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Old 05-23-2010, 06:21 PM   #1
Zell
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Default 2008 Impreza - Xenon Headlights

Our family recently acquired a 2008 Impreza 2.5i. So far, it's awesome and is very enjoyable to drive. Since it does have projector lenses, I was wondering if it was possible to put some xenon bulbs in there to help increase visibility.

Are there ones directly made by Subaru or some good xenon bulbs that will fit in there and work just fine? I'm looking for xenon bulbs that are actual xenon bulbs: bright (but not too bright), aren't that fake blue color, and are on the same intensity and spread as, say, an Infiniti G37's xenons or a VW Golf's xenons.
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Old 05-23-2010, 07:51 PM   #2
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No, no you can't. Unless you take the headlight assembly off of an STi and retrofit it into your car, you won't have the proper cut off and lighting that a good HID set will give you. Don't buy into that ebay crap, and it doesn't matter that your headlights are projectors, they simply were not engineered to use HID bulbs.

If you want more light, get better halogen lights.
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Old 05-23-2010, 10:05 PM   #3
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Ugh, I know I am going to get bitched out, but I have a HID setup in my 08 WRX. The pattern works out perfectly fine and looks much better than the stock halogens. The projectors in your 2.5i are halogen projectors and not HID projectors so getting a new headlight fixture would help out. BUT, IMO, HID's are fine for your stock car.
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Old 05-23-2010, 11:59 PM   #4
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Ugh, I know I am going to get bitched out, but I have a HID setup in my 08 WRX. The pattern works out perfectly fine and looks much better than the stock halogens. The projectors in your 2.5i are halogen projectors and not HID projectors so getting a new headlight fixture would help out. BUT, IMO, HID's are fine for your stock car.
You're right, you shouldn't have said anything. Your beam pattern does not work out perfectly fine, hate to break it to you. You are glaring the piss out of other drivers.

To the OP...you will get better results from upgraded HALOGEN bulbs which are designed for your headlights. Search the electrical forum for some nice options and also check out Daniel Stern's automotive lighting site when you get a chance.
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Old 05-24-2010, 01:15 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by steverx05 View Post
You're right, you shouldn't have said anything. Your beam pattern does not work out perfectly fine, hate to break it to you. You are glaring the piss out of other drivers.

To the OP...you will get better results from upgraded HALOGEN bulbs which are designed for your headlights. Search the electrical forum for some nice options and also check out Daniel Stern's automotive lighting site when you get a chance.
I have let my friends drive my car at night so I can see how they look, and no, it does not have an irregular beam pattern at all. Works completly fine...............even though they are made for Halogens. If you had the WRX with the HID's you would notice the same...............
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Old 05-24-2010, 01:21 AM   #6
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I have let my friends drive my car at night so I can see how they look, and no, it does not have an irregular beam pattern at all. Works completly fine...............even though they are made for Halogens. If you had the WRX with the HID's you would notice the same...............
stop posting.

they DO have an irregular beam patter, they DO have rediculous glare, and they are illegal in most states.
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Old 05-24-2010, 01:43 AM   #7
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stop posting.

they DO have an irregular beam patter, they DO have rediculous glare, and they are illegal in most states.
The difference in putting HID bulbs in a Halogen reflector and in a Halogen projector are worlds apart. The projectors aren't that bad, your acting like the high beams are on 24/7.
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Old 05-24-2010, 01:46 AM   #8
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The difference in putting HID bulbs in a Halogen reflector and in a Halogen projector are worlds apart. The projectors aren't that bad, your acting like the high beams are on 24/7.
Just because a car has projectors it doesn't mean that they work well with HIDs.
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Old 05-24-2010, 09:40 AM   #9
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Unless you have seen an 08+ with HIDs you should keep your mouth shut because they dont throw off glare to oncoming traffic.. Oh I forgot you guys are "gurus" and "specialists" so you know everything.
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Old 05-24-2010, 10:09 AM   #10
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Unless you have seen an 08+ with HIDs you should keep your mouth shut because they dont throw off glare to oncoming traffic.. Oh I forgot you guys are "gurus" and "specialists" so you know everything.
They DO throw off a lot of glare. I've seen plenty of 06 and up WRX's with ricer kits and they ALL GLARE. Stop spreading mis-information.
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Old 05-24-2010, 10:11 AM   #11
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They DO throw off a lot of glare. I've seen plenty of 06 and up WRX's with ricer kits and they ALL GLARE. Stop spreading mis-information.
Youre a fool....But most of you are
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Old 05-24-2010, 10:18 AM   #12
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Bah, oh well Yeah, I'm not interested in changing out the headlamps and projector assembly for it. I don't think the 'rents would be too happy if part of the warranty got voided or something.

