GI Group Buy: Retrofit Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (D2S) from TRS
 

7-25-11: Group Buy canceled for now.


Post here if you are interested in a group buy for a complete retrofit mini D2S kit from The Retrofit Source. I'm not sure how TRS will option out the kits yet, but I believe we'll be able to pick our own bulbs, shrouds, etc. The standard kit is currently $295. Once we have at least 10 people interested, I will contact TRS for details and pricing.

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Why the d2S instead of the H1? Or am I missing something?

Morimoto Mini H1 vs Mini D2S?

I decided on the D2S simply because I heard that it fits H4 housings very well with no cutting into the reflector bowl required, just plug and play (you will still have to open your headlights to install).

I'm no pro at HIDs, so if someone knows better, please inform.

I'm running the H1 mini morimot, also you can buy "blemished" projectors for 75$shipped through TRS, and just get the bulb from them for 35$ and just use some cheap ballast....im using a 55w ddm ballast

I'd opted for the DS2 Mini because I already had DS2 bulbs from previous installs and I can always buy Phillip or Osram bulbs for replacement instead of rebased bulbs.

It's a matter of preference on what you what as both have similar performance but based on reviews, H1 have more output and width and the DS2 have more foreground light. I like my DS2's performance so I can't complain. It was an easy install that you can do yourself at home. For the rest of the components, I had a 1st gen TRS ballasts which looks like the old Hella but ended up getting their Morimoto ballast. Any decent quality ballast will work.

Ugh idk if i want to get these or just get the FX-R kit. I do a lot of night driving out in the middle of nowhere where I can cut the lights off and not see a thing. With the lights on and on high i can see about 75 feet in front and then pitch black after the edge of the beam. I want something with a crap ton of light output. The high beam projectors on my M5 were insane. You hit those and it was light for as far as you can see.

See below:
You should change to 35W ballast. I'd recommend something OEM or Morimoto 3Five. If you run 55W for extended periods of time in the MH1, you will, if you haven't yet, burn the bowls.

Are you using the MH1 in the Fit? Did it fit snug in the bulb hole in the headlight, or did you have to mount a different way?
Its not really a matter of preference. The sizes of the threads are different. The D2S's "neck" (part that fits through the bulb hole in OEM headlight) is bigger than the MH1... So if the D2S fit in the Honda Fit headlight without having to trim anything, then chances are the MH1's "neck" will be too small to fit snug. And adversely, if the MH1 fits snug, then the D2S will be too big.

You said you opted for the D2S... Are you using it in the Fit? If so, did it fit snug or did you mount another way?

Also, the MH1's performance is better. That is basically the consensus...
If you were speaking MH1 vs. FX-R, I'd say FX-R is not worth it. I've spoken to people who have had both and they have said both projectors have very similar performance, and the only big difference they noticed is the MH1 has a tad more foreground light.

If you're talking D2S Vs. FX-R, I'd have to say IMO that performance-wise, FX-R would probably be better, but FX-R are not "plug and play"... So you'd have to do a lot of cutting/measuring/bracketry/epoxy..... Basically many many hours vs. an evening is the difference between FX-R and D2S where install is concerned.

So basically if I want the higher performance with a "PNP" retrofit then get the H1 instead of the D2S?

and @ gohdunlam Did you have to do any modifications to the headlight housing to make everything fit. Other than taking it apart that is.

Well, from what I understand, the D2S is a decent performer in its own right... To me, it mimics the E55 projectors. If you go to HIDPlanet.com you will find a lot of info there... But basically, the E55 projectors aren't known for a very good low beam output at all, but they are said to have the best high beam of any bi-x projector...

The MH1 has a very good low beam and a high beam that was always enough for me.

In this case, its really a matter of which projector (MH1 or D2S) fit your headlights size-wize. I think the D2S is still a very cost effective option and for that reason alone, would probably make me get it if the MH1 didn't fit. Also, taking D2S bulbs is a plus because you can use good OEM bulbs like Philips and Osram, etc. With the MH1 you have to use aftermarket H1 HID bulbs. In all fairness, Theretrofitsource offers a bulb that is just as bright as OEM and I think when compared to a few OEMs its even brighter, but I'd have to check on that last part.

Either way, considering the ease of installation and price, I still think if your car can only fit D2S properly, its still worth it. Its still leaps and bounds over halogen. But my fave is the MH1.

Guess i'll wait to hear from gohdunlam on how bad the install is on the GE with the H1 before making a decision. Like I said, Lighting is a big priority for me and I really want the best I can get while not having to do insane amounts of work to the head light. Don't want to really destroy things and then have them not work, Know what I mean?

