IRSmart build log, “Big Red”

[kad]

They do look good. I just can't bring myself to spend that much on headlights. Any issues with can-bus errors? Did you originally have Quads or Projectors from the factory?

-K

 

[IRSmart]

So I had projectors from the factory. No errors, but I do have a problem with them that I couldn’t discover until tonight. The drivers side headlamp will not aim. Turning the gear does nothing, they don’t move at all. It’s like there is a failure in the aiming mechanism inside the lamp somewhere. The beam pattern is dangerously and unusably low (lower than my fog lights at 25 feet!) and nothing I can do re-aims them. The passenger side came out of the box a touch high, but they took aim just fine. The drivers side also has another issue I noticed as I was standing there trying to get them to aim. The side marker LED “cycles” brightness. Not exactly a flicker, it isn’t that fast. Just goes from 90%-100% back and forth every few seconds. Not really noticeable unless you’re standing there staring at them, but I did notice it. Jeremy at The Retroshop is going to stand between me and Morimoto in the warranty process. He thinks they’ll want a refundable deposit while they ship me a replacement lamp, which I’m fine with. He agrees with me that he thinks they were dropped, or took some other impact. That would explain both issues with that housing.

This was the picture of the aiming I sent him. Passenger side is perfect, drivers side is how it came out of the box and won’t change. If I had my fogs on in this pic, they would be about 2 inches above the drivers side beam.

 

[B Mitty]

Yea, when your paying that much for an upgrade, it should be better than stock performance and aesthetic.

 

[IRSmart]

I’ve made the decision I’m returning these. Currently waiting on Jeremy to let me know what my next steps are. Going to get them uninstalled and boxed back up this weekend.

 

[G. Mcpherson]

Good choice. For the Price you can get a Good Retro for D2S Projectors that work very well.

 

[IRSmart]

Good choice. For the Price you can get a Good Retro for D2S Projectors that work very well.

I'm just going to put my stock headlights back in. I didn't really NEED new headlights, but with a broken tab and a loose bulb, that pushed me over the edge. I'm now going to take my refund and put it towards another goodie that I'll post up about later...hehe

Edit: For clarification, I'm not returning these simply because of the aiming failure. I was very underwhelmed with their nighttime performance when compared to the lighting setup I already had. Yes, they looked ****, but headlights are one of those things that should perform well before they look good. What they look like during the day doesn't mean **** if I can't see.

 

[Maligator]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RSW1FV6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_2YDFCHT86XAJBEX7AXR1?psc=1

I've been thinking about giving these a shot too, and throwing some HIDs in them

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[IRSmart]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RSW1FV6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_2YDFCHT86XAJBEX7AXR1?psc=1

I've been thinking about giving these a shot too, and throwing some HIDs in them

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

I doubt they’d be much, if any, of a light output upgrade over what you and I have. I looked at Alpharex. A few differences: Morimoto lights use both projectors as a low and high beam projector with a baffle that drops when you activate the high beams. In the Alpharex, there is a dedicated high beam and low beam projector (one of the ways of cutting costs I’m sure). Another, they are halogen based, and would need HIDs. I’m not a fan of using HIDs as a high beam, as they need to warm up before they’re 100% effective. LEDs are a much more efficient high beam bulb. With such small spaces in an H7 bulb (which I think that is off memory), I don’t KNOW how a 55W HID/LED application would hold up against melting. I DO know how the stock housing holds up. For me personally, I don’t NEED new headlights, I didn’t even really WANT new headlights. I just needed to spend the money lol oh well, my replacement mod, as soon as I can get this return sorted out, will be much more useful to me.

 

[olyelr]

Well, its later...time to post up about said goodies...hehe

 

[IRSmart]

Well, its later...time to post up about said goodies...hehe

Oh it’ll be later later. Gotta work on this return first. But it’ll definitely be worth the wait!

 

[56PW17]

Oh it’ll be later later. Gotta work on this return first. Jeremy is using terms like “high restocking fees” and it’s not giving me a lot of confidence in how this return is going to pan out.