I'll check into some brighter halogens for it, if they exist. The brights on this car are amazing, but it seems like the regular headlights are sort of dim.

Though, would STI headlamps fit the same in a non-STI Impreza? It may be something to look into if it's relatively simple and not too expensive.
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Old 05-24-2010, 10:21 AM   #13
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Youre a fool....But most of you are
I'm a fool, huh? That's a pretty bold statement without anything to back it up. Got some kind of proof that you can get a ricer kit to work in halogen projectors? I didn't think so.
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Old 05-24-2010, 10:54 AM   #14
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I have the ddm kit and it works beautifully in the hallogen projectors.
It does not effect oncoming traffic. What is my proof you ask..I tested it out myself by having the car driven past me and guess what steve...NO GLARE!
So once again...keep your mouth shut.
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Old 05-24-2010, 10:58 AM   #15
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I agree. An HID kit in a 2008 to 2010 Impreza is a good upgrade.
Get a 35 watt 4300K H11 kit. They are plug and play.






Quote:
Originally Posted by whitey615 View Post
Unless you have seen an 08+ with HIDs you should keep your mouth shut because they dont throw off glare to oncoming traffic.. Oh I forgot you guys are "gurus" and "specialists" so you know everything.
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Old 05-24-2010, 11:02 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whitey615 View Post
Unless you have seen an 08+ with HIDs you should keep your mouth shut because they dont throw off glare to oncoming traffic.. Oh I forgot you guys are "gurus" and "specialists" so you know everything.
having seen on it does throw off glare. but i will give you a chance. can you post a pic of your headlight output on a wall at 20 or so feet? this wil tell us all.
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Old 05-24-2010, 11:57 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by whitey615 View Post
I have the ddm kit and it works beautifully in the hallogen projectors.
It does not effect oncoming traffic. What is my proof you ask..I tested it out myself by having the car driven past me and guess what steve...NO GLARE!
So once again...keep your mouth shut.
Your cheap ricer kit doesn't work "beautifully", sorry to burst your little bubble of ignorance. Your headlights are not an exception to the laws of physics you moron. Get over yourself.

Post a picture of your cutoff against a flat, solid wall if you're so confident in your results. I'll outline the glare in your cutoff since you have no idea what you're talking about. Otherwise, you can shut your own mouth since you're clueless on the whole subject.
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Old 05-24-2010, 11:58 AM   #18
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I agree. An HID kit in a 2008 to 2010 Impreza is a good upgrade.
Get a 35 watt 4300K H11 kit. They are plug and play.


It's NOT a good upgrade. Your posts are absolutely useless.
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Old 05-24-2010, 12:24 PM   #19
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^ I dont sense any hostility in those two posts
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Old 05-24-2010, 12:38 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Database View Post
Ugh, I know I am going to get bitched out, but I have a HID setup in my 08 WRX. The pattern works out perfectly fine and looks much better than the stock halogens. The projectors in your 2.5i are halogen projectors and not HID projectors so getting a new headlight fixture would help out. BUT, IMO, HID's are fine for your stock car.
Quote:
Originally Posted by whitey615 View Post
Unless you have seen an 08+ with HIDs you should keep your mouth shut because they dont throw off glare to oncoming traffic.. Oh I forgot you guys are "gurus" and "specialists" so you know everything.
I actually just installed a DDM kit 2 or 3 weeks ago in my 08. I bought these fully prepared to replace with halogens if the result was not acceptable to me and even bought the replacement light housings in case I needed to swap back immediately. So far, I haven't had any issues with them. I spent a lot of time watching my light pattern over the first two weeks and it seemed completely in check at a variety of distances.

