driftingswiftly
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I just blew my dim today and thought this would be a good opportunity to find out what lamp options are out there. Does anyone run anything interesting that they recommend?
Headlight options
- Thread starter driftingswiftly
- Start date
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driftingswiftly
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Thanks. Are there any other options that people are using besides ones that you would just get from the dealer?
driftingswiftly
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Sweet, thanks guys!
BuellerPilot
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For the price of 2 Silver Stars from the local Auto parts store, you could do an HID kit!!!
~Mike.....
~Mike.....
driftingswiftly
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? What kits are you getting these prics from? The ones i saw didn't seem to stack up like that. im not doubting you, I just think im looking in the wrong place.
BeDaring08
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ddmhid's google them. There cheap, plug and play and bright! Best money i ever spent on my bike no doute.
BuellerPilot
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I got the DDMTuning HID kit. Less then $45 shipped. I paid more then that for two SilverStars a week prior from Advance Auto. The good thing is I can still use the Silver Star bulbs in my Navigator's Fog lamps.
I *think* I saw that maybe the DDM might have stopped selling the slim ballist motorcycle kits, not sure. If they did the normal kits still work, just may need to relocate the horn to fit the bigger ballist under the fly screen if it's for a Lightning, if it's for a Thunderbolt shouldn't be a problem. You can always look on eBay as well, just saw dual HID light kit complete for $38 shipped. You just need to shop around.
~Mike....
driftingswiftly
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So ive never looked into hid's before. You guys pretty much have me sold, but all the ones im finding on ebay (for that $40-$50 price range) only include 1 balast and1 bulb. Haha, i don't know why I am so confused by these things! Also, the DDMTuning kits I saw online were around the $150 mark.
THese were the best i found:
ebay HIDs
But thats pushing $70 after shipping.
THese were the best i found:
ebay HIDs
But thats pushing $70 after shipping.
As an eBay Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
BuellerPilot
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Seriously?
You SUCK at the interweb
DDM discontinued their "slim ballast" motorcycle HID kits. But this kit should work, do your research to make certain. http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/Apexcone-Raptor-HID-Kit
There's **** ASS TONS of DUAL LIGHT kits on eBay for $35 shipped range.
Item number: 320362187280
Item number: 220615986988
Item number: 320549142759
The list goes on and on. Just go to ebay and search Motorcycle HID kit H7. Set your list parameter for "Lowest price plus shipping first" and go from there.
Do your research FIRST. Read on the different temperature bulbs and and how they affect the color output. Search in here for timing delay mods and so on. The search function in here kinda blows, it will not allow less the 4 letter word searches (HID is 3 damn it). So use google, search HID buellxb.com. When you get your results click "more from buellxb.com" then you can look through only results for this site.
Good luck.
~Mike.....
You SUCK at the interweb
DDM discontinued their "slim ballast" motorcycle HID kits. But this kit should work, do your research to make certain. http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/Apexcone-Raptor-HID-Kit
There's **** ASS TONS of DUAL LIGHT kits on eBay for $35 shipped range.
Item number: 320362187280
Item number: 220615986988
Item number: 320549142759
The list goes on and on. Just go to ebay and search Motorcycle HID kit H7. Set your list parameter for "Lowest price plus shipping first" and go from there.
Do your research FIRST. Read on the different temperature bulbs and and how they affect the color output. Search in here for timing delay mods and so on. The search function in here kinda blows, it will not allow less the 4 letter word searches (HID is 3 damn it). So use google, search HID buellxb.com. When you get your results click "more from buellxb.com" then you can look through only results for this site.
Good luck.
~Mike.....
When I picked up my SS in dec 08 I switched out to the silverstars and the low beam burned out after 3 months, so I switched the remaining (highbeam) bulb to the low beam side and it burned out 2 days later ! Put the stock bulbs back in and their still burning bright . [confused]
BuellerPilot
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Ya, Silver Stars have a sh!tty life span. I run them in my Navigator. Gone through 5 H7 fogs lights and my 5th headlight yesterday matter of fact. And those damned things are nearly $20 a PIECE! I guess the 30% brighter nets a 60% less life. I need to find a cheaper alternative bulb or just go full HID.
