# DDM hid install headlights/fogs



## Andy2012ltz_rs (Aug 1, 2011)

Today I got around to installing my 6000k 35w hid kits. Besides the fact that ddm has horrible customer service and needs some major improvement in the packaging department, I will have to admit that after the install I was impressed. I expected to find a bit more of a variance between the bulbs color output based on past experience with other companies, but after a visual inspection there was absolutely none to the naked eye. With the headlights I used their relay harness and the lowers it wasn't needed. After a 20 minute drive around the neighborhood I hadn't once noticed any flickering issues. Headlight install took roughly 20 minutes (only thing I had to take out was the k&n filter.. big deal huh). For the fogs, I took out only the 3 front lower wheel well screws and 2 bottom screws below the fogs along with the 2 plastic pins on each side. I just folded the plastic back (way more malleable than other vehicles I've owned in the past) when needed and had plenty of room. 40 minutes later the fogs were done. The headlights I did yesterday, fogs were done today. I really wasn't expecting the fogs to be as easy as they were or I would have did them yesterday as well. It's amazing something so beautiful can come out of such an UGLY box. :shocked: *I just want to add, the kits did not come with any double sided adhesive tape for the ballasts.. I ended up using unused tape I had from my old xentec kits. The headlight ballasts had started to work their way off the tape overnight (thank god I caught this before doing the fogs). I ended up buying some scotch extreme 3m mounting tape which may be a bit overkill, but should prevent future slippage.


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## evo77 (Sep 5, 2011)

Have wall shots of the just the headlight beams? Interested in what the glare spots look like.


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## Andy2012ltz_rs (Aug 1, 2011)

evo77 said:


> Have wall shots of the just the headlight beams? Interested in what the glare spots look like.


I'll head outside and take some.


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## Andy2012ltz_rs (Aug 1, 2011)

Andy2012ltz_rs said:


> I'll head outside and take some.


The headlights were exactly 25 feet away, driveway is level, and the cutoff is 23". (just lowered it to 22")


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## CruzeLTZ-RS (Jul 23, 2011)

Hi Andy,

That thing is looking dam nice. I haven't gotten to my HID's yet. I take it you didn't even mess with take the front facia off the car. Do you have any pictures as to where you put the ballasts to save me some time in trying to located the best spot?

Thanks.


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## Andy2012ltz_rs (Aug 1, 2011)

CruzeLTZ-RS said:


> Hi Andy,
> 
> That thing is looking dam nice. I haven't gotten to my HID's yet. I take it you didn't even mess with take the front facia off the car. Do you have any pictures as to where you put the ballasts to save me some time in trying to located the best spot?
> 
> Thanks.


Thanks, and nope I didn't remove the front fascia. I parked the front on ramps, and just removed the 5 screws/2 plastic plugs on each side just behind the fog light housing which left enough room by pulling back the 2 plastic pieces covering the area. I didn't get pics of ballast locations, but I will try to for you tomorrow. (the neighbor leaves his mutt outside all night and it just went nuts when I took the cutoff lines pic!) I didn't see many stable places to choose from. Just double sided taped them as far away from the engine heat as possible. For now, without pics I can tell you that the drivers side headlight ballast fit perfectly in the battery box extra space and the passenger side one I stuck on top the wheel fender just behind the air duct opening. The fog ballast locations I can't really explain without pics.


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## jakkaroo (Feb 12, 2011)

quick question do the fog lights run the h13 bulb also?


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## Kaimumma (Apr 14, 2011)

Fogs are H8


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## CHEVYCRUZE RS (Mar 29, 2011)

niiiiiiice


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## Andy2012ltz_rs (Aug 1, 2011)

jakkaroo said:


> quick question do the fog lights run the h13 bulb also?


The fogs are indeed H8 as Kaimumma said. The ddm ones had h/8 h/9 h/11 on the box and are straight not 90 degree bulbs like the oem ones. (They both fit the same, and having a straight plugin had no effect on install) See pics.


CruzeLTZ-RS said:


> Hi Andy,
> 
> That thing is looking dam nice. I haven't gotten to my HID's yet. I take it you didn't even mess with take the front facia off the car. Do you have any pictures as to where you put the ballasts to save me some time in trying to located the best spot?
> 
> Thanks.