If they are broken like they seem to be they shouldn’t be “restocked” ya know??

 

[Maligator]

I doubt they’d be much, if any, of a light output upgrade over what you and I have. I looked at Alpharex. A few differences: Morimoto lights use both projectors as a low and high beam projector with a baffle that drops when you activate the high beams. In the Alpharex, there is a dedicated high beam and low beam projector (one of the ways of cutting costs I’m sure). Another, they are halogen based, and would need HIDs. I’m not a fan of using HIDs as a high beam, as they need to warm up before they’re 100% effective. LEDs are a much more efficient high beam bulb. With such small spaces in an H7 bulb (which I think that is off memory), I don’t KNOW how a 55W HID/LED application would hold up against melting. I DO know how the stock housing holds up. For me personally, I don’t NEED new headlights, I didn’t even really WANT new headlights. I just needed to spend the money lol oh well, my replacement mod, as soon as I can get this return sorted out, will be much more useful to me.

Im in the same boat I dont need new headlights by any means. So much other stuff I need to chip away at. They do look fancy though, thats the only real appeal

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[IRSmart]

Im in the same boat I dont need new headlights by any means. So much other stuff I need to chip away at. They do look fancy though, thats the only real appeal

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

I don’t really hate how the stock projectors look on our trucks, honestly. They blend with all the black in my opinion. So I was really just looking to spend money. No worries, my replacement mod will definitely assist me in doing that hehe

 

[IRSmart]

Without further adieu, here it is, the mod that replaced my Morimoto headlights!




...well, not really. I’m still waiting for that to come in, so more on that upgrade later. In the meantime, I happened to notice while I was noodling around in the bed of my truck the other day that the handle of my Kobalt shovel had rusted. Stupid me never put two and two together and realized “hey stupid, steel rusts!” The handle had rusted over the past few years, and I wasn’t super confident in using it as a recovery tool anymore, plus the longer I kept it in there, the worse it was going to get. So I went in search of an upgrade (because that’s what I do, I spend money on unnecessary upgrades, Power Wagon = “Exhibit A”) and came across this little guy, the Krazy Beaver shovel, AKA the “Murder Spork!” It has a fiberglass handle which will prevent rust, plus the head is powder coated red. I fully expect to chip the finish away the first time I need to use it, but for now it looks great. The head is reinforced 13G steel, and is very stout. The red/black color combo was just a bonus.

No pictures of it in the bed just yet, because...well, it’s a shovel, and I already posted a pic of my tool setup, and it hasn’t changed other than the tool itself. (Not my pic below, just a random google image I found).

 

[Mace Peveler]

That's a long ass post for a friggin' shovel.

 

[IRSmart]

That's a long ass post for a friggin' shovel.

No one can ever blame me for being not descriptive enough lol

 

[IRSmart]

Another small mod today. Going on a long trip with the kids next month, and anticipating needing to charge their devices, I installed a dual USB charging port in each door pocket. Took the idea off someone here a while back, just never got around to doing it. I didn’t really need a dual port, since there’s one on both sides, but this one is a 3A charger and also has a USB-C port for future compatibility. I’m a big fan of them, and not having to run cables to the front seat.

 

[56PW17]

Another small mod today. Going on a long trip with the kids next month, and anticipating needing to charge their devices, I installed a dual USB charging port in each door pocket. Took the idea off someone here a while back, just never got around to doing it. I didn’t really need a dual port, since there’s one on both sides, but this one is a 3A charger and also has a USB-C port for future compatibility. I’m a big fan of them, and not having to run cables to the front seat.

View attachment 240290

Love it. What did you tie into for power? Is it constant?

 

[IRSmart]

Love it. What did you tie into for power? Is it constant?

I grabbed power from the power window circuit so I didn’t have to run anything into the door. It’s ignition hot, and I can also play parental control and turn the power off if I need to using the rear window switch lockout button in the front.

 

[olyelr]

I grabbed power from the power window circuit so I didn’t have to run anything into the door. It’s ignition hot, and I can also play parental control and turn the power off if I need to using the rear window switch lockout button in the front.

hahahahah, great work!