[chevyguy8893]

First off I will cover the pros and cons of true HID's versus stock halogen. The true HID's are not the blue bulbs bought on ebay cheap. HID kits come with ballasts and an HID bulb which is a completely different design when compared to halogen.

Pros-Better light output, less power consumption, longer life (when installed correctly) due to the fact the HID bulb does not contain a filament that can break from vibrations, and some kits cost less than halogen bulbs but some are much better.

Cons-They are illegal if they were not installed from the factory (although most authorities don't do anything to enforce the law), most local stores are not going to carry replacement bulbs or ballasts (this varies though), and in some headlight housings the beam scatters so much as to not offer any benefit over stock.


Some general information when looking at HID kits

- Some places sell "HID-style" bulbs; these are not HID's, only higher wattage bulbs that can melt the factory socket and wiring due to the heat they put out. Watch out for these, they are not worth the money.

- A 35-watt HID kit is the most common and runs cooler than the factory halogen bulbs.

- A 55-watt HID kit runs hotter and is not recommended for small headlamp housings since they can melt. They are brighter, but the beam may scatter more, compared to the 35 watt kit, and blind oncoming traffic. Also, the color temperature will be washed out some. For example, an 8000 Kelvin HID kit will look more like a 6000 Kelvin kit.


Ballast choices

Analog- Larger ballast, consumes a little more power, works well

Digital Slim- Small ballast (thin and about the dimensions of a credit card, easy to hide due to size, works well for gen. 7 malibus due to space limitations behind the bumper cover


The HID color temperature scale (rated in Kelvin)

3000K- pure yellow, meant for low visibility conditions, used in fog light housings

4500K- white with some yellow, good for all conditions

5000K- pure white, good for all conditions, brightest color temp.

6000K- white with a hint of blue, good for all conditions, also good for show without sacrificing much light output

8000K- blue with a little white, it is dimmer and more for show purposes

10000K- pure blue, for show purposes, not good for regular driving

12000K- blue/purple, for show purposes, not good for regular driving

Bulb fitment through the years

5th gen. 1997-2003- 9006 low beam and 880 fog light

6th gen. 2004-2008- H11 low beam
04'-06'- 880 fog light
07'-08' classic- H11 fog light

7th gen. 2008-2011- H11 low beam and H11 fog light


Parts needed (all years)

- HID kit 35-watt or 55-watt and color temp. of choice

- HID relay harness which provides direct battery power from the battery for longer life and less chance of flickering due to small gauge factory wiring

- No error code eliminators or adapters are needed for factory headlamp housings on any Malibu since they do not have a bulb-out warning system


Notes

- Generation 7 Malibus need either the DRL (daytime running light) fuse or relay pulled from the underhood fuse block due to the fact that the HID's will not function properly as running lights. They will flicker and shorten the life span of the kit.

- I do not know for other generations if anything needs to be disabled or not.

- Adjust headlights as needed to help avoid blinding other drivers

- HID's will not work well as high beams, they take too long to warm up and will scatter too much to have any benefit

- Do not turn HID's on and off constantly, this will cause hot starts and void warranties, also the bulbs will burn out faster.


Most of all enjoy the new found increased light output, it is great to have .

 

[Chad]

Great write up!

 

[n8ball2013]

Someone correct me if im wrong but you can use the high beams as hids as well since the low beams stay on with the high beams in the 07 up models.

 

[DrivenDaily]

Yes, you CAN use HID's for the high beams on the Gen7 since the low beams stay on during high beam operation. But read chevyguy8893's How-To: they scatter way too much to be of benefit in our housings.

 

[tomx20]

Excellent write up. Hopefully this will cut down on so many threads about the same thing haha

 

[elcompaLalo]

Excellent write up!

 

[JasonZ34]

My OEM headlights are already much brighter than what I'm use too. Do HID's really offer that much of a benefit?

I would think they make actually offer a benefit to the fog lights if you use 3000k. Is this true?

 

[chevyguy8893]

My OEM headlights are already much brighter than what I'm use too. Do HID's really offer that much of a benefit?

I would think they make actually offer a benefit to the fog lights if you use 3000k. Is this true?

HID's offer a higher lumen output. For example a 35 watt HID kit puts out 3400 lumens and sylvania silverstar ultra bulbs put out 1700 lumens. There is a noticeable difference.

3000k offers better visibility in bad weather conditions since there is less reflected back. True fog lights are yellow, I have them on my car and they are great.

 

[Silver LTZ]

HID's still should NOT be used in the high-beams no matter if the lows stay on since as said they will scatter bad, and you will lose your flash to pass.

Also, I would stay away from cheap HID kits. IMO you get what you pay for and just today I had a buddy have a DDM ($35) kit that was installed right have a ballast melt. After some research he said he found others that had the same issue. I have a good ($200) kit in my Camaro for some 5 years now with no issues. I know many have good luck with DDM kits, and I just ordered two sets for the Speed3 and Malibu, but I don't think I am gonna use them until I do more research. I might sell them and get some better kits. In all honestly $35 for HID's scares me. To each their own.

 

[JasonZ34]

Thanks chevyguy.

To what Silver is saying, you still have your stock high beams? Do high beams make any difference still? Enough for flash to pass be functional?

I'm considering getting some to have ready when a bulb goes but I don't wan't crap.

