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DIY: DDM-Tuning HID install!!!

33K views 54 replies 28 participants last post by  GerryB 
#1 ·
I've been reading forums for a long time, debating if I wanted to do my own HID install. I finally pulled the plug after reading up on some DDM Tuning lights/kit and I can say it's all kinds of easy. Total time about 45 minutes. Plug and play, simple. I've never done an HID swap, nor am I electrically inclined. However, you CAN'T GET IT WRONG.

Ordered the 35W/5k setup and winged it (with help from people here (thanks!)). Two things made it last as long as 45 minutes is because I couldn't access the driver's side light without pulling the inner wheel-well plastic and I plugged in the male end to the female end, closest to the bulb, backwards (which made it not light up; once I switched it...voila!). That probably would've brought overall install time to about 30 minutes.

I'm extremely satisfied with the results. I love the bright (not too bright) white light over the (now, by comparison) dim and yellow OEM lights. They cast a shade brighter and a better distance. Also the light is distributed more evenly and greater throughout the cast. So, without further ado...

Step 1: (I worked on the driver's side first because I knew it would be more difficult because I can't fit my hands into the space)
Pull off inner wheel-well plastic to access driver's side light (I didn't take a picture because it's in the manual). I only pulled out 6 quick fasteners.

Step 2: Reach up into bay where lights are and grab the OEM bulb, turn it (left or right about 90 degrees) and pull it out.

Step 3: Disconnect the bulb from the wire harness by pressing at point where wires meet the male plug and pulling (opposite my thumb)



Step 4: Plugging in. This step is foolproof. There's only one way the connections can be made, however, you can get one upside-down (as explained earlier). I plugged everything in, then slipped it down into the void spaces (closest to where I mounted ballast), then plugged in the HID bulb. **Note: cut off plastic, rigid white ring next to orange silicone ring. If not, the connection will not be air/water tight...you know what happens next.**

Step 5: zip tie ballasts and wiring to inside of body panels. As long as the ballasts and hardware is below where the fixed rubber stoppers contact the hood, then you're good.



That's basically it. Just repeat on passenger's side (except there's no need to make access through wheel-well. I'm 6"3' and my hands were able to fit in the voids available next to the washer fluid).

If any of this is unclear, please let me know. Also, I'm only going to write that this works with my specific HID kit (35W5k). It probably applies to other DDM kits, but I can only guarantee this works with my type kit.

I hope this helps.
 
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#2 ·
DDM-Tuning HID

I ordered the DDM 55x HID kit for my 2006 Mazda3. The day after it arrived I caved and bought my 2015 Mazda6 Touring. So, I read the exchange litterature on DDM's website and started the process.

Your post with the directions and immages is being very helpful. I really appreciate it.

After reading what you said about the brightness of the 35x I am thinking about changing my order to the 35x bulb.

Is the 55x annoyingly bright?
 
#3 ·
anyway you can provide a link to which one you picked? When I checked the site you have to pick Wattage, Bulb Type and Bulb Color. I got the wattage and bulb color but which bulb type did you go for?
 
#4 · (Edited)
DDM order

Here is what I ordered for the 2006 Mazda3. I will send that back tomorrow. Then I will do some research on 35 and 55w clear HID bulbs and order for the 6. I didn't learn anything about aftermarket lights before I ordered so I can't tell you much about what I currently have. Because I didn't want to make a totally uninformed decision I called and spoke/ordered over the phone. Here is the receipt info.

DDM

55W.H7.5000K 1 DDM HID Kit, 55W, H7, 5000K $39.95 $39.95
HID-Harness 1 HID Kit Wiring Harness $9.99 $9.99
Total $49.9

Anything you can teach me or recommend will be put to good use.

*Edit
I found this very informative https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110104152809AAgub8J
 
#7 ·
Don't forget that 55w will also flush out most of the color if you want a nice blue tint in the headlights. And my biggest reason for never wanting 55w is knowing that 100% of oncoming traffic will hate your guts.

