Headlight help

[Tippie23]

I've got an 05 and the low beams are absolute garbage. I think 2 bic lighters would do a more efficient job. The high beams are alright, but when the low beams are on, I can barely see the road. So I'm looking at buying new housings and possibly upgrading to LED bulbs. Does anybody have any recommendations on which LED bulbs to use? I want complete plug & play, don't want to cut any wires. For the housings, I am probably going to order TYC from rock auto. For the bulbs I am looking at OPT7 leds. Does anybody have any experience using OPT7 bulbs or have any recommendations to use?

 

Thanks in advance for the help.

[nevets27]

Do not get led headlights bulbs. There are not any out there that are good.

 

Only way to get better lighting is going HID.

 

I would not suggest just getting HID bulbs that plug and play. While they can be ok in some halogen projectors for the most part they don't work well and have a high likelihood of blinding other drivers.

 

Since you are getting a second pair of headlights, why not retrofit them with proper HID projectors?

 

There are a couple options for projectors.

 

Wiring wise you can buy wiring harnesses that can make the HID ballast plug and play.

[fedaykin]

 

If your lenses (the outer plastic bit that faces the environment) are hazy, clear them up first. They make a huge difference.

[08110]

I also have an 05 and got these to replace the stock bulbs and they made a HUGE difference in both brightness and distance/width. Might be worth trying out for $20 before testing something more expensive:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-CrystalVision-Ultra-Upgrade-Headlight/dp/B00U1OL44G

[fedaykin]

If you think Crystal Vision was a huge upgrade, wait until you try Osram Laser or Philips Racing Vision.

(BTW, Crystal vision is the worst Philips bulb available because of the heavy tint on it, it's dimmer than standard).

[stevenva]

Got myself a Xmas gift.

I now have a brand new pair of headlamp assemblies for $222 from Ebay.

I will be removing the halogen projectors and installing the following:

 

Retro-Quik: Subaru Legacy (05-14) also $222 with below options

Bixenon Projectors:

Morimoto Mini H1 7.0 (LHD) (USA & CAN)

Mounting Hardware:

Subaru Legacy 05-14 Brackets

AMP: Morimoto XB35

H1 HID Bulbs:

H1: XB 4500K

 

I'm not getting any of their wire harnesses. I got them on my last Subaru. Good quality harness and connections but left it looking like a hack job with all the extra wire. I will be making my own relay harness.

 

[Waxiboy]

Top: JDM HID headlights with flipped shields

 

Bottom: USDM headlights with Koito ballast and Osram D2S capsules (this unit is for sale btw )

[Mdrsk]

Stevenva, I need to replace my passenger side headlight unit for my 2008. Instead of getting an OEM one for $200+, are you telling me I could get pair for $222 and then all the other stuff for anoth $222 so that I would have a real HID set up?

 

Is this plug and play? Can you post a step by step or direct me to a site that explains how to put this together? Any issues with this set up on your other Subie? Don't have to bake the unit to remove any plastic bits I hope.

 

Thanks.

[nevets27]

It's plug and play as far you don't need to do any custom, design or modifications. As far as I know. I haven't used the kit. I went the harder route and I'll have some info on that posted later.

 

You will have to bake and open the headlights. Though it's a lot less scary then it sounds.

 

Sent from my LG-H933 using Tapatalk

[fedaykin]

You can follow this

https://www.hidplanet.com/forums/forum/showoff/projector-retrofits/1443737-2009-subaru-legacy-hid-retrofit

 

I think there are a few more threads with different projectors.

 

I use a heat gun to soften the butyl, takes longer but don't have to heat up the whole housing.

[nevets27]

That's my thread. I'll update it soon. Just finished painting one of the 2 chrome shrouds.

 

I would suggest the oven, it's a consistent even heat. Not saying a heat gun won't work, it will but it has a higher risk if you heat one spot too long.

 

I forget what temperature I used. I was a bit nervous so I used a low temperature for a bit longer time, it came apart fine but a slightly higher temp likely would have made it a bit easier. I think most people recommend somewhere between 200-250F.

[fedaykin]

Firstly, thanks for the thread, build looks good. It's so damn easy to swap HID projectors into gen4 and newer headlights compared to other models, crappy LED bulbs shouldn't even be considered .

 

My gen5 headlight plastics felt too flimsy so I used my cheap heat gun, and stuck with that ever since. Plus I don't get yelled at for using the oven for non-food baking

[Bryan12690]

I have poor light output too, same description 2 bic lighters is brighter.

Bought Phillips Halogens, still poor just different tint.

Moved on to Xenon Hid 35w 5000k still shitty

Found out the reflectors in the projectors were chipped and flaking off, causing my poor output. Hope its not the same for you.

Now after research I decided to buy JDM Headlights just cause of the extra features.

They only share the same high beam, so this will be fun.

Ill be going through a full build on these, rgb halos, demon eyes, switchback turn signals, and hopefully the light adjuster.

[jrho]

I hated the stock light output of the factory headlights. I do a lot of driving during the night on countryside highways so the last thing I needed was to not see something like a deer in time to really screw up my car.

 

Ended up grabbing a set of retrofitted headlights off of a member here. Acura TSX projectors and D2S bulbs and the difference is not even comparable. I might retrofit my original headlights as it seems like a fun project do to on the side.