Retrofit review; How have they held up?

[toycar]

Some Im considering a retro fit project on one of my cars, and was curious how they have held up over time?


I know there are a couple write ups, but not many reviews after time has passed.


So what I was hoping to get was;

What projector did you use?
What adhesives you used?
How long has it been?
Any issues you ran into during the retrofit or afterwards?

If you have pics that'd be cool too


Thanks in advance

[Domesticated]

Back in 08 my car got projectors out of an Audi A6, looked great and worked perfect for a while. I noticed about a year ago my projectors weren't sharp or as bright anymore so I took it apart to check it out. Everything inside the projector is chromed metal except for the main reflector. It's black plastic painted silver? WTF. So the plastic has melted and now the output is dull and week because its half black half silver and not smooth. My buddy has an 02 A4 and he has the same problem. So I would stay away from using Volkswagen projectors. Otherwise everything else has held up.

[gloryaccordy]

They last. Just keep moisture out and use quality compoents. Cant go wrong with TRS

[toycar]

Back in 08 my car got projectors out of an Audi A6, looked great and worked perfect for a while. I noticed about a year ago my projectors weren't sharp or as bright anymore so I took it apart to check it out. Everything inside the projector is chromed metal except for the main reflector. It's black plastic painted silver? WTF. So the plastic has melted and now the output is dull and week because its half black half silver and not smooth. My buddy has an 02 A4 and he has the same problem. So I would stay away from using Volkswagen projectors. Otherwise everything else has held up.

Did you run 35w/55w HID's?

Sucks that that happened. Thanks for the honest feedback

[islandhopper]

Projectors: Morimoto Mini D2S v2.0
Bulbs: D2S Philips 85122+ (4.3k) w/35 watt digital ballasts (AMP style w/AMP-D2S adapters)
Shrouds: Mini Gatling-Gun w/CCFL halos (not wired)
Adhesives: OEM butyl rubber glue to seal headlight assembly, none for internals.

I LOVE my retrofit. They've been installed since 3/24/12, so about 7 months now. NOTHING has gone wrong with them in that much time. Cutoff is still crisp, colorful and very wide. Intensity is badass with the Philips bulbs. Quality bulbs make all the difference. I have a couple other colors (3k, 6k) but the Philips are king. I highly recommend them.



click the sig for pics of the retrofit installed

[Domesticated]

Did you run 35w/55w HID's?

Sucks that that happened. Thanks for the honest feedback

35W, my roommates are stock and his are doing it.

[accordztech]

I used morimoto h1 for a year now and they held up fine.

I used e39 projectors retrofitted into the cb7 for 3 years, no issues. Thinking of selling those soon.

I used OEM fx35 projectors in my van for 5 years, no issues

I used FXr projectors from the retrofitsource for a year in my friends car, no issues

[toycar]

Right on guys this is great info!!


Thanks, this is the kind of stuff I was looking for

[toycar]

So what Im thinking here is buying a set of morimoto projectors with functioning splitter, and using the high beam location for drl's.


Thoughts/feedback?

Probably wire the DRL's to an ignition triggered switch, nothing too fancy.

[91kid]

So what Im thinking here is buying a set of morimoto projectors with functioning splitter, and using the high beam location for drl's.


Thoughts/feedback?

Probably wire the DRL's to an ignition triggered switch, nothing too fancy.

Functional splitters ?

[Kile Mcgile]

Has anyone used ebay projectors? Ive always been curious as to how well those hold up over time

[91kid]

Has anyone used ebay projectors? Ive always been curious as to how well those hold up over time

There junk and a waste of money, my fog lights put out better light

[gloryaccordy]

Functional splitters ?

Low/high beam shutters. Bixenon shit

toycar that sounds fine. Only thing I would say is figure out how to step down the voltage on the DRL bulbs so you don't have high beams on all the time.

[islandhopper]

Just a note for those with projector retrofits...

With a compact projector such as the morimoto mini, the bulb makes all the difference.

I just switched from the D2S Philips 85122+ to VisionPlus (better than no name stuff) 6k D2S bulbs and the difference is like night and day. Beam width has decreased as well as intensity. And since the quality isn't as high as the Philips, the base doesn't seat 100% causing the pattern to bow along the outer edges.

So to get the most out of your projector, get some quality bulbs.

[Quashish]

i got my passenger projector stuck and cracked my housing a tiny bit. be careful with those locking ring nuts

this is as good as my cut off will be for a while until i decide i want to mess with it again and cut open my housing re-do another one and replace the projector bowl and get a new locking ring