TRS Tech

OEM RETROFIT vs. HID KITS

All of the HID kits being sold out there on eBay, by the vendors on your favorite forums, and even at performance shops include only 's of the necessary components to upgrade your headlights properly. 1) The HID ballasts, 2) the HID bulbs, and 3) the wire harness. The fourth and unquestionably most important component, the projectors are not included with these kits. Without the projectors, you'll still definitely achieve brighter lighting, but that's not the end of the story. Where is all of that brighter light going? Certainly not on the road.

When installing a plug n play HID kit, the "rebased" HID bulb that comes with the kit will fit in the socket where your halogen bulb went, but the HID capsule in the bulb will be aligned differently in the reflector compared to the position of the original halogen filament. The result? An unfocused beam pattern with no horizontal light cutoff line. Your headlights may be brighter, but your usable light output may actually be worse. Approximately 50% of the light emitted from the headlights is being reflected up into the air, not on the ground where it should be. As a matter of fact, users of HID kits are one of the biggest contributing factors to the negative reputation that HID headlights have. HID plug n play kits produce so much glare, which is not only annoying to oncoming traffic and other drivers in front of you, but they're also dangerous because the possibility of temporarily blinding an oncoming driver and causing an accident.

Not only that, but these kits often use unreliable components that easily discolor, dim, or fail completely within only a couple months. Because of these inherent disadvantages, a subculture of headlight "retrofitters" has emerged. Originally, if one wanted to retrofit their headlights, they would have to salvage OEM HID headlight components from places like salvage yards and local body shops. The projectors that were extracted from the used [Audi, BMW, Mercedes, etc] headlights would then be transplanted into their own headlight housings along with the HID ballasts and bulbs. Highly trained optical engineers working for companies such as Hella, Stanley, and Koito engineer the original and aftermarket HID components that we bring you. These parts are designed for the best light output. No other alternative surpasses custom projector headlight systems built with parts from TRS in terms of width, light distribution, uniformity, sharpness, color, reliability, looks, and efficiency.

Of course our custom projector retrofit kits are more expensive than "HID kits", but in the automotive aftermarket world you pay for what you get. This modification is not for "that guy" with the huge aluminum spoiler and a poorly installed, unpainted body kit. It is a upgrade for those who are serious about the looks and performance of their vehicle.

Do you have typical "rebased" HID kit and want to upgrade to a true high performance projector retrofit? We'll get you started with a free set of AMP/D2S ballast adapters so you can utilize your HID kit ballasts with the D2S bulbs that are required for the projectors. Check out our PNP to Projector Upgrade kits.