~Mike....
~Mike....
I use NARVA Range Power 50 H3 bulbs. They are awesome German bulbs, way better than Silver Stars (I will never use US Silver Stars again).
http://store.candlepower.com/naraulhiou551.html
The Narvas are clear glass, not the bluish BS bulbs with that use hotter (shorter life) filaments and a blue filter.
for easy math:
say a bulb is DOT rated for 1000 lumens output max at 55 watts.
a clear bulb has 1000 lumens output
250 red
250 orange
250 yellow
175 green
75 blue
a "blue" bulb uses a hotter filament (1200 lumens)
300 red
300 orange
300 yellow
200 green
100 blue
so the bulb glass is colored (filtered) suppressing the red orange yellow, still producing 1000 lumens output.
The "bluer" the bulb, the hotter the filament, the shorter the bulb life.
I know this is an over simplification of the entire light bulb thing. Most replacement bulbs are made as cheap as possible and rated at the minimum lumen rating (and with the allowable variations in mass production probably fall short of the minimum range, but within acceptable production variation), higher quality bulbs, use better glass and components, and are specifically designed for maximum lumen output.
longest life/highest light output: will come from a high end clear bulb.
shortest life: come from the bluest bulbs
longest life: from good quality low light output bulbs.
http://store.candlepower.com/naraulhiou551.html
The Narvas are clear glass, not the bluish BS bulbs with that use hotter (shorter life) filaments and a blue filter.
for easy math:
say a bulb is DOT rated for 1000 lumens output max at 55 watts.
a clear bulb has 1000 lumens output
250 red
250 orange
250 yellow
175 green
75 blue
a "blue" bulb uses a hotter filament (1200 lumens)
300 red
300 orange
300 yellow
200 green
100 blue
so the bulb glass is colored (filtered) suppressing the red orange yellow, still producing 1000 lumens output.
The "bluer" the bulb, the hotter the filament, the shorter the bulb life.
I know this is an over simplification of the entire light bulb thing. Most replacement bulbs are made as cheap as possible and rated at the minimum lumen rating (and with the allowable variations in mass production probably fall short of the minimum range, but within acceptable production variation), higher quality bulbs, use better glass and components, and are specifically designed for maximum lumen output.
longest life/highest light output: will come from a high end clear bulb.
shortest life: come from the bluest bulbs
longest life: from good quality low light output bulbs.
dave_xb12r
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- May 19, 2008
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DDM did not discontinue their slims, they're just on backorder.
yea I looked it up on their facebook page yesterday because of the rumors and they say it will be a few months before they are back in stock.
hopefully before I start riding again so I can swap in a 35W kit instead of my current 55w kit.
nativeXb12Rbuell
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- Apr 27, 2008
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- 1,625
thanks for posting that info deh2k2.
i used the silver star in my low beam it did burn out overheated , after about 4months. when i bought my silver star it was about
$16-17 (it may have been on sale) now they are $21-22.
I did some more reading and searched about the NARVA Range Power 50 H3 bulbs and the silverstars and other bulbs today. i found that alot of people have had defective or very short life span on the sylania silverstars. so i guess I will no longer use them or reccomend them, and found some places to order the NARVA Range Power 50 H3 bulbs, to try them out.
I wanted the HID(kit) but now that have read and understand them better I will not be getting them or reccomending them either now.
I also found some info on HID lights and HID kits.
on the HID retrofitng kikts (like ddmtuning HIDkit)
I found this info:
"The most dangerous part of the attempt to "retrofit" Xenon headlamps is that sometimes you get a deceptive and illusory "improvement" in the performance of the headlamp. The performance of the headlamp is perceived to be "better" because of the much higher level of foreground lighting (on the road immediately in front of the car). However, the beam patterns produced by this kind of "conversion" virtually always give less distance light, and often an alarming lack of light where there's meant to be a relative maximum in light intensity. The result is the illusion that you can see better than you actually can, and that's not safe.
