Finally upgraded headlights to HID

[Zed 71]

Don't forget to align the lights lower so on coming traffic will not be blinded by the glare. There is a torx fitting on top of the housing for adjustment. I parked behind my other car to adjust and ensure I would not blind the person in front of me at a stop light.

 

[photoryan]

Don't forget to align the lights lower so on coming traffic will not be blinded by the glare. There is a torx fitting on top of the housing for adjustment. I parked behind my other car to adjust and ensure I would not blind the person in front of me at a stop light.

I'm glad you mentioned that. Tell me if what I did doesn't work. Prior to doing anything, I parked about 15 feet from my garage and taped the top point the light "dropped off" on the garage. I also taped where my back tire was so that I made sure I measured from the same point after. Then I changed my lights out and looked at where the "drop off" landed on the garage again. It was at the same point.

Does that do it, or should I lower them from the stock point just to avoid being flashed/ pulled over/ whatever?

It does seem to kind of defeat the purpose of adding extra light if you're going to lower it and lose the extra light you just gained.

 

[s1appy]

Hey photoryan, the pics of the installed HIDs look great! I'm a total newbie to Tahoes, just picked up an '07, same color as yours.

What exactly did you buy from DDM? I'm on the site checking out the Raptor kits, but there are so many options I don't know what to pick.

35w, 55w?
Bulb type ?
I'm gonna go with 4500k like yours.
HID Harness ?
Error Code Eliminator ?
Adaptor cables ?
Mounting Brackets ?

 

[Zed 71]

I'm glad you mentioned that. Tell me if what I did doesn't work. Prior to doing anything, I parked about 15 feet from my garage and taped the top point the light "dropped off" on the garage. I also taped where my back tire was so that I made sure I measured from the same point after. Then I changed my lights out and looked at where the "drop off" landed on the garage again. It was at the same point.

Does that do it, or should I lower them from the stock point just to avoid being flashed/ pulled over/ whatever?

It does seem to kind of defeat the purpose of adding extra light if you're going to lower it and lose the extra light you just gained.

The light dispersion pattern off the stock housings scatter a lot with HIDs compared to projectors so it may be a little difficult to tell just using the traditional method at 15 ft. Glare is what you are trying to minimize when using HIDs in halogen housings.

Just notice the pattern when you pull up to a car at night and see when the headlights hit the sideview and rearview mirrors; then see how far you need to be away to be courteous. You can sit in a friends car and have your truck behind to get an idea of how much glare there is and how bothersome it is. Just remember that older people will be more sensitve...

You really will not notice the adjustment down because the HIDs are so bright. Mine are pointed even further down because I have a level kit and sit higher. My beam pattern still outperforms stock and even some cars with HID projectors.

 

[photoryan]

Hey photoryan, the pics of the installed HIDs look great! I'm a total newbie to Tahoes, just picked up an '07, same color as yours.

What exactly did you buy from DDM? I'm on the site checking out the Raptor kits, but there are so many options I don't know what to pick.

35w, 55w?
Bulb type ?
I'm gonna go with 4500k like yours.
HID Harness ?
Error Code Eliminator ?
Adaptor cables ?
Mounting Brackets ?

I got the Raptors with the metal ballasts versus the slim ballasts. I wasn't concerned with space issues, so I opted to go with the metal "bullet proof" ballasts. I want to say it's an H11 bulb, but if you do a search on this forum you'll see some posts that specify. 4500k is actually a little bluer than I expected, but it's not too bad. I think it's just adjusting from halogens.
I didn't get the harness because I saw multiple threads that it is mainly for imports with smaller gauge wiring. I also bought the mounting brackets, but couldn't find anywhere to mount them that was better than using mounting (foam) tape and zipties. Overall, it looks like if you just get the kit w/ ballasts, you'll be all set to go.

If it would help, I could take some pictures and post them about the process and where I put the ballasts.