[Sky Hye]

EDIT: DON'T BUT VVME!

Update - 10/23/2010:

SO after about a year or so of having these puppies, some things: VVME in all it's glory is @#$%. DO NOT buy from them. Their service is crap, their response time is crap, their understanding is crap, and most importantly their product is crap.

I had one bulb turned yellow then burned out completely earlier this year. I contacted them, after about a week of broken engrish and this and that, I sent them my old bulb (to China) and waited about 3 weeks and got in the bulb and everything was ok. About 3 months earlier my other bulb turned yellow and completely burned out as well. I entered the same routine and same issues of communication, response time and about 15 emails later they sent me another 6000k 55W H-3 bulb. I also had to pay them $10... Odd but ok, I wanted my bulb. The bulb came in 2 weeks later from china and I put it in, turned it on and what do you know.... It was YELLOW! I dont mean white, it was yellow. So now I have one 6000k bulb and one yellow bulb. I sent them pictures and about 10 emails of back and forth. I told them about this thread, how 81,100 people have seen it, how I have made them alot of business, they didnt care. They simply told me it was out of warranty. So essentially I got crap product, crap service, and I paid $10 for a crap bulb that will most likely burn out in a few months anyway. I highly recommend not going with VVME. As I sent them their last email, I immediately went to DDM and ordered a 55w H-4 and a 35 W H-3 kit for both my headlight and Driving light assemblies. I don't know what I'll do with the VVME kit, maybe use it as wheel chocks or a door stop...

Hey guys,

After doing a bit of research, and read alot of threads on here (thanks JeepinTJ99!). I finally decided its time to upgrade my lighting. I had Sylvania superstar Ultra lights before, which were nice, but I like light... I will probably convert my driving lights too someday (not like I need any more light anyway )


Here's the DDM Kit to buy. I got a 55W H-4 Bi-Xenon kit as well as a 35W H-3 kit for my driving lights.

DDM 35W & 55W Slim Ballast HID Kit: DDM Tuning - HID Kits, HID Bulbs, DEPO Lighting, BMW and Porsche Performance Accessories

ONLY buy the 55W Hi/Lo ballasts, with whatever color you want. You don't need any additional harness' or adapters.


I chose IPF H-4 housings as well. Halogen Headlamp

I went IPF because I read a lot of great reviews on them. I just didn’t like the lens flutes on the Hellas and I read that Hellas have a small vent hole on the bottom. In my experience with chemicals and finishes, any amount of moisture dried on a highly reflective surface can cause irreversible damage. Its exponentially worse if it’s mud or dirty water combined with the EXTREME heat this system puts out. My driving light lenses are now crap for this reason.

Installation was a breeze, the only hard part was trying to figure out where to mount the ballast on the passenger side. I decided to place it above the airbox. (See page 4 for some better installation locations) All the connections and fittings were done well and it was well assembled. I deal with critical aerospace harnesses daily and although these things are made in China and they were dirt cheap I was impressed. I was able to put it all together without a glimpse at the instructions. There is a helpful block diagram in the instructions if you need it. I waited till night and turned them on. I love the flicker and how they fade in. At first I thought, oh no, they are too purple in color... well, it takes a few seconds for the color to "warm up" and once they do, WOW, someone pass me my sunglasses!

It's literally plug&play. You basically install this system between your existing headlight harness and the HID bulbs. The only drilling I did was when mounting the ballast brackets. It doesn't use the power off of your lighting harness so dont worry about gauge, amperage, etc some people will throw your way. Instead, it draws [very little] power off of your battery. So you have to attach the power cable with ring terminal on your batt. I have an optima blue top, so it worked out since there's auxiliary mounting locations. Think of it like a LED vs an incandescent bulb...

One note, the ballasts emit a high frequency whine, but its pretty inaudible over my engine.

Adjustment was a pain in the you know what. It took me about a week to get them where i was happy. These things run very hot and bright, so be careful not to look into the lens and dont touch them either. Additionally, the cutoff seems to be angled a bit (see the pic below) so I may need to take them apart to fix that. I am looking for excuses now to drive at night, thats how much I love them.

Anyway, enough blabbing, you guys want to see some pictures.

Note: Both comparison pictures were taken at the same place, time of day, and exact same camera settings. It should be pretty unbiased.

