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Old 10-12-2012, 09:25 AM   #51
ST Eye
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Originally Posted by sgoldste01 View Post
Yes, but the hazing and scratches buff out easily, and plastic lenses are less likely to get broken by a flung rock.

The fog light lenses are glass, which is one reason I put Lamin-X on them (plus I just plain like the look of the yellow).
The foglight lenses are plastic IIRC.
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Old 10-12-2012, 09:36 AM   #52
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The foglight lenses are plastic IIRC.
Really? They didn't feel like plastic when I was applying the Lamin-X, but I could be wrong about that.
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Old 10-12-2012, 10:04 AM   #53
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Originally Posted by sgoldste01 View Post
I have Lamin-X yellow overlays, and I like them. Not only does the Lamin-X protect the lenses, but it looks nice even when the fog lights are off.



I usually drive with my fog lights on. I use them more to help other people see me, rather than because I expect them to help me see.

I wish I could turn on the fogs without turning on the head lights. I've seen a thread on this forum describing the wiring hack that would make it possible. But I haven't been adventurous enough to do it yet, although after replacing my factory head unit, I'm sure I'm qualified.
Where did you get the over lays? Where they hard to install?
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Old 10-12-2012, 10:10 AM   #54
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Where did you get the over lays? Where they hard to install?
http://www.lamin-x.com/One-Universal...ver-p/1-48.htm

As stated in one of my previous posts in this thread (#50), they were easy to install when done on a hot day. Much more difficult to install well on a cooler day. And that's for a simple shape like a round fog light. I wouldn't even try a complex shape like our headlight covers unless it was a hot day.

I wouldn't try doing this without first removing the black plastic trim surrounding the fog light lens.
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Old 10-12-2012, 10:22 AM   #55
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Use a blow dryer to heat up the material. I installed mine in winter with no issues.
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Old 10-12-2012, 11:31 AM   #56
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Originally Posted by sgoldste01

Let us know what product you use, and how well it turns out. I think the contour of our lenses would be difficult to do well.

From my experience with the fog lights, my strong recommendation is to do this job when everything is warm (the outdoor temperature, the light's lens, and the laminate itself). I applied laminate onto my TDI's fog lights when it was cool outside (temps in the 40s), and really struggled to do a barely adequate job. It was a hot day when I did my Impreza's fog lights, and they came out perfectly with no struggles.

With a complex shape like our headlights, I wouldn't even think of trying it unless it was a warm day. I know they say a hair dryer helps. I'm sure that's true, but it would still be a struggle. Save this job for summer time.
I have a good propane heater for the garage so i plan to do it soon, but need to order it first
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Old 10-12-2012, 11:37 AM   #57
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I have a good propane heater for the garage so i plan to do it soon, but need to order it first
Let us know how it goes.

Just an FYI, the Lamin-X web site gives the headlight cover installation a difficulty rating of 4 out of 5 stars (meaning it's a hard task to do well). Fog light lenses get 1 out of 5 stars for difficulty. So make sure your propane heater gets everything toasty in your garage (the air, the car, the laminate material, everything) or you'll be screwed.
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Old 10-12-2012, 11:44 AM   #58
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sgoldste01

Let us know how it goes.

Just an FYI, the Lamin-X web site gives the headlight cover installation a difficulty rating of 4 out of 5 stars (meaning it's a hard task to do well). Fog light lenses get 1 out of 5 stars for difficulty. So make sure your propane heater gets everything toasty in your garage (the air, the car, the laminate material, everything) or you'll be screwed.
Yup. Going to be a get 1 side tacked down and then stretch process i think.
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Old 10-12-2012, 01:16 PM   #59
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where do you adjust the aim? do you need to pull the trim covers to reveal some aiming screws?
Remove the covers, and you will find a small plastic knob. It's essentially a screw that moves the light assembly up or down. If you have small hands, you can also remove the fog lights without raising the front. They are held in place with 3 tabs and 1 screw. Reach inside using a small ratchet with a 10mm socket to loosen the screw, and let your fingers do the rest. The light assembly will just pop off.
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Old 10-12-2012, 08:13 PM   #60
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I bought a sheet of amber overlay material off of ebay for like 5 bucks. I have enough material to do 5 more cars. It's good because you can screw up and there is plenty of material left.
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Old 10-12-2012, 08:56 PM   #61
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Remove the covers, and you will find a small plastic knob. It's essentially a screw that moves the light assembly up or down. If you have small hands, you can also remove the fog lights without raising the front. They are held in place with 3 tabs and 1 screw. Reach inside using a small ratchet with a 10mm socket to loosen the screw, and let your fingers do the rest. The light assembly will just pop off.
Ok, the fog lights only really suck when they are pointed at the ground 2 ft in front of the car, which is how mine came from japan.

