Morimoto head light clones on Ebay?

[Fomer_FJ_owner805]

Anyone bought the Morimoto head light clones sold on ebay? Since Morimotos are about $1500 and have issues I was looking at the 1:1 clones sold on eBay and using good bulbs for the lamps. I did a search but only thing I found was threads on the Morimotos and all the issues. My main worries are fit since you need to remove the bumper to install head lights.

 

[Too Stroked]

The question you need to ask is whether they're clones or actually the same lights. Remember, Morimoto doesn't make their own products. They simply buy from Chinese contract manufacturers and have them slap their name on them. Those same contract manufacturers also sell to other folks who market them under their brands. That said, do you really think something even less expensive on eBay is going to work better? My educated guess would be no.

 

[srsrogerissrs]

Where are you seeing 1:1 clones of Morimotos? Usually good bulbs in some shitty housings are not going produce good results.

 

[honda250xtitan]

save your money. upgrade bulbs in the OEM housings or find some OEM LED takeoffs

 

[Fomer_FJ_owner805]

The question you need to ask is whether they're clones or actually the same lights. Remember, Morimoto doesn't make their own products. They simply buy from Chinese contract manufacturers and have them slap their name on them. Those same contract manufacturers also sell to other folks who market them under their brands. That said, do you really think something even less expensive on eBay is going to work better? My educated guess would be no.

Isnt everything made in china? For $1500.00 Morimoto has a very high failure rate seems about 20%, Even good working Morimotos have a poor beam throw. But anything automotive on EBay has a guarantee backed by Ebay. Its just the time of removing the bumper at least 2x. So its $1500K and I get a 100% bad light pattern and good chance of LED going out. Or 1/8th that price and ? , thats why I asked if anyone had them.

 

[Xtremluck]

Isnt everything made in china? For $1500.00 Morimoto has a very high failure rate seems about 20%, Even good working Morimotos have a poor beam throw. But anything automotive on EBay has a guarantee backed by Ebay. Its just the time of removing the bumper at least 2x. So its $1500K and I get a 100% bad light pattern and good chance of LED going out. Or 1/8th that price and ? , thats why I asked if anyone had them.

All of those headlights floating on ebay and AlphaRex's products are complete garbage when it comes to light output. Either do a proper HID or LED projector retrofit or buy OEM LED headlights. Those are the only two options if you care about actual lighting performance.

 

[Fomer_FJ_owner805]

save your money. upgrade bulbs in the OEM housings or find some OEM LED takeoffs

I already have HID in OEM housing , and can revert back if needed. I wanted Morimoto but people say they are horrid. I was going to buy Alpharex but thought Id see of anyone one had the knock offs 1st. Most knock offs are made in the same city and people literary walk over and copy it exact since China has no laws against it. Ive been to China many times and have seen it.

 

[Fomer_FJ_owner805]

All of those headlights floating on ebay and AlphaRex's products are complete garbage when it comes to light output. Either do a proper HID or LED projector retrofit or buy OEM LED headlights. Those are the only two options if you care about actual lighting performance.

My neighbor has the has the Alpharex and they blow my HIDs in OEM housing out of the water. Plus you change the bulbs without modifying the housing. I just dont like the little disco dance the Alpharex DRL do.

 

[Too Stroked]

I already have HID in OEM housing , and can revert back if needed. I wanted Morimoto but people say they are horrid. I was going to buy Alpharex but thought Id see of anyone one had the knock offs 1st. Most knock offs are made in the same city and people literary walk over and copy it exact since China has no laws against it. Ive been to China many times and have seen it.

If you're truly looking for better lighting, the HID's in OEM housings designed for halogen bulbs are probably your biggest problem. Said another way, they just don't work. Yes, a good HID bulb is brighter than a halogen, but you need the rest of the optical system to be designed to utilize and project that light. That's not the case with the OEM housings for a number of technical reasons. That's also why most OEM HID headlights are projectors.

So, are the Alpharex (or other Chinese) units actually better? Be careful. Many of those units are designed to put out large amounts of foreground light to fool you into thinking they are actually better. A certain amount of foreground light is indeed desirable, but you also need distance lighting so as to avoid the issue of "over-driving your headlights." That's where your headlights don't project far enough for you to see the deer standing in the road in front of you.

 

[honda250xtitan]

If you're truly looking for better lighting, the HID's in OEM housings designed for halogen bulbs are probably your biggest problem. Said another way, they just don't work. Yes, a good HID bulb is brighter than a halogen, but you need the rest of the optical system to be designed to utilize and project that light. That's not the case with the OEM housings for a number of technical reasons. That's also why most OEM HID headlights are projectors.

