I'm asking on behalf of my dad here. He drives a Volvo Semi (18 Wheeler) and is always complaining about not being able to see at night because his headlights aren't that great.

So I was thinking of buying him an H11 HID kit for his truck, so that he'd be able to see a bit better. It seems that the truck already has projectors, or at least lenses, rather than traditional reflectors, but it uses halogen bulbs.

If I get him a decent HID kit, I figure it would make things not only easier to see, but given that he has a projector type headlight, there won't be too much worry about blinding anyone.

Suggestions? I really want to stay away from DDM although they are super cheap, and the only other site I know that sells a H11 kit is TRS, but that one is a bit too expensive.


EDIT: Also sorry if I posted in wrong section, wasn't sure.

 

Any reason you want to stay away from DDM Tuning? I have a kit from them in my car and it works perfectly, and I've had them for a few months. I just bought another set of bulbs cus I didn't like 6000k as much as I thought I would. Only complaint was shipping time since they shipped my kit from China so it took about 2 weeks to arrive which isn't totally unreasonable. Other than that I'm a happy customer.

 

DDM is just as good as any other rebased bulb and they will all go out in 2 years or so. I know trucks are subjected to way more inspections than passenger cars and any HID kit is illegal for road use so we he get in trouble for this?

 

I always go to theretrofitsource.com for all my HID needs

a bit pricey but quality stuff!

 

I think he's past the point of caring, seeing as how a lot of truckers he works with have gone this route and nobody has really said or done anything. Its either this, or adding an extra set of lamps right underneath the grille of the truck, which requires modification to the bumper, etc. etc. This is just easier and more cost effective in my opinion.

I'll still talk to him about the legality of it, but I really doubt it will be a problem, as it will make it much safer for him and surrounding drivers during the night time. Right now he's lucky to see 20 feet in front of him with his crappy bulbs/headlights.

Plus I'm getting him 4300k so its not some funky color that will attract attention.

Just past experience with DDM. I had a buddy come to me with his Civic Si to install a kit he bought from DDM, everything went well for a couple of months. Then all of a sudden, one of the ballasts or bulbs started to crap out, and would only SOMETIMES turn on, after multiple attempts.

Whereas the stuff he bought from TRS hasn't even flinched. I'm actually putting in Projectors in his 9th Gen SI next Tuesday/Wednesday from TRS.

In the end I may give DDM another shot, if not we'll have to find another means of more light output. I actually read that some people just mod 9006 halogens/hid's to fit H11 sockets, because for some reason they get more light that way, not quite sure I understand how, but I may look into that as well.

 

I have heard a lot of complaints about DDM bulbs. I have an Xtreme HID H11 slim ballast kit that I am happy with, but the bulb quality is probably comparable to DDM. The retrofit source is the best option for bulbs. The prices really aren't bad as they sell quality stuff for $40. I plan to use the retrofit source Morimoto bulbs with my Xtreme HID slim ballast very soon for my Tundra fogs which I have retrofit Fusion projectors for.

If he has projectors, it is not illegal to use HID. It is only illegal to use HID without an appropriate cut off, at least in TX.

 

theretrofitsource hands down. If you need more info LMK.

 

You know what, I might get the DDM kit which is like $30-$40 to see how everything goes, and if it craps out and to see if the law gives my dad any trouble for it. If the kit craps out, but the law doesn't give him trouble, then I'll spend the extra and get him a quality TRS kit and call it a day.

Might even ask my buddy if I can borrow his current HID kit, since we'll be replacing it with D2S + Projectors anyways and see how it looks on the truck, and go from there.

I'm just worried about the truck projectors not having a cutoff, but I guess I'll see when we tamper around with it.