HELP! Lighting 101

[icedragon]

Hey guys,

 

I've had my 05 Legacy for almost two years now, but I'm new to the forum and completely new to lighting.

 

Here's my problem: I need to replace both low-beam light bulbs. Does anyone know if Subaru Canada has some warranty on the light bulbs? If not, what are my options?

 

I searched the forum and read all the lighting threads, but I'm still so confused

 

From what I gather, the 05 Legacy uses halogen low-beam light bulbs, so I can only replace with halogen light bulbs?

 

So no HID or Xenon bulbs (I'm not even sure what those are) since I would need additional electrical components?

 

The Silverstar halogen bulbs seem popular. If I were to get these, is this the correct code / type / number? --> H7ST Silverstar High Performance Lighting

 

ANY help or advice or clarification would be HUGELY appreciated. Much thanks.

[Th3Franz]

Please do a search. yes the stock bulbs are halogens. yes they are covered under warranty if they burn out. People have installed HID kits on our cars, and the optics with the stock projector housings seem to be adequate with not much glare. The low beams are H7's, and Silverstars are a little brighter, but they burn out every 10 months or so.

[Brady]

Dude, he said he searched and he's still confused. Don't run him off when he's genuinely asking for help.

 

Depending on your miles, and if you have a half hour to spend at the dealership, you could very likely just have the bulbs replaced under warranty. Supposedly they've replaced the bad bulbs with something better.

 

As for Silverstars, many will tell you that the european "Osram" Silverstars are the good ones, and the american "Sylvania" Silverstars are of very questionable quality.

[LIZARD]

Welcome Ice:) I too have replaced my bulbs, not under a warranty tho, closest dealer is >1/2 hour away and wasting gas and time for a dealer to slap in some bulbs just doesn't do it for me. The whitestars do burn out pretty quickly but I think if you disable the DRLs(walkthroughs-performance mods I think) they will prob. last longer. Good luck.

[TSiWRX]

Not sure if Subaru of Canada honors the same warranties, but yes, US-members have been able to claim warranty on their frequently-burned-out bulbs.

 

This seems to be a variable-"unique vehicle" (i.e. yours, but not necessarily mine or another's) issue, but there have been inconclusive links to, of course, the DRLs.

 

In most cases, aftermarket incandescent bulbs will not "cure" this problem. Some have seen longer use-periods to-replacement, others, worse. Usually, most aftermarket bulbs that specifically shoot for either different color-temperatures or increased output will tend to burn out faster, regardless of the vehicle they're installed on.

 

With the Sylvania SilverStar bulbs, they are typically used by drivers who would like to change the color-temparature of their light output to a slightly "whiter" level than most average incandescent bulbs. Whether or not you will notice an improvement in your night-time vision due to this switch is totally dependent on YOUR OWN AND UNIQUE INDIVIDUAL BIOLOGY, and cannot be determined by any other person. Unfortunately, the SilverStars will not "throw more light" (i.e. "be brighter") in a true quantitative sense - only by altering your visual perception.

 

There have been widespread disparity in the durability/longevity of the Sylvania SilverStar bulbs. Although I've had two pairs of mine now having lasted for longer than 18 months, I've also had one burn-out in less than 8 months. There seems to be absolutely no telling if the ones that you get, specifically, will last any period of time.

 

As for HIDs ("H"igh "I"ntensity "D"ischarge lighting) - commonly referred to as "Xenons," a quick use of the search engine here will give you more than enough information. While these units, with current data, seemingly are a definitive and complete "cure" for routinely burned-out bulbs, in terms of absolute lighting performance, they are not a panacea for all night-time driving-vision issues. You'd do well to educate yourself fully on HID technology and *_BOTH_* their advantages and shortcomings before you attempt any upgrades in this area.

[icedragon]

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

I did read the other threads, but everyone that replies in those threads have good lighting knowledge and usually use short forms or words, which is why I found it confusing.

Thanks for the clarification and "lighting for dummies" info

[TSiWRX]

No "dummy" - just "beginner." We've all gotta start somewhere.

 

Try this website for some good basic info:

 

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/ - check the "Tech" sub-sections. Tons of great reading.

[Scooby Fan]

Hi icedragon What part of Canada are you in?

 

I have been playing around with bulbs and lights for years...never happy with the amount of light OEM lights give off I have just put "Osram" Sylavania bulbs in all my lights.....high/low/fog....they are great and give all the light that you could possibley need for anything but the most aggressive night "Haulin":icon_lol:

 

I am running an '06 LGT sedan and ran the exact same set-up on an '02 Impreza RS for 4 years.....no bulb problems on either one:icon_tong I also run with "Disabled DRLs and the wiring rearranged so that the fogs work independently with parking/high/low as you please:)

 

There is a very good "Walk through" in here on how to do the wiring mods......I think it was posted by deerkiller..... Search the "Walk throughs".......and good luck with the lights.

[OCDetails]

I put HIDs in my Legacy right after I got it. I didn't give the stock bulbs time to burn out. I'm very happy with them.

 

I put Silverstars in my wife's Accord. I got a good deal on them off ebay, so if they burn out in 10 months then it isn't really any big deal for me. They are a hell of a lot better than the stock halogens she had before. At night you had to check to make sure the lights were really on.

 

The stock bulbs for the Legacy really aren't that bad. Sure you can spend money and upgrade, but unless you are spending money to upgrade to HIDs, then you really aren't going to see a huge difference with new bulbs. I'd stick with what you have if you aren't going to go the HID route.

 

Before you ask, HIDs will run you between $300 and $600 depending on the brand. There is a lot of debate over which is better than others, but there are HID forums out there that have far more knowledge about it than you'll find on these forums.

[mechdiff]

Subaru of Canada does not replace our bulbs free of charge under warrantee.

 

Silverstars... they are decent, heard of a lot of burnout problems with them but I have not had any in my last vehicle. those were 2 years old, perhaps they made the first generation of them too good and had to make them more prone to failiure. Just look for the corresponding size. All lights are standardized so there is no specific number, just a specific shape and H7's are the lows for the Legacy.

 

HID's are doable, highly suggested by a lot of members here. I am going to do that this summer, light output is quite nice.

[Scooby Fan]

Having just done the Sylvania Osrams in my LGT I can tell you for a fact they are a LOT better than the OEM bulbs which are also Sylvanias, but not nearly as bright or focussed as the OSRAMS. I have a "TEST" area near home where I do all my light comparisons and these are excellent at approx. 1/10th the price of HIDs...that is unless you NEED the "Bling" appeal.

[Gire]

My Silverstars burned out after about 4 months (one did) and I switched back to OEM's. Plus I've tried less expensive Eurolites, in DOTfriendly super white with moderately happy results (not any better output than stock bulbs- just slightly whiter)

 

Silverstars have a modest improvement over stock, but they are not worth the 40 bucks Canadian for a pair, IMHO.

 

 

( I think TSI/WRX and I have chimed in on a ton of Silverstar / lighting threads. I can't remember how many comments I've regurgitated:lol: )

 

Edit- i'm saving up for some 4500 - 6K HID's, only because my old company wholesales them (same company who sells the Eurolites) and I can get a set with great warranty and proven track record for about 200 bucks, CAN$, which is a good price.

[OCDetails]

4600K HIDs are more than just BLING. 120000K HIDs are nothing but bling. Really anything above 6000K is nothing but bling. 4300K - 6000K are HIDs that put down real usable light and aren't some ricer toy. They wouldn't be better than halogen if they were just 'bling'.