Which brand of HIDs should I get?

MAY03LT

Original poster
Member
Nov 18, 2011
3,412
Delmarva
Had a ballast crap out on the wife's Tahoe so it's time to do some shopping. Back in my day the popular choices were ddm or vvme but I seem to remember reading that one of them ain't what they used to be. Just looking for 35w joints for the lows and might as well do fogs and do auto fogs and 6 beam as well.
 
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Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
DDM has taken some popularity hits overall, but I think those who have been loyal to the product line, still are. Same as VVME.

One of the popular brands on HIDPlanet is FastBright, you can get those off AliExpress, they are supposed to get to full brightness very quickly, and are not too expensive. I forget how much though. :twocents:
 

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
I second the fast bright. I have read good things about them in my research. [emoji106]
 

Mounce

Member
Mar 29, 2014
13,667
Tuscaloosa, AL
Me three 3 for fast brights due to reading on HIDplanet. Cost around $45 a pair and take a week or two to get here from their motherland. I've been meaning to get some for months now.

Here's hidp's running thread on the subject with links of legit sellers and such. I'd skip to a few pages from the end for best results.

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50809

If you don't like the idea of those, though, I've been using "innovited" brand ballasts from eBay for months in multiple vehicles without one issue. They do get slower and maybe weaker over time though but I guess that's what you get for $30 including bulbs.

http://pages.ebay.com/motors/link/?nav=item.view&id=251599286130&alt=web (they also sell just ballasts if that's all you want/need)

-if you don't mind the price and ship time on the FB's though I'd recommend them instead of the cheap innovited stuff.
 
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Mounce

Member
Mar 29, 2014
13,667
Tuscaloosa, AL
They come with a premium price but have the best customer service. I assume he's not looking for products that run $100 a pair just for ballasts.
 
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littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
I have the morimotos as well. They're a bit over kill for a reflector retrofit. But I'm guilty. The quality is there. Benefits of the morimoto is your output will be what they spec... great warrenty and customer service and oem competitive. [emoji2]
 

dmanns67

Member
Apr 3, 2013
32,979
Ohio
BlazingTrails said:
I assume that he asked what hids everybody liked.

Some of us prefer quality over quantity.

True statement. I have been a fan of/using Morimoto products since 2012. Their kits are more expensive, but the quality and customer service are worth it to me. Better yet, all of TRS's products are located in ATL, GA. The TB and the F150 are both running Morimoto projectors and HID kits.

I have been burned before going the cheap route with a HID kit (DDM). I drive too much at night to go with a cheap kit.
 

kickass audio

Member
Aug 25, 2012
955
I know a ton of people who go with the retrofit source for HID's. I myself went with futurevisionHID.com for mine. I paid less than if I went with theretrofitsource.com and I have had excellent customer service. I only had one ballast and one fog bulb go bad and they warrantied it. I can't complain about that. Things sometimes sneak through the crack and have defects, I won't fault them for it. When I upgraded from 32mm to 64mm projectors, they also threw in HALO CCFL bulbs for free. The only downside is that futurevision is based in Canada so you can sometimes wait longer for it to come over the border due to customs but aside from that I can't complain about them at all.
 

Matt

Member
Dec 2, 2011
4,019
I'm seriously looking at Opt7. Seem to be very good quality and about $60 a set.Their light bars also look like the goods.

My innovited fogs are a pos, imo.
 
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MAY03LT

Original poster
Member
Nov 18, 2011
3,412
Delmarva
Wow thanks for the feedback! :cool:

I'm so far out the loop that I've never even heard of fast starts LOL - are peeps using those for high beams too?
 

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
I imagine you could. Warm up time seems to be between 5 and 10 seconds which is... very fast. My morimotos take about 15 for full power, it's usable light almost instantly though.
 

Sparky

Member
Dec 4, 2011
12,927
I'm all about using Morimoto for the low beams that I rely the most on.

VVME AC ballast HID kits are my secondary go-to as they are still decent.

Avoid DC ballasts. They are cheap for a reason.
 

Boricua SS

Member
Nov 20, 2011
3,080
Ohio
All VVME my way. I'll stand behind them any day over the other brands. Ive had VVME 35W AC Ballasts with a relay harness for my lows and fogs in my truck since 2009 with zero problems so theres no need for me to look at other products. You research the product. Install it correctly by doing the supporting mods, securing the ballasts, and the use of relays. Doing stuff right the first time goes a long way with mods (which i already know Drew knows his chit [emoji106], this is for other noobs reading the thread). I have VVME on my new Cruze, My father has VVME in his Colorado. My brother (JosueLT) had lows and fogs in his wife's TB LTZ and in both of his Mazda's. Now his wife's current Toyota Minivan has VVME. GHenny440 has VVME on his lows and fogs on his Voy XL and our friend who doesn't post anymore (Sekola216) has VVME on his TB LT.

In all honesty any kit is hit or miss with too many factors to determine a rock solid choice. We'll always hear the bad more so than the good with any product because people just don't post their success' over posting when they have a problem. It's all about your personal preference and loyalty to said manufacturer. I'm also a firm believer in that you get what you pay for as well, but sometimes you just have to shop around for whatever reasons and weigh your options. My $450 stall from Circle D does the same thing as the $850 stall from yank. Both reputable, just your personal choice on what to get.
 

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