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Old 04-17-2013, 10:52 AM   #2926
Calamity Jesus
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Originally Posted by Brahmzy View Post
Well aware of the manual leveler - I owned the car. That said - it's basically worthless. Are you going to manually reach down while you're driving over every single speed bump, deviation in the road? No. Manual adjusters are silly. You set them once to the *correct* height and forget about it.
I did an HID conversion on my 2004 WRX which worked great. Nice clean cutoff with the factory reflectors. I got my 2005 STi with factory reflector HIDs - guess what - same exact freaking beam pattern/cutoff. I remember actually being a little disappointed as the manual leveler was about the only difference. I even had the 4300K color matched almost exactly in the '04 WRX. Upon further inspection of the reflectors, I found them to be near identical.


Never said they didn't have it. Read closer.


DOT or not, I'm doing it and have done it with great success. I'm also not supposed to have catless downpipes on my Bimmer. Or my '05 LGT, or my '05 STi, or my '04 WRX.


Yes, wattage is the same (35w) - my point was, projectors are MUCH, MUCH brighter and focused than any reflector, so it's much more of an issue. I have had halogen reflector based headlights with a very sharp cutoff and have had wonderful success using aftermarket bulbs. My '07 Pathfinder had an amazingly crisp, sharp cutoff for a reflector setup. My '04 WRX was pretty good as well. I have friends with newer cars with reflectors that have done retrofits they have had good luck, except for a few where the reflector didn't have a clean cutoff.
Reflector headlights have gotten a LOT better since when HIDs first came out.


I disagree - they're actually great. Couple of things that you have to make sure of. I always 3M clear bra the plastic, which ensures crystal clear transparency for many, many years. You have to check the stock beam pattern of the halogen/reflector setup.
How all these ghetto aftermarket HIDs got a bad name is when Joe Blow with his 2003 Suburban with completely fogged up plastic headlights decides to throw in some HID bulbs and by doing so, basically created I gigantic blinding floodlight with no focus or direction or cutoff. Or Little Timmy in his 1998 Honda Civic sticks in the most purple HID bulbs he can find into his old fogged up headlights that never had any real beam 'pattern' or cutoff to speak of.
It all depends on the vehicle and what beam pattern/cutoff the stock reflector have. Some cars are no-brainers, some I would never go there.



So hacking up my stock reflectors, being out of commission for whatever time it takes and still not having any auto leveling is doing it right? Assuming projectors would indeed fit correctly? That goes against what you've been saying.
I'll be perfectly happy with just a bulb swap. I'm sure the '14's have a good beam pattern/cutoff. It will be fine and I and the other CO drivers will make it through this. We'll all continue to live happy and productive lives. And I'll have $2,250 more bucks in my checking account, or 5 car payments to some.
More money to buy a catless downpipe and AP from COBB.
I think I confused you with some of my points. You made a statement that not all OEM HIDs have levelers.. I was refuting that. I was not saying that you can't make a retrofit HID system work because of the lack of levelers.

Now, the manual levelers aren't useless.. the whole idea of the levelers is to adjust the lights for static load changes (not bumps, as you suggest). In other words, if you put 500lbs of equipment in the trunk of your car, the body will pitch upward and the headlights will throw the light into oncoming traffic. The manual leveler was not intended to be used while driving. Automatic levelers generally calibrate themselves to a level setting when they're first turned on and do not react to bumps in the road while driving.

The arc of an HID and the filament of a halogen bulb differ in size so the lens (which has the job of focusing the light) is shaped differently depending on the type of lighting being used. HID bulbs may be passable in some reflector housings, but they aren't ideal. This is why I suggested going with HID projectors.