Thanks for the writeup, @snoWhite - Adding it to my 3rd gen 1 stop shop.
 
#6 · (Edited)
DDM HID 5000K install

After reading this post I ordered the kit from DDM with the wire harness, thanks "snowhite". I installed it the same way. Coming from a car that had HID lights you really do miss them when you loose the added light output of the HID's. See picture difference of the light output. Look at both pictures as the viewer shows the same thing twice for some reason? The warm up time on these are 1-2 seconds longer than a stock D1-S or D2-S bulbs. must be the difference in the ballast
 

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#15 ·
After reading this post I ordered the kit from DDM with the wire harness, thanks "snowhite". I installed it the same way. Coming from a car that had HID lights you really do miss them when you loose the added light output of the HID's. See picture difference of the light output. Look at both pictures as the viewer shows the same thing twice for some reason? The warm up time on these are 1-2 seconds longer than a stock D1-S or D2-S bulbs. must be the difference in the ballast
hi roger did you have to drill a hole in the round headlight lid thats directly behind our bulbs in the first gen? and also what temp did you order? thanks in advance

-Ben
 
#10 ·
Have we also made sure that the folks in this thread installing HIDs are doing it properly?


I can't stand when people just throw in HIDs and call it a day. Only to take it out for a spin and blind people because they aren't aimed properly or they didnt retrofit proper projectors that are meant for HID bulbs.
 
#11 ·
Don't the H11 HIDs come with return wire on top of the bulb that produces a shadow in the light pattern? I thought you had to use H11B to avoid that?

55W is an overkill, a pair of glaring suns for oncoming traffic, melt your projectors, and wiring harness There is absolutely no place for them in headlights that were designed for halogen bulbs.

Nihilus - I couldn't agree with you more

I also don't understand the madness behind wanting "a nice blue tint" - ever looked straight at real factory HIDs? They are white! They only produce a slight blue hue under an angle. In addition, the higher you go on a kelvin chart, the less light you are actually projecting on the road. In laments terms, the prettier your headlight color looks, the less useful they actually become.
 
#17 ·
Nihilus - I couldn't agree with you more

I also don't understand the madness behind wanting "a nice blue tint" - ever looked straight at real factory HIDs? They are white! They only produce a slight blue hue under an angle. In addition, the higher you go on a kelvin chart, the less light you are actually projecting on the road. In laments terms, the prettier your headlight color looks, the less useful they actually become.

I wouldn't have a problem with 6000k, but any more than that is a waste to me.

Mine are stock hid's and those are 5000k-ish, lots of light.
 
#12 ·
Thanks so much for posting this DIY. Just performed this on my touring and it looks awesome. I got the 35w 5000k from ddmtuning.

Install was as easy as it seems. I went in from the top and only thing I removed was the fuse box cover. I must say that my "smaller" Asian hands allowed me to do this without taking anything else off. :)

Everything was simply plug and play. If the light doesn't light up once connect, try changing the polarity of the bulb harness to the factory harness (flip it around).

Best $40 mod ever! Esp with our preexisting projector headlights.


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#13 ·
@kodiak

Yes, buy the H11. I got 35W and 5000K, but the 4300K should give a clean white color. Mine are blueish but that's OK cuz it matches the license plate lights. They also match the interior domes and map and courtesy lights... And the trunk light. Swapped them all. And the glove light. So, it depends what ur going for. Looks really sharp at night and the bump in lumens and clarity helps driving at night. That's at least 51% of why I did the HID install: brighter and more clear at night.

I have a 2014 6 touring.
 
#19 ·
I just installed the 35W 5000k's in my 2014 and it was super easy - 30min total.

FYI You DON'T have to go thru the driver wheel well if you just remove the nut and the bolt that hold the fuse box to the body. This will give you enough room to get your hand down to the driver side low beam (unless you have big hands).

