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Xenon HID upgrade

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If you're talking about the TRS projector kit vs the Tesla HID kit, the Tesla kit is refurbished it appears and the TRS is brand new. Both appear to be comparable in performance, not sure if you can request a different light/bulb temp with the Tesla one where the TRS you can and also request a matching temp high beam bulb. And projectors and ballasts will be a different manufacturer.
 
It's not a tesla product. If you go to tesla owners.us and look under parts you'll find it

Hmmm, that doesn't make sense... why buy a refurbished product if you don't have to? I think it was the only option at that time vs. the Tesla HIDs for a true HID projector swap. The New HID kit is not all that much $ at all. Hence why I thought it was the original Tesla product that was refurbished by the original supplier. Also curious how they mounted them in there, TRS includes a custom mounting bracket where they used my lights as a prototype to fabricate it so the H1 HID projectors could properly be mounted within the original Halogen Tesla housing. You can take a look at the TRS website and make your own call. They impressed me with their knowledge and expertise in HID lights.
 
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I was next to a Tesla Roadster today that didn't have the HIDs/Upgrade and wow what a difference... Blotchy yellow streaks all over the road where I had a pure white shine across my section. We were side by side and I could see him looking over at the difference. I didn't notice it but the halogen projectors with the halogen bulbs produce the streaks just as bad. If you want the best results change out the projectors!

The TRS upgrade is insanely cheap for lights that will benefit your safety!
 
I was next to a Tesla Roadster today that didn't have the HIDs/Upgrade and wow what a difference... Blotchy yellow streaks all over the road where I had a pure white shine across my section. We were side by side and I could see him looking over at the difference. I didn't notice it but the halogen projectors with the halogen bulbs produce the streaks just as bad. If you want the best results change out the projectors!

The TRS upgrade is insanely cheap for lights that will benefit your safety!

TRS just released custom brackets and the Morimoto retro-quik system is now available for $300. I just ordered mine.
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=254

If anyone in the Bay Area has experience with removing the housing and messing with this stuff, and wants to see
how it turns out before they order their kit, I am happy to be the guinea pig. I am not very handy with mechanical
hackery.
 
I installed the DDM Tuning HID kit in my Roadster but if I was doing it all over again I'd spend a little more and go with the TRS solution. I've already had a ballast fail and one of the plugs wasn't put together very well. DDM replaced the parts, but it was a royal pain to follow all their return instructions, and it took a month b/c they ship the replacement parts from China. Plus I had to crawl under the car and put the old halogen back in (be sure to save those!), then re-install the replacement parts when they came in. Just my .02 to anyone who hasn't upgraded their headlights yet.
 
I installed the DDM Tuning HID kit in my Roadster but if I was doing it all over again I'd spend a little more and go with the TRS solution. I've already had a ballast fail and one of the plugs wasn't put together very well. DDM replaced the parts, but it was a royal pain to follow all their return instructions, and it took a month b/c they ship the replacement parts from China. Plus I had to crawl under the car and put the old halogen back in (be sure to save those!), then re-install the replacement parts when they came in. Just my .02 to anyone who hasn't upgraded their headlights yet.

Maybe DDM Tuning has improved - I have had great luck (knock on wood) for nearly a year now (mine's a daily driver.)
 
Maybe DDM Tuning has improved - I have had great luck (knock on wood) for nearly a year now (mine's a daily driver.)
I put 3 years and 34k miles on mine with no problems. At my last service my headlights were peeling so they were replaced w/ the factory HIDs. Else I'd still be running the ddm's. At $60/pair I could go through quite a few before I approached the cost of the other options. But then I like crawling around under my car :)
 
Here's a writeup TRS has on the plug in play vs the full projector retro kit:

OEM Projector Retrofit vs HID Kit information from The Retrofit Source Inc

Also why skimp on your lights? The TRS retrofit kit is as good or better than the $2500 Tesla HID kit for fractions of the cost and you get a true HID with the proper projectors that provide the best as well as the most even light transmission to the road.