Congrats on deciding to do the projector retrofit.
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Old 04-17-2013, 11:31 AM   #2927
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Calamity Jesus View Post
Congrats on deciding to do the projector retrofit.
I need 4.5" from the base of the stock reflector bowl to the back/inside of the clear headlight lens - I'm pretty sure I have that - looks to be about 6-7 inches of room.
What I'm a little worried about, but according to the helpful guys at TRS I shouldn't be, is they don't have a mounting plate for the H11 socket. I will have to align (twist) the projectors into perfect, horizontal alignment myself.
This means mounting the headlights back in the car with the front lenses off and aligning/twisting both of the projectors together until they form a perfect horizontal cutoff. And then, making sure I've got a solid enough mounting setup so they don't decide to twist themselves out of alignment, requiring me to remove bumper, re-crack open/heat for disassembly.
They ensured me it would not be an issue and Subarus are some of the friendliest vehicles to retrofit.

Also, the stock HID headlights have a dark grey coloring to the mirrored plastic vs. the blob of straight mirrored plastic on the non-HID headlights (another reason the HID enclosures look so much better in person.)
So, while I'm in there, I'll be spraying that and masking up some stuff. Should be an all-day ordeal, but I think well worth the effort in the end. I had to do all this on my '04 WRX & '05 LGT ('05 STi already had the grey plastic, but I removed the orange plastic piece.) So it's not hard, just takes time.
Wife was like "You're doing what to our brand new car?" lol

HID Reflector

Halogen Reflector
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Old 04-17-2013, 04:13 PM   #2928
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Old 04-17-2013, 05:48 PM   #2929
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Originally Posted by b4wantab View Post
Any more driving impressions? The few mag reviews seem to be generic.

Peace,

Greg
There aren't ANY full reviews yet, as far as I can tell.

Drove an XT Touring (no Eyesight) yesterday.

- improved interior
- quieter (but not luxury car quiet)
- lots of power and some cool turbo noises - I believe the low-mid 6 second 0-60mph estimate
- the CVT works great overall - simulated ratios in S/S# are nearly indistinguishable from a true automatic
- the stability control comes on if you even think about cornering hard
- handling is reasonably good but doesn't touch the CX-5 in my opinion
- Forester feels substantial, but also heavy
- the new H/K system sounds better than the older ones (like in the Legacy)
- backseats are huge
- I'm still not a huge fan of the front seats - there's just no thigh support

A lot of vehicle for ~$32,000
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Old 04-17-2013, 05:54 PM   #2930
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Originally Posted by Integra96 View Post
There aren't ANY full reviews yet, as far as I can tell.

Drove an XT Touring (no Eyesight) yesterday.

- improved interior
- quieter (but not luxury car quiet)
- lots of power and some cool turbo noises - I believe the low-mid 6 second 0-60mph estimate
- the CVT works great overall - simulated ratios in S/S# are nearly indistinguishable from a true automatic
- the stability control comes on if you even think about cornering hard
- handling is reasonably good but doesn't touch the CX-5 in my opinion
- Forester feels substantial, but also heavy
- the new H/K system sounds better than the older ones (like in the Legacy)
- backseats are huge
- I'm still not a huge fan of the front seats - there's just no thigh support

A lot of vehicle for ~$32,000

See. A few people on here had said that when they were comparing to the 13 Foresters. I was interested because I hadn't driven anything that handled as well as a Forester. To me. We got a CX-5 in on trade and I was rubbing my hands together in excitement. I thrashed that thing pretty good and I just don't see it. Very uncomfortable to me inside and, to me, didn't feel near as surefooted at a Forester. And that was comparing to the 13. This new 14 is even better. Maybe I'll have to try again now that I have driven a XT on a small auto cross course.
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Old 04-17-2013, 06:05 PM   #2931
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The CX-5 interior isn't as comfortable - I agree. The new Forester also does feel surefooted and has lots of grip. But the chassis doesn't feel athletic like the Mazda. Very subjective, of course, but I prefer the overall feel of the CX-5 - the steering, braking, turn in, everything is just more natural and car-like.
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Old 04-17-2013, 06:14 PM   #2932
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Though they are in similar classes, if not the same, the CX-5 and Forester share little in terms of their goals IMO. Take ground clearance alone. I think the the CX-5 is more streetable without trying to be any kind of off-roader at all. The Forester is a multi-role vehicle, in which a compromise must be made.
If I wanted a pure soccer mom SUV, it'd be a Bimmer, or a CX-5/9, Highlander type something. I wanted something I could get Western in if I had to / wanted to / will, but still have some kind of refinement and sound deadening for a comfortable daily driver on tarmac.
I don't the think CX-5 is pretending to be that capable offroad. It is also quite a bit smaller than the Forester, and thus, will handle like a smaller vehicle.
The suspension travel requirement alone on the Forester will change the handling from the CX-5.
Both have different purposes.