So, are the Alpharex (or other Chinese) units actually better? Be careful. Many of those units are designed to put out large amounts of foreground light to fool you into thinking they are actually better. A certain amount of foreground light is indeed desirable, but you also need distance lighting so as to avoid the issue of "over-driving your headlights." That's where your headlights don't project far enough for you to see the deer standing in the road in front of you.

listen to this advice. link da tacoma thread:fro:

 

[mrblah]

My neighbor has the has the Alpharex and they blow my HIDs in OEM housing out of the water. Plus you change the bulbs without modifying the housing. I just dont like the little disco dance the Alpharex DRL do.

go with what your experience tells you. iF you like your neighbor's setup and it works for you then go for it. At least you have first hand experience in the product. The wanna-be internet experts are just going to regurgitate what you already know.

Have you considered opening up your OEM housing, and painting it black, and keeping the HID's? It's already hard to beat what you have. Everything else represents diminishing returns. If you are trying for a certain "look", then everything represents tradeoffs.

 

[Too Stroked]

The wanna-be internet experts are just going to regurgitate what you already know..

True, but some people on the internet do actually know what they're talking about. In fact some of us have even been to China - many times - and know first-hand how business is done there.

 

[mrblah]

True, but some people on the internet do actually know what they're talking about. In fact some of us have even been to China - many times - and know first-hand how business is done there.

here we go again......:der:

 

[Too Stroked]

here we go again......:der:

Well, at least one of us knows what he's talking about.

 

[mrblah]

Well, at least one of us knows what he's talking about.

That person is definitely not you.


Cheers and happy holidays.

 

[BimmerChop]

Isnt everything made in china? For $1500.00 Morimoto has a very high failure rate seems about 20%, Even good working Morimotos have a poor beam throw. But anything automotive on EBay has a guarantee backed by Ebay. Its just the time of removing the bumper at least 2x. So its $1500K and I get a 100% bad light pattern and good chance of LED going out. Or 1/8th that price and ? , thats why I asked if anyone had them.

The Gen2 Morimotos actually have a really good beam pattern and throw and are currently the only complete housings on the market that give the OEM LED/Bi-LED housing a good run. According to the data collected by CrashnBurn's massive TW thread on LED/HID/Halogen testing. Both are pretty close to performance, each with it's pros and cons.

OE housings have a warmer color temp and softer cutoff which would be better for anyone sensitive to that light/dark contrast. Whereas Gen2 Morimotos have slightly better CRI with peak output and sharper cutoff. That could bother some though.

The Gen1s are another story, much higher failure rate with pretty bad dead spots and performance.

However, Anzo headlights you originally posted have been run by a couple members. You could probably do a search and dig up some of those posts.

ANZO USA | Don’t Get Left in The Dark ~ 2018 - 2019 FORD F-150 Projector Headlights

 

[Too Stroked]

That person is definitely not you.


Cheers and happy holidays.

Fortunately - for both of us - this is a free country and we both have the right to express our opinions.

Happy Holidays!

 

[Anonymous4Runner]

This thread makes me sad.

I shall return with pictures of my Gen2 Morimoto's I had installed on my '18 Limited later today. I would absolutely shill this brand so hard for anyone interested in upgrading their shitty stock headlights.

Knock on wood but loving my Gen2 Morimoto's a lot. No issues. It is certainly worth the purchase price and I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I had a 2nd 5th gen vehicle instead of my backup 4th gen.

 

[mrblah]

This thread makes me sad.

I shall return with pictures of my Gen2 Morimoto's I had installed on my '18 Limited later today. I would absolutely shill this brand so hard for anyone interested in upgrading their shitty stock headlights.

Knock on wood but loving my Gen2 Morimoto's a lot. No issues. It is certainly worth the purchase price and I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I had a 2nd 5th gen vehicle instead of my backup 4th gen.

Dood, just ignore the haters or wanna-be internet experts or china/DD crybabies who get pissed off that you don't wear the same color tighty whitey's that they wear.

Enjoy your ride and your mods in good health, and be sure to post pics!!!!

Morimoto's FTMFW :cheer2:

 

[BlackPhillip]

Anyone bought the Morimoto head light clones sold on ebay? Since Morimotos are about $1500 and have issues I was looking at the 1:1 clones sold on eBay and using good bulbs for the lamps. I did a search but only thing I found was threads on the Morimotos and all the issues. My main worries are fit since you need to remove the bumper to install head lights.

I just installed these last month and am happy, especially for the price. Fits just the same as the OEM so nothing to be concerned about with installation.

2 notes:
-They come with H7 lowbeams.
- I needed to re-aim my beams but that maybe due to my lift vs anything with the lights themselves.