I LOVE how much brighter these are than the OEM H11s Halogens. The car looks so good now and you can see significantly better. Best $29 I've ever spent on this car. Highly recommended.
 
#21 ·
So $30 for the HIDs and an additional $22 to ground ship to FL? Yikes! Did anyone else get hit with this shipping quote?
The DDM kits ship from China, so that is about right. I paid $12ish to ship to Washington.
 
#23 ·
I'm seeing a shipping quote of $16.75 for shipping to Virginia.

From their FAQ:

WHERE ARE YOU PRODUCTS SHIPPED FROM?
We ship most of the small items, such as HID kits, led bulbs from our Chinese fulfillment center; most of the larger items, such as LED bars, headlights, tail lights, bumpers from our California locations. Some items, such as suspension, intakes, and BMW OEM parts may be shipped directly from our suppliers depending on current stock level. We have 5 locations: San Diego, CA; Vista, CA; Huntington Beach, CA; Las Vegas, NV; Nanjing.China.
 
#24 ·
First post - I take delivery of a '16 Mazda6 touring this Saturday and I already know I want to upgrade the lighting. I didn't order the GT as I wanted the manual transmission but before I place an order for the DDM kit I had a few questions -

1. Is the install on the '16 the same 30-45 minutes as was said earlier?
2. Does the DDM kit use the one bulb for low/high beams?
3. Will the auto off function still work?
4. 35W 4300k H11 for a 'normal' HID white appearance, correct?

Thanks in advance.
 
#25 ·
1. yes under the hood its identical to the 2014-15 model so install time should be the same
2. if you want full HID function you need 2 kits for this car, as the low beams and high beams are separate bulbs. lows(projector) use H11 and highs/DRL(reflector) use HB3
3. I have heard its a bit iffy with auto function where it would only fire one bulb and you need to cycle the switch to get both bulbs to fire up
4. yes 4300K is what factory OEM HID systems use.
 
#27 ·
I would probably just do the kit for the lows, I was just curious if these vehicles used one bulb for both lows and highs.

How do the DDM bulbs hold up? Every time I've tried aftermarket bulbs (silverstars, 5k...etc) I never seem to get more than 6 months out of them.
 
#28 ·
I've used DDM for almost a decade with many cars and had minimal issues. However my recent experience with them sucked. One kit burnt out after a week. Took forever to get replacement issues resolved with their customer service and the kit they supposedly sent never arrived. I accepted the loss of $70 and moved on. Gave TRS a try but that kit was junk on arrival. So I gave Xenon Depot a try and have had no issues at all. Best HID kit I ever used. My recommendation is to spend a little more and get a quality kit


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#29 ·
I would like to throw my opinions on here really quick.

I have Canbus 35w 8000k HIDs installed on my '15 Mazda6 and they perform quite well. It has a lower light output since they're 8000k bulbs but they look nice.

My girlfriend has 35w 5000k Innovited HIDs on her '14 Accord and has a better light output than my car. They cost 40 bucks with prime which makes it about 6 bucks cheaper than DDM Tuning and only 2 year warranty vs. lifetime from DDM.

From my past experience with DDM Tuning, the bulbs seem to burn out fast. Their bulbs also don't match. For example, if you order 8000k, one side would look 8000k and the other would look 6000k. Other than that, it's up to you to see if the extra 6 bucks or so would be worth the lifetime warranty.
 
#30 ·
I just got the 55W kit - went straight to the store to get them, however they won't fit at all. Completely loose like the plastic is not gripping into the housing. I packed them up again and have to return them :-(

Also saw all the warnings about the 55W - good that I didn't install them :)
 
#31 · (Edited)
I have used DDM kits for two cars and it really does seem like the quality has decreased over the year, especially for the ballasts. The slim ballasts included with the DDM kit appear to warm up the bulbs a lot slower and as a result the bulbs do not reach their true color for 30-60 seconds. Even then, the bulbs end up a bit cooler than the actual rating (i.e. 4300K bulbs looks like 5000-5500K color) Also, have had to do two RMAs with our 2013 Accord's bulbs due to a bulb in the pair dying after a few months.

