Hello, i was wondering if anyone has installed DDMTuning HID Kit in their Mini Cooper? I already have stock HID in my 2004 MCS, but i wanted to switch to aftermarket 55W HID Kit. Has anyone done this before? How would you install them since there is already a stock HID installed. Would you guys recommended doing this? Thanks

 

I've done this mod just a lil bit differently. Pm me I think I can help

 

How is the cutoff after installing the 55watt kit?

 

I'm happy with it

 

That doesn't really help us out much.

Is it the same as OEM or did it degrade? If so did it degrade much?

 

I'd say same as oem

 

id definately go with th e35 watt. its a bit brighter than oem.. (ok a lot... ) and it wil be a cooler temp and still be legal, plus you wont run the risk of melting your PLASTIC lamp housings.
it will mes the cut off up a little bit, but the ddm kit dows fairly well.
i used 2 of the 35 watt slim balast kits (the 35 watt slim are a lil less bright than the raptors, but still plenty)

 

@soccerbummer1105-What is a cut off? In your picture of your car from the rear of your headlights. Is that including your light bar? As far of the e35, how much brighter are they compared to OEM HID because i want headlights that are really really bright like your picture, but i dont want any light bars.

 

@soccerbummer: Can i see a picture of your headlights only? Love the pictures abouve, but i would like to see a picture without the light bar. Also, where can i buy the e35 HID KIT?

 

You should just be able to swap out the ballasts, and not change the bulbs at all. The only way the cutoff would be changed would be if you swapped the bulbs. Since you already have a headlight housing meant for D2S/R, and your new setup has a D2S/R bulb, your cutoff shouldn't change.

 

Hello,

Thanks for responding to this post. I have bought my aftermarket HID kit and installed them yesterday. I found out how to install them myself and it is working fine. I said earlier that I wanted the 55W kit, but I went with 35W DDMTuning Slim kit. I didn't go with the 55W because I heard that it can melt your housing. So, i went safe with the 35W. Since I had the OEM HID in my car already, installing the HID kit wasn't a plug and play. It was almost like plug and play, but with splicing two wires and joining them together with a 9006 adapter and connecting it to the ballast. It works PERFECT! Im not really done aligning the headlights, but I think that the auto-align is shut off, since some wires are not plugged in to the OEM ballast. Would anyone know the reason why the auto-level is not working? Also, would anyone know if my housing or anythign else would melt or be damaged if I would get 55W in the future? The OEM headlight housing I have are the ones without the circle low beam. I have the low beam one that is only on the top half.

Thanks

 

Well glad it worked out....:....

 

Sooooo you took out a 35 watt ballast and swapped it for a 35 watt ballast?! I dont get it at all. Why did you swap to from OEM HID to an aftermarket HID kit? You know they're the same, right? If anything, your downgrading since the housing is meant for a D2R bulb. If you kept D2R, then its the same... if you went to an H7 / H3, I have to shake my head.


35 watt is 35 watt.. They're all the same brightness. The only difference is the bulbs. Aftermarket bulbs have hot spots and OEM are evenly lit. New bulbs will always be brighter than old ones, so you could have just swapped your bulbs and kept the same ballasts... waste of money.

 

I took out both of my OEM Ballast, whcih is the Al Bosch and the OEM bulbs and switch it out with a 35W aftermarket HID Kit! The reason why I did this is because, the ballast are not all that great. I had one of them go out on me, and I replaced it with a used one I bought for $100 on ebay. A couple of months later, one of the ballast went out again. I dont know if it is the one I bought from ebay or the old one I had on before. So, that is why i decided to go with a aftermarket kit. So far as quality, they aftermarket kit I bought is AMAZING! They are brighter than the OEM ones. The great part of my switching to aftermarket HID kit is that I get a fully digital ballast, they are REALLY REALLY SLIM, they only cost $60 with LIFETIME WARRENTY, and I DONT HAVE TO BUY ANOTHER OEM BALLAST!

PS-Im selling my Al Bosch ballast! $120 shipped OBO!!

 

Ahh.. Now I understand. Know this though: "Digital Ballast" is a BS marketing term. They all work the exact same, and all create the same amount of light. Yours is slimmer, which is good. But... they all ignite an HID bulb with 35 watts of energy, so its all the same. They may be better build quality, as you mentioned, especially if they come with a warranty.

As for the better light quality... Id say thats due to a new bulb. You still use a D2R / D2S bulb, right? The aftermarket bulbs are actually pretty decent. I did some lighting tests (camera set on manual, same exact shutter speed, aperture, ISO, color temp etc... ) and the aftermarket bulbs are a little brighter. They tend to be a little cheaper though.

I wonder if you had bad bulbs this whole time.

 

WOW! Thanks! I never knew that. I thought it would be a ******** thing, because Ive seen it around on only the aftermarket brands, but I just believed what I wanted to see. Thanks a lot! Props on the testing on the lighting. You have anymore information on how your experiment went when you were taking pictures of different bulbs? I knew that having my new bulbs was a huge contributor to having them brighter, but never had the money to buy other bulbs. Thats why I went with aftermarket because they are really reliable. My bulbs were not out at all, because I tested both of them out by switching around and then i switched the ballast and it turned out that the bulbs work, but what ever bulb was on the certain ballast(BAD ONE), it would not turn on. I really want BRIGHTER lights, and I want to move up a notch to 55W because they are way brighter than 35W, but im scared it might mess up my housing and wires. Would you know anything about that? Thanks again!