HID lights Big time improvement

[nitris223]

Installed some DDM Tuning HID lights on our Nytro's. All I can say is why the hell did I wait so long. Here is a picture of my wife's sled parked on the left , you can just see the ski tip and our riding partner was just back maybe a foot so his ski tip was just out of the picture on the right. Both lights were set on low beam. The lights were so good, that when we loaded the sleds up and started to drive away I had to check and see if the lights were actually working on my truck. They looked like I had daytime running lights on. Time for a set for the truck.

 

[Slowey]

Did you install the 3000 bulbs?

 

[nitris223]

4500 k hi/lo bulbs 35 watt kit, if I order a set for my Buddy we might try the 5000 but I don`t really see a need for any more. What we found last night was that I was wanting the lights shinning another 100 ft ahead so I could go faster. 60 + mph in blowing snow is pretty good. My buddy was always a mile or 2 behind. He couldn`t keep up. If it wasn`t for the blowing snow I know I could drive faster but no need to in the dark.

 

[mcamzr]

5000 isn't more useable light than 4500. The 4500 is the way to go for sure.

 

[smalltownpower]

do you have any pictures of where you mounted the relays and ballasts? my brother wants a set in his nytro, we both have ddm tunings 55w h11 lights. in his truck, he went 6000k even though I told him not to, and I got 5000k in my cummins. the light output is absolutely insane!!!

 

[Bahr05]

Grizztracks did a good write up on this. I did the exact same thing for installation as he did.

http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php?t=91199

 

[grizztracks]

4 years later I'm still running the same HID's with absolutely no problems. It's hard to argue their reliability.

I researched the high/low beam differential issue that's caused by the poor design of the headlight housing and came up with this solution:

 

[mattyg1405]

i switched to hids as well , i think im going to try what grizz posted above im not too happy with the high / low differential, i think its too drastic. i think removing the cone would help both , the hids in the apex i ride with are so much better but they are the same output?!

 

[Bahr05]

I'm not using any of the shields around the bulbs. It seems fine for me, but then again, anything can be improved!

 

[sloan188]

4 years later I'm still running the same HID's with absolutely no problems. It's hard to argue their reliability.

I researched the high/low beam differential issue that's caused by the poor design of the headlight housing and came up with this solution:

Grizz - I installed DDM HIDs per your post and absolutely love them; the difference is night and day. I too notice that the hi/lo is pretty much worthless; however, this is no real issue as the lo tromp the OEM hi. Did this fix/mod make much of a difference?

 

[grizztracks]

Unlike the OEM halogen bulbs the hid bulbs physically move to adjust between high and low beam. The low beam position is forward and when the high beams are activated the bulb is pulled back in the housing. The bottom shield has a window so when the bulb is pulled back for the high beam the bulb better aligns with the window allowing more light to pass through to the lower headlight housing and reflect upward. Enlarging the window toward the front of the shield allows more light to pass through in both high and low positions and brings the two beams together. Some people elect to remove the lower shield but I found that without the shield the beams weren't as distinctive. I tried several modifications to improve trail coverage and the modified shield is the best solution.

 

[mcamzr]

What did you use to cut this? I might have to try this. I don't think I have used my low beams ever

 

[grizztracks]

A small bit in a die grinder works well. A good file might do the job also but that's to much work for me..

 

[nitris223]

Here is how I installed the ballast. Unplug one headlight wire and undo the 2 ground wires along with the power wire on the battery and it all comes off with the headlight. I installed the ground screws to the air box screws so next time I take it off I am going to gut the 3 wires and put connectors on them so I can just unplug everything take it off even quicker.

I found that I just kept my lights on Hi and I didn't see a whole lot of difference between the hi and low. It was really hard to tell how far the hi was shinning because we were in blowing snow conditions but I know I was driving faster then when I had stock lights. I never did any adjustments to the lights at all . So maybe this weekend if it is warm enough I can turn the lows up just a bit and see if that helps at all. The lights I got with my kit are different then the ones Grizz had in his write up. I have just a bottom shield and no nose shield. I might try opening the shield a bit and see if there is anything to gain. We have 2 nytro's so it will be easy to compare if I only do one.

 

[nitris223]

Grizz when we were talking you mention that the cut out on my lights looked bigger then your stock. When you take them out again maybe measure the opening and I will do the same. Maybe the newer lights are already opened up wide enough.