To adjust the aim you need to remove the two snap clips on the black plastic bottom cover of the car (under the fog lights, behind the bumper).

Removing the cosmetic fog light covers is completely unnecessary, you cannot reach the adjuster that way.

There is a screw adjuster (phillips) located on the center back and bottom of the lights that allows you to raise or lower the aim of the fog lights.

I was able to bring their aim up, and lo and behold, they don't suck nearly as much. They are not as bright as the headlights, but they do provide useable light when they are not aimed at the ground.

If your fog lights suck, and you can't figure out what the people here raving about them are talking about, your lights are probably aimed at the ground 2 ft in front of your car, like mine were. Aim them higher and you will not think they suck as much.

Note, none of this info is in the owners manual, which it should be. I would have adjusted them much earlier.

Last edited by Zeeper; 10-12-2012 at 09:06 PM.
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Old 10-12-2012, 09:49 PM   #62
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Originally Posted by Zeeper

Ok, the fog lights only really suck when they are pointed at the ground 2 ft in front of the car, which is how mine came from japan.

To adjust the aim you need to remove the two snap clips on the black plastic bottom cover of the car (under the fog lights, behind the bumper).

Removing the cosmetic fog light covers is completely unnecessary, you cannot reach the adjuster that way.

There is a screw adjuster (phillips) located on the center back and bottom of the lights that allows you to raise or lower the aim of the fog lights.

I was able to bring their aim up, and lo and behold, they don't suck nearly as much. They are not as bright as the headlights, but they do provide useable light when they are not aimed at the ground.

If your fog lights suck, and you can't figure out what the people here raving about them are talking about, your lights are probably aimed at the ground 2 ft in front of your car, like mine were. Aim them higher and you will not think they suck as much.

Note, none of this info is in the owners manual, which it should be. I would have adjusted them much earlier.
Thanks.

Where is be edge of the beam now, mine is probably 10ft in front of the car
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Old 10-12-2012, 11:55 PM   #63
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Removing the cosmetic fog light covers is completely unnecessary, you cannot reach the adjuster that way.
This is to follow up on my earlier post with pictures. Remove the fog light covers. Look for the adjustment knob, and fix the aim to your heart's content. Finger power is all that's required. Going under the bumper only adds complexity to what is otherwise a very simple process.

Click on the following thumbs to get a better idea.




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Old 10-13-2012, 07:40 AM   #64
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This is to follow up on my earlier post with pictures. Remove the fog light covers. Look for the adjustment knob, and fix the aim to your heart's content. Finger power is all that's required. Going under the bumper only adds complexity to what is otherwise a very simple process.

Click on the following thumbs to get a better idea.




On my car they must have mounted the fog lights incorrectly, because the finger adjuster you are referring to is on the BOTTOM of my fog lights, not the top like show in your picture, and unless you have the hands and dexterity of a child you will never reach it by pulling the trim cover. There is a phillips head cutout buried in the adjuster, so who knows if they are meant to be mounted on top or bottom?

So if you remove your trim covers and see the opposite of his pictures, follow my procedure. If you pull the trim covers and the adjuster is located on top as he has shown, follow his procedure.

I guess if you mount the fog lights backwards the adjusters will be upside down? Nice attention to detail, Subaru assembly techs...

Let's call it a good reason half of us think they suck, maybe the factory adjustment is good, but the installation is backwards...

