Hid lights

[sportster ron]

Hi
I am thinking of having HID on my sportster. The HID kit I am gearing to is from DDM tuning....any advise on this kit and will this be a simple install on a sportster. Would the HID compromise the electrical charging power?

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[Hoople]

Hi
Would the HID compromise the electrical charging power?

No it would not compromise the charging system. But there are considerations when installing HID. Will you have low beam only or does it have a "shifter shield" to make 1 HID element both hi & low beam? HID's also have considerable current draw for the first 2 seconds. Then they rapidly taper to less than a Halogen bulb.
The switches, relays and wire must have the capacity for just those two seconds or else the HID element will sometimes not trigger off and light especially if they are already hot (turn off then on again without a cool-down period).

But to answer your question, once a HID is booted, after a few seconds they draw less than all other bulbs. The extreme light energy that comes from them is generated because of the internal capsule pressure once heated up (400 psi) and not by current draw.

 

[sportster ron]

Thanks Hoople for the detailed information...how about replacing the bulb to a white halogen bulb like the PIAa or the sylannia silverstar that walmart sells...

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[Hoople]

how about replacing the bulb to a white halogen bulb like the PIAa or the sylannia silverstar that walmart sells...

I tried the Sylvania Silverstar on 2 different cages. Maybe I used the wrong model or something but I was very disappointed in the performance. I actually saw little to no change in light output. Waste of $45 on each car if you ask me. How they get those great specs and come up with those impressive looking commercials, I have no clue.

I have never tried PIAA bulbs myself but see them on the street and they are bright. But I heard that they did not last long and my guess is they draw some real current (especially the 80/80 watt or 100/130 watt) and probably will melt or overheat the bulb socket.

I have been using the HD LED 5.75" round for about a year and so far so good. It's not cheap ($325 discounted) but the light pattern is white and far reaching.

 

[sportster ron]

I think I should go with the LED lights versus HID...is the LED plug and play no wiring just put in the socket? Also can you direct a website where to buy it? Thanks very much.....I really want to be visible for safety reasons.....thanks again.

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[Hoople]

The HD LED headlight was plug and play for me on a 2009 Dyna FXDL. Perfect fit. Be sure to get the model "A" suffix after the part number. I did not get a model A and had some issues with excessive internal moisture which resulted in fogging that I had to fix on my own. I heard the model A fixed the moisture issue. Both the box & catalog said it would not fit my year, but I bought it anyway & it fit perfect. I never could figure out why they said fitment stopped before 2009 because it worked out great. I got mine from Lakeshore HD.