Morimoto HID kit from TRS, review

desTROYer said:
Nice write up vroom. what bulbs do you have in your oem fog lights? where can i get them and do they match the hids in color output? what about the drls, did you replace them also?
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I got my fog light bulbs from VLEDs:

http://www.vleds.com/shop-bulb-numbers/h-series/5k-white-10-led-drl-fog-light-bulbs-h11-1-pair.html

While the DLR LED bars above the fog lights are from eBay (there's a thread about them here)

I find that the LED bars match the HIDs very well. The 5000K fog lights have just a bit more yellow in them, but are still a tremendous improvement in terms of matching the HIDs compared to the halogens. I would still go with the 5000K because I feel that the 6000K might be a bit bluer than the HIDs which would not look as good in my opinion.

Since you can't really replace your DRLs with LEDs without losing some high beam functionality, and since I have DRL LED bars, I just disabled my stock DRLs by removing the fuse.
 
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Thanks for the reply vroom. I have some cheapo LEDs that I have ordered last week from aliexpress. If I am not satisfied, I will check VLEDs.
 
Between taking care of the kid, work and surprise visits from the in-laws, I managed to take a few pictures of my installation. First, here is an annotated global view of the left side of the engine bay so you know where everything is:

TyD5GzZ.jpg


Here I use "left" and "right" from the driver's perspective.

As you can see, my relay is bolted in the same spot as tibimakai's left ballast. I used a nut, a bolt and a few washers i had lying around. I also secured the relay modules in their holder with heavy duty twist ties (to be replaced by zip ties when I get some long enough) as they did not feel secure enough for my taste. This is all the extra material i needed as all the rest is provided or already available in the engine bay. Here's a closeup:

bNorMrm.jpg


The positive wire goes to the positive side of the battery, the negative to the screw indicated in the first picture and the trigger wire to the left side bulb plug.

For the left DSP (ballast) I removed the fuse box holder, wedged the DSP bracket behind and re-screwed:

GubfnWB.jpg


I used a free bolt next to the windshield washer fluid fill tube to install the right DSP. The DSP brackets are soft metal so you can bend them 90 degrees. You might be able to see that I used the same bolt for the right side ground.

GvtjM4U.jpg


The bulbs are straightforward to install. To make your life easier on the right side, just remove the fill tube from its holder, it will give you additional wiggle room:

MK5zBOX.jpg


Hope this helps, any question, just ask!
 
Most likely, they build the ballast into the cover.
I wouldn't go with those slim ballast for sure. I have a couple at home and they are all garbage.
 
15% off at TRS now on the HID Kit or anything at their store. Comes out to be $144.50 for XB35 kit... I'm tempted.. but still waiting on the new ballast.
 
tdman said:
Thanks vroom for posting the pictures. I found something interesting on the web http://www.aliexpress.com/item/HOT-...-Integrated-HID-light-12V-HID/1851496184.html
Don't think I go with it and not sure how good this thing is but it does make the conversion easy.
Click to expand...

Interesting concept tdman, removes the problem of finding spots for your balasts. On the other hand, you don't get a relay like you do with the Morimoto kit. Not sure how necessary it is, but I like knowing that my bulbs will always get the necessary amps to start as fast as possible, as they do suck a lot of juice at startup. Also, would't these screw with your light fixture heat dissipation (if there is such a thing!)?

In any case, as you can see from my pictures, it is not that hard to find places for your ballasts in the CX-5 engine bay...
 
runtohell121 said:
15% off at TRS now on the HID Kit or anything at their store. Comes out to be $144.50 for XB35 kit... I'm tempted.. but still waiting on the new ballast.
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Do you mind me asking why? I know they upgrade their ballasts once in a while, but I haven't heard of any problems or failures with the current model, so I assume the next model will only introduce minor tweeks...
 
vroom said:
Do you mind me asking why? I know they upgrade their ballasts once in a while, but I haven't heard of any problems or failures with the current model, so I assume the next model will only introduce minor tweeks...
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If you go to hidplanet, there is some problems with the current ballast and some bad quality control. The next ballast supposedly have better internals, new design, and some advice from ex Denso engineer or something.
 
runtohell121 said:
If you go to hidplanet, there is some problems with the current ballast and some bad quality control. The next ballast supposedly have better internals, new design, and some advice from ex Denso engineer or something.
Click to expand...