I know exactly what you mean. That is why, although I'd love TL's (said to be the best all around bi-x), I am not willing to go through the trial and error in trying to make them fit and all of that for the amount of upgrade in lighting I'll get over the MH1... Bang for buck the MH1 is unbeatable.

There are some people with OEM projector retrofits that spent mucho bucks on parts/labor, etc., that have said the MH1 are good for a pnp projector... But the truth of the matter is, they are good amongst all projectors! They give most if not all OEM projectors a run for their money on the road... I see it firsthand every night I'm behind the wheel! And I have also driven many cars with OEM HID projectors- Range Rovers, BMWs, Mercedes, TSX, TL, Lexus- and I have not driven one that was noticeably "better" than my MH1 in a way that made me feel left out of anything. In fact, many of them were beaten by the MH1.

For instance, below are a couple pics of my MH1 in my Accord vs. a Lexus SC430 (projectors are said to be on par with S2k when slightly modded)... Pics were taken with a crappy 2.0 megapixel phone cam:

Lexus SC430:
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._4812902_n.jpg


My Accord with MH1:

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...0_406756_n.jpg


http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._6947011_n.jpg


AND, in a few weeks, TRS (Theretrofitsource) is going to be releasing the MH1 4.0, which has better chrome in the bowl (which will translate to better longterm reliability and more than likely even brighter output and possibly further improved distribution- which really isn't an issue, but more light is always welcome), better high beam solenoids (some MH1 have a "sticking" problem with the solenoids), and better hardware. So I can't wait to see them. If they are improved that much, it would be interesting to see some of the "big dogs" tested side by side with them.

Me personally, I'm going to redo my retro at the end of the year with brand new OEM lights, and the MH1 4.0 since my OEM lights have a few imperfections on the lenses and such from my vigorous "cleaning" when I had the lights apart, and from DD in the winter and overall.

But in your case, if the D2S is what in fact is the proper "fit" for your Fit, then you have to ask yourself if it is worth the several hundred dollars you will spend on parts, god forbid something goes wrong, REPLACEMENT parts, and/or if worst came to worst, having someone do it for you. You could be looking at upwards of $1000 in a "worst case scenario" situation. Or, spend $300-$400 tops and install D2S and still be miles ahead of what you have now.

The D2S is a good bang for the buck as well. You should really check out HIDPlanet.com if you haven't yet. There are so many threads with pictures and opinions and such that you may have a more well rounded opinion about what you really want out of a retrofit when you're done. For you, I'd say D2S should suffice. They aren't "bad" projectors from what I understand (I personally haven't dealt with them).

Great info FNF, keep us posted on that MH1 4.0, price particularly.

I like your Accord's MH1 over the Lexus, I prefer that distinctive cutoff line. We need more info from people who have done retrofit installs in the H4 housings and what fits.

God damn those look good dude. I'm liking the H1's. If they fit in the fit(lol) then I'm gonna get those. Not sure if I'm gonna wait for this update or not.. Really want to get those out of the way soon as I'll probably be making a lot more middle of the night trips over the summer.

its true the H1 morimotos are better performers than the D2S. this is why i went with the H1 instead of the D2S even when the H1 is not really direct pnp.

there are some modification or fabrication on the brackets to get them to fit into the H4 hole without it moving around and fit snug.

i have to agree followingnfront that the output on the H1 is nothing short of oem projectors. if you have the money to spend on a set of projectors that are fairly simple to retrofit i would highly recommend the H1.

How much modification did it require? And how long did it take you?

I'll definitely keep you guys posted. I'm not sure so don't quote me on this, but I don't think the price should be changing on the 4.0... But I'll still let you guys know.

If you want to find out more about D2S or MH1 retros into different lights/housings, I highly recommend HidPlanet.com. Its chock full of it.
Thanks... As far as I know (from the owner of the company) the 4.0 will be coming out towards the end of this month. In my personal opinion, it would behoove you to wait for it. I certainly would. Why not get the best you can get if only a couple weeks are to be sacrificed? That's how I see it. I don't think you'd be sorry
Hmmm so what did you do to mount them? Did you mount it the old fashioned way and drill holes in the headlight reflector and hold the MH1 in with screws?

Did you take any pics of the process or final outcome?

How's it holding up?

