Okay, I haven't posted in a while, but this demands it.
I, like most of us, tried to get a good deal. I was also trying to give the smaller business a chance.
THAT WAS A MISTAKE!!!
Summary of the whole thing:
Low quality product, and terrible, non-existent customer service.
Full story:
I ordered these because they were a few bucks cheaper than a set of Sylvania SilverStar Ultras
I ordered a set of HID headlights from StarRotors.com. Paid $49.99. Shipping took about 1.5 weeks. Ordered on 3/1/12.
I received the set. Packaging was acceptable. spade connectors were cheap AutoZone/HarborFreight quality. Brand: Xentec
http://www.starrotors.com/bulbs/shidkit.jpgItem was as pictured, with the addition of the Xentec stickers on the ballasts
Installed the kit at 35013 miles
Right away noticed two things:
1 - the barrel connectors between the ballasts and bulbs are NOT sealed well, if they get within 2 inches of a metal you get a loud electrical zapping sound. At first I though it was my cluster or horns freaking out. after some poking around, I actually saw the electricity arc through the 2 inch gap between the back of the connector and my front cowl frame. Issue was resolved by sealing the barrel connector to the wire with electrical tape. Looked like shit even though I did my best. NOT ACCEPTABLE.
2 - My dash gauges HATED the kit. These ballasts essentially convert 12 VDC into several hundred or thousand volts in order to create and sustain the plasma inside the Xenon bulbs. This creates large amounts of Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). As the instrument cluster on MOST motorcycles is NOT shielded from RFI (the Busa included), this causes the cluster to show incorrect readings. Symptoms: Tach was about 20% high, Fuel gauge was erratic, Coolant temp would often jump straight to the red zone.
To resolve issue #2, first I put the HID ballasts on a relay to get them off of the primary circuit that does feed back to the dash. That didn't help. Then, after realizing it was a RFI issue, I purchased some aluminum tape and put a nice layer over the back of my instrument cluster. This resolved the issue, and I was happy.
Now, on to the performance of them: They were bright, but EQUAL TO SYLVANIA SILVERSTAR ULTRAs. The only benefit that I found was that the higher color temp provided better lighting on road signs.
Oh, and a installation note: The H7 bulb (low beam) does not hold in place on its own. Standard bulbs use that black plastic adapter to take up the space between the metal plate and the retention spring. I found that a normal size prescription pill bottle cut down to about the bottom quarter inch and a hole cut into the bottom was the perfect size. Held great.
Now onto the final MAJOR issue: ONE BALLAST DIED ONE AND A HALF MONTHS AFTER INSTALLATION @ 536 MILES (35549 miles on odometer)
That's right, folks, the ballast DIED in a month and a half with only 536 miles on it.
That weekend I took my front cowl off and began testing. I found that there was a SHORT in the system. eventually I traced it to INSIDE THE BALLAST. I tested both bulbs with the good ballast, no problems.
I installed a brand new set of Sylvania SilverStar Ultras and plugged them in. No problems.
I then noticed that the bad ballast SMELLED STRONGLY of MELTED and BURNT ELECTRONICS.
The rest of my wiring was fine. The new Sylvanias worked well. There were no problems with with the relay or harness for the HID kit. Thankfully the fuse that I remembered to incorporate into the relays harness burned before anything else did.
Okay, so I've ranted for a while, and I understand that sometimes you get a bad egg. Here is what upset me enough to post here:
On 5/1/12 I contacted the seller with an email sent to the one on the invoice and the one on the website. I included a description of the issue, a copy of the original invoice, my phone number, and a very polite and friendly request for replacement under warranty.
I have NOT received any reply.
I have tried calling the number on the invoice, but I don't get anything. I would at least expect a response saying something like I'm sorry, but we can't replace it.
Summary of the whole thing:
Low quality product, and terrible, non-existent customer service.
The old adage, "You get what you pay for" would apply to this, but I don't think $50 covers two bulbs and one working ballast.
I will continue to attempt to contact the vendor. If the status of this changes I will update this post.
Rant over. Hopefully this will help others avoid a loss of time, money, and hair.
