VVME HID Conversion Kit $80

[3dogs]

Has anyone used this HID lighting kit on their FJR? VVME H4 HID Conversion Kit I talked to a BMW owner that told me he has used this kit for 2 years with no problems. Others that he rides with have ordered and used kits from this website--all with no complaints.

 

[No One]

Has anyone used this HID lighting kit on their FJR? VVME H4 HID Conversion Kit I talked to a BMW owner that told me he has used this kit for 2 years with no problems. Others that he rides with have ordered and used kits from this website--all with no complaints.

Hello,

I have not, I have installed HID im motorcycles for over ten years.... I have had hundreds of "HID" conversations with people and IN MY OPINON it really just boils down to this....... there are MANY,MANY HID kits out there....

(real kits, not bulbs for people thinking some HID kits are just bulbs..... THEY ARE NOT..... the others are just advertising ploys and play on words)

If you find a kit that you have found people that are happy with and its in your price range, go get it, and install it.... Here is the catch, the cheep units are made in China and India and have and are made with undesirable parts. The kits DO work but the real question is for how long.. Some of the "kits" have warranties where the seller will stand behind the "kit" for X amount of time....... Again this is all good.... Its a crap shoot... If you install the kit, are you willing to tear it all back apart EVER to have the part under warranty if the warranty still good..... OR do you want to pay your installer AGAIN to have you HID replaced under warranty ?? Hell, they might last ten years,,,, LOL But in my experience they DONT !!!! I have some what learned the hard way and I ONLY install HELLA from Germany and Philips bulbs.... Makes me think 'whats the difference between am $80.00 kit and a $300 / $400 kit'....... If you EVER have the opportunity look in the ballast box and you will see a HUGE difference....

For me, only speaking about myself.... I will save up and bite the big one and get the HELLA, install it and live happily ever after.. I have a bike with one in it going on nine years with NOT ONE PROBLEM..... But the cheep one might have done the same thing, I just was not willing to take the chance.

Also, ONLY HELLA, Phillips,and BOSCH and just a few more companies have the computer-diagnostic-machine to test the true 'K' Lumen's of there bulbs... Ive been told that this one machine is many millions of dollars and the China / India companies don't have this machine and can not test there 'K', and again that is a good guess on there part, im sure with some type of scientific backing.... but they don't test true lumen's like the people mentioned above......

Just a word of advice from ten years experience..... if you (anyone) goes with the 'knock off kit' use a little silicon around the ballast and the plug into the ballast. All HID units are susceptible to water and moisture......

I'm NO master expert in the HID department but I have a little experience, if I can learn from anyone else I would love to pick up more info, always... The things I have just spoke about are a few things I know pertaining to the question about the original post..........

 

[v65]

Has anyone used this HID lighting kit on their FJR? VVME H4 HID Conversion Kit I talked to a BMW owner that told me he has used this kit for 2 years with no problems. Others that he rides with have ordered and used kits from this website--all with no complaints.

Well it's now becoming clear that I paid too much for my EBay 35w unit, I got beat up on the shipping . You should know that there are 50w slim ballast units available. I have no idea what the actual difference in brightness between the 35w and 50w units would be.

 

[OhioFJR1300]

Looks like a good deal. I just placed an order for a set. Shipping is $26.00 so the total is slightly over 100 bucks , but if these work, it will be worth it. I'll wait and see. Thanks for the link.

 

[Toecutter]

BTDT with the imported kit, which failed one week after install and not worth my time pursuing the dealer for a replacement.

Next time, I will be buying from a domestic supplier who includes a hassle-free lifetime warranty and free shipping.

 

[slapnpop]

Also, ONLY HELLA, Phillips,and BOSCH and just a few more companies have the computer-diagnostic-machine to test the true 'K' Lumen's of there bulbs... Ive been told that this one machine is many millions of dollars and the China / India companies don't have this machine and can not test there 'K', and again that is a good guess on there part, im sure with some type of scientific backing.... but they don't test true lumen's like the people mentioned above......

K and Lumens are two different things.

the color temperature (measured in degrees Kelvin) is a measure of color of the lamp. The luminous output is a measure of the intensity.

The difference between a good and a cheap bulb is the equipment and raw materials involved, not where it is made. The big name companies produce bulbs in china too, but with good equipment and materials.

Lastly, Hella HID products use Phillips ballasts and bulbs.

 

[No One]

Also, ONLY HELLA, Phillips,and BOSCH and just a few more companies have the computer-diagnostic-machine to test the true 'K' Lumen's of there bulbs... Ive been told that this one machine is many millions of dollars and the China / India companies don't have this machine and can not test there 'K', and again that is a good guess on there part, im sure with some type of scientific backing.... but they don't test true lumen's like the people mentioned above......

K and Lumens are two different things.

the color temperature (measured in degrees Kelvin) is a measure of color of the lamp. The luminous output is a measure of the intensity.

The difference between a good and a cheap bulb is the equipment and raw materials involved, not where it is made. The big name companies produce bulbs in china too, but with good equipment and materials.

Lastly, Hella HID products use Phillips ballasts and bulbs.

