Daft Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 Hey guys. I'm new here and I've been reading around the site to get an idea of what the car offers and what I can change. I drive a 1998 Audi A4 right now and I'm looking at a 2005 Legacy GT Limited with a few options on it. My questions are: Those who has retrofitted an HID kit onto the car, can you post pics of the location where you mounted the ballasts? Where did you drill to run the ballast wires into the housings? What kind of beam pattern does the Legacy GT projectors make? How much depth is behind the projector for an ignitor for a regular D2S bulb? Are the projectors aimed too high by default for HID and require downward tilting to prevent blinding others? Those who are looking to get an upgraded ECU flash from Vishnu or Cobb Tuning, have you looked into buying a spare ECU? Are there many different ECU part numbers for just the 2005 car? With reflashing the ECU to stock programming, how common are failed flashes? I'd imagine this renders the ECU useless. With regard to the Homelink mirror, does the whole Homelink assembly live inside the mirror body or does part of it go into the bumper or exterior of the car? Is the car pre-wired for the subwoofer even if you don't get the sub from the dealer at purchase? Are there shop manuals on CD for this car yet and what kind of pricing would one expect to pay for it/them. Currently there are 5 Subies in my family and all of them are either Forester or Legacy models. I have nothing against Subaru but, I really like the Audi brand. I just want to see what I can expect from this car if I want to make any changes to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 put in a search the threads for HID. someone had really nice pics. not sure about your other questions, but you'll love the legacy gt over the audi. it has similar qualities inside and out. The power can not even compare to the 1.8t. the gt will blow a stock 1.8t's doors off. and i wouldn't worry too much about quality. subaru did a good job this time and has been rated a consumer reports best by...something I don't think audi has gotten for some time now. i've had a porsche and an acura and I like my gt limited better than either of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daft Posted February 9, 2005 Author Share Posted February 9, 2005 put in a search the threads for HID. someone had really nice pics. not sure about your other questions, but you'll love the legacy gt over the audi. it has similar qualities inside and out. The power can not even compare to the 1.8t. the gt will blow a stock 1.8t's doors off. and i wouldn't worry too much about quality. subaru did a good job this time and has been rated a consumer reports best by...something I don't think audi has gotten for some time now. i've had a porsche and an acura and I like my gt limited better than either of them. I have searched quite a bit on the HID topic but, there's no install pics or pictures of the hardware used. I know Subarus have become better over the years (My wife has had 3 in the last four years) but, there's alot of things that Audi does that are small things but, mean alot over the years. For instance, they coat all the bolts with an anti-corrosive paint to prevent rust or put covers over electronics and noisy parts under the hood. Things like that. Not knocking Subaru but, they'll have to do alot more to raise to the German level in terms of engineering. Nonetheless, of all the Subaru's I've seen released since 1990, this Legacy GT is finally a step in the right direction. A step that I might want to take myself. I wish I had piles of money laying around but, since I don't the Legacy GT looks like my best dollar-to-performance and dollar-to-features vehicle. I have a small boy and another baby coming soon, so I can't get an STi or Evo. My target car is a performance luxury sedan under $30K. So far I have yet to find many that contain most of the specs of the Audi S4 but, don't cost as much. Hopefully, I can obtain a spare ECU and find enough space in the headlight area to mount some Audi RS6 ballasts. If this can be done, I'll be pretty happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc0032 Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 With regard to the Homelink mirror, does the whole Homelink assembly live inside the mirror body or does part of it go into the bumper or exterior of the car? no its just a plug and play. http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8232 Is the car pre-wired for the subwoofer even if you don't get the sub from the dealer at purchase? No you will need to run the wire. the delar can do this for you but they will charge you. Its not that hard to do yourself. Someone did a write up if you search. Are there shop manuals on CD for this car yet and what kind of pricing would one expect to pay for it/them. Yes - PM me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Not to demean 'German enginerring', but it seems Audi could use some itself after hearing some of the service horror stories from previous owners on this board. I am an Audi fan - I almost went with a 2002 S4, but bought the LGT after reading up about the problems Audi has had and their unwillingness to stannd behind their cars. I wish Audi was more BMW or MB than VW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeyjojoe Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 i won't tolerate any vw bashing! they're good cars, build quality is the only real issue ... and that is because they're built in mexico. if you get one built in germany, they're great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwiener2 Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 The projectors on the leggy are almost identical to the beam pattern of an Audi without HID. So I would assume they are just as good with HID as an Audi with HID. My Mods List (Updated 8/22/17) 2005 Outback FMT Running on Electrons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustinw Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 i won't tolerate any vw bashing! they're good cars, build quality is the only real issue ... and that is because they're built in mexico. if you get one built in germany, they're great. Isn't build quality important? I think so. My GF's Beetle has so many "issues" it's not funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJC Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 Yeah, I have to chime in here-My LGT Ldt Wagon is on order instead of the Audi (though I openly gloat at the S4 Avant and wish it were a more prudent option), specifically because of the build quality issues with the Audi, something that I have personally witnessed from owning a German-built 02 VW Jetta VR6 Wagon (and perhaps most significantly something that I'm closely familiar with given my significant other works at the local Audi dealership). The Jetta is a heck of a car--fantastic engine, great tranny, german-racecar-like handling, but the darned thing has had a host of electrical and interior-component problems. Not big stuff, and thankfully all have been taken care of under warranty, but very annoying, very frustrating, and very time-consuming fixes that frankly played a major part in turning away from buying the Audi, notwithstanding the inside track I could have taken to get one. My .02. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallispec Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 i won't tolerate any vw bashing! they're good cars, build quality is the only real issue ... and that is because they're built in mexico. if you get one built in germany, they're great. Honestly - the build quality wouldnt bother me as much as the horrible customer service at the dealerships and service departments. In the 3 VW's my family has owned over the past 10 years, they've all been to the shop numerous times and i can't think of one time where i've been able to say anyuckthing good about my experience with them. (luckily they've been my mom's cars so i dont have to deal with it myself -- i'd shoot the service dept.... that is it if i hadnt shot myself for driving a VW in the first place already) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeyjojoe Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 i still think german engineering is miles ahead. i agree that build quality and reliability are important, but i contend that vw is getting better since 93 (prior to 93 they were a total mess). just remember, the japs had crap quality in the mid to late 80s, but they improved and are now the reliability leaders (by a longshot, in my mind). personally, i have always been treated well at the dealership and by vwofamerica. that may have something to do with the fact that my family has owned vws since 1983 (all from the same dealer). i can understand frustration if you weren't treated well. i'm just saying, i think vws drive and feel better than half the cars on the market. i don't understand it, but my jetta had better acceleration with half the hp than most 200+ cars on the market. handling was great too. oh well, ignore me, i'm a rambling fanatic for vw/aston martin/ferrari/land rover/honda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 Hopefully, I can obtain a spare ECU and find enough space in the headlight area to mount some Audi RS6 ballasts. If this can be done, I'll be pretty happy. Just FYI - In all new Subarus, each vehicle's computers (the LGT has three) are electronically indexed/matched to the other computers in the vehicle, so obtaining a spare ECU won't do you much good unless you're willing to take it to the Subaru dealership to have it rematched to the LGT's other three. It's not just a remapping that has to take place, all three computers have to be pulled and electronically rematched. This from my regional master tech who is having to do this for an STI that got broken into had a bunch of stuff stolen, including the ECU. Bottom line, the vehicle won't start or operate without a lot of work, after your change out the ECU. SBT - Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustinw Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 i'm just saying, i think vws drive and feel better than half the cars on the market. i don't understand it, but my jetta had better acceleration with half the hp than most 200+ cars on the market. handling was great too. I've also noticed that VW's do have good acceleration for thier HP numbers. Then I figured out that they seemed to be geared lower than most other cars. So running along the freeway they are quite noisy due to the elevated engine RPM. I kept trying to find another gear on my GF's New Beetle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fancub Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 I own an '02 Jetta VR6 wagon and an '05 LGT, both manuals. The Jetta is by no means comparable to the Subie in terms of handling and has been a nightmare with numerous quality issues. VW Bashing? Do a quick Google search and look at the number of hits you get on poor VW quality. It's unbelievable! If VW doesn't clean up big time with the upcoming 2006 model line-up and retain their young buyer demographic, then they may well go the way Peugot did in the 80's in North America? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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