35W or 55W HID bulb

[roamingphantom]

Hi,
Just wanted to confirm or deny if I can use a 55W rated d3s bulb on my Ex. I have the 35W but it seems really weak and I thought maybe the 55w will improve this.

I had asked in another thread but I guess it got lost in the sauce.

Can I use the 55w or will it fry my wires, should I stick with the 35w?

Thanks

 

[OKExplorerSport]

Hi,
Just wanted to confirm or deny if I can use a 55W rated d3s bulb on my Ex. I have the 35W but it seems really weak and I thought maybe the 55w will improve this.

I had asked in another thread but I guess it got lost in the sauce.

Can I use the 55w or will it fry my wires, should I stick with the 35w?

Thanks

I have done quite a bit of reading on this subject before I made a decision. I went with the 35 Watt HID's and I am glad I did.

When I am driving at night people are always flashing me because they think I have my highbeams on....I then flash them my highbeams and they almost go off the road.... You do NOT need the 55 Watt HID's. They will be too bright..

Get the 35's.

 

[roamingphantom]

I have done quite a bit of reading on this subject before I made a decision. I went with the 35 Watt HID's and I am glad I did.

When I am driving at night people are always flashing me because they think I have my highbeams on....I then flash them my highbeams and they almost go off the road.... You do NOT need the 55 Watt HID's. They will be too bright..

Get the 35's.

Thanks OKEx,

I am thinking you and I have different lens - mine is factory hid Limited, yours seem to be a Sport. I assume (yep I may be doing just that) that may make a difference. I'd like to try it, what's your take on it potentially burning the wiring? Would I be fine just to try it. Given, I am all for safety and would not want to impair oncoming drivers.

 

[JP4962]

I bought a 55w kit from retrofit source, and have enjoyed it. I haven't had any issues after a few months of use, and people aren't flashing their lights at me.

 

[Mikepaul]

There will be no difference in light output between a 35w and 55w bulb with your current ballast.

 

[roamingphantom]

There will be no difference in light output between a 35w and 55w bulb with your current ballast.

new ballast also...I am getting a full 55w d3s setup. This way i'll swap out the entire thing.

 

[JETZ]

You get the flashing headlights because you installed a HID system into a 'reflector' housing headlight. HIDs are meant for 'projector' housings like on the Limited. I see this all the time! Cars coming toward me with the really annoying
headlight glare, and when they get closer and actually see the car, it's usually some chitbox that never came OEM with HIDs, but owner wants to be cool (I gots dem HIDs) to hell with everybody else. Dodge Ram, with the HIDs in the fogs too are really bad, cops should ticket them.

Do it right the first time, or forgetaboutit.

I have done quite a bit of reading on this subject before I made a decision. I went with the 35 Watt HID's and I am glad I did.

When I am driving at night people are always flashing me because they think I have my highbeams on....I then flash them my highbeams and they almost go off the road.... You do NOT need the 55 Watt HID's. They will be too bright..

Get the 35's.

 

[Mikepaul]

new ballast also...I am getting a full 55w d3s setup. This way i'll swap out the entire thing.

A bit of research shows that a "35w" HID bulb and a "55w" HID bulb is the same bulb. It's the ballast that makes the difference in light output. If you are swapping out both the bulbs and the ballasts then keep your current bulbs as spares.

I would be concerned the projector housing may deteriorate over time from the extra heat.

 

[roamingphantom]

I would be concerned the projector housing may deteriorate over time from the extra heat.

That's exactly what I am scared of - damaging something...will have to rethink this.

 

[JerryC]

I have done quite a bit of reading on this subject before I made a decision. I went with the 35 Watt HID's and I am glad I did.

When I am driving at night people are always flashing me because they think I have my highbeams on....I then flash them my highbeams and they almost go off the road.... You do NOT need the 55 Watt HID's. They will be too bright..

Get the 35's.

Aim your lights down a little

We don't get flashed at all.

 

[JerryC]

You get the flashing headlights because you installed a HID system into a 'reflector' housing headlight. HIDs are meant for 'projector' housings like on the Limited. I see this all the time! Cars coming toward me with the really annoying
headlight glare, and when they get closer and actually see the car, it's usually some chitbox that never came OEM with HIDs, but owner wants to be cool (I gots dem HIDs) to hell with everybody else. Dodge Ram, with the HIDs in the fogs too are really bad, cops should ticket them.

Do it right the first time, or forgetaboutit.

Sport has projector housings...

 

[ObsceneJesster]

Sport has projector housings...

All of the 5th Gen Explorers have Projector housings however, the models that come with halogen bubs have a reflector behind the projector. It was explained to me that's how the high beams work. When the high beams are enabled, the reflector moves inside the housing which directs the light into a high pattern. The reflector behind the projector is deflecting the light to create that perfect cut off point not to blind other drivers. Since the HID bulbs are designed differently, the reflector inside the housing causes the cut off point of the light to rise which may blind other drivers.

 

[JerryC]

All of the 5th Gen Explorers have Projector housings however, the models that come with halogen bubs have a reflector behind the projector. It was explained to me that's how the high beams work. When the high beams are enabled, the reflector moves inside the housing which directs the light into a high pattern. The reflector behind the projector is deflecting the light to create that perfect cut off point not to blind other drivers. Since the HID bulbs are designed differently, the reflector inside the housing causes the cut off point of the light to rise which may blind other drivers.

There's an adjustment screw to aim the lights down if you need to. Mine ended up very close to where the halogens were. I actually aimed mine up just a bit to bring them to where the halogens were.

 

[ObsceneJesster]

There's an adjustment screw to aim the lights down if you need to. Mine ended up very close to where the halogens were. I actually aimed mine up just a bit to bring them to where the halogens were.

Oh, okay...Cool. I've been wanting to go with HID's but I've been worried about the light pattern being to high. If the cut off pattern can be adjusted with a screw then I see no reason why people on this forum are still talking down to those choosing to put HID's in a Halogen housing.

By the way, where is the screw located incase I decide to add some HID's?

 

[JerryC]

On the backside of the light housing look for this, put a phillips head screwdriver straight down into it. This is the passenger side of my EX.

 

[ObsceneJesster]

Thank you

 

[peterk9]

....... If the cut off pattern can be adjusted with a screw then I see no reason why people on this forum are still talking down to those choosing to put HID's in a Halogen housing.

It hasn't anything to do with the cut-off being too high. It has everything to do with the inability of the halogen projector not being able to accurately focus the light an HID bulb produces. Halogen and HID bulbs produce light in different ways and that is why the projectors are different. That is why more and more people are now going the extra mile and doing a proper change over by changing the projectors.

Peter

 

[JerryC]

Here's a pic so people can decide if HID in halogen projectors are good enough for them or not.

This is the 35w DDM kit in my Ex Sport. As you can see the Ex is pretty close to the door so you can see some reflected light from the driveway up above the cutoff line.

 

[ObsceneJesster]

Nice Jerry.....So those HID's are in the stock halogen projector housings?

If so, I don't see any scatter and they look a lot brighter than the stock halogen bulbs.

It doesn't appear as if they'd blind anyone since that's a pretty sharp cut-off.

Are they a lot brighter than the stock halogens even though you're using the halogen projectors?

 

[JerryC]

Yes, those are DDM tuning HIDs in the stock projectors. I also have the relay harness, so we're talking about $40 plus shipping in lighting.

They are much brighter than the stock halogens were. Without a meter of some kind I can't say exactly how much brighter, but IMHO they allow you to see 3x better.