Thanks for clearing this up for the others..... I must go back and make myself perfectly clear..... I should have also added that this is an "over view" and not to be take verbatim.... Other wise I would have written twenty three pages of info..... I use HELLA and Philips and they are both made in Germany and not China..... Thanks again !

 

[mikerider]

Has anyone used this HID lighting kit on their FJR? VVME H4 HID Conversion Kit I talked to a BMW owner that told me he has used this kit for 2 years with no problems. Others that he rides with have ordered and used kits from this website--all with no complaints.

I ordered the H7 HID conversion kit from vvme.com and received it after 4 days, shipped directly from Beijing, China. I installed them on my Honda CBR-1100XX low beam and it worked great.

https://www.cbrxx.com/body-paint-electrical....html#post69081

It's only $67 a pair after shipping. I have 1 left so yesterday I installed it in 1 of my 2 Hella FF50 running lights which also use H7. Now I feel so much safer riding at nights.

As to Hella? This is the ballast that came with the vvme kit. It's a Hella

 

[Duezzer]

Once installed and been running a while could you give us an update on how it worked out

Could you take some pics of the install

Thanks

 

[Fred W]

Also, ONLY HELLA, Phillips,and BOSCH and just a few more companies have the computer-diagnostic-machine to test the true 'K' Lumen's of there bulbs... Ive been told that this one machine is many millions of dollars and the China / India companies don't have this machine and can not test there 'K', and again that is a good guess on there part, im sure with some type of scientific backing.... but they don't test true lumen's like the people mentioned above......

Sounds like someone has been telling you some stories.

The "K" (Kelvin) value specified is the color temperature and is fairly insignificant.

Anything in the 4000-5000K range will appear as completely white.

A Lumen is a measure of electromagnetic flux density (light intensity).

Knowing the exact color or flux density for a bulb is also not all that important.

 

[mikerider]

I'm reposting the picture of the ballast that came with the vvme HID kit as for some reason the other post didn't come out:

 

[mikerider]

Once installed and been running a while could you give us an update on how it worked out
Could you take some pics of the install

Thanks

I'm not sure if you were addressing me

I have the HID running for only a couple of days so I can't comment on the longevity yet but the amount of lights it put out made me much more comfortable commuting at night. I took some pics when installing it on my Honda CBR-1100XX:

https://www.pbase.com/motorcyclist/lightnings&page=2

It's pretty much a plug-and-play for my H7 kit. The hardest part was to find a location to store the ballast as there is not much room on a bike

I also just installed the 2nd HID (as I only installed 1 of 2 HID on my low beam) in 1 of my 2 Hella FF50 running lights, which happen to use H7. They are incredibly awesome now, making me more visible even in the daytime with all my lights on. We'll see about the longevity in a little while

Since it's just plug-and-play, if it didn't work out, I can afford to throw away $67 and get something else to swap it out

 

[2WheelTiger]

I'm reposting the picture of the ballast that came with the vvme HID kit as for some reason the other post didn't come out:

Funny, I don't trust VVME. The website uses horrible semantics and spelling, they claim their ballasts say "Made in Japan", and the actual ballast says "Hella Technology" (Not Hella). It also says "Designed in Germany."

It's really sounding/looking like a cheap Chinese ripoff/patent infringement to me. Wonder if it's full of melanin.

Let us know how it works out, but it looks fishy as hell to me.

 

[mikerider]

I found some more references here about their "Hella Technology":

https://www.made-in-china.com/showroom/waha...al-Ballast.html

 

[3dogs]

After reading the posts for this topic I got interested and did some research on the Internet. Here is a link that some of you may find interesting. Disadvantages of HID Lighting and Can I Convert my Halogen Lamps to HID? Both articles shed some "light" on the subject of HID conversions and after reading both I have been persuaded that this is not such a great idea on my FJR or F150. See what you think!

 

[Fred W]

After reading the posts for this topic I got interested and did some research on the Internet. Here is a link that some of you may find interesting. Disadvantages of HID Lighting and Can I Convert my Halogen Lamps to HID? Both articles shed some "light" on the subject of HID conversions and after reading both I have been persuaded that this is not such a great idea on my FJR or F150. See what you think!

I have read Mr Stearn's web sites before and I have a set of telescopic HID retrofits installed. I do not believe that his assertions apply directly in this particular usage.

On a motorcycle a headlight serves multiple purposes. Aside from the obvious one (lighting the road at night) it is also a means to attract the attention of brain dead automobile drivers to induce them to not run down your *** on the road. So, as to the assertion that putting HID retrofit lamps into the bucket will "dazzle" the oncoming traffic, I would say yes, yes they do, especially when on high beam. That is the primary reason I have them. When I am not riding in a pack or closely following someone, I leave them on high beam during the day. I want to dazzle them. Because if I can dazzle them they know I am there.

Another of the assertions of Mr Stearn is that the HID retrofits to not have a clean beam cast when in low beam, because of the shape of the reflector in the DOT headlight bucket. For whatever reason, that is not the case with our H4 lamp equipped FJRs. Perhaps this is because the same headlamp buckets are used in the US and the rest of the world, so the reflector makes a nice sharp low beam upper cut-off pattern.

