Feeler: Hella 500/700 HID conversion service

**Note** This isn't a feeler any more!
Hey guys, ive been noticing how popular the HID swap is becoming for the Hella driving lights (and for good reason... they're Hella' bright w/ 55W HIDs in em and a steal compared to other HID lights!) and was curious to see if there would be members interested in buying the lights from me with all the conversion work done for them for a moderate fee. The HID kits are from DDM tuning, and in whatever spec desired...slim or standard ballast, 35W or 55W, bulb color temp, etc.

I figure with this available, everyone can afford some bright HID Off-road lights! The total for everything will be around $150-$200 depending on the options selected.

Price Breakdown (no mark-up's on parts!):
Hella 500FF's: $70.00 for me/you
Hella 700FF's: $80.00 for me/you
HID kit: $50-75 depending on option selected and shipping
Labor for doing the conversions: $30
Misc. materials for converting: $5
USPS priority shipping to you: only $10

PM me and we can discuss the type of lights you want, total costs, and time frame.

-Eric

 

I had no idea this was coming!! im in.

 

I think that'd be a great idea, provided that you can somehow back it up? There's been a flood of bad press on the forum in the last week or 2 about DDM having poor customer service for failed HID units. Would you be pre-testing these to make sure they work? replace them if the HID goes out in 2 months? Issues like that would be my huge concern.

I'd have thought about it.... if I didn't get my Hella 500s up and running last night! But, yeah, they're not as kick-ass as I'd hoped. HID is coming their way soon - need to let the fiance look the other way and wait a few months.

 

its totaly worth it. I did mine a few weeks ago. they are pretty much anti-aircraft lights. SOO BRIGHT!
mine are in (spot) configuration

 

Is there any other way? Ie, "flood" with the Hella 500?

I was hoping they'd throw maybe 100 yards down the road and light up 20-30 yards on either side as well - you know, anti-deer, anti-kid-on-bike, etc.

 

Just ordered my grillcraft and been doing a lot of research on what lights to put behind it and this would be exactly what I'm looking for! Very interested

 

Great to see that theres a bit of interest as I had expected.
As for failures, from the issues i've had with my kit from Slim's GB on here(ballast failures), water in the connections is what causes the issues. I cleaned all my connections and loaded them with dielectric grease to keep out moisture and they're fine now. But, if there ever were an issue I'd definitely work with the person until you're back up and running. DDM has a lifetime warranty, it just may take a little time to get the replacement ballast from them.
As for the flood version of the Hella...These are sold as a "driving" beam so its kind of a hybrid between spot and flood.
Here is the standard illumination chart from Hella

I think you'd actually be surprised at how much spread you can get out of these lights once the HID conversion is done if you just aim the pair just to the side of each other. Thats why my friend Tim did with his and IMO there is plenty of light to illuminate peripheral.

 

Also, If the DDM kit isnt wanted for whatever reason, the buyer could wait until Slimcubby has another GB on his HID kits and then have the kit sent to me to do the conversion with it instead of the DDM....

 

Hey, where did you find the picture of the light pattern on the Hella website? I've been looking at their site for 2 weeks and haven't been able to pull those up.

Thx.

 

yea they have the spot/driving beam and then they have the FF (flood) pattern ones.

 

The FF is still a driving beam. Only difference is it uses the reflector to aim the light whereas the standard 500's use the lens to aim the light.

 

gotcha

 

So that's the difference between Hella500 and Hella500ff. Which one is the best and which one is better to have behind a Grillcraft?

 

I havent had a chance to compare the beam pattern/output between the two to see any differences, but they should be the same and I prefer the cleaner look of the clear lens on the FF's. I'd do the FF's.

 

Can't one just buy an H3 HID kit which would be plug and play??? whats with the conversion labor and misc items?
Maybe the back of the hella's are different? Not talking badly about you or anything... just curious as I am looking to do this myself.

 

i will br buy the 500FFs for my truck soon and was thinking about putting them in then deciding on the HID. i would like to have the HID but for as much as i would actually be using them idk that it would be worth it for me

 

The bulbs arent actually plug and play as it turns out.... the HIDs dont quite fit in the way the factory bulbs do. The holder for the H3 bulb has to be removed, then the HIDs need to be attached and sealed to the light (epoxy works well), then the housing drilled to make room for the HID ballast wiring to come out the back of it. Not that hard to do but takes a little time.

 

ahh ic thats interesting.. even with an H3 kit?

bummer that the mating piece on the hella lamp is different.. = ( thanks for the info! I appreciate it

 

If the price was closer to the $150 I would consider it, getting the Hellas anyway so if someone else would do the mod, might consider.

 

The price is going to be dependent on which HID's you want: Slim vs normal ballast, and 35w vs 55w.