Before: Sylvania Silverstar HD 7" Bulbs


After: VVME 55W H-4 Bi-Xenon kit with 6000k bulbs and IPF (ARB) H-4 7" Housings



Here is a basic write-up for the IPF's:


Note: For Hella bulbs you wont need step 4

1. remove the 3 headlight bezel screws and the 4 headlight retainer ring screws. You will need a #15 Torx wrench.
2. unplug the headlight socket from the back and remove the bulbs.
3. take the Hella housing and make sure the rubber boot fits snugly on the back. don't install it yet.
4. take the boot off and using a razor or small scissors, trim the little lip as close as possible. (see the picture)
   
   
   Where to modify the seal
   
   
5. Now grab the light bulb by the black plastic housing. DO NOT TOUCH THE GLASS PART OF THE BULB.
6. take a CLEAN microfiber cloth or compressed air and clean all the dust off the bulb.
7. take the rubber seal from the IPF housing and put it on the bulb and slide it up to the red line in the picture below. Again, don't touch the glass part of the bulbs.
   
   
   The red line is where you want to slide up the seal.
   
   
8. now put the bulb into the housing and attach the clips to hold the bulb down.
9. slide the rubber boot down until you hear it snap into place
10. install the housing onto your Jeep. Don't install the headlight bezel yet, you need to access the adjustment screws.
11. install the wiring harness per the drawing in the instructions and route the cables the best way you think. Try to avoid high heat areas.
    

1. HID's Off


2. HID's on


3. Ballast 1 + Relay (If you use this position, make sure you apply sealant around the screw holes)


4. Ballast 2


5. Wiring


6. Bulb in housing


7. Wiring harness




Here are some night shots. The light output is actually brighter than what I've shown in the pictures, I underexposed the pictures so you can see the light pattern a bit better. Keep in mind that the colors may not be very accurate here. Reason is that you must really sit there and play around with the white balance and exposure to closely simulate how it looks in real life.

1. Wall shot Lo beams
   
   
   
2. Wall shot Lo beams, a bit more underexposed
   
   
   
3. High Beams
   
   
   
4. Straight on, Low beams. (As you can see I have to take the bulb off and adjust the reflector, the cuttofs are angled)
   
   
   
5. Straight on, High Beams
   

Here is a comparison of different bulb colors in case you guys want a comparison. The best output is actually the lowest Kelvin number (500k), but IMO they look too yellow. The most popular choice is the 6000k color which is a purer white with a hint of blue. Its basically the same color off new Audi, Lexus and Benz cars. I think they look perfect, unlike the higher temp which look like cheap ricer headlights.

[nelson1248]

dude where did you buy those i need some for my WJ!!!

[GroceryGetter01]

WOW! Huge difference!

[Sky Hye]

Haha, here's the link bro... 50/55W H4-3(9003) Bi-Xenon HID Kit - $92.99 : VVME.COM, Car Parts, HID KIT, Tattoo Kit, Ballast, Bulbs

They are REALLY bright... I may be a target for cops now. Ive already been ticketed once for having too many lights... (at 2 am with nobody on the road).

[Steel_Condor]

dang, that's pretty impressive. but does it give it a kinda walmart racer look at night though? just heard those things can have that effect

[Sky Hye]

Not at all, those "walmart racers" usually go for the higher kelvin colors, IMO 6000k is the perfect color (same color as Audis and other European cars). There was the 4700k color (like Lexus HID's) but theyre too white for me.

http://www.meccaone.org/images/hid-chart.jpg

[SmashinTJs]

WOW that is a huge difference, and really its not that expensive, so the H-4 housings have a exchangable bulb that make this possible correct? Most of the threads on HID's i have seen have been pretty complex and not worth it. Yours appears to be pretty easy tho.

[Okanagan_TJ]

Are those pics of the Low Beam or Hi Beam?

Also does anyone know if these will work with Daytime Running Lights?

[Sky Hye]

SmashinTJs, Yes, its that simple. You just plug in the bulbs and the ballast plugs into your batt, and one of your pre-existing lightbulb sockets on the jeep.

Okanagan_TJ,

They wont work if you mean you want to put them into your stock foglights, the fog lights are too narrow.

[SmashinTJs]

I just might have a new project for next weekend

[IH8ROADZ]

I have HID's in my TJ I have no reference shot from before but I'll try to get out tonight to snap a pic. The ones I have are BRIGHT I love them compared to stock.

[yjbleu]

if you want to make projector for hid for jeep i've done it,

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f12/i-made-_____-my-yj-post-your-homemade-jeep-stuff-here-457361/index41.html

i will explain more in details soon

[Imped]

That is UNREAL man. Next purchase for sure.

[GriGri]

wow what a difference. I upgraded to the Hella H4 headlights already, that made a difference over stock, but nothing like that!
Im going to order that kit. So thats everything you needed? just the kit for $92.99?

[Sky Hye]

Yep. That and some cold beer