HID kit recommendations and info needed

Now, I have talked with some people about this in the last few weeks. The more I research, the more I waver back and forth over what kit I should pick up. The back drop to this thread is this: I bought my 04 Mazda3(MZ3) with a DDM aftermarket kit already installed in it, I don't know how long it's been in there. Well, one of the ballasts burnt out last week. Being that I was leaving out of state last weekend, I needed a quick fix. I contacted a local guy who sold HID kits. We won't go into to much detail, but it flat out sucks. Has the described flicker issues, I constantly have to take a look to make sure it's working, light output is less than the still working DDM with the same bulb as I was running before.

So, the question is, with all the options out there, guide me towards a new kit. If you are running an HID kit, let me know what make/model of car you have, make/model/bulb size/color of HID you are running and pros/cons. If you do not have a kit, but know someone who does, let me know too.

 

If your bulbs are still good, grab a pair of 3five ballasts from theretrofitsource.com. little spendy ($110) but they are OEM quality.

I'll add more info when I'm not on my phone.

 

Morimoto 3Five ballastshttp://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=21742

Morimoto HID kit, includes bulbs and ballasts. http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=3959

Again, spendy but you won't have the flickering issues or wondering if both sides will fire every time you start your car.

As far as what i've run, always done DDM kits. Never had issues with their bulbs but the ballasts are another story, work 98% of the time. Rest I might have had to flick my lights a couple time to get both sides to fire.

All kits were in a 6, ranging from 04-06 with color ranging from 3k (fogs) to 5-8k (low beams). I'd stick to 4-5k personally if your getting a whole new kit but deff stay at 6k or below.

Currently running a DDM 3k H3 for fogs (but i hardly ever use them) and morimoto D2S 5k with morimoto 3Five ballasts.

Can always find me at sonic if you have more questions.

 

Kris,

Thank you for the reply! TRS is one of the companies that I was looking into. The only thing I get hung up on is the price. It's triple the price of the DDM kit and is it worth triple the price is the question at hand?

There are a lot of kits like TRS-Morimotos, Volts, Xtremes, etc out there at the $100+ range, then kits like the DDM, One-x(IIRC) that are sub $100, all of which that use to be quite a bit more expensive a few years back. From what is out on the internet, many people are like stay away from the cheaper kits. But there lies the question: what are the "cheaper kits" and what price point does the non "cheaper kit" start at?

And this is where it gets confusing to me.

 

Here's what I think: you bought your car with a HID kit of unknown age that failed you, then you had to buy a quick fix kit locally at X price (lets assume $30), and are now thinking of buying another cheap ($30) kit. Now, I've had good luck with DDM kits but you may not (cheap chinese products, produced for quantity not quality). So if your 'new' cheap kit fails you in a couple months you'll be out $90+ (again assuming the local kit was $30). At that point you could've done it right the 'first' time around (since your looking for input this time instead of keep buying cheap kits) and bought the $100 ballasts that won't have igniting and flickering issues. Not to mention they will actually put out their rated wattage unlike DDM kits which can, and will most likely be running lower than advertised. Meaning your bulbs (whether they be $50 or part of a $30 kit) will last longer.

As far as what are 'cheaper' kits; I can only speak for DDM and TRS as that's all that I've used. Like you, I would have never thought of spending $100+ on a kit until I got into retrofitting and seeing what quality VS cheap products can do.

 

I had a 55w DDM kit (H7) in my WRX for 3 years. Never a problem. I did NOT get the slim ballasts.

I then had a 35w H4 hi-lo (moving style) DDM kit in my Aveo for a year. Again, never a problem. Again, full-sized ballasts.

If you buy the DDM kit yourself, you get a lifetime warranty on them, as far as I know. Their cust service is awesome, too. Put a deposit down, they'll send you a new ballast/bulb/whatever, and then send the defective part back, the deposit is credited.

 

Agreed on http://www.ddmtuning.com

My brother's car club buys from them all the time and these guys are big into the racing scene. Ice, AutoX, Road course, you name it. They have been very happy with the company

 

Do you all feel the slim kits are less reliable than the non-slim kits? I don't have a lot of space under the hood(mainly passenger side) to fit a non-slim ballast. But, if there are more reliable, then I will definitely consider them.

 

I've never seen a problem with their full-sized ballasts. I have only seen one with their slims, however.