2013 Morimoto H7 HID Install

Received the kit from TRS (retrofitsource.com) on Friday, and enjoyed the nice weather today doing to the install. 5000k, H7 Elite Kit with Heavy Duty "Dual Relay" harness.

Also installed Luminics "Titanium White" 9005 Bulbs. I have run these in my girlfriends Civic with great results, so figured I would give them a try in the Legacy. I know there are better bulbs out there...but these should do for now. Polarg B1 Hybrid bulbs were used as Parking Light bulbs. I have had really good results with these in every car I have owned, going back to the last 90's, so as they are still available I will use them I have some extra for the rear plate lights and front door lights, which I will install at a future date.

Additionally I attempted to install Nokya H16 "amber" fog light bulbs. Turns out the H16 installed look to be H11's.....yet not what the bulb says or what the owners manual says. More research is needed here. Also tried to install some generic "chrome / amber" stealth signal bumps, but the bulb body where it attaches to the harness was not fitting right, so they are a nice waste of money.

Followed the 100 HID install threads all over this forum & NASIOC for the install.... remember you are working with power, so be cautious if you do not disconnect the battery.

1 - Remove Engine Cover and Bumper w/grille
2 - Remove Headlights
3 - Install New Bulbs & Harnesses into OEM Headlights
4 - Install Ballast onto vehicle
5 - Layout TRS heavy duty harness insuring everything will fit up nicely
6 - Re-Install Headlights
7 - Connect harness to ballast & headlights, Test functionality
8 - Mount Relay
9 - Install Ground & Power
10 - Zip-Tie harness to ensure no damage to the harness & make it look clean
11 - Re-Install Bumper
12 - Re-Install Engine Cover
13 - Enjoy beer & new lights (once it's dark outside)

Things that went Well:
-Harness is incredibly awesome and this kit is worth every penny.
-Installation to the actual headlights was a breeze.
-Pulling the bumper & headlights is very very easy.

Things that went OK:
-Ballast harness (attached to ballast) seem very short. If they came with some more length in the wiring, things would have been better for ballast mount locations. That said I was able to work with it, used some sheet metal screws with 3M mounting tape, and I think they are pretty secure.
-Running the harness from driver-side to passenger side across the condenser is not ideal...hopefully it holds up well.
-Kit came with no instructions...thankfully Google located the TRS install pdf the night before to verify wiring.
-Location I selected for the Relays is awesome....minus the fact that the fill spout for the washer fluid is right next to it. Hoping no over-spray during refills.

Things that kinda Suck:
-H16 bulb confusion with the new fog light fixtures. Aggravating...hopefully the vendor will allow a return of these bulbs or at least a credit towards a replacement when I figure out what I actually need.
-Grille mounting to bumper. The only way it seems you can pull the grille is to pull the bumper. Seems a bit much.
-eBay "chrome / amber" stealth bulbs....QC my ass, these suck! Hopefully I can find something to correct this.
-Getting blasted on installing these without a proper retrofit.....please be kind...


Squirrel finders on the 2013 are identical to the 2012 or all 5th gens. It has solid side supports, so you cannot press and close. I left mine alone as I wasn't ready to bake the headlights at 750 miles on the car, maybe a real retrofit next year.

All pictures I took, which can be used for those looking for information on the 2013 bumper, grille, and headlights are here:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v4...HID%20Install/

Enjoy!!

Install Pics:

Daytime Pictures:





Nighttime Pictures:

THESE TO COME!

Aggravation pics.....

you should have blocked out your squirrel spotters. i'm only gonna give you 25% crap for lack of projector retro only because i have this kit. the metal bases are key to getting an proper cut-off.

Where are the night time wall shots? I know I saw them somewhere....

I haven't taken any yet. But I have seen them in the past. I will do my best to find a spot and grab some this weekend. need to find a tripod for my SLR or something to set it on for the shots.

Originally Posted by Sleepr56

Daytime Pictures:

Wow, I like the facelift on the 2013 a lot in these pictures. Too bad they dropped the GT.

Nice ride, and nice work.

nice!

Sleepr.... how long do they take to ignite? So far, any issues?

Originally Posted by Magic Marker

Sleepr.... how long do they take to ignite? So far, any issues?

I assume you mean the warm up time

Mine is about 3-5 seconds

They are good HIDs...

Bulbs warm up pretty quick. The STi HID's seems to warm up almost instantly, while my TSX took 5-10 seconds. I'd say these are right in the middle, as Drift Motion mentioned.

The first couple times using the bulbs, there was some definite color change, to white light, from the bulbs "breaking in" is my guess. No flickering, no issues.

The squirrel finder light scatter is definitely evident to me, so I need to resolve that. My gf and others who have been in the car at night don't seem to be bothered or notice it.

Originally Posted by Sleepr56

Bulbs warm up pretty quick. The STi HID's seems to warm up almost instantly, while my TSX took 5-10 seconds. I'd say these are right in the middle, as Drift Motion mentioned.

The first couple times using the bulbs, there was some definite color change, to white light, from the bulbs "breaking in" is my guess. No flickering, no issues.

The squirrel finder light scatter is definitely evident to me, so I need to resolve that. My gf and others who have been in the car at night don't seem to be bothered or notice it.

Thanks for the info. Knowing myself, the light scatter will annoy me. Thanks for posting up various distance wall shots.

Sorry, I am new to lighting. Do you need a separate ballast for each individual bulb or can you somehow link them all together?