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Old 04-26-2005, 02:57 AM   #1
MrElussive
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Default How's stock 04-05 WRX lighting? Upgrade?

How is the stock 04-05 WRX lighting with headlights and foglights running, at night? How is the beam pattern, brightness, and overall illumination? 02-03 WRX headlights look like they produce awful lighting at night, but the 04-05's look much beter. Is it really worth upgrading to a HID Kit, instead of just maybe upgrading the stock WRX healight and foglight bulbs to Euro-spec Osram Silverstars? I did do a search before posting. Thanks in advance.
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Old 04-26-2005, 03:30 AM   #2
armand1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MrElussive
... Is it really worth upgrading to a HID Kit, instead of just maybe upgrading the stock WRX healight and foglight bulbs to Euro-spec Osram Silverstars? ...
HIDs are a big improvement over normal, but because the headlight assembly & bulb have to be designed to work with each other, and reliability issues on non-major-brand HID components and those "modified" to somehow fit together, I would only go with a HID headlight assembly designed by a major manufacturer for LHD (drive-on-the-right-side) Imprezas. That pretty much leaves you with the STi HIDs.
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Old 04-26-2005, 03:01 PM   #3
MrElussive
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I'd rather not go the HID route. How are the 04-05 WRX headlights and foglights at night???
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Old 04-27-2005, 08:56 AM   #4
taylor04
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MrElussive
I'd rather not go the HID route. How are the 04-05 WRX headlights and foglights at night???
They really are not that bad, I've been in some cars w/ atrocious lighting. The foglights are a little weak, but look how small they are! I've done some research as well and I will be purchasing some Osram Silverstars too.
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Old 04-27-2005, 10:33 AM   #5
kingmissil
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I got rid of the stock lights and got the HID's. Now I'm really not sure how I was driving around without them. The fog lights on that car are a joke. The headlights are not the best either.
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Old 04-27-2005, 01:06 PM   #6
ATX25RS
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well i had a GC8 beofre my 04....the lighting on that was amazing by comparison. i dont know how subaru got away with the lighting on the 02/03 models....there are time i would ride around with friends and swear they didnt have their lights on.....it is a verw broad weak spread. the 04 is not the best, but more than adaquate. granted i have added some lights for "just case" i am running with hella yellowstars in the headlights, and really like the output.
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Old 04-28-2005, 12:13 AM   #7
scoobdude
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HIDs are really nice. the 04 has a much better light output as compared to the 02 03. the 04 tetro HID kit will give you some hot spots, but wow, i hate riding in my wife's car at night now

Joe
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Old 04-28-2005, 01:37 PM   #8
MrElussive
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Cool, thanks for the responses everyone.
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Old 04-28-2005, 01:39 PM   #9
DieselClown
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yup, coming from my STi HID equipped 05, whenever I drive in a car w/o HID's I recheck to see if the headlights are even on. It's a big difference overall!
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Old 04-28-2005, 03:00 PM   #10
RodimusPrime
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I think the lights on my 05 are pretty good...coming from what I had before. But I have never had a car with HID.

I just did install the fog light kit, and it's not _that_ impressive. It does give a little extra, but the low beams really arn't that bad. High beams really light up the road. Are you in a rural area or the city?
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Old 04-28-2005, 04:18 PM   #11
Yotsuya
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The headlights on my 05 WRX are not as well designed as the ones on my 00 RS. The beam is perfectly flat, without the slope found in my old RS lights or in European standard lights. I'm not a fan of HIDs so for the moment I'm hoping the Euro comes down enough to get a set of stock headlights from the continent.

Stock fog lights are not like even the basic hella 500s; I had those on my RS, and almost never used them. They make way too much light in the foreground to use at anything over 40 mph.
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