For our 2015 Mazda6, I went with the Zenex H11 HID kit off Amazon in 4300K (made decision based on general consensus on DriveAccord that Zenex ballasts are quality stuff) and they look great. The larger Zenex ballasts appear to be better constructed and do warm the HID bulb faster and offer a very OEM white color.
 
#32 ·
I have used DDM kits for two cars and it really does seem like the quality has decreased over the year, especially for the ballasts. The slim ballasts included with the DDM kit appear to warm up the bulbs a lot slower and as a result the bulbs do not reach their true color for 30-60 seconds. Even then, the bulbs end up a bit cooler than the actual rating (i.e. 4300K bulbs looks like 5000-5500K color) Also, have had to do two RMAs with our 2013 Accord's bulbs due to a bulb in the pair dying after a few months.

For our 2015 Mazda6, I went with the Zenex H11 HID kit off Amazon in 4300K (made decision based on general consensus on DriveAccord that Zenex ballasts are quality stuff) and they look great. The larger Zenex "compact" ballasts appear to be better constructed and do warm the HID bulb faster and offer a very OEM white color.

How is the Zenex kit? Did you get the relay harness with it?
 
#36 ·
@cibersay:

You are trashing here the cheaper HID kit, however can you make a better recommendation? It's really confusing when 2k+ people say it works great but than we have individuals making claims that it sucks.

I definitely like your advise not to hurt your 20-30k investment - so what HID Kit would you recommend?
 
#38 ·
@cibersay:

You are trashing here the cheaper HID kit, however can you make a better recommendation? It's really confusing when 2k+ people say it works great but than we have individuals making claims that it sucks.

I definitely like your advise not to hurt your 20-30k investment - so what HID Kit would you recommend?
Not trashing per se, just advising to take extra precautions with any HID kit, especially cheap ones. I used to be a huge fan of DDM kits and had minimal problems with them, such as ordering a 6000K but instead the light was much closer to 8000K. I think I've only had one serious issues over span of 8 years. All that stopped until my recent purchase with them for the Mazda 6 (i think even on this forum i praised DDM in the beginning). And many users mentioned their quality has gone down and customer service has always been nonexistent, but it wasn't an issue when they didn't have quality problems.
There are 2 companies that everyone seem to recommend these days, one is based out of US, TRS - The Retrofit Source and the other one is one I really like and have recently bought multiple kits from is Xenon Depot that is based out of Canada. Quality of wiring, harness, bulbs and components are similar from both companies. However, one person on this forum went through 8 different issues over a span of a year with TRS - though they promptly sent him replacement parts. And my first and only purchase from TRS was also a DOA, both bulbs blew out within minutes of operations. They refunded me within 2 days after they received it back. Now on my 3rd kit from Xenon Depot (one for me, one for wife, and 1 LED kit that I tested out then returned not because of quality but because I found the light output wasn't enough) and I have had 0 issues. The light output is even, the color temp is what it's supposed to be and what I paid for, and the bulbs fire right up, almost 0 warm-up period. So if I was to recommend a kit, go with XD or try TRS - TRS, however, is a bit more expensive. Both kits arrived within a 4 days after ordering, so their shipping is on par.

Can't say I have ever seen a complaint of stock wiring harness failing due to an HID kit, especially on a newer car. If anything, modern HID kits likely have a startup current draw low enough to be managed by stock wiring (especially if it's a 35W kit, not sure about 55W kits). All of my cars have been fine without a relay harness, even the oldest '97 Acura Integra.

That said, if the peace of mind is there for you by adding a relay harness, go for it.
I hear what you're saying but unlike you, I have heard and seen many issues with HID kits in newer cars. Soobie and Evo forums have many threads on this matter. And again though, why risk it? It's a one time $9.99 insurance policy + a few more zip ties and you are almost guaranteed you won't have any issues.
 
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