Hella Gen 3/Gen 4 Ballasts?

[J-Ro]

I'm looking for information, preferably personal experience with either of these ballasts... any input (yay or nay) is appreciated.

Thanks!

[striker_1818]

Hella gen3 although not water-proof, it is the best sealed ballasts out there in the marker. They have some weight to it they are very thick and small.
Hella gen4 are slim ballasts used on cadillacs and they pretty much take D1S bulbs.

[J-Ro]

Hmm... How about Denso? Are they worth the higher price?

Thanks for the info btw :)

[striker_1818]

Originally Posted by J-Ro

Hmm... How about Denso? Are they worth the higher price?

Thanks for the info btw :)

denso's are very slim and tiny. they are good but not water-proof. Some good silicon around the opening areas will do some good

[J-Ro]

So does the ballast type actually make any difference for colour, colour-shifting, or "quality" in general?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm trying to research all my options here. I don't want to overspend, but I also don't want pieces of crap.

[striker_1818]

it's all about quality. Any ballast will power up a xenon bulb. The bulb itself is what gives off whatever color they suppose to

[J-Ro]

Okay cool. So on the same topic, what are some good D2S bulbs to consider? This is for a future retrofit, as if that were a big newsflash at this point.

[striker_1818]

You can choose the 85122+ but some members don't like because it gives off a yellowish output. However, the 85122+ puts more lumens than the common 85122 bulb

[J-Ro]

Well, lumens aren't going to be a problem with what I'm thinking about doing I'll probably just stick with the 85122 then.

But thanks again for all the info though.

[Xenin]

i think wattage makes a difference for ballasts as well. i was looking at the lightwerkz gallery and they compared an Apexcone 35W vs. 55W and the 55W was brighter.

[striker_1818]

yeah but he uses 85122 35w bulbs.
You have to use the right bulb and ballast to get the right amount of light output.

[Xenin]

yeah, you're right.

are 55W bulbs common or is it a new thing?

[striker_1818]

Originally Posted by Xenin

yeah, you're right.

are 55W bulbs common or is it a new thing?

there are no 55w bulbs and kits that he or ebay sells are just your common 35w bulbs. their lifespan will shorten up by 1/3 of it.
DL50 Philips are 50w bulbs. Osram makes some too but i dont remember the model number.

[Xenin]

Originally Posted by striker_1818

there are no 55w bulbs and kits that he or ebay sells are just your common 35w bulbs. their lifespan will shorten up by 1/3 of it.
DL50 Philips are 50w bulbs. Osram makes some too but i dont remember the model number.

always good to know. thanks.

[J-Ro]

Yeah that's good info...... I'll have to look into the bulbs now. I think I'm going to go with the Hella Gen 3's (I have them for my fogs, and have been pleased with them). I managed to score a good deal on ebay last night for a pair of TL bi-xenon projectors

[J-Ro]

Okay, another question for ya, striker :)

I have been looking at the ZKW replica clear lenses for the TL projectors. There's one seller on hidplanet (I think....) who has cutoff pictures of the stock TL's vs. TL's with the ZKW replica lens swap. The pictures look essentially the same.
Do you have any experience with those lenses? Are they worthwhile, or crap? The genuine ZKW's are nice but are obviously really expensive.

[striker_1818]

Originally Posted by J-Ro

Okay, another question for ya, striker :)

I have been looking at the ZKW replica clear lenses for the TL projectors. There's one seller on hidplanet (I think....) who has cutoff pictures of the stock TL's vs. TL's with the ZKW replica lens swap. The pictures look essentially the same.
Do you have any experience with those lenses? Are they worthwhile, or crap? The genuine ZKW's are nice but are obviously really expensive.

i know i can get the real zkw lenses for 200 bucks but then again the results are mostly the same from the replicas. But, the thing with the real zkw lenses is that, as distance increases, the beam will actually become sharper. However, with the zkw replicas, it gets blurry as distance increases. Performance from both are there though.
oh yeah, how much is the dude from hidplanet asking for?
Because replicas go for 70 on ebay and if you look for theretrofitsource website, they will have a store that sells them for 70 as well.

[J-Ro]

Yeah I think I saw them for 70... it might have even been the same seller. I may have been drinking. I don't know.

But yeah, thanks for the info... for the price difference, I think I'll just go with the replicas and call it a day :)