New Apexcone HID Install

So my new Apexcone HID's came in this evening, I'll be installing them this weekend. I ordered the pair for about $175.00 (not including shipping) from http://therpmstore.com/

I got the lifetime warranty and the harness. You can see the harness as the big bundle next to the two bulbs.

Very nicely built units. I didn't realize how slim the ballasts were(wow)
The kit came the two bulbs, harness, relays, ballasts, manuals, and two Apexcone stickers.

I picked this unit because out of all the accessories I wanted, HID's seem to be a good buy for the $$$ (when compared to Nav units/leather interior/etc) and the Apexcones look durable enough.

I'll be posting pics of the install over the weekend.

what kind did you get? Temperature wise?

I got the 35 watt 4500 color temp. I was thinking of going more blue but then I saw the lumens, and decided to get the brightest light output, and also I think 55 watt may be a bit much.....

Yep I'm planning on going the exact route as you... and those actually look like the 'slimline' DDM ballasts, which isn't a sign that you got swindled, because I'm under the understanding that DDM and Apexcone have joined forces.

So I finally went ahead and installed them.

The most difficult part of the installation had to be the light bulbs. I've worked on many cars and motorcycles, and I've never come across such a difficult light bulb holder....EVER!!!!!!!(bang)

The Ballasts,igniters, and wiring were not difficult in setting up, not nearly as much as removing and replacing the bulb assembly.

I have blisters on my fingers from trying to push tiny wire pieces around to get them to hold the bulb in. At one point I gave up and tried to install the original stock bulbs back in-only to find out that they were just as difficult, the problem wasn't in the bulb-it was whoever decided that tiny pieces of wire requiring 100 lbs of force would be a great idea to hold in a light bulb. Why couldn't they just make a socket where you insert the bulb and twist?

Overall, the light output of the system simply is amazing. I've gone through PIAA's, Silverstars, RAZO's, among many other generic "HID-like" products, and not a single one put out as much light as these-which are just 35 watts (not 55 like the upgraded HID units). I like them a lot but hope that the bulbs don't burn out soon, because of they do, I'd rather pay someone to replace light bulbs than mess with 1" piece of wire needing 100 lbs. of force.

The one thing I did notice is that with the Apexcone/DDM kit, the clear plastic bulb protectors have to be smashed and taken off. I could not find a way to slide the clear back piece off the unit, it's like they were put together and not meant to be taken off.

Also I used an X-Acto knife to make small incisions for the positive and negative wire to be slid back out of the silicon caps that were part of the kit. At first I routed the wires under the stock rubber piece, but found that's not such a great idea. In one of the pics you'll see what I mean.

One of the pics has the completed wiring routed properly, with the wires NOT going under the stock rubber piece. I used the included adhesive and zip-ties to mount the ballasts and igniters. I included pics of where I placed the ballasts and igniters.

I didn't use the wiring with the relay. At first I thought that the 15 second startup delay was caused by me not using the relay harness, but my friend with the few cars with aftermarket HID's told me it's not-every Car with HID has delays.

If I had to do this again, I'd get larger ballasts. My friend has a few vehicles with aftermarket HID's he installed himself, and the larger ballasts seem to be quieter on the charge-up (not that these are even noticeable with the hood down). My take on it is, "Use the larger units if you can, use slims only if you have to."

do u knoe if that website will ship hid kit to canada?

Zenderfall said:

So I finally went ahead and installed them.

The most difficult part of the installation had to be the light bulbs. I've worked on many cars and motorcycles, and I've never come across such a difficult light bulb holder....EVER!!!!!!!(bang)

The Ballasts,igniters, and wiring were not difficult in setting up, not nearly as much as removing and replacing the bulb assembly.

I have blisters on my fingers from trying to push tiny wire pieces around to get them to hold the bulb in. At one point I gave up and tried to install the original stock bulbs back in-only to find out that they were just as difficult, the problem wasn't in the bulb-it was whoever decided that tiny pieces of wire requiring 100 lbs of force would be a great idea to hold in a light bulb. Why couldn't they just make a socket where you insert the bulb and twist?

Overall, the light output of the system simply is amazing. I've gone through PIAA's, Silverstars, RAZO's, among many other generic "HID-like" products, and not a single one put out as much light as these-which are just 35 watts (not 55 like the upgraded HID units). I like them a lot but hope that the bulbs don't burn out soon, because of they do, I'd rather pay someone to replace light bulbs than mess with 1" piece of wire needing 100 lbs. of force.

The one thing I did notice is that with the Apexcone/DDM kit, the clear plastic bulb protectors have to be smashed and taken off. I could not find a way to slide the clear back piece off the unit, it's like they were put together and not meant to be taken off.

