Chris W. - '96 Targa

EDIT: I went back through my email receipts, and it was ~4 months ago, not 6 as I originally said. No issues with the set thus far.

The set I got ~6 months ago was one with the digital thin ballasts. Looks identical to the one in Sam's picture above. Bought from eBay seller fjt2000 (his eBay store is called "Tao's HID lighting store"). No affiliation with him other than a happy customer.



-Chris

luvmy356

Can you post or PM me the contact info of this kit? I wanted to update my w124 chassis MB and my 993 with HID's.

verboten

Okay, now I'm confused which is the good slim digital ballast on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...148957457&rd=1?

or

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Super...QQcmdZViewItem?

Chris W. - '96 Targa

This is the exact kit I got, from the same eBay seller:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Super...QQcmdZViewItem

It has a digital ballast. If/when you order, just tell the seller you want the H1 bulb style, and the wiring harness that does *not* have relays in it.

Not sure if this kit is the same kit Vic (vjd3) is referring to in his earlier post or not.



-Chris

verboten

Wouldn't it be better to have the relay. Isn't a relay to ensure proper watt/volts?

Chris W. - '96 Targa

Addressing your specific question comparing the two listings, looking at your links, the second link is the same one I just posted.

The first link doesn't mention anything about it being a digital ballast. It appears that the seller in the first link only offers a 30-day warranty (vs. 1 year in the other kit). The auction also says they only offer 6000- and 8000-degree Kelvin color temperatures. I wanted a 4000-degree color temp, which is the closest to the factory color (pure white light, vs. blue/purple). The auction listing says 6000K and 8000K because of legal restrictions. I'm not aware of any such restrictions. Not to mention factory HID setups on Porsche, BMW, etc. are usually 4000K. *shrug*

Hope this helps...

-Chris

Chris W. - '96 Targa

There's no harm in using a relay, it's just been found to be unnecessary in HID installs many of us Rennlisters have done in our cars. If you feel better having the relay there, by all means install it.

The HID lights actually draw *less* current vs. the halogen lights once they've reached steady-state operation. *HOWEVER*, they draw 2-3X more current on initial startup. This is where a relay can provide an extra margin of safety.

All that said, the kit I installed in my car does not have inline relays, and I've not experienced any problems with heat, current loads, etc. YMMV.



-Chris

Chris W. - '96 Targa

For those tracking this thread who are now curious about the relays, if you look at 993C4Smontreal's pic on page 4 (in post #56), the cable #4 that I said earlier wasn't needed is the cable with the relay in it. If you go the relay route, you would use cable #4 rather than cable #3.

-Chris

Amfab

Im ignorant about how all this works, but can you replace the bulbs in an HID system to get a lower color temp? Id prefer something below 4k. I like a little yellow.

verboten

What is this 2nd generation stuff (6000K has 4200 lumens)? Does this mean that 6000K vs 5000K has the greatest light output?

http://www.omegaxenon.com/index.html :

The international unit (SI) of luminous flux (quantity of lights). For example, a dinner candle produces about 12 lumens and a standard 60-watt incandescent bulb produces 830 lumens.




Omega Color (K) and Lumen (lm) chart :

3500K Gold Yellow 3,600 (lm)

6000K Pure White - Blueish 3,200 (lm)

6000K Pure White - Blueish 2nd Gen 4,200 (lm)

8000K Purple White 2,600 (lm)

10000K Pure Blue 2,400 (lm)

Chris W. - '96 Targa

I've not done it myself, but yes, I'm almost certain you can. The ballast/igniter are the same. You'd just want to find a bulb that matches the ballast/igniter connectors you already have.

-Chris

Chris W. - '96 Targa

Not sure what "2nd generation" means. Perhaps that's the digital ballast technology? Using the comparison of the 6000K Pure White bulbs above, the 4,200 lm in the "2nd Gen" vs. 3,200 lm (lumens) refers to light output (higher = more light output). Think lumens like you see in ads for LCD projectors used in office conference rooms/powerpoint or for home theater.

-Chris

RallyJon

It means they have a bunch of those they want to sell. Lower color temperature = more lumens.

Chris W. - '96 Targa

Good point!



-Chris

Marlon

Wow - somdeday all this HID info will be consolidated in an easy-to-read novel...