Ps... I noticed in your sig you have "Philips 85122+ bulbs".... Those bulbs aren't available in H1. You sure that's what you have? EDIT: I just saw your thread over here thanks to JAMY... The bulbs you have are now being offered by TRS as the "XB35" bulbs... It turned out they were not REAL Philips rebased bulbs, but they are still the brightest H1 bulb you can get, with statistical data showing them to be brighter than any other H1 HID bulb. Just wanted you to know that, as I have the XB35 as well.

I thought we were talking a month or so. I can definitely wait a couple of weeks. I'm gonna look into this website you suggested for the time being.

Sounds good. I'm over there too with the same username, so if you wanted to look up my thread about my retro also, feel free. There is a plethora of info on that site.

I should have done a search before... JJIN made a thread about his.
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...exclusive.html

Even though it doesn't give specifics it still give me an idea of what it would look like

Gotcha. Considering how big the Fit's reflector is, you should look at the Gatling Gun 2.0 shrouds. They are bigger and should fill the reflector much nicer. When I redo my retro at the end of the year, I want to use the GG2.0 in place of the Mini Gatling Gun that comes with the MH1. In the Accord reflector, it will need some trimming, but I think its worth it.

Here they are:
Gatling Gun 2.0 - Projector Shrouds from The Retrofit Source Inc

Yeah those are the ones I was looking at. I like them cause they have the "ports" on the side. That and it looks like I have iron man's fist sitting in my headlights :p

Do check out HIDplanet's site for information.

For my DS2 setup, it didn't require any cutting. It took more time to take the lights off the car than anything else. For the projectors itself, the H4 hold is large enough for the the projector to go through and it is held in place withe the H4 shape washer/adapter. This helps with keeping the projector somewhat horizontally aimed. It'll need some tweaking to get it right though. I used Appollo shrouds so it filled up the reflector bowl nicely. I have a set of the Gatling Gun but end up using the Appollos.

Like the H1, if you ever needed to revert back to stock, it's possible because there wasn't any cutting done. Unless you painted your reflectors or anything else on the housing, only the bulb shield was removed with a screw.

Just to chime in, Matt and Nate are great guys to work with. Ive bought two full kits from them (fxr and mh1) and both have been great. I am running the mh1's in the fit and I have to retro the fxr in my other beast. Ive been very happy with my mh1's although I would suggest some wd-40 in the solenoid as mine were sticking until I did that. Maybe the later versions fixed this but it doesnt hurt to add some anyways....better safe than sorry

Here's another ge8 with morimoto d2s projectors.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...-mini-d2s.html

I agree with you that if he gets the Gen3, he should use WD-40 or some derivitive... However if he gets the Gen4 (4.0), he should be good. Matt told me that they are coming with some heavy duty solenoids.

Mini H1 didnt require any cutting worked fine, so far so good on my 55w ...my friend runs the 35w morimoto ballast, i cant give up the 55w output :D

Yeah, I got them when they first came out..so I wasnt even sure they changed the design at all. Even still with gen4, I would put a bit in the solenoid piston for safe measure...You don't want that solenoid sticking when your retro is all sealed up. Granted, a beefier magnet should suffice but I *always* do everything I can to prevent malfunctions. It only takes seconds to do.

It is good that they are changing the solenoids though...

From the way it sounds, with the MH1 you wouldn't need to cut anything... It seems like you'd need to find a way to make it actually stay put because its smaller than the diameter of the bulb hole in the Fit. If the D2S works in the Fit without needing any kind of trimming or anything, the MH1 can't work just as well. It would be too small to have a perfect fit. You'd need to find a way to mount it securely.

For example, MH1 is a perfect fit for 9006 bulb holes (and other bulbs of the same size) like in my Accord... That being said, the D2S would be too big, and I'd need to trim the bulb hole to make it bigger so the threads can fit through the whole. You have the exact opposite situation with Fit lights.

Before you say you can't live without your 55W, take a look at this thread:
MINI H1 after 1 year exposure in 55watt

I think with the new 4.0 that is about to come out, the better chrome they are going to use should be more of a match for 55W, but I will still personally not take that chance when I get mine, as you are still upping the temperatures by a lot in that little projector. 35W is enough for me. Puts out a good amount of light. And the 4.0's output should be improved even more by the new chrome.
It is better to be safe than sorry. But me personally, I'm going to take Matt's word for it. Completely new solenoids mean Matt was comfortable spending money on the redo. If I were making that investment, I'd make sure they worked properly. However, of course, there are always other factors involved.

Ugh... I can't make up my mind on which to get now. I like the way the H1 looks compared to the D2S but I want to be able to get things done in a day and not have to worry about taking a lot of time (something that I lack at the moment) because of having to make things work.

