Anyone bought from The Retrofit Source?

I picked up a set of replica ZKW lenses on Ebay a few weeks ago. They shipped pretty quickly but one of them had a noticeable scratch and chip in the face. Matt, their customer service rep, was really responsive and got things handled for me pretty quickly. Unfortunately, I had to pay for shipping for the damaged lens back to them.

Well, when the new one arrived today, it also had a tiny chip in the lens face. I'm obviously a little frustrated but I'm probably not going to bother paying another $5 to ship the unit back again. Is it going to affect light output or clarity with these lenses? The chip is on the angled face of the lens and is maybe the size of a ballpoint pen dot.

Anyone else run into these issues with TRS? This lens also has the "notch" in it whereas the original undamaged one does not. Hopefully that also does not cause any issues.


Problem Sovled:

 

This will help us understand more.

Honestly I would send it back until they get it right.

 

I get lenses through TRS (Matt) almost on daily bases and have been getting them for past 18 months without an issue.

Are you sure you didnt buy a defective unit by mistake? He does sell lenses with a flaw or two in them for less price through his ebay/internet store.

 

yea he sells the lenses with minor defects for cheaper. They quaranty that the defect does not affect the light output what so ever, and that they are all tested. before. I am sure you can't even notice any of those defects on the lense when they are in the headlight.

 

If the Ebay auction was designed to sell flawed units, there is nothing on it that designates it as such. It is advertised as a new, non defective unit...I just double checked it a few minutes ago. In fact, here's one portion from the ad itself:

With so many random headlight upgrade parts for sale on eBay, why by from TRS?
Quality Control: TRS individually inspects every item under a fluorescent light to ensure the best condition parts are put in the hands of customers who are willing to pay full price. Even the most insignificant defects don't make it past inspection.

I would try to get a pic, but I don't have a camera good enough to really capture the flaw that well. Just imagine a small rock chip in your paint and that's what it looks like on the lens :P

 

I have purchased from TRS on two seperate occasions and both times shipping was VERY quick and the lenses were flawless both times.

I know you want a perfect lens, but if it saves you the hassle if the defect is as small as you say no it will not effect output at all. Even if it was larger it probably wouldnt.

James

 

I'm sure it will be just fine

 

Well Matt emailed me back and he's sending me another lens free of charge. I can't complain about their customer service at all! Hopefully this one will be legit

 

Cool glad he is taking care of you.

Dont forget to "tune" your lenses. Most people say the replicas are drop in but I have found out they actually do require tweaking. I have done this twice on two of my different TL's using the replicas. The first set I just swapped in place of the originals and I noticed no change in output or cutoff except for a very very slight increase in color.

That was on my 07 base TL, I traded that in and now own a 07 Type S. So I ordered a second set and wanted to do it right this time. So I took the time to tweak the lenses for the absolute best output. As weird as it sounds one side was simple drop in required no spacing, the other side required me to make 1 round spacer out of a cereal box to achieve a very colorful and sharp cutoff. With one being spaced and one side not I was able to get two exact cutoffs that are identical. I know it sounds weird but you also have to remember there are a lot of variations in this parts and no two projectors are the same. So I would recommend taking the time to fine tune them to get the results you want.
Now with my tuned replicas the output is unbelievable. The cutoff remains very sharp even beyond a 1/4 down the road. And as for color, lets just say I make white speed limit signs turn purple when my cutoff hits them :-) I love it!!

James

 

I'm always buying parts from Matt at TRS, and he's always responsive and like you mentioned, customer service is great...The little scratch on the lense won't affect your light output.

 

keep in mind...glass is never made perfect. you get what u pay for for replicas. i would not worry about a lil dot but a scratch is no good

 

So I got the new lens in today, and it's flawless. I wish I could edit my original post, but I have to say TRS's customer service went above and beyond what I expected. Matt shipped out this one himself to make sure it was done right.

 

The Real ZKW lenses with the TL Projetors need spacers from the getgo. I believe Kennedy posted that a 3mm spacer was needed for the right cutoff and best light intensity. JNC may be able to chime in more into this. Nothing is really a drop in when it comes to headlights unless someone else has already done the work.
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