DDM vs. Apexcone

OK..I had the bulbs from Daniel Stern and they did perform better than stock and lasted a bit longer but still not that great. Since I have gotten the car I have put in at least 4 sets of lows, so while I know the above mentioned kits may not have the best reliability they hopefully won't be worse than stock halogens and at least be a bit brighter.

 

So my questions is which one to get? I have seen quite a few threads were people are having issues with them igniting...some think it is due to the high initial current draw some have mentioned it is due to the slim design. Personally I don not beleive it is current draw since many have installed harnesses which didn't help and one vendor here posted a chart showing differences between kits...one line was intial draw...chinese aftermarket kits were pulling 6-15A which was basically the same as what they listed for OEM...yet I have never heard of this problem on stock HIDs. Also there was another thread here where measurements were actually taken on several models and while the current draw was higher on the Apexcone I don't think it was out of the bounds listed above. Personally I think it has more to do with the internals of the ballast and I am concerned that when they try to make them smaller they are more likely to fail/have issues.

 

Does anyone else have any thoughts?

Not that I have the answer but I sure would like to know which one is the best. Like you said it seems like so many people are having some issues and I can't find one that is reliable. Hope someone have one that is worth buying.

I know one vendor says the japanese kits will not have these problems but I am not sure since many of these DDM/APexcone kits worked well for a while then started to have issues and they are still fairly new. Also I could buy 3 of these kits for the same price. While it may be a PITA to deal with them not igniting the price is very tempting since they about the same as new bulbs from Daniel Stern.

I have the DDM kit in my 09'. Been installed for 2 months now with battery harness. Since then its been through rain, sleet, freezing rain, 5+ inches of snow, slush, slop and anything else that Northeast weather could throw at it. LIGHTS EVERY TIME THE FIRST TIME

^^ Me too for 2 months, no problems at all and i did not install the battery harness.

i would go for ddm, or even the volt that is now available. I had ddm and they worked fine for 2 months then stopped working on the passenger side, then re did the connections still nothing, i talked to xenon expert and right before i was about to remove the lights to send them to him they began to work just fine.

 

Volt looks like a better design though.

I am tempted to buy a set of DDM or Apexcones for the lows and fogs...that way if I start to have issues I can swap the fog ballasts/bulbs to the lows to make sure I have lights.

I bought 2 apex kits from a vendor here and had about 5 problems with them before removal. I didn't feel like waiting 2 months for 'warranty work' so I put some silverstars in my car and am honestly happy. It's nice having them always ignite and be legal (non-blinding). Worry free is underestimated.

 

Anyways, if you are going to buy a kit...

 

http://ddmtuning.com/hidkihidbuhi.html Only 50 bucks

The ddm's are not blinding as long as you didn't misalign the headlights but fat's ask monkeyhermit about doing the fogs.

 

Its a PITA to do from what I hear. Not worth it. Just get the plasma ION bulbs for the fogs. More reliable and a whole lot less of the wiring mess.

Well to mee they seem reliable so we will see what happens. But so far light everytime and am very pleased with them

My DDM's were reliable for about 8 months and then after that everything went down hill. "Free" warranty work is far from that, and the wait time was just absurd. I am currently waiting for the Volt kits to offer 4300k, in which case I will probably jump back on the bandwagon.

I am going to buy a backup set right now...

I am going to buy a backup set right now...

You should buy mine. I have my set sitting in the garage, but one of the ballasts is bad.

!@#$%!!!

 

So just to be clear, what I'm reading is that HIDS are really not anymore reliable than regular bulbs????

 

I'm looking to convert to HIDS and looking at some Apexcones for low beams. but if people are having issues with them after a few months, what's the difference?

 

I'd rather go through a set of regular bulbs vs. not have my HIDS light up in the morning when I'm trying to go to work.

If you're looking for reliable HIDs, then the best route to go would be a retrofit. Ones that come to mind are the rx330, tsx, etc. In which case you will be using OEM quality parts, instead of ones which have a great potential to fail.

yeah, but for the price? I'm not willing to pay for that. If this is the case, i'm going to put in some driving lights instead.

 

had thought about this before, looks like I may go that route. my commute takes me mostly on 2 lane roads and up around my house there are no street lights.

 

I'll most likely mount some driving lights below the license plate area and use them as needed.

c-lo...I am thinking I might give these a try even though some are having problems since these end up costing about the same as bulbs I got from Daniel Stern but should give better light output. For me this is important since I am on a lot of country roads. I am concerned about the igniting issue but from what I have read most will eventually ignite but you may have to cycle the switch....teadious but doable. I think if I do get these though I'll pick up a cheap set of H7 bulbs from Walmart just in case.

i too drive on country rodes which is why I was considering the driving lights. which HIDS are you looking a again?

I think if I end up pulling the trigger it will be for the Apexcones...in one of the DDM/Apexcone threads here someone said they discussed reliability with the owner of DDM and he said that the Apexcone are more reliable and 55W units are more stable....so I might just roll the dice and give those a try.

yep, those were the ones I was looking at. I keep flip flopping. maybe i'll get em:rolleyes:

here is that thread I mentioned http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2241785&postcount=131

For whatever it's worth, I ordered DDM's, and what I got was a box labeled Apexcone. Even came with a couple Apexcone window decals. The ballasts I believe say DDM. Just saying that, because they seem interchangeable, and DDM and Apexcone are one company. I'm not convinced they are different products.

The ddm's are not blinding as long as you didn't misalign the headlights but fat's ask monkeyhermit about doing the fogs.

 

Its a PITA to do from what I hear. Not worth it. Just get the plasma ION bulbs for the fogs. More reliable and a whole lot less of the wiring mess.

 

The fogs aren't that hard to do once you get your car off the ground. If you want fogs that actually make a difference in your depth of field and that significantly light the side of road, I totally recommend getting HID's in them. I know I'm glad I did. I tried various normal bulbs in the fogs, and nothing came very close to being actually usable light.

here is that thread I mentioned http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2241785&postcount=131

That was me...I still have not received them, but I got a "billing information received" email from UPS.

 

I wish I had gotten around to ordering a 9006 3000K fog kit as well. I can just order them later, I suppose.

i have the 35w DDM kit from xenon expert for over a year now. Still to this day its one of my favorite things ive done to the car. The kit has never had an issue, the ballasts are small and fit perfectly mounted to my frame. great kit if you ask me