If it makes you feel better, my mh1 fits fine....it is definitely smaller than the bulb holde but the retaining washer and nut along with the little wire bulb holder thing makes it plenty tight. Tight enough to not be able to move it when its cinched down.

That does make me feel better. I think i'm gonna wait for this updated kit to come out and then get them. I'm so ready to not be so jealous of these Audi's and Mercedes I drive every night.

So what we've gathered is that both MD2S and MH1 will fit fine in the Fit with no extra modifications needed and the MH1 is better overall, with v4.0 having better solenoids. Sometime down the line though, bulbs will need replacing, which one of the two lasts longer and is cheaper to replace?

If there is a consensus that we want MH1 over MD2S, I'll change this group buy.

I would take that the MH1 can fit with no problem with a grain of salt, as it really may not be the same ease of installation for everyone... Hey REESPEED, can you take a pic or two of the retro? From the front, and the back, just to show exactly how it fits in there?

Also, don't forget, the 4.0 will have better solenoids, but also better chrome in the bowls which will help with reliability, light spread, and maybe even brightness to a point.

As far as which one will last longer, it depends on the quality of each bulb. The MH1 only uses aftermarket bulbs, but the XB35 bulb that TRS offers is truly an OEM-like quality bulb. If you have XB35 in the MH1, and an OEM Philips bulb in the D2S, the OEM bulb may last a little longer, but they may also be neck and neck. I think bulb life should be very similar

Well, In order to do that Id have to take the bumper and lights off. I may have some pics on a thumb drive somewhere. I'll look and see but its really similiar in the way it connects to every h4 reflector.

Edit:

Below is a picture of the back of the mh1 projector with the hardware needed to fit into the fit headlight.

If you look at the left projector, you will see an h4 adapter plate, a locking nut, and the bulb holder.

How the projector is installed is (with the headlight open) stick the threads on the back of the projector through the bulb hole in the reflector. The you take the h4 adapter plate and put that on the threads (the plate is cupped/domed and the plate, when installed, should be domed not cupped when looking at the back of the headlight) then thread the locking nut on. This tightens the projector to the h4 plate making the projector pretty tight in the reflector. The you put the bulb holder (I do this upside down so the screw dont fall inside the projector) on and put the bulbs in. There are two bumps on the bulb base that should fit into two recessed holes on the mating surface. The put the bulbs retainer in (wire "U" looking thing) so that it tightens the bulbs up. You are done and ready to test

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/ima...n-gen3-08l.jpg

I know the process of how to install MH1 into a headlight. I'm saying that the threaded portion of the MH1 is smaller than that of the D2S. If the D2S fits in the fit light with no problem, then I don't see how the MH1 is a perfect fit for the Fit.

Oh, well, it's not a "perfect" fit per se. Its more that the mounting hardware is good enough to make it a snug fit. The h4 adapter plate is what keeps it from moving around. With the locking nut and the existing wire bulb holder, its plenty snug and fits fine.

Does anyone know how difficult it is to also install CCFL Halos? Would it require additional wiring/splicing or is it pretty much plug and play as well? I was hoping to have the halos work as DRLs or the parking lights selection so they can be on by themselves while the bulb is not. Is that possible, or does everything just turn on all at once only?

I'd say you want a little bit of play on the H4 adapter so that you can fix any rotational aiming issues. Once it's dead on to your liking, lock it down with the locking nut. The DS2 and H1 have the rubber washer that keeps them steady if there is too much play with the H4 adapter.

I think you are misinterpreting what I'm saying. I'm talking diameters here. The diameter of the bulb hole vs. the diameter of the threaded parts of both the MH1 and D2S (MH1 being smaller, and D2S being bigger)... Of course if the lock nut isn't tightened there's going to be "play"... The whole thing will be loose.

Btw, the whole purpose of the adapter plate is so there is no movement. It goes in one way and stays that way. If you have the adapter plate, you won't be adjusting anything as there is only one way it sits.

The diameter of the projector threads on the H1 vs the DS2 doesn't matter as both fit. When my DS2 was installed, there is still a gap and it'll still move. Both projectors have the H4 adapter which will help keep it centered and aligned. The H1 projector just has a bigger adapter like in the picture that Reespeed posted but what isn't shown is the rubber gasket. Together with the gasket, H4 adapter and the locking nut, they stay on snug regardless of the diameter of the projector thread that goes through the H4 bulb hole.

I went with D2S because I had 85122+ bulbs already and wanted to continue to use other D2S bulbs eventually. I can take more pictures tomorrow or in a few days from the front and back when I'm swapping out my headlamps for another set.