 

[Cajun Boy]

I recently bought some DDM Tuning HID's for my 2010 Malibu and after installing them I don't find that they are bright and also dont project that far. I have the 5000k w/ the HID Harness. I have a Nissan Titan with some 4500k hid's that are a different brand and they are much brighter and project alot farther. Any suggestions to why this is happening on my Malibu?

 

[chevyguy8893]

I recently bought some DDM Tuning HID's for my 2010 Malibu and after installing them I don't find that they are bright and also dont project that far. I have the 5000k w/ the HID Harness. I have a Nissan Titan with some 4500k hid's that are a different brand and they are much brighter and project alot farther. Any suggestions to why this is happening on my Malibu?

The only thing I can think of is a difference in design of the headlamp housings that makes a difference and when you go from one to another it seems a lot worse. Unless there is an issue, then I would get in contact with DDM and see what they say to do.

 

[sleeping.in.malibu]

would some one wanna give me a good website and a list for every little thing that i will need but give me the names of the exact parts and the site wheere i can purchase them for an hid kit for my 09 malibu i know its annoying and rude but im just lazy and nervous about doing this i know i probably wont get a relpy but i would greatly apreciate it thanks-frank

 

[chevyguy8893]

would some one wanna give me a good website and a list for every little thing that i will need but give me the names of the exact parts and the site where i can purchase them for an hid kit for my 09 malibu i know its annoying and rude but I'm just lazy and nervous about doing this i know i probably wont get a reply but i would greatly appreciate it thanks-frank

Everyone here helps out others, and not asking for help is sometimes the worst thing to do; especially when ordering online.

I have DDM tuning HID kits in my headlights and fog lights with no complaints thus far. Some other use VVME and may chime in later. Bulb sizes are listed in the first post along with choosing a color temperature.

You will need this http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DDM-HID-Kit-Slim-Ballast-35W-or-55W in a 35 watt kit and low beam only. No adapter stuff needed. This is the ballasts I use because of the size since there is not a lot of room to mount larger ballasts.

Also, you will need this HID relay harness http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/HID-Kit-Wiring-Harness to provide direct battery power to the kit.

Other than those items I would get some zip ties and double side body molding tape to mount the ballasts.

 

[TadK]

Anyone try the V-HID 35W SLIM BALLAST XENON HEADLIGHT KIT H11 by V-Leds.com?
This reads as a very straight forward replacement (other than finding a home to mount the ballasts). I like the plug-n-play approach

From their site:
V-HIDS Headlight Conversion
Our kits offer the latest in High Intensity Discharge (HID) Xenon technology. V-HIDS utilize ultra slim-line ballasts with next generation technology for optimal light output and ballast efficiency. Our exclusive HID conversion kit will provide you with a level of performance and quality that is unmatched by similar HID products found on the market today. The ultra-slim design will enable the product to be used in a wider variety of applications.

Features:
* Ultra-slim design and light weight ballasts
* Automatic reverse polarity protection.
* Our ballast measures 5/8"H x 2-9/16"W x 3"L (15.69mm x 65mm x 75mm)
* Weighs only 7 oz (200 g).
* Simple Plug n' Play installation
* Full 1 Year "No Hassle" Warranty

Includes:
* 2 Ballasts
* 2 HID Bulbs
* 2 3M Adhesive Pads
* Zip Ties
* Install Manual

 

[TadK]

You will need this http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DDM-HID-Kit-Slim-Ballast-35W-or-55W in a 35 watt kit and low beam only. No adapter stuff needed. This is the ballasts I use because of the size since there is not a lot of room to mount larger ballasts.

Looks like DDM no longer carries this kit.

 

[chevyguy8893]

Looks like DDM no longer carries this kit.

They have been doing site updating and not all the products are up, at least according to the main page. Maybe they don't have it anymore, not completely sure. I think they have to be contacted by email for certain products till they are done. The other ballasts they carry fit, but they do take up some room. The slim were much easier to work with.

 

[Matrix78]

I recently bought some DDM Tuning HID's for my 2010 Malibu and after installing them I don't find that they are bright and also dont project that far. I have the 5000k w/ the HID Harness. I have a Nissan Titan with some 4500k hid's that are a different brand and they are much brighter and project alot farther. Any suggestions to why this is happening on my Malibu?

Not to bash DDM or anything but, I too had/have an Issue.
I purchased the 12K's from then w/Harness etc and IMO they are just nowhere close to what 12K should be. I've seen other 12K's and they have a very noticeable Blue/Violate tint. These are extremely White and a subtle hint of Blue.

They looked good and I just did not want to go thru the trouble of taking them out so about a month later I ordered another of the exact same setup for my other car and the result was the same. :/

Again I did contact them, they said send them back and they would test them to see if they were within their spec's for 12K but, again I did not want to go through all the trouble of taking them out.

They do look great, they really light up the road and I can see them reflecting on signs 1/2 mile or more down the road so. While they work and I’m Happy; I did not get what I expected to see based on the fact their Pictures online clearly show 12Ks in a vehicle that Is producing a nice Blue/Violate hue.

My $0.01

 

[acosta512]

How hard is it to install the kit,need to do my 09 ltz,any write up here on how to do it?

 

[tomx20]

How hard is it to install the kit,need to do my 09 ltz,any write up here on how to do it?

All you have to do is take off the bumper, unscrew the factory bulbs, put in the HIDs, then put the bumper back on. Depending on your mechanical skill it could take anywhere from about 1.5-2.5 hours.