Light isn't evenly dispersed across the stock halogen projectors, its clear with the halogens as well as the HIDs in there. And every night when I see people with the plug and play kits in behind me I have to move my rear view mirror down to avoid the high intensity that's too focused in all the wrong places since it becomes really annoying and blinding to the eyes. Its not the HIDs with the correct projectors in there, (stock HIDs with the right projectors don't cause this issue), its always the HID plug and play kits due to the light not being evenly focused across the road, instead its intensity is focused in patches forward and towards oncoming cars and re-view mirrors. Hence why many (I believe all) states make plug and play HID kits illegal.
 
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Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but my lights were replaced with the Tesla HID ones as the originals were fogging. The new ones unfortunately also fog up, but not as much. Has anyone else had this and found a solution?
 
The very very original Roadster headlights didn't have heaters (a heating pad) and they would fog pretty bad. Tesla tried to address the issue with the heater which helped but didn't resolve the issue. Its something we have to live with, its difficult fixing having a large area which the sunlight penetrates. Also plastic is porous so moisture will work its way in, even from the top side of the clear lens.
 
Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but my lights were replaced with the Tesla HID ones as the originals were fogging. The new ones unfortunately also fog up, but not as much. Has anyone else had this and found a solution?
I had this w/ my original halogens. I just pulled the rubber cap off the back and blasted it w/ a hair dryer for a few minutes. I also installed the ddmtuning HID bulbs at the same time. Never had a fogging problem again. One note is that w/ the aftermarket HIDs I had wires running out of the housing to the ballast so the rubber cap no longer sealed the housing. Perhaps this allowed any moisture to evaporate.
 
FYI:

I asked Andrew @ TRS about any tricks to separate the clear lens from the Roadster light assembly and below is his response:

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Andrew@TRS: "The housings need to be heated to be split. I think I used the standard 265F for 7 minutes to get into them. You can go with your kitchen's oven to heat the entire housing at once, just make sure no wires or rubber are touching the wire racks."

Me: "Thanks Andrew, as for reassembling do I need to re-heat them to make the waterproof seal and / or add new sealant?"

Andrew@TRS: "Exactly right, Dennis. We recommend removing all of that stock sealant and replacing it with fresh new butyl sealant: OCI Butyl Rubber Glue - Accessories from The Retrofit Source Inc "

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Yes, you'll definitely need to adjust them. The housing are setup with the halogen projector/focus and field of light.

Be very gentile on the adjusters, there's two of them for the low beam. No adjusters for the high beam. This moves the light up/down and left/right. They're plastic and WILL break if turned too much in one direction. I believe in. I took many drives up and down the highway to get them to where I want them.

If you email Andrew@TRS he can guide you on how to properly aim them. They may have a link on their sight as well.
 
I got my TRS HIDs done yesterday, with new projector lenses. The difference is amazing.

Perei makes the OEM headlamp assemblies. I wonder if they would sell directly to the consumer.
I'd like to have a spare one lying around, now that I have mucked with the original.
 
I ordered the TRS HID kit (kit where I split the headlamps myself) and when it arrived, I began the install. So far, I have had quite a few issues with this kit as delivered. I'll post all of the details on the issues and how they were resolved in more detail when they have actually been resolved. The staff at TRS have been very good to work with, but beware that the kit from TRS had incorrect connectors and bulbs for the high beam (they were going to supply a more color matched high beam bulb). The low beam harness had incorrect connectors to the input power, and the projector bracket did not fit without modifications.

The biggest issue is that neither of the HID projectors will currently light consistently. I have discussed the issue with TRS and they believe there is a batch of ballasts that have issues with firing in cold weather (its been quite cold here). They are getting a revised ballast in later this week that they will be sending out for me to try.

I'll update once I get a chance to try the new ballasts. I'm curious as to what cars others who have installed the TRS HID's have - mine is a 2008 1.5 roadster. I wonder if there were revisions to the internal wiring on the headlights between roadster versions.