I'm not saying my car doesn't have some additional glare because it wasn't designed specifically for my lights. But from seeing my pattern and all of my experience so far, I don't see my car being any more danger to blind someone as the next car, truck, suv or semi. Maybe time will change my decision to keep these, we'll see. If I come across some projectors at the right time I'll probably pick them up and do it right, but I see no problem with my current results.

Steve you should chill out. Your "authentic" HID's are way cooler than mine still.

Last edited by Debevemos; 05-24-2010 at 12:44 PM.
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Old 05-24-2010, 12:51 PM   #21
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The Database, whitey615 and I and now Debevemos are the only owners that have made the upgrade.
We know where our light pattern is dispersed. We say we're not blinding oncoming
traffic. I've had the kit for 13 months and nobody has flashed me.
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Old 05-24-2010, 12:52 PM   #22
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I actually just installed a DDM kit 2 or 3 weeks ago in my 08. I bought these fully prepared to replace with halogens if the result was not acceptable to me and even bought the replacement light housings in case I needed to swap back immediately. So far, I haven't had any issues with them. I spent a lot of time watching my light pattern over the first two weeks and it seemed completely in check at a variety of distances.

I'm not saying my car doesn't have some additional glare because it wasn't designed specifically for my lights. But from seeing my pattern and all of my experience so far, I don't see my car being any more danger to blind someone as the next car, truck, suv or semi. Maybe time will change my decision to keep these, we'll see. If I come across some projectors at the right time I'll probably pick them up and do it right, but I see no problem with my current results.

Steve you should chill out. Your "authentic" HID's are way cooler than mine still.
I'm fine...but when someone calls me a "fool" for no reason, it get's a little annoying. ESPECIALLY when it's someone posting mis-information about HID kits. The bottom line is that your projectors are not designed to work with HID bulbs. Sure, you throw a kit in there and it projects 3 times the amount of light in front of your car and you think that it works fine. But in reality, you're scattering A LOT of light above your cutoff because halogen projectors are designed to give off some glare when used with halogen bulbs. And you are also narrowing your beam pattern, making driving at night MORE dangerous. The optics just don't work. Yes, the results are slightly better than HID in halogen reflectors, but that difference is small.
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Old 05-24-2010, 01:02 PM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steverx05 View Post
I'm fine...but when someone calls me a "fool" for no reason, it get's a little annoying. ESPECIALLY when it's someone posting mis-information about HID kits. The bottom line is that your projectors are not designed to work with HID bulbs. Sure, you throw a kit in there and it projects 3 times the amount of light in front of your car and you think that it works fine. But in reality, you're scattering A LOT of light above your cutoff because halogen projectors are designed to give off some glare when used with halogen bulbs. And you are also narrowing your beam pattern, making driving at night MORE dangerous. The optics just don't work. Yes, the results are slightly better than HID in halogen reflectors, but that difference is small.
We are not narrowing the beam, and the vertical cutoff remains the same.
There is no need to align the lights after the insallation.
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Old 05-24-2010, 01:07 PM   #24
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We are not narrowing the beam, and the vertical cutoff remains the same.
There is no need to align the lights after the insallation.
Wrong again. Halogen projectors cannot focus HID light properly and you lose an even spread in your beam pattern. Your cutoff remains the same because the physical cutoff inside the projector is not modified, however, light scatter and glare is increased dramatically because, once again, the light cannot be focused correctly. Your posts remain useless, please stop spreading false information.
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Old 05-24-2010, 01:10 PM   #25
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I said, "We are not narrowing the beam".
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