morimoto, $150 overrated?

[///M42 sport]

Just got the kit today. Looks like I could eliminate about a mile of unnecessary wiring. As far as build quality not sure if its that much better than a DDM. Connections are the same as cheap ebay ones as well as the wiring. I dont think its worth the $150. All I heard was good reviews about morimotos. Am I missing something here?

I've had a DDM HID kit for the past 5-6years without any issues and it was $40. I think i'll just go back to them and save $110.

[MPLFoster]

Morimoto>DDM

The gizmos inside is what counts. i've had DDM kits before and they are garbage. wildly inaccurate bulb temps, ballasts wattage was not true, they buzzed loudly while they kicked on and it took them forever to get the bulbs up to operating temps. even then the bulbs looked dim compared to the mori kit. speaking of...my Morimoto 35w kit is BRIGHTER than any DDM 55w kit i've used. plus the 4.3k bulbs are actually 4.3k as advertised. most DDM kits will say one bulb color but output something very different cuz the ballasts and bulbs are cheap.

Sure, you'll save money now but when the kit fails prematurely and you have to get another or you realize that you're not getting all the lumens you should and you want something better you'll wish you stayed with Morimoto. It's a better investment. plus they have a killer warranty if purchased thru TRS, so if a connector breaks you're covered.

[MPLFoster]

p.s. all the "extra wiring" and stuff is so you don't fry your harness and send the E30 down in flames. not entirely necessary but good insurance.

[AndrewBird]

E30's already have relays fo the headlights, so adding a relay kit to them is redundant.

And I'm guess he more meant that there is a lot of extra length.

[blazinxpk]

Morimoto>DDM

The gizmos inside is what counts. i've had DDM kits before and they are garbage. wildly inaccurate bulb temps, ballasts wattage was not true, they buzzed loudly while they kicked on and it took them forever to get the bulbs up to operating temps. even then the bulbs looked dim compared to the mori kit. speaking of...my Morimoto 35w kit is BRIGHTER than any DDM 55w kit i've used. plus the 4.3k bulbs are actually 4.3k as advertised. most DDM kits will say one bulb color but output something very different cuz the ballasts and bulbs are cheap.

Sure, you'll save money now but when the kit fails prematurely and you have to get another or you realize that you're not getting all the lumens you should and you want something better you'll wish you stayed with Morimoto. It's a better investment. plus they have a killer warranty if purchased thru TRS, so if a connector breaks you're covered.

I agree with the reasons in bold above. the reason to buy a morimoto kit as opposed to a ddm kit is to get rid of any doubt the ddm kit gives the user.

if you were to look at it from a performance lighting perspective, you can trust the bulb temperature to be 4300k which provides the highest number of lumens (brightest output) from the morimoto kit. this cant be said for the ddm kit, because time and time again ddm kits have been proven to have incorrect, or not as advertised, bulb temperatures.

the main reason why people go with ddm is because the kit is cheap.

they just settle with whatever ddm gives them because either they dont know the difference, or they say why bother paying three times the price.

another thing to add about lighting upgrades is to have the correct light to install them in. using actual hid projectors but this is another story.

[glucklich21]

I'll second and third what everyone said. The relay wiring isn't really necessary, but a good insurance policy and makes for a reliable setup.

[audiquattrot]

let me know if you have any issues with the kit post-install. I have the same morimoto kit, but have issues upon initial igniting.

[968Reckless]

morimoto, $150 overrated?

Don't buy DDM!!!!! They suck and have the worst customer service ever! I'll be posting about this later in the week.

Currently trying to get my money back for a defective kit they sold me. This is the 3rd kit I have from them and every one has had issues.

And yes their kits are cheap but they cost $20 to ship and it takes 15 days to get to your door.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[///M42 sport]

just looking at the wiring and the harnesses, it doesnt look like $150 worth of premium quality materials. If you ever compare the $5 harnesses on ebay, its the exact same.

Its fine if what I'm paying for is the ballast but it shouldnt be x3-4 over what ddm sells.

Also I have a hard time believing the bulbs are that much different than what can be had at ddm or ebay. I have owned ddm kits without issues.

Unless there's proof that moritmoto kits are from different manufacturers than the ebay, ddm kits I dont think its worth the money. Also if you look at the online reviews for the retrofit source, you'll see that they have similar complaints against them as ddm...if you search hard enough.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-retrofit-source-atlanta

http://www.evolutionm.net/forums/vendor-service-parts-tuning-review/688785-ripped-off-trs-retrofit-source-ended-up-donating-170-them-avoid-morimoto.html

[htown318is]

went cheap ballast + hid route before. sucked. went morimoto, over a year in, still no problems at all. worth 150.

[golde30]

I have been selling and installing HID kits for over 10yrs. Back then they cost over $1200/set wholesale, but were made in Japan, and were quality products. Even the first generations from China had Japanese internals, and cost about $300/set wholesale. The HID sets I sell now are randomly branded China units with warranty from a local 12V wholesaler, and they have been reliable. Having handled some morimoto sets, I would say they are par with what I deal with. Heavier the ballasts the better in my experience, YMMV.


$25-50 HID kits are garbage, I have DDM on my car and they work, but I also bought 3 other kits at the same time. I installed them on other friends cars, 2 of which broke within the first 6months. Both of those cars are DD, and my car e30 sees the road 4x a year. And no I didn't even try to deal with DDM.

[mrcheezle19]

I'll just throw my 2 cents in as well, I purchased a morimoto kit for my car and a ddm kit for my mom's car. Supposedly they were the same specs yet my mom's car had much bluer lights and never got nearly as bright. They also buzzed extremely loud on start up. There was definitely a difference in the quality of the kits side by side. For 45 bucks though, yeah it works, but after seeing side by side I'm glad I went morimoto.