Ah damn... Spyder headlights, bad halo.

[TECN1K]

Originally Posted by Joshdub

I was looking at the mirimoto 55w ballasts. I think the OE is 35w. Something to look into for sure, I need to do more reading.

I guess it's this. https://www.theretrofitsource.com/ca...em/category/6/

Seems like a fair deal for quality components. Better than ebay "slim digital ballast" junk for $30

[BimmerE38E53]

Originally Posted by TECN1K

I guess it's this. https://www.theretrofitsource.com/ca...em/category/6/



Seems like a fair deal for quality components. Better than ebay "slim digital ballast" junk for $30

Why not go with DDM Tuning? I have used them for years with zero regrets. I. Find their bulbs last and are very nice. Ballasts have always worked no issues and they mount nicely. Have you looked at their setups? Just a suggestion

[TECN1K]

Originally Posted by BimmerE38E53

Why not go with DDM Tuning? I have used them for years with zero regrets. I. Find their bulbs last and are very nice. Ballasts have always worked no issues and they mount nicely. Have you looked at their setups? Just a suggestion

Wow, haven't heard that name in a number of years... I still have their set in my Denali I put in, back in 2008! Worth looking them up for a set of D2S's

Found a cap for that low beam hood, perfect fit. Will drill a small hole for the wire to pass through - and seal with buytl goop.

2 in. PVC DWV Flexible Cap-PQC-102 - The Home Depot

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by TECN1K

Seems as if you guys that retro'd these were already coming from Xenon - What am I going to do for ballasts since I've got halogens? Go nuts and get all OEM from the ballast controller, harness, ect? Seems wicked overkill?

OK so yes, the ball popping out of the socket will def cause adjustment and output issues, you should be able to pop it back in by hand. If its too loose and pops out easily (simulating a bump in the road) a dab of caulk on the ball would be fine and keep it in place.

You're right in referencing that most of us guys with these lights have OEM xenons, so we did swap our pieces over. The boot on the OEM xenon ballasts covers that hole and clips into place perfectly, so if you are swapping to OEM xenon, that hole is not an issue and definitely what caused the moisture intrusion.

Don't cover up the vent holes, just make sure they are facing down, you do need airflow which is why the vents are there, otherwise they will fog up from excess pressure.

DO get a QUALITY set of ballasts and bulbs - The Morimoto Elite Kit you looked at is great - You can go the aftermarket way and use an H7 kit to put an HID kit in those projectors, but its kinda frowned upon because of the poor output of the aftermarket H7 projectors.

OEM ballasts are at 35w, honestly I've never seen a need for 55w ballasts although they are hugely popular on the aftermarket, all you are going to do is intensify your foreground even more than it already is. Personally I'd stick with 35w.

If you are going with D2S, for the Love of God stick with OEM bulbs for best output, stability, and quality - they can be had for $80-90 shipped for Philips or Osram. Yes DDM is absolutely the cheapest of the cheap, not something I'd recommend.

I've had a Morimoto H3C kit in my OEM projector fogs for about 3 years now, still running great.

[Ricky Bobby]

In the meantime man, if you are running the halogen bulbs on there, this is the back of an OE halogen light - You should be able to take that low beam cover off, and if I'm not mistaken take the rubber 'boot' that is over the OE lights low beam and have a nice weather proof seal, much better than what came with the lights (that hard plastic cover is really for OEM xenon lights)

[TECN1K]

Yeah - but the new lights has a halogen projector - so that oem low beam halogen boot wont fit the inner projector piece :/

I think I need to retain the hood, and cap the end.

Test fit an H7 HID bulb using the parts that came with the new lights.

[Ricky Bobby]

Gotcha - you're most likely right, it was just a thought to test fit the halogen boot before grabbing caps and cutting holes through them from HD - Glad you are figuring these out nicely!

I would be down to retrofit a set of these lights again (did Matt's a couple years ago) if anyone is interested, for xenon models and do the EvoXR upgrade or just swap all the factory xenon internals, was a fun project.

[lo_jack]

I have Spyder projectors in my E53 I put in back in 2010. They work great. I used ballasts and 4300k bulbs from ddmtuning. They have a good warranty on such cheap ballasts. They are super cheap and plug-and-play, yet much better than the halogens your car came with. The I have had to replace one bulb in 5 years. I used 35w because A)those are pretty bright and B) I worried about melting things.

I never figured out how to wire up the angel eyes. I couldn't figure out an easy way to get them power and it never occurred to me that I needed inverters or another piece of equipment besides a keyed hot and a ground.

[MINIz guy]

The new talk on cheaper HID ballasts is that they don't output the wattage they claim. From what I've seen, 55W eBay ballasts only output 50W; what that means is that the bulbs aren't getting the power they are designed for, so they never get to their proper color temperature. As always, OEM ballasts are the best. Morimoto and Fast Bright branded ballasts and well regarded aftermarket ones. People tend to advise to stay away from "slim" ballasts such as Xentec ones.

In my opinion, some of the nuances people cite are very minor. Going from halogen > xenon will be such a large improvement in light output that it doesn't matter if you get $50 DDMtuning ballasts or $200 OEM ballasts. I had a mix of parts with my Spyder headlight retrofit, using older generation Morimoto ballasts/bulbs and nice (but mismatched) OEM Hella RS6 projectors. My current E36 retrofit uses cheap parts such as B-stock MH1 projectors, old unknown H1 bulbs and either Fast Bright 55W ballasts or Xentec 35W ballasts. To me, if it doesn't blow up or catch my car on fire, the halogen > xenon transition is well worth it, no matter how much you decide to spend.

[TECN1K]

Here's a thought - what's required to run the OEM ballasts, with the integral boot? They look identical to some of the original aftermarket (pre-slim) ones.