Where could i find a reasonably priced HID kit that includes the shrouds (if needed) to retrofit them into my 07 forester low beam location
DDM has a sale on their H1 Minis right now: http://ddmtuning.com/Products/Projectors-H1-V2-PR Great bang for the buck. The Retrofit Source is more $$$ but the products are great quality. http://www.theretrofitsource.com/components/projectors.html Glad you're looking to do a retrofit rather than just dump a HID set unto the stock reflectors.
A good HID Kit for the price is a KENSUN, Been running their h11's without a problem (no shrouds though). For your retrofit i'd use theretrofitsource.com/. I got some amazing LED morimoto fogs from them for my 11 wrx.
KENSUN are OKish. Generally they'll work fine, but I've seen poor workmanship on their connectors causing failures. If you're going with KENSUN, you might as well just buy their SDX brand which tends to sell for significantly less, but appears to be the same product (minus the fancy metal case which doesn't win you anything). FOR H11 bulbs in existing projectors, there are some good LED conversions now, like OPT7's.
Resurrecting this thread with a newb question. I've got a 2016 premium WRX. If I were to get a full HID retrofit including projectors and such, does the end result hold up in quality? I am looking at a kit from theretrofitsource.com with an H1 projector paired withe ballasts/drivers, and such. Very few reviews on there, does anyone have any experience with these long term? I'd rather spend extra with retrofit than get a cheaper alternative IF they are going to look good in 5+ years...
Lol. I've been summoned. So, a few things. You already have projectors, and usually I'd say just get HID (or now, LED) and put them in there. But it's generally agreed that Subaru projectors don't perform well with HID conversions. Still, I'd give a set of these a try in your stock housings before going too crazy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B2XPKNK It's a cheap thing to try, and maybe it'll float your boat. Beyond that, I would strongly suggest finding a set of aftermarket lights to work off of if you choose to do a retrofit. You can take your time to do it right (because you won't have to drive without headlights while you convert them), you'll be able to put the car back to stock, and most of the time it's easier to separate aftermarket lenses. Of course, that's going to add $300+ to the const of the conversion and at that point you might want to try to hunt down a used set of the Limited OEM LEDs. The 15+ WRX specific kit (https://www.theretrofitsource.com/c...ion-specific/morimoto-retroquik-2015-wrx.html) looks like a nice piece, and having a direct-fit kit will make life a lot easier and cleaner. Morimoto is good stuff, and it will hold up. Definitely opt for the high beam split so you can use the HID high beams in addition to the stock halogen. That said, while H1 makes for good HID conversions, it makes for lousy LED conversions, and I much prefer LED at this point over HID (my WRX has the stock LEDs, my truck has a set of aftermarket projectors and LEDs, our van has the stock projectos and LEDs, and my Z has stock HID).
@Vector - dude. Thanks for the advice. Huge help. I think I am likely going to do a full upgrade if anything. Retrofit source is who I'd go with. I'm still on the fence for HID vs LED. I was heavily leaning to HID but now you're making me rethink it.
Adding my two cents in to the thread, I've had a really terrible time with DDM over the past 6+ years. They have awful customer service. I was recently shipped a brand new ballast that was not functional and required me to prove it to them by swapping ballasts after spending a long time installing them. Also with respect to quality, their bulbs with "lifetime warranty" have failed on me multiple times in less than 1.5 years. Apparently they consider this "good lifetime" which I found unbelievable. Replacement hardware takes over a week and requires you to drive around without headlights. I do not recommend supporting this company. Spend the extra few bucks and get a higher quality product.
I've never had any issues with them, but your story isn't uncommon. I certainly consider The Retrofit Source to be a much better company to deal with, but you do pay for it. That said, all of the aftermarket (non big-name) HID capsules and ballasts are coming out of the same handful of factories in China, and everyone just puts their brand on them. There is variation is quality, but it's not directly tied to name brands, unfortunately.
I've had a fairly positive experience with LightWerkz.net. I was recently sent a mismatched ballast, was then sent the incorrect replacement, but in the end the issue was corrected and everything is working now. My biggest gripe with them is that they DO NOT answer their damn phone...no matter how many times in a row you call . The answering machine asks that you email for questions and/or to setup a call back. I get it, it's smaller business and doesn't have the manpower to take calls all day long, but why even list a phone number then. I'll likely do business with TRS in the future, where you can call and speak with a representative instead of waiting hours for an email reply. I'm a generally impatient person though anyway.