I had researched hidplanet before buying my kit, and found mostly positive comments on the 2014 redesign of the ballasts, such as better cold weather performance. You post made me curious so I did more research and did find the thread you are refering to. Anyone interested can find the thread here. I am not too worried though for a few reasons:

  • TRS has a 5 year warrenty on their 35W kits and are known for having a great customer service (they do, I dealt with them).
  • Forums attract negative comments. Even if the failure rate is 0.1%, you will have the impression that it's 75% by reading them. Just look around here, there are entire threads dedicated to bashing the CX-5 or parts of it. Yet, I love my car.
  • My ballasts fire up great. Even the color variations at startup that I mention in my review have started to go away as expected as the bulbs break in.
  • I can pop my old halogens back in in less than 5 minutes if there is a problem (hopefully, I won't have to do that in -30 degrees weather!).
  • I can enjoy having HIDs right now!

Your warning made me put my old halogens in my glove box just in case though... Thanks for the heads-up! ;)
 
Iceman04503 said:
I got the exact swme setup from TRS. The only problem i had was that i kept getting flashed by on coming cars. So i aimed the beam down a little and i havent been flashed since.
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with virtually the same cutoff pattern, i wonder why?
 
Hmmmm, are you asking a legit question leading to constructive discussion or are you just being sarcastic? Voice tone and facial expressions are hard to read over the Internet...
 
Not sure why this sounds sarcastic? Anyway, I'm considering HID's and I don't really want to have oncoming cars flashing me and adjust the headlamps if I don't have to do so.
 
Ok, I'm sorry then. Hope I did not come out too harsh. As I said, it's often hard to read though the true meaning of Internet postings (mine included!)... Read your post out loud with emphasis on "i wonder why", you might see what I mean! ;)

There were a number of threads here where people were complaining about a factory cutoff that was way too high. People were being flashed even with the halogens. If Iceman04503 had that problem to some degree, HIDs would obviously exacerbate the problem. Also, as I mentionned in my review, even if the shape of the cutoff remains unchainged, there is some bleed above it even with the halogens. So if you double the overall intensity, you also double the bleed proportionnaly. That might be too much for some drivers (even if I subjectively find the glair to be no worse than the fog lights).

Since I've installed my HIDs, I haven't been flashed once. But then again I have not driven at night very much (in the summer it gets dark around 9 pm here). Time will tell as days get shorter. I will keep you posted!
 
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Haha, I still can't read any sarcasm in the post, ;) thanks for the reply....interesting about the cutoff maybe being to high.
 
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The projectors that comes with halogen bulbs are designed differently from ones that come with HIDs. Halogen projectors are designed for my light to "bleed through" because of the lack of lumens that halogen bulbs produce. While HID projectors have a sharper cutoff and a more focused beam to focus the higher lumens that HIDs produce. The reflector bowl of a HID specific projector is more oval while the halogen specific projector is more rounded.

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?16902-HID-Projector-vs-Halogen-Projector-differences
 
bazooka joe said:
So it looks like I'm going to go the LED route instead of HID.
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Be very careful about that, the position and size of the LED emmiters are quite far from that of a fillament in a hallogen bulb. An HID arc is not a perfect match, but is much closer. This leads to absolutely crapy beam pattern as shown in this excellent (was my inspiration for this HID review) review:

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123842978-Static-review-White-wall-amp-lux-comparison-LED-H11-LL-H11-100-H9

I was looking into LEDs like you before I got my HIDs, and I researched it a lot. I have never seen any good review (presenting anything more than subjective impressions) for any LED in headlights. The technology is just not there yet, and probably won't be for years...
 
Just want to add that the LED headlight technology is here now, Honda/Acura and Toyota has them in their cars, I'm sure the design of the headlights are different than halogen type. LED for the aftermarket just not quite there yet.
 
LED is definitely there OEM. The Escalade had it years ago on their Platinum package. The new units are direct driver/lens combinations and are insanely bright. The new BMW/Mercedes/Jaguar ones are insane and put all else to shame. I've never seen such a sharp cutoff on ALL sides of the beam. It looks like someone drew a beam pattern on the ground and the light fills it exactly.
 
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