, i have to turn them on first then start the truck, or if i use my remote start then I have to make sure the truck runs for a few minutes then i can turn them on. I would like to fix that if anyone has any suggestions, as I am going to fix my drl killer to allow auto-on headlights
 

ItsOnVoy

Member
Nov 21, 2011
2,401
Bub said:
I have 55w 6000k HID in both low beams and fog lights, my fog lights are stock housing however aftermarket wiring so I have no issues other than on my low beams, i have to turn them on first then start the truck, or if i use my remote start then I have to make sure the truck runs for a few minutes then i can turn them on. I would like to fix that if anyone has any suggestions, as I am going to fix my drl killer to allow auto-on headlights

Are you running your HID's to your factory harness or a relay harness?
 

06Envoy

Member
Dec 4, 2011
419
Here is my :twocents:
I've also asked myself that same question. 35w or 55w?
So to help me address the issue. I bought both types from a previous DDM order.

For the past 6 months or so, I've been running one headlight in my wife's TB at 55w and the other at 35w.
I didn't tell her. :crazy:

Forgetting that I was going to ask her if she noticed a difference until I read this thread. I just asked her now if she noticed a difference.

She correctly answered that the 55w was brighter than the 35w. But she only noticed tonight when they were aimed at a snowbank. :redface:

However, that being said. I'm perfectly fine with my 35w and I have been for years in my previous vehicles.
I just received my most recent order from DDM of 35w fogs for the Trailblazer and the Envoy.
My future ballast purchases will be 35w as well.

I have all of my HID's running on a relay kit. Even the fogs will be. Relay kits are cheap and they work, and they will prevent any possible damage to the vehicle.

Good luck in your decision! :thumbsup:
 

Boricua SS

Member
Nov 20, 2011
3,080
Ohio
^^^ great post!! anyway to get a side by side picture for the OP to see the difference?
 

06Envoy

Member
Dec 4, 2011
419
Boricua SS said:
^^^ great post!! anyway to get a side by side picture for the OP to see the difference?

Sure! I'll see what I can do tomorrow. :thumbsup:
 

Bub

Member
Nov 21, 2011
159
ItsOnVoy said:
Are you running your HID's to your factory harness or a relay harness?



factory harness
 

ItsOnVoy

Member
Nov 21, 2011
2,401
Bub said:
factory harness

That can be a reason to your problem! I would get a relay harness (there about $10-$15max) and run that with your HID's. That will draw power from your battery and leave the factory harness alone. The factory harness is too weak for the amount of power the HID's need and you are risking a headache if they melt on you etc. I have a starter also and at night the lights always turn on perfectly when I remote start it so I think a relay will help big time! I always recommend them :yes: hope this helps! :thumbsup:
 

Bub

Member
Nov 21, 2011
159
ItsOnVoy said:
That can be a reason to your problem! I would get a relay harness (there about $10-$15max) and run that with your HID's. That will draw power from your battery and leave the factory harness alone. The factory harness is too weak for the amount of power the HID's need and you are risking a headache if they melt on you etc. I have a starter also and at night the lights always turn on perfectly when I remote start it so I think a relay will help big time! I always recommend them :yes: hope this helps! :thumbsup:

Holy thread bump i know however i did add the relay harnesses and there is no change. any suggestions?
 

dmanns67

Member
Apr 3, 2013
32,979
Ohio
Bub said:
Holy thread bump i know however i did add the relay harnesses and there is no change. any suggestions?

Do you still have the DRL killer? Have you tried the cap mod since you have installed the relay harness?

I am surprised you have not melted the stock fog light housing running 55w. I take it you are running the 55w HIDs in your stock headlight housing?
 

NinjuhhNutz

Member
Oct 15, 2012
720
Bub said:
Holy thread bump i know however i did add the relay harnesses and there is no change. any suggestions?

when you say "have to turn them on then start the truck" what exactly happens if you don't?

my passenger side bulbs flickers with the R/S or when I crank it at night...not a biggie for me right now and I haven't gotten around to the cap mod :duh:
 

Sparky

Member
Dec 4, 2011
12,927
55W should never ever have been rebased to fit any sort of halogen reflector.

35W HID is similar brightness to halogen 65W high beams. Stick those in a reflector and ehhh a little bright for oncoming traffic (especially depending on the housing some are REALLY bad). 55W? Yeah, nothing like shining 2x brighter balls of light into oncoming traffic to blind them :lipsrsealed:
 

Showtyme

Member
Nov 26, 2012
150
Ive been thinking about going with 55 watt lows but I think im going to completely black out my headlights which would dim them down to about 35 watters. Yes or no?
 

Bub

Member
Nov 21, 2011
159
NinjuhhNutz said:
when you say "have to turn them on then start the truck" what exactly happens if you don't?

my passenger side bulbs flickers with the R/S or when I crank it at night...not a biggie for me right now and I haven't gotten around to the cap mod :duh:

my drl kill does not retain auto headlights (something i want back) so when i switch the headlights on after starting the car, it take about 5-6 attempts to get the passenger side to ignite. if i turn the headlights on prior to starting then both lights operate fine once started

Sparky said:
55W should never ever have been rebased to fit any sort of halogen reflector.

35W HID is similar brightness to halogen 65W high beams. Stick those in a reflector and ehhh a little bright for oncoming traffic (especially depending on the housing some are REALLY bad). 55W? Yeah, nothing like shining 2x brighter balls of light into oncoming traffic to blind them :lipsrsealed:

surprisingly with lows and fogs on I haven't been flashed at in about 3-4yrs of using them. :crazy:
 

02TrailBlazer

Member
Jan 22, 2013
64
I've had 55W lows in for around 4 months and I haven't been flashed once. Plenty bright but I have a feeling that my headlights are aimed lower than they should be, but alas I can't really check that until my PCM makes its way home.:wootwoot:


Side note, my passenger side refuses to fire on attempt #1 around once a week.
 

ItsOnVoy

Member
Nov 21, 2011
2,401
Showtyme said:
Ive been thinking about going with 55 watt lows but I think im going to completely black out my headlights which would dim them down to about 35 watters. Yes or no?

Better not black out the chrome reflectors around the light or your looking at a 0 watter. Black everything but the reflectors so you can get light output. Or black those out and put projectors there with a retro fit.
 

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