Nice pics by the way, we probably saved a bunch of owners a major headache by filling in the details Subaru didn't put in the owners manual. I think the only reference to fog lights is to bring it in for service if you need the bulbs replaced, which is a bunch of malarkey.

Last edited by Zeeper; 10-13-2012 at 07:47 AM.
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Old 10-13-2012, 11:10 AM   #65
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On my car they must have mounted the fog lights incorrectly, because the finger adjuster you are referring to is on the BOTTOM of my fog lights, not the top like show in your picture, and unless you have the hands and dexterity of a child you will never reach it by pulling the trim cover. There is a phillips head cutout buried in the adjuster, so who knows if they are meant to be mounted on top or bottom?
I could be the exception for all we know. Maybe the installer working on my car had one too many the night before.

Anyway, the good thing is that the 4 mounting tabs have identical spacing. So the light housing is centered whether the adjustment knob sits on top or is pointing south. If you have dainty hands, the assembly can be flipped without going behind the bumper. Just remember to readjust the throw.
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Old 10-13-2012, 03:19 PM   #66
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I could be the exception for all we know. Maybe the installer working on my car had one too many the night before.

Anyway, the good thing is that the 4 mounting tabs have identical spacing. So the light housing is centered whether the adjustment knob sits on top or is pointing south. If you have dainty hands, the assembly can be flipped without going behind the bumper. Just remember to readjust the throw.
I experimented with pulling the black part off the fog light and switching it, and reversing one, etc, but I've decided I am not going to switch them around.

I have the adjusters maxed out and the fog light beam falls below the low beam (but is aimed much higher than when I got the car). So at this point I am going to use them as is.

If the aim is still too low, there is the possibility of using a few washers between the light frame and the car to change it, but I think mine are passable now.

Popping the snap rivets to adjust them from the bottom is not difficult, and obviously changing the bulbs on these things won't be an issue -- even though the manual recommends bringing it to a dealer...

If I could put 55 watt bulbs in without melting anything, that would probably be my only modification. In my experience LED lights are not bright enough to be worthwhile replacements, though I did put LED's in my last car because the fog lights were no better than running lights anyway.
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Old 10-13-2012, 05:44 PM   #67
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have you guys never driven in FOG? Sometimes I turn my driving lights off completely since they reflect so bad on the heavy fog. Fog lights are supposed to be DIM and LOW on the car.
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Old 10-13-2012, 06:09 PM   #68
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I want to wire them up to be on when the headlights are off. Someone mentioned that there is a thread about it. Can't seem to find it.
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Old 10-13-2012, 06:39 PM   #69
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have you guys never driven in FOG? Sometimes I turn my driving lights off completely since they reflect so bad on the heavy fog. Fog lights are supposed to be DIM and LOW on the car.
but nearly everyone complaining about them wants them to be driving lights.

i might try to adjust mine a little as well because i am more than happy with them, but if i can get them a few more feet out that would be great. and if i could run them with the headlights off that would be better
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Old 10-13-2012, 08:05 PM   #70
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I want to wire them up to be on when the headlights are off. Someone mentioned that there is a thread about it. Can't seem to find it.
I was mistaken. I found this on a different Subie forum:

http://www.scoobymods.com/showthread...ts-14109.html?
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Old 10-13-2012, 10:59 PM   #71
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I plan to
Keep us posted, I'm somewhat interested in this too. I would be sold on applying film to my headlights if it wasn't such a PITA.
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Old 10-14-2012, 09:01 AM   #72
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Keep us posted, I'm somewhat interested in this too. I would be sold on applying film to my headlights if it wasn't such a PITA.
I'm going to do our mkv jetta too because i don't like buffing the have off every 4 months
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Old 10-16-2012, 02:42 AM   #73
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I'm going to do our mkv jetta too because i don't like buffing the have off every 4 months
What do you mean buffing the have off?
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Old 10-16-2012, 04:20 AM   #74
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What do you mean buffing the have off?
I think he meant "buffing them half off".
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Old 10-16-2012, 05:42 AM   #75
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What do you mean buffing the have off?
I didn't proof read, should be buffing the haze off
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