I think the XT has been tuned a little more for the street - stiffer suspension and 18's, but at it's core, it's still a Subaru.

Last edited by Brahmzy; 04-17-2013 at 06:35 PM.
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Old 04-17-2013, 06:29 PM   #2933
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No doubt the Forester is more versatile and capable off road. The CX-5 is much more of a typical crossover in that its intended use is 90% paved roads and the occasional light off road excursion.
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Old 04-17-2013, 08:44 PM   #2934
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No official SOA fording depth stat for the Forester, no care.

(I read speculation that it's only good to the lower edge of the door sills, rendering the promo photo shoot stream crossing technically impermissible.)
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Old 04-18-2013, 01:57 AM   #2935
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Originally Posted by Integra96 View Post
No doubt the Forester is more versatile and capable off road. The CX-5 is much more of a typical crossover in that its intended use is 90% paved roads and the occasional light BACK road excursion.

Fixed that for ya
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Old 04-18-2013, 02:43 AM   #2936
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Pretty sure crossovers are built to stay on tarmac but fulfill the typical American's idiotic desire for an SUV.
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Old 04-18-2013, 04:45 AM   #2937
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Originally Posted by rob1n1 View Post
Pretty sure crossovers are built to stay on tarmac but fulfill the typical American's idiotic desire for an SUV.
Pretty sure crossovers are built for many different reasons and purposes given the fact that not all crossovers are the same.

Edit: One thing I have yet to hear about from Subaru owners (I've heard plenty from other manufacturers) is how the power rear liftgate operates when there's a bunch of snow on top of your car like after a snowstorm or such. I'm curious as to how the motor works when lifting up the liftgate and how it fairs compacting the snow on the roof between the spoiler.

Last edited by A W; 04-18-2013 at 06:38 AM.
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Old 04-18-2013, 07:44 AM   #2938
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Pretty sure crossovers are built to stay on tarmac but fulfill the typical American's idiotic desire for an SUV.


Yes, I know there were "crossovers" before Subaru, but Subaru is pretty much credited with the "current" craze for them when they started building the Legacy Outback. And Subaru builds them TO go offroad. THAT, to me, is what separates Subaru from many SUVs.
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Old 04-18-2013, 08:14 AM   #2939
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Pretty sure crossovers are built to stay on tarmac but fulfill the typical American's idiotic desire for an SUV.
CUVs are basically tall wagons.. and I'm OK with that. The driving position is high, the sightlines are good, the economy is reasonable and the cargo utility is adequate for someone not in need of a real truck. They aren't nearly as roll-over prone as body-on-frame SUVs, they're much safer (for any given size category) and they're nicer to drive. I don't see why anyone would hate that.

CUVs are popular all over the world, BTW.. not just in the US.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JustyWRC View Post
And Subaru builds them TO go offroad. THAT, to me, is what separates Subaru from many SUVs.
An "off-road" course or roller ramps at a training are not "off-road". There aren't any Subarus that could make it over a log blocking an out-of-service logging road, they certainly aren't going 'off-road' like a trail-rated Jeep.
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Old 04-18-2013, 08:32 AM   #2940
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An "off-road" course or roller ramps at a training are not "off-road". There aren't any Subarus that could make it over a log blocking an out-of-service logging road, they certainly aren't going 'off-road' like a trail-rated Jeep.


