Projectors: TRS or DDM?

[HawaiianKong]

I've done lots of mechanical work to cars and trucks over the last 15 years but this is my first foray into lighting. I've decided to do a bi-xenon retrofit (already ordered the TYC lights for the glass lenses), and I've seen a lot of info and praises about the Morimoto D2S projectors from the Retrofit Source, and I saw just recently that DDM just started selling full retrofit kits, which are a little cheaper. Haven't seen any reviews or feedback on those yet. Does anybody have any experience with the DDM D2S projectors? How do they hold up? Any general recommendations of one over the other?

 

[Mike07SE]

This TRS setup is definitely the way to go. I did this with my truck:

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/c...tro-quik-system-toyota-4runner-2006-2009.html

TRS is probably one of the biggest names in the HID/LED aftermarket forum right now. Their customer service is good and they stand behind the product. This setup works very well and is a complete bolt in affair with very good results.

 

[Ed_C]

They're both manufactured in China, but TRS has more quality control over the final product. If you want the better "out-of-the-box" performing projectors go with TRS, but if you're willing to "tune" with the projector (fiddle with lens and bulb spacing,bending the cutoff shields,etc) DDMs will be fine. I bet the majority of people will be happy with the DDMs as-is anyway...any decent projector is a big improvement over stock 3rd-gen lighting,especially the fluted plastic headlights on your '97 [MENTION=113919]HawaiianKong[/MENTION]

 

[paraordnance]

I vote TRS as well. They have great customer support and their products seems to be high quality. I purchased wiring harness and HID kits from both and TRS stuff is much better quality. I just finished my retrofit with LS460 and XSB halos, have to wire the halos yet, but LS460 really amazes me. I had TSX projectors before powered by 55 watt ballast. LS460 powered with 35 watt ballast seems a little brighter to me in comparison. These projectors are harder to mount but look great and perform better than any other projector available.

 

[meder24]

Definitely vote TRS!

Everyone else here has already hit on the major points.

One thing you can consider if looking to save money is to check out TRS's close-out section. They have bottom-dollar pricing for some great products form time to time. There may be minor imperfections, but to most they will never know the difference. You can save a ton on some great stuff.

 

[HOJeepster]

I just did the Morimoto D2S and it's a vast improvement over stock. One of the best mods you can do in my opinion.

 

[HawaiianKong]

Well I went against the grain and went for the DDM Tuning setup. I called them on the phone to make sure I was getting set up correctly and they were pretty helpful.

If, when I receive the goods in the mail, I'm feeling uneasy about anything, I'll ship it all back and order the TRS stuff. Otherwise I'll make a new post with my thoughts on the kit, how the install went, and how the final product looks, since there doesn't seem to be any recent threads on DDM (or any on their projectors).

Thanks guys.

 

[riceandpho]

Well I went against the grain and went for the DDM Tuning setup. I called them on the phone to make sure I was getting set up correctly and they were pretty helpful.

If, when I receive the goods in the mail, I'm feeling uneasy about anything, I'll ship it all back and order the TRS stuff. Otherwise I'll make a new post with my thoughts on the kit, how the install went, and how the final product looks, since there doesn't seem to be any recent threads on DDM (or any on their projectors).

Thanks guys.

u should of save the trouble and return the ddm crap, trs always make sure there projectors is good, there is a big difference in output too, must read the hidplanet forum. i think they just released a mh1 7.0, seem as wide as a s2k.

 

[Ed_C]

i think they just released a mh1 7.0, seem as wide as a s2k.

Yes S2000 beam width but they're not being released until January 2016.

 

[paraordnance]

Well I went against the grain and went for the DDM Tuning setup. I called them on the phone to make sure I was getting set up correctly and they were pretty helpful.

If, when I receive the goods in the mail, I'm feeling uneasy about anything, I'll ship it all back and order the TRS stuff. Otherwise I'll make a new post with my thoughts on the kit, how the install went, and how the final product looks, since there doesn't seem to be any recent threads on DDM (or any on their projectors).

Thanks guys.

DDM is not all that bad. I have their 55 watt slim ballast and it still works great after 6 years! But wiring harness is no comparison. What I was saying is TRS research&development department is miles ahead of anyone in HID industry.

 

[Ed_C]

TRS started their Black Friday sale early,there's some nice deals on projectors including the latest version of the minih1

 

[HawaiianKong]

So here's an update:

My whole DDM HID retrofit kit actually showed up the Wednesday before Thanksgiving...only six days after ordering...so despite all the reviews reporting 3-week wait times, this was a nice surprise. I (finally) got around to opening the packages and testing the stuff out tonight, and so far everything seems like decent quality.

Some notes: The shipping box was a little worn, but everything came well packaged from China. My test setup was with brand new TYC housings, but I'll be swapping the TYC lenses to my OEM housings during the actual retrofit. During testing, sometimes the ballasts wouldn't strike, but I think this was mostly due to my 125W ATX power supply, which was struggling in the PC I pulled it out of 10 years ago. Firing the high beam shields with a single near-dead 9V battery worked great for at least two-dozen cycles.

So I should be installing the whole thing sometime this week, and when I do I'll have more updates. For now, here are some pictures of what I did tonight.

 

[BrianSD_42]

I have a set of cheap ddm ballasts and they whine loudly. My other set of ballasts from TRS are quiet and function great.