Been sitting on the sidelines waiting for this one to shake itself out.. Although I have followed this forum and more specifically, any threads having anything to do with the morimoto XB's, I actually JOINED today, for the sole purpose of expressing an opinion. I could, and likely SHOULD, have continued just reading in anonymity. That said, I don't understand the logic of some of the folks willing to die on the Morimoto sword. I understand even less their need to paint skeptics as people too harsh, critical or broke to consider these lights. Let's look at those arguments. First, I would assume nearly EVERYONE in this forum could afford a honking big ol spensive truck? No??? That said, they are probably not so hard up for cash as some would make them out to be. The argument that people are too cheap or expect too much for their money also makes no sense. Why read, follow, or post? Let's lay THAT baby to sleep. As for Morimoto being the best company since sliced bread because they are willing to "own" their mistake.. only makes them a GOOD company. Seriously, think about it. Should we EXPECT less than that?? NO! Are there worse companies in that regard? Of course. We call those bad companies... and if we are consumers with half a brain, we vote with our wallets. Sell me crap and you will likely NEVER get my business again. Insult me by saying i'm at fault for your crappy product.. same outcome. So we have established that Morimoto is a GOOD company.. with a product that was not quite ready for prime time out of the box.. and they are willing to own it.. and better still, redress the situation. Good company... so far... at best (on this single product issue... I do not otherwise know this company and have no intention of researching and doing a dissertation to support any opinions).
Now on to the demerits.. don't get it twisted. The product was NOT quite ready for prime time! Even with all of the set backs and extensions. Say what you will... this is my opinion. Is it close... i'd say fairly so, but those pushing back at the posters whose opinion was that it was not, really need to take a step back. It wasn't. Period. Ready for prime time is plug, play, and maybe adjust... and be done. Repair, modify, analyze, redress, are all indicators of its "not quite" readiness. This is VERY different from upgrades and updates. This is fundamental to the basic functioning of the product. Please stop acting like they hit this one out of the park! They didn't. That should be reserved for companies, and more importantly products, that live up to that measure.
All of that said, My opinion (obviously) is that they did in fact hit a solid triple... but are now in a run down. Play it out perfectly... they earn their run. Conservatively, but well played... they still have a solid three base hit and that is nothing to sneer at. However, a miscue at this point... Kinda really has the potential for changing the outcome.
I've followed this product from day one and read where... "you get what you pay for"... so yes they are expensive, "We keep holding back the product so that what is delivered to you will be well nigh perfect" and so on, so forth. Well... that's not what happened. Like it or not. It's a very good product in that it does address the need for more light, is more user friendly, and cost effective, than a retrofit... DIY or otherwise. But it needs work. Plain and simple.. and YES, I get it.. that work is coming... But at best it will result in a less streamlined product. Any wires more than what was originally needed to do the job is just that.. more wires than what was needed. And PLEASE, don't tell me if I don't like it I could design one myself. That's childish. Of course I can't. That's why I didn't. But I CAN say whether or not this one is, so far, all that it was cracked up to be. Close.. very close in fact... but not perfect and not about to pretend it is.
Whew... Now i'm still waiting for this to shake out because I like the idea of these lights. I CAN afford them, I LOVE the styling, and I love the apparent output (i've spent three years contemplating how to upgrade the stock crap and these are in fact the first items to even capture my interest) and I can live with the price... thinking it to be fair, for a well thought out AND EXECUTED product. This is, and should be the deciding factor (execution) in whether or not this triple is in fact an in the park home run. The over the fence run ship has sailed.
Just my opinion.