So in the case of the FJR headlamps, you don't really lose anything in terms of beam pattern, and you do gain a bunch of lumens by going with the HID retrofit.

In the case of your Ford F150, I would agree that an HID retrofit would be a bad idea.

Your lighting may vary.

 

[Warchild]

I have read Mr Stearn's web sites before and I have a set of telescopic HID retrofits installed. I do not believe that his assertions apply directly in this particular usage.

Shyeah... to say the very least!

Hate to burst anyone's bubble, but this Stearn guy is a salesman. Pure and simple. He wrote a bunch of stuff on a clean-looking web-page, and now he's an authority on lighting...... ooooookay. <_<

Here's an example of what I am referring to: Back In The Day, this Stearn clown would write that PIAA Extreme bulbs were to be avoided at all costs. Now, it is true that the PIAA claims of an "80-watt output" on a 55-watt bulb is just deceptive marketing-speak, but the fact of the matter was: these bulbs *were* brighter than hell, but only due to the filament being "over-driven". Because they were over-driven, the lifespan of these bulbs were ****. But while they work, they were some extraordinary lighting. In the mid-90's (well before HID conversion kits), I would run these bulbs in my old ST1100 just during Endurance Rallies, and remove/replace them with stock bulbs afterward.

But Stearn didn't (and doesn't) sell PIAA, so none of the PIAA products are worth a ****, you see...... <_<

With regard to his claims that you can't use HID conversions in our bikes because the beamcast won't be correct, well, reality suggests otherwise. Here is a direct comparison of the FJR low-beam output using stock halogen (top image) versus HID 4300K kits (bottom image). As you can plainly see, the beamcast is very, very close:

However, Stearn doesn't sell HID kits, so.... they must be all bad, and you should buy his halogen stuff....... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Bottom line: the internet is full of subterfuge, both intended and unintended. One can elect to believe anything they read on the internet, or one can conduct actual, real-world experiments and draw the correct conclusions based upon the results obtained.

 

[wingshot]

After reading all the responses, I am interested in hearing an update after a some different temperatures and weather conditions have been ridden through.

 

[hurtback]

Has anyone used this HID lighting kit on their FJR? VVME H4 HID Conversion Kit I talked to a BMW owner that told me he has used this kit for 2 years with no problems. Others that he rides with have ordered and used kits from this website--all with no complaints.

Hello,

I have not, I have installed HID im motorcycles for over ten years.... I have had hundreds of "HID" conversations with people and IN MY OPINON it really just boils down to this....... there are MANY,MANY HID kits out there....

(real kits, not bulbs for people thinking some HID kits are just bulbs..... THEY ARE NOT..... the others are just advertising ploys and play on words)

If you find a kit that you have found people that are happy with and its in your price range, go get it, and install it.... Here is the catch, the cheep units are made in China and India and have and are made with undesirable parts. The kits DO work but the real question is for how long.. Some of the "kits" have warranties where the seller will stand behind the "kit" for X amount of time....... Again this is all good.... Its a crap shoot... If you install the kit, are you willing to tear it all back apart EVER to have the part under warranty if the warranty still good..... OR do you want to pay your installer AGAIN to have you HID replaced under warranty ?? Hell, they might last ten years,,,, LOL But in my experience they DONT !!!! I have some what learned the hard way and I ONLY install HELLA from Germany and Philips bulbs.... Makes me think 'whats the difference between am $80.00 kit and a $300 / $400 kit'....... If you EVER have the opportunity look in the ballast box and you will see a HUGE difference....

For me, only speaking about myself.... I will save up and bite the big one and get the HELLA, install it and live happily ever after.. I have a bike with one in it going on nine years with NOT ONE PROBLEM..... But the cheep one might have done the same thing, I just was not willing to take the chance.

Also, ONLY HELLA, Phillips,and BOSCH and just a few more companies have the computer-diagnostic-machine to test the true 'K' Lumen's of there bulbs... Ive been told that this one machine is many millions of dollars and the China / India companies don't have this machine and can not test there 'K', and again that is a good guess on there part, im sure with some type of scientific backing.... but they don't test true lumen's like the people mentioned above......

Just a word of advice from ten years experience..... if you (anyone) goes with the 'knock off kit' use a little silicon around the ballast and the plug into the ballast. All HID units are susceptible to water and moisture......

I'm NO master expert in the HID department but I have a little experience, if I can learn from anyone else I would love to pick up more info, always... The things I have just spoke about are a few things I know pertaining to the question about the original post..........

I looked in the bin o facts and in my manual. The correct headlight bulbs for an 08 fjr is h4 correct?

If I were to convert over to HID, would I just order an h4 set and choose the whiteness to my taste or is there some other variable?

I've seen 35w 55w thin ballasts, regular ballasts.

What would you suggest? I guess the slim ballasts would be good if you have a whole bunch of other electronics in there for the extra room.

It gets confusing. Is 35 better than 55 or is it a matter of choice? will 55w be too bright?

any help would be appreciated.