Hey guys, I have a question. I did a search and I really thought I could find more on the subject, but maybe I need to search harder. I searched under "sti bulb" and "bulb replacement" but couldn't find too many relative threads. So what are the options for the STi bulb replacements? I read that the stock STi bulb is at 4300k but I was wondering what bulbs will give it a blue-er look. I know the more blue it gets..the less light is projected. So what bulbs are out there that can replace the stock STi HIDs that maybe be brighter and also looks better. The stock sti lights looks just alright.



Another side question, why does the light look more blue once I turn it on and after a while it looks halogen-ish?

The OEM bulbs are the brightest you're going to get. 4300K is the optimum color temperature for usable light output, anything higher will contain more blue light and produce more glare with less usable light. So there really isn't much point in changing the bulbs. If you're going after the look of other OEM HIDs which may appear more blue in color, such as the BMW or Audi, this is misguided as they are actually the same 4300K as your STi. The reason they look blue is that they are projectors, and when viewed off-axis the refraction in the projector optics makes the light appear blue. When seen from straight on they are white. The reflector housings in the STi do not exhibit this effect and using higher temp bulbs to create it is not a good idea.
As for your second question, due to the nature of how HID bulbs produce light they require some time to stabilize when first turned on. There is a gas inside the bulb to which a high voltage is applied to make it produce light, and the process takes a minute or so before the bulb will generate the proper color of light.

Hey thanks Mulder for quick reply! Yeah I kind of wanted to have the bmw/audi look because the blue looks pretty nice, but I guess I can't acheive that without taking away the light output.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=835811

get a blue film for the headlight, that's wat i did, it turns out "blue" and still bright enough for me.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=835811

get a blue film for the headlight, that's wat i did, it turns out "blue" and still bright enough for me.
Does that affect the actual light output (I'm assuming it does)? Also, is it noticeably bluer?

www.hot-subaru.com sells the blue film. They actually have a thread in the Vendor's Classified section that has pictures. You may want to check that out.

Bump to the top, ok so I think I will sacrifice light output for some nice looking blue light. I hear that 6000k is a good temperature for HID blubs, still enough light output and looks blue. Does philip make a good 6000k bulb, and what bulbs do the STi HID use? Is it D2S or D2R, which one is for our reflector type headlights? I'm thinking about putting some fogs in later so light output will not be a problem. I'm thikning of the Ultinon 6000k . Are there other quality bulbs like this one? And man these things aren't cheap, about 135 each, any cheaper solution?

The 04-05 STi uses D2R bulbs in the reflector headlights. You should be able to find them on Ebay for a reasonable price if you search around. Just avoid any no-name bulbs.