 I did the best I could with the time I have today. Again, sorry about having to use my 3.1 mp phone camera.. it's all I have for a couple more weeks. Pics> The passenger side headlight ballast is easily seen. The drivers side pics show the relay box location (has the silver/black NEW sticker on it) and the other pic shows the top of the ballast (right next to the relay box against the front wall of the battery tray). As far as the fogs go, the wheel well pic shows the only 3 needed screws needed to be removed. The under car pic shows the 2 screws and 2 plastic plugs to be removed (there is a 3rd plastic plug next to the other 2, just wouldn't fit in the pic). And finally, without taking the covers back off to get an inside view, I instead just took a pic of the front fog area showing the area to mount the fog ballasts. I double sided taped them to the actual inside of the bumper. There weren't any places I could find to zip strip them to other than the actual car frame or to the wiring harness, which personally I thought would have been a bad idea. Hope the pics help, any more questions feel free to ask.


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## Andy2012ltz_rs (Aug 1, 2011)

By the way, if you decide to take the shortcut I did for installing the fog hids (taking off as few parts as needed to get the job done), be prepared to use the back of your head as a tool. I literally folded back the black plastic and propped it behind my head during installation. It's really not as bad as it sounds.. just make sure you have everything you need on the ground next to you so you don't have to keep repositioning yourself every time you get back under the car.


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## CruzeLTZ-RS (Jul 23, 2011)

Hey Andy, you rock!!!! Thanks for the pics. Will save me alot of time in not having to reinvent the wheel. I plan to do it this weekend. I'm scheduled for this thursday on the window tint. Going 35% all the way around. That's what my Elipse was. Anything darker is just too dark IMO.

Question for you. To save me hours, do you think you would be willing to take photos of the LED tail wiring? I know it would require take one out but I'm sure the entire interested community would appreciate it. Thanks.


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## Andy2012ltz_rs (Aug 1, 2011)

CruzeLTZ-RS said:


> Hey Andy, you rock!!!! Thanks for the pics. Will save me alot of time in not having to reinvent the wheel. I plan to do it this weekend. I'm scheduled for this thursday on the window tint. Going 35% all the way around. That's what my Elipse was. Anything darker is just too dark IMO.
> 
> Question for you. To save me hours, do you think you would be willing to take photos of the LED tail wiring? I know it would require take one out but I'm sure the entire interested community would appreciate it. Thanks.


Thanks, and good luck with the tint. I went with 35% as well with the exception of the windshield> 50%. By the way, I posted the wiring pics with the led tail lights review here: http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/11-a...-tails-billet-bowties-review-3.html#post47011 Hopefully it helps. :biggrin:


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## Esteeves (Oct 16, 2011)

*DDM Warning*

I hope your experince with DDM is better then mine was. They might have been a good company once... But man have they fallen. It took nearly two weeks to get my first kit for my 2012 Cruze Eco on a slow boat from china. I had problems from the start. One of the ballasts could not start the bulb, and one of the bulbs didn't retract on high/bright mode. Their customer service was beyond crappy. I answered the same questions multiple times with different reps. They ended up shipping me another ballast and two more bulbs. And when i get these part two weeks later... Both of the bulbs worked fine but the third ballast sucked just as bad as the first sucky one. Now they don't believe me and want me to send everything back at my expense so they can test the parts to verify my claims... Eeeeeek what a pain in the a!!.

Don't buy anything from these guys. One of the worst companies I have dealt with in years.


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## Beachpil0t (Jan 6, 2012)

What bulb type did you get from DDM for the cruze?


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## maven (Feb 27, 2011)

DDM sucks big time these days, I have a box full of their crap ballasts and bulbs, thier customer service is horrible, and drop shipping **** from China is epic fail :lol:

The glare isnt the worst ive ever seen but its still pretty bad. You just cant make an HID lamp work in a halogen reflector, its simple physics.


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## CruzeLTZ-RS (Jul 23, 2011)

I run 6k HID's from retro solutions. I adjusted my cut off to the recommended height at 25 feet. Haven't been brighted once.


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## Rcote99 (Feb 13, 2012)

Where did you purchase the HID conversion kit from and how much was it? I am looking at a HID kit from carid.com and was unsure if I should go this route or just purchase some plug and play bulbs. Also, was the install difficult? I have some tech skills and a roomate that is a mechanic, so I think I could manage but on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the hardest how was the install?


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## Horizon314 (Feb 10, 2012)

I was looking at a H.I.D kit from vvme.com thats where I have gotten all of my other kits. Also do you really recommend a relay harness? I was just going to leave my running lights on all time once i get my new headlights or just turn off the automatic lights..............every time I get in the car. Also I havent looked to in depth on the headlights but is there a cap to the headlights that you will have to drill a small hole in to feed the wires from the ballasts or do they just clip in and your done with no cover? Any help would be great as once I get my new headlights with projectors im going to be picking up and H.I.D kit.

Thanks,
Matt


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