HID comparison 100 watt halogen versus 55 watt HID

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With the plunging price of HID retrofit systems I researched here on VAF and ordered a 55 watt system from DDM Tuning for a whooping 50 dollars plus shipping. For that price I selected the low profile 'slim' lighter weight ballast 55 watt unit with 5000k H3 bulbs.

It shipped via USPS directly from Shanghai China and included all the pieces and fittings to directly plug into my existing Ductworks lights. After verifying operation and getting a bit hypnotized from the lights I spent a bit of time deciding on how I would mount everything.

The first light on the left side is a 100 watt halogen. Take note of the fade in and out for wig wag operation as the light dims and brightens. On the right side the electronic ballast provides complete cut out and on making the operation very strobe like. The output and visibility from these lights is just amazing!

http://youtu.be/26u9pzhw00w


Here is a shot of the installed and mounted ballast and fittings for the lights.

 

[Beancounter]

Stephen
Does this particular HID ballast control the wig wag function or are you using a seperate flasher. Details please.

 

[[email protected]]

wig wag control...

Stephen
Does this particular HID ballast control the wig wag function or are you using a seperate flasher. Details please.

Wig Wag control is from my VP50. The HID lights need some warm up before you flash them though; I have a 30 second minimum on delay programed before they will flash.

The video shows the wig wag function during my install of the HID lights after the first side was completed for a visual comparison of the lights and highlights the complete cut out of light during flashing of the new 55 watt HID versus the fade in and out from the older 100 watt halogen light.

 

[Steve Ashby]

A little help on the parts numbers

Could you tell us which part numbers you used. It is hard to tell from their website which parts you purchased.
Thanks!

 

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Direct link to the lights I used...

Could you tell us which part numbers you used. It is hard to tell from their website which parts you purchased.
Thanks!

http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DDM-HID-Kit-Slim-Ballast-35W-or-55W

Select 35 or 55 watt, bulb type, and bulb color temperature.

 

[txshan130]

Hi Stephen,

So you kept one halogen and one HID? Which one did you make the HID...taxi or LL? Did you have any "noise" issues with the HID installation?

Thx,
Brian

 

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both were changed to HID

Hi Stephen,

So you kept one halogen and one HID? Which one did you make the HID...taxi or LL? Did you have any "noise" issues with the HID installation?

Thx,
Brian

I changed both to HID... the video was just to show the difference in the lighting between the two, I shot it during the upgrade. The HID lights are great, no noise, and they wig-wag perfectly (I have a programable warm up cycle with the vertical power)

 

[txshan130]

Thanks for the reply!

 

[BillFear]

HID 55s

another positive experience with DDM tuning and the 55watt kit in the duckworks mount. Made a huge difference in our plane. Our home strip has trees at one end and it is a huge safety factor to be able to see them at night to make sure we are well clear. In fact, we were discussing that the lights are bright enough that we could now land on the strip without the runway lights (not that you would). We don't wigwag our HIDs, we have LEDs in the wingtips for that.

I like how you mounted your ignitor, thanks for posting.

 

[RVG8tor]

wing tips

How easy do you think these would work in the wing tips? Looks like one would have to come up with a reflector base.

 

[Greenley]

Duck Works does sell separately reflectors and mounts.
Bill Greenley

 

[BillFear]

Hid in tips

How easy do you think these would work in the wing tips? Looks like one would have to come up with a reflector base.

Mike this is what i wanted to do but the full size hids are just too large for the 7a wingtips. Duckworks does offer a mr16 size hid kit that will fit but after reading many reviews on vaf I decided to go with the full size units in the leading edges. The LE allows you to get the light where you need it, also less expensive as you can use the hid kits from ddm.