Halogen headlamps and HID headlamps require very different optics to produce a safe and effective—not to mention legal—beam pattern. How come? Because of the very different characteristics of the two kinds of light source."
this why you see your retrofit hid kits and the others with hid (in cars that have a kit and that are not originally HID from the manufacturer,I.E.BMW,mercedes,etc..)that they scatter the light everywhere(and also because of the blue/purple light short wavelentgh scatters) and blind you and the oncoming traffic (which is why they illegal in most places).and this why the beam is so short .
from another site;
"To save the lazy ones some reading, HID’s and Halogens require different optics to produce the light in a safe and LEGAL way.
The filament in a bulb produces light in one spot. Lighting engineers shape the reflector and optics around where that filament is placed. The reflector and optics will place the light in a pattern in front of the car so you can see. If you move the location of the filament, the location of where the light is going changes as well. So when you put an HID retrofit in one of these halogen housings the light scatters into places you don’t want it to go. The light will most likely go into oncoming traffic instead of right in front of your car. So putting HID’s in a lamp housing made for halogens will not only be unsafe to you, but they are illegal as well.
The only safe way of putting HID’s in your car is replacing the entire lighting housing to a housing that is made for HID’s."
/Hid/conversions/
headlights HID & other headlight info
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/bad/bad.html
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/good/good.html
i used the silver star in my low beam it did burn out overheated , after about 4months. when i bought my silver star it was about
$16-17 (it may have been on sale) now they are $21-22.
I did some more reading and searched about the NARVA Range Power 50 H3 bulbs and the silverstars and other bulbs today. i found that alot of people have had defective or very short life span on the sylania silverstars. so i guess I will no longer use them or reccomend them, and found some places to order the NARVA Range Power 50 H3 bulbs, to try them out.
I wanted the HID(kit) but now that have read and understand them better I will not be getting them or reccomending them either now.
I also found some info on HID lights and HID kits.
on the HID retrofitng kikts (like ddmtuning HIDkit)
I found this info:
"The most dangerous part of the attempt to "retrofit" Xenon headlamps is that sometimes you get a deceptive and illusory "improvement" in the performance of the headlamp. The performance of the headlamp is perceived to be "better" because of the much higher level of foreground lighting (on the road immediately in front of the car). However, the beam patterns produced by this kind of "conversion" virtually always give less distance light, and often an alarming lack of light where there's meant to be a relative maximum in light intensity. The result is the illusion that you can see better than you actually can, and that's not safe.
Halogen headlamps and HID headlamps require very different optics to produce a safe and effective—not to mention legal—beam pattern. How come? Because of the very different characteristics of the two kinds of light source."
this why you see your retrofit hid kits and the others with hid (in cars that have a kit and that are not originally HID from the manufacturer,I.E.BMW,mercedes,etc..)that they scatter the light everywhere(and also because of the blue/purple light short wavelentgh scatters) and blind you and the oncoming traffic (which is why they illegal in most places).and this why the beam is so short .
from another site;
"To save the lazy ones some reading, HID’s and Halogens require different optics to produce the light in a safe and LEGAL way.
The filament in a bulb produces light in one spot. Lighting engineers shape the reflector and optics around where that filament is placed. The reflector and optics will place the light in a pattern in front of the car so you can see. If you move the location of the filament, the location of where the light is going changes as well. So when you put an HID retrofit in one of these halogen housings the light scatters into places you don’t want it to go. The light will most likely go into oncoming traffic instead of right in front of your car. So putting HID’s in a lamp housing made for halogens will not only be unsafe to you, but they are illegal as well.
The only safe way of putting HID’s in your car is replacing the entire lighting housing to a housing that is made for HID’s."
/Hid/conversions/
headlights HID & other headlight info
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/bad/bad.html
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/good/good.html