Also I used an X-Acto knife to make small incisions for the positive and negative wire to be slid back out of the silicon caps that were part of the kit. At first I routed the wires under the stock rubber piece, but found that's not such a great idea. In one of the pics you'll see what I mean.

One of the pics has the completed wiring routed properly, with the wires NOT going under the stock rubber piece. I used the included adhesive and zip-ties to mount the ballasts and igniters. I included pics of where I placed the ballasts and igniters.

If I had to do this again, I'd get larger ballasts. My friend has a few vehicles with aftermarket HID's he installed himself, and the larger ballasts seem to be quieter on the charge-up (not that these are even noticeable with the hood down). My take on it is, "Use the larger units if you can, use slims only if you have to."

Click to expand...

i know what you mean by 100lb force for that wire...(bang)
post some pics of HID in action..

dreamym5, is there a replacement part from another vehicle that can retrofit to the Mazda5 so we don't have to go through that BS if we ever have to change bulbs? I can't imagine EVERY vehicle that uses H7 bulbs has this stupid 1" wire. I had a Yamaha that had H7, and I remember changing the bulbs to that were a snap.

I'll get pics of the HID's in action after I'm done getting amazed watching them in action-may be quite a while.

Zenderfall said:

dreamym5, is there a replacement part from another vehicle that can retrofit to the Mazda5 so we don't have to go through that BS if we ever have to change bulbs? I can't imagine EVERY vehicle that uses H7 bulbs has this stupid 1" wire. I had a Yamaha that had H7, and I remember changing the bulbs to that were a snap.

I'll get pics of the HID's in action after I'm done getting amazed watching them in action-may be quite a while.

Click to expand...

this thread may helpl..

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123700704

I looked at it, yes, that is exactly the POS system Mazda has set up. Luckily, Apexcone's H7 size bulbs match the same shape and thickness of the originals-still does not make the job any easier!

I'm looking for an entire wire piece that can be retrofitted so that instead of one side, it should pich-close on both sides, like most other vehicles with H7 bulbs.

I don't know what you are talking about with 15 second delays....

I have had a handful of cars with factory HID, and one with aftermarket HID. They took maybe 2-3 seconds to get to full bright, usually less.

Zenderfall said:

If I had to do this again, I'd get larger ballasts. My friend has a few vehicles with aftermarket HID's he installed himself, and the larger ballasts seem to be quieter on the charge-up (not that these are even noticeable with the hood down). My take on it is, "Use the larger units if you can, use slims only if you have to."

Click to expand...

Didn't think much of this until jeeb made a point about the 15 second thing... is a noise normal behavior for HID ballasts, and what kind of noise are you describing, like a buzzing or something?

I'll ask Leif @ apexcone for ya. I was partying with him this weekend in Santa Barbara until he got kicked out of some bar lol.

jeebusm3 said:

I'll ask Leif @ apexcone for ya. I was partying with him this weekend in Santa Barbara until he got kicked out of some bar lol.

Click to expand...

haha, okay. not a big deal but never heard that ballasts create a noise before.

I need to call them over at DDMTuning later anyways cause I placed an order for the HID's with my Discover card, and the bastards @ Discover went and changed our account number on a whim, supposedly for new security standards they want to implement. So I gotta figure out what the hell our new number is now and give it to DDM for my pending order, ugh

jandree22 said:

Didn't think much of this until jeeb made a point about the 15 second thing... is a noise normal behavior for HID ballasts, and what kind of noise are you describing, like a buzzing or something?

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Yes, the buzzing sound as it starts up. It goes away after about 10-15 seconds. The larger ballasts are more quiet and startup quicker than this particular slimline. Don't think it's a defect, because both sides behave very similarly.

Zenderfall said:

Yes, the buzzing sound as it starts up. It goes away after about 10-15 seconds. The larger ballasts are more quiet and startup quicker than this particular slimline. Don't think it's a defect, because both sides behave very similarly.

Click to expand...

Ah ic... yeah that sounds reasonable. I thought you meant continuously even after they're warmed up.

jandree22 said:

Ah ic... yeah that sounds reasonable. I thought you meant continuously even after they're warmed up.

Click to expand...

It sounds like when you are next to this:



Bzzzz, bzzzzz. But, no worries at 80MPH the noise is negligible.

mmm... makes me think of a really good battered fish place that used to be in the area. wow I could really go for some, but they're out of business now

Off topic but I hear ya. I have also tried battered alligator in Louisiana, not bad at all (although you just have to keep focused on eating it w/o thinking what it was when alive (lol2))

Zenderfall said:

Yes, the buzzing sound as it starts up. It goes away after about 10-15 seconds. The larger ballasts are more quiet and startup quicker than this particular slimline. Don't think it's a defect, because both sides behave very similarly.

Click to expand...

mine sounds like laser beam/charging high pitch noise that goes away as it warms up...

i still remember the very first *start up*...bit scared..(usa)