Guess that depends on what you call "off road" then. And the definition of a "log" I have traversed several downed trees on some Arkansas mountain roads in my Baja which doesn't have the ground clearance of an Outback, Forester, or Crosstrek. I know what they can and cannot do on and "off" road. Remember, I have never owned anything but a Subaru. And I will never compare "off road" capabilities to a Wrangler/Grand Cherokee. The others I would since I don't consider them "Jeeps".
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Old 04-18-2013, 08:46 AM   #2941
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Guess that depends on what you call "off road" then. And the definition of a "log" I have traversed several downed trees on some Arkansas mountain roads in my Baja which doesn't have the ground clearance of an Outback, Forester, or Crosstrek. I know what they can and cannot do on and "off" road. Remember, I have never owned anything but a Subaru. And I will never compare "off road" capabilities to a Wrangler/Grand Cherokee. The others I would since I don't consider them "Jeeps".
hint.
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Old 04-18-2013, 08:50 AM   #2942
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Originally Posted by Calamity Jesus View Post
hint.


Ugh.

You know what I was talking about.

Let me rephrase.

Subaru is one of the most capable vehicles to take off the paved road to go explore.

Jeep is probably the ONLY car that is going to even attempt what you are talking about without severe modifications, which can be done to a Subaru.


And you should have seen this one "road" I was referring to. It was blocked off my a mound of dirt that I was able to get over and I felt like I was riding a camel all the way up. Wish I was as good as some of ya'll to find a proper clip of a camel rider to post.
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Old 04-18-2013, 08:54 AM   #2943
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Originally Posted by JustyWRC View Post
Let me rephrase.

Subaru is one of the most capable vehicles to take off the paved road to go explore.

Jeep is probably the ONLY car that is going to even attempt what you are talking about without severe modifications, which can be done to a Subaru.
Considering Subaru has only ever had one model with a front diff that even has an LSD.. and it is purely an on-road car.. I'm going to strongly disagree with your opinion.
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Old 04-18-2013, 08:55 AM   #2944
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OH OH OH. And let me just say this. Now that you have me reminiscing. A Jeep Grand Cherokee could NOT have made it up this "road" I was talking about. Too wide. I had some frustrating marks down the side of my Baja after that climb and decent.
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Old 04-18-2013, 08:56 AM   #2945
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Old 04-18-2013, 09:00 AM   #2946
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Originally Posted by Calamity Jesus View Post
Considering Subaru has only ever had one model with a front diff that even has an LSD.. and it is purely an on-road car.. I'm going to strongly disagree with your opinion.

Now. You get all tiffy when someone disagrees with your knowledge of driving when it comes to road racing a car. I ask you. How often have you attempted to take a Subaru off a paved road TO explore? I have done it here and in Japan going back to 1990. They are extremely capable cars. I'll reference Top Gear for just a BIT of that capability.
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Old 04-18-2013, 09:02 AM   #2947
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Considering Subaru has only ever had one model with a front diff that even has an LSD.. and it is purely an on-road car.. I'm going to strongly disagree with your opinion.



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Old 04-18-2013, 09:04 AM   #2948
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Or, better yet

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Old 04-18-2013, 09:13 AM   #2949
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LOL, the FXT is technically the wife's new baby rig, but we're KEEPING the JEEP it was supposed to replace. That old ass JEEP has proven her worth time and time again OFF ROAD, and no this new FXT would not be expected to do some of the things we've done in that thing. It would break.
We were going to buy a new 4 door something Jeep to replace it, but just couldn't get over the mpgs over the next 10 years, no turbo, and didn't wanna fork $50K for the diesel Grand.
Would've entertained the new Cherokee until we saw the pics.
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Old 04-18-2013, 09:15 AM   #2950
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LOL, the FXT is technically the wife's new baby rig, but we're KEEPING the JEEP it was supposed to replace. That old ass JEEP has proven her worth time and time again OFF ROAD, and no this new FXT would not be expected to do some of the things we've done in that thing. It would break.
We were going to buy a new 4 door something Jeep to replace it, but just couldn't get over the mpgs over the next 10 years, no turbo, and didn't wanna fork $50K for the diesel Grand.
Would've entertained the new Cherokee until we saw the pics.

I actually like that a lot!! VERY departed from what they have done styling wise.
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