DDM HID Review

Hello everyone,

recently I purchased a DDM 35W 5500k ultra bulbs HID kit. I originally purchased the 55W 6000K but read further on the reliability of the 55W vs the 35W and decided i didn’t want to deal with replacing bulbs every year or sooner. I emailed DDM and requested a 35W instead with Ultra Bulbs. By the next day I received a confirmation that the change could be made.

2 weeks later the kit arrived from China. I was excited to install the hid kit as the halogens really do not suit the car. Once I removed the bulbs (easiest process so far) and tried to test fit the other bulbs I realized the bulbs were missing an inlet plug for the stock headlight harness. I went back to the box and to figure out what I could be doing wrong. It turned out they sent me H1 bulbs instead of H11 as requested.

I submitted a ticket with DDM that same day to have replacement bulbs sent and these returned. They requested some pics of the bulbs received, probably to make sure it wasn’t a user error. I was impatient so I got on their chat after submitting my ticket to see if the process could be expedited, as I did no want to wait another 2 weeks for bulbs. I was referred to call DDM directly to get a faster resolution. I spoke with Jason from the Huntington Beach location I believe. He recommended placing an order for new bulbs to expedite the process and assured me the bulbs would not ship from China but from a local warehouse. I did have to pay for new bulbs but he explained once I was contacted for my ticket they would explain the return process and I could get a refund. They covered shipping costs and I received my new, correct H11 bulbs today!

I was also issued a refund this morning for the purchase of the new bulbs and they apologized for their mistake. They did not mention a process to return the H1 bulbs, but I’ll cross that bridge later.

I also order a pair of H8 Nokia 2500k 35W halogen bulbs for my fogs which also arrived today. I wanted to install both the HID and fogs on the same day but could not wait. I popped off the stock halogens for the headlights and got the HID lights on within 15 min tonight.

Enjoy some shots I took of the process.

Overall: I love the look of the lights. I think the 35W HID kit is perfect. It’s a huge difference in visibility over the stock halogens. The color doesn’t quite match the DRL but I really don’t mind. For 25 bucks you can always order another color from DDM. Install was painless, their customer service was pretty good. You can tell they wanted to help. I’d definitely recommend using DDM!

I’ll add some pics once I install the fogs!

I had a DDM 35w kit on my previous car for 10 years until i traded it in this summer for my Si. No issues with it until early this year when one of the ballast went bad. So i decided to get another 35w kit for my Si having had great success prior. Way better than stock halogens for sure. Best of luck with your purchase.

pinhead66 said:

I had a DDM 35w kit on my previous car for 10 years until i traded it in this summer for my Si. No issues with it until early this year when one of the ballast went bad. So i decided to get another 35w kit for my Si having had great success prior. Way better than stock halogens for sure. Best of luck with your purchase.

Click to expand...

10 years! That’s great. If these last 2-3 I’ll be happy.

Thank you!

I remember buying ddm hids for my 2011 Scion tc after taking it home from the dealer. Great company at very competitive prices

Snidely said:

I remember buying ddm hids for my 2011 Scion tc after taking it home from the dealer. Great company at very competitive prices

Click to expand...

Yeah, you can’t beat their standard kit for 40 bucks!

I used to use DDM Tuning's ballasts and bulbs exclusively in my vehicles for the last 10 years or so. But lately, everything seems to be shipping from China and takes forever. So I stopped using them. When I bought my Si, I ended up getting Morimoto Bulbs and DDM Tuning Slim Ballasts. About a year later, zero issues.

NoKz said:

I used to use DDM Tuning's ballasts and bulbs exclusively in my vehicles for the last 10 years or so. But lately, everything seems to be shipping from China and takes forever. So I stopped using them. When I bought my Si, I ended up getting Morimoto Bulbs and DDM Tuning Slim Ballasts. About a year later, zero issues.

Click to expand...

Man, those fog lights look so dope! Are you using HIDs or LED for your fogs? My fogs are 2500k halogens, and not nearly as bright.

Memogiyi said:

Man, those fog lights look so dope! Are you using HIDs or LED for your fogs? My fogs are 2500k halogens, and not nearly as bright.

Click to expand...

Thanks! They're 35w DDM Tuning Ballasts and Morimoto 3K HID Bulbs w/LaminX yellow tint on the fog-light housing.

NoKz said:

I used to use DDM Tuning's ballasts and bulbs exclusively in my vehicles for the last 10 years or so. But lately, everything seems to be shipping from China and takes forever. So I stopped using them. When I bought my Si, I ended up getting Morimoto Bulbs and DDM Tuning Slim Ballasts. About a year later, zero issues.

Click to expand...

Are your fogs HID? I'm running the 3000k Morimoto bulbs with 55w ballast and my bulbs look like really bright halogens when looking at the car but the light bouncing off the ground looks yellow. It's the weirdest thing lol

Edit: oops, missed your last post. I guess I need some laminx. How long have you had it? I was worried it would burn.

REBELXSi said:

Are your fogs HID? I'm running the 3000k Morimoto bulbs with 55w ballast and my bulbs look like really bright halogens when looking at the car but the light bouncing off the ground looks yellow. It's the weirdest thing lol

Edit: oops, missed your last post. I guess I need some laminx. How long have you had it? I was worried it would burn.

Click to expand...

I've had the Lamin-X for about 8 months now. Passenger side is starting to show a slight burn. So it's time to replace them. At $12, it's not exactly breaking the bank LOL.

I've been running the 55w Ultra kit since I've had my 2016 EXT. When I traded it in for a new 2019 Si, one of the bulbs finally gave out after 3+ years of usage (with a lot of night driving) and I warrantied them out without any issue. Love these lights.

For you ddm guys, which color rating is the best match for the drls? I currently have an LED kit that's pretty close but have been considering moving back to hid

Snidely said:

For you ddm guys, which color rating is the best match for the drls? I currently have an LED kit that's pretty close but have been considering moving back to hid

Click to expand...

If you go the 55w route, 5500k is as close as it gets to matching the DRL. I'd assume 5000k is close for the 35w kit.

Here's mine on 5500k @55w:

I have the 4300k on 35w and it doesnt match the DRL. I also didn’t know I needed H11B bulbs so I believe I got the standard H11A. The pattern doesn’t look right to me. I’m going to order some proper 5k H11B bulbs.

Snidely said:

For you ddm guys, which color rating is the best match for the drls? I currently have an LED kit that's pretty close but have been considering moving back to hid

Click to expand...

I have 35w 5500 and it's very very close to DRL