Kragen HID's vs Hella 500's with HID's?
 

Looking to get some HID lights and I really like the Kragen HID's and they seemed to be very reasonably priced. But I recently started looking into converting some Hella 500's to HID's with the DDM tuning kit.

Hella 500 w DDM tuning HID kit
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f131...ctures-202736/

Kragen HID's
http://www.activepowersports.com/pro...2d-Kragen.html

Obviously the Hella converted HID would be cheaper but I'm curious if it might just be worth the extra $$ to buy the Kragen. Any input would be appreciated thanks!

Anthony

i've heard the Hella 500s don't put out the same pattern as the Kragen's...which are long pencil beam, i believe.

Hella 700s actually seem to take to HID's ALOT better. Check out Mastacox's thread on the 700s with HID's

I have 500s with the 35w 6000k ddm kit. It looks amazing! They are so bright!

all the pictures i've seen don't put off a good beam (to me..? lol ) of course i'm more into pencil beam lights.

maybe these people didn't have them aimed right?

I have the Kragen lights in 7", they throw a "euro" pattern, basically a long range fog light if that makes sense? I love them, paired with a hi/low H4 headlight kit from DDM I can light up the highway like its daytime again!

There is a website which sells the Kragen style lights with a pencil beam reflector instead of the euro: http://www.hidfoglight.com/productsA...rucklight.html

Any pics? That's the way I'm leaning with my FF500's but wanted to make sure they would throw out some good light with the 35w DDM kit. Which kit did you use? The Raptor kit or the Slim Ballast kit? Would the 55w kit be too much heat for the Hella 500's?

Do you think the HID wiring kit is worth the $$?

Sorry for the 20 questions :)

Any pics? Are the 6K bright white in the 35w or do they have a hint of blue? I want to order a kit from DDM for my 500's but wanted to make sure that 6000 wasn't too blue. I want bright white :hillbill:

I don't have any pics, but I was like you and did not want any blue. First I had 35 watt 6k kit and they were pretty blue, then I changed them out with 45k 55 watt kit and it is a lot brighter, but they still have a hint of blue to them.

i will try to get a pic tonight...

Thanks hunt & tofer! I guess I'm trying to figure out if the 55w is too much light for these hella retrofits.

Did you guys buy the harness they sell? Pretty cheap for $12.50. Did you buy the ballast brackets?

That is kind of the same boat that I am in. I have a couple of sets of Hellas on the shelf that have never been used. Picked up a 35w kit to convert them as $$ has been tight for 'projects' and spending $200+ for another set of lights just isn't gonna happen any time soon.

for $12.50 I think I will pick up one of those wiring kits to see how they work. it might be worth it in time savings alone.

First I had the 500FF's and with the hid kit they an awful light pattern. They threw the light everywhere (not in a good way). I did not like it at all. So the I bought the old style 500's and the pattern is 100% better.

Also with Hella's old version of the 500's the bulb just clamps in, with the new ones you have to modify the housing to hold the bulb in place.

Thanks for the heads up. I know that putting the HID bulbs into a light housing designed for a halogen isn't the best setup but I'm cheap :laugh: As long as the HID's put out more light than the stock 55w halogen bulbs, I'm willing to try it.

there are also 2 styles to the hella 500's: pencil and wide. i have the pencils, and they work well. lots of light out the front, and almost 180 degrees of (dim) light to the sides. i also swapped some 100w bulbs in

sub'd for more info

I finally ordered up some DDM 55w 4500k lights for my Hella 500FF's!! I also ordered the wiring harness. I'll post some pics of the light output after once I get them converted and the wiring ran!

I'm wondering how long it'll take for the chrome reflective bowls of the Hella's to burn with 55w AND DDM bulbs, which burn really hot and give off a whole lot of UV..

... Good luck folks, my DDM kits in KC's burnt the reflectors prettttttttttty quickly.

Never thought about the chrome fading from the UV light from the bulbs. My only saving grace is I will hardly use the lights. I don't get out wheeling much and even less at night. I will keep an eye on the reflective chrome though.

UV kills housings way quicker than heat, and DDM bulbs are one of the worst bulbs on the market for UV.. A whack of tests was done by a member named "StupidPig" on HidPlanet.com doing temperature and UV readings across a tonne of bulbs.. Came out with a result of 66% higher UV output in DDM bulbs at 55w over OEM Philips bulbs at 35w.. That kinda result is saaaaaaaaaaaaaaavage.

I dunno, if you guys want to do this the really cheap way go DDM all over, if you want to do it cheapish, go Morimoto bulbs and DDM ballasts and stick with 35w..

Also I'm thinking it will really depend on the housing, I know we're talking about Hella's but if you wanted to do the same thing with cheap housings don't expect the chrome to hold up, and when you start factoring in the price of re-doing the whole thing when you burn bowls you aren't saving any money by going cheap bulbs..

... My 2 cents.

That's why I went DDM :laugh: I wanted the cheapest possible HID bulbs for a cheap set of lights. I know they aren't going to last nor perform as good as other bulbs or lights on the market. I'm OK with that. I'm guessing my lights will see an hour or two of use per year.

I have run mine hours on end and they are just fine. Zero problems.