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Old 11-24-2006, 11:33 PM   #1
Redfox458
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Question 06 STi HID Issues NEED HELP

Okay, so I've had my 2006 STi for about two months now and my stock HIDs are driving me insane!! Everybody says that the 4300k Phillips bulbs are supposed to be the brightest. I don't know if the projectors on the 06 STi are just extremely weak, or maybe my bulbs just plain suck, but at this point my lights look more like halogens. There are times that I can't even tell if my headlights are even on or not. I don't want to do the TSX projector swap, I just want to be able to have the white/bluish HID lights like I've seen on other cars. I'm thinking that I'm just going to get a couple of 6000k McCullough bulbs in hopes that they will make a big difference. Has anybody else had issues with the stock projectors and HIDs? Any input would be appreciated!
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Old 11-25-2006, 07:58 AM   #2
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6000K will not be any brighter on the road.
If your lights have become noticeably weaker than when they are new something is wrong with them, before you attempt any modifications take the car to a dealer and have them check the lights and make any needed repairs.
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Old 11-25-2006, 08:35 AM   #3
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Okay, thanks, I was hoping that maybe a slight color difference wouldn't fade out as much, but I'll take it to the dealership before getting new bulbs, thank you!
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Old 11-25-2006, 08:47 AM   #4
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It isn't normal for the OEM bulbs to fade or change color this quickly, they should last for around 2000 or more hours of use.
You haven't cleared the lights, have you? That's about the only thing that would cause problems with the HIDs aside from a defect. Unfortunately if that is the case it won't be warrantied.
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Old 11-25-2006, 11:50 AM   #5
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No, the only thing that I have done to alter the headlights in ANY way is put different parking lights in the headlight unit itself. The only thing that I could be thinking is maybe to have them readjusted?? Even with them set as far up as I can, it doesn't allow me to see very far ahead of me in the dark, does anybody know the factory adjustment specs??
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Old 11-26-2006, 06:00 AM   #6
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If you want better light output, you'd probably have to take apart the headlights and swap out projectors.

Have you tried comparing your HIDs to another 06 STi just to be sure nothing is wrong with the OEM ones you have?
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Old 11-26-2006, 10:28 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Okita Souji View Post
If you want better light output, you'd probably have to take apart the headlights and swap out projectors.

Have you tried comparing your HIDs to another 06 STi just to be sure nothing is wrong with the OEM ones you have?
I would truly hate to destroy a set of OEM STi headlights. If I actually do the projector swap, I'll be losing the manual level feature, correct?

And finding an 06 STi driver that will just let me pull up next to him to compare headlights is fairly difficult where I am from. I guess there is always the dealership....

I have a friend of mine who is in the auto parts business, for now I'm going to "borrow" a stock 4300k bulb and put it in one side only and see if I notice a difference.

I drove past a mercedes today on my way to work and again got frustrated that he could possibly land a 747 in front of him and mine looks like I'm holding a candle!
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Old 11-26-2006, 10:30 AM   #8
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Can anybody post some pics of their stock '06 HIDs on in the dark, or send me a link to the pic, I'd like to try to at least compare pics....
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Old 11-26-2006, 03:00 PM   #9
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Those bulbs are going to have some yellow tint in them. As your bulb gets older it will start to raise in Kelvin from white to blue and then almost a violet color. You don't want 6K bulbs in there...it will be a deep blue color and hardly any useful light out of them. You might need to check the adjustment of the headlights....make sure it is not pointed to low to the ground. But, if I were you.....I would just take it to the dealership and if there is something wrong they will fix it for free. And no......it's not your projectors...I highly dought it.
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Old 11-26-2006, 07:38 PM   #10
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did you bake or otherwise take the light housings apart when you put the parking light bulbs in? it's possible that there is some fog or haze in the housings if that's so.

new bulbs would be the last thing to troubleshoot.
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Old 11-26-2006, 09:46 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Redfox458 View Post
I would truly hate to destroy a set of OEM STi headlights. If I actually do the projector swap, I'll be losing the manual level feature, correct?

And finding an 06 STi driver that will just let me pull up next to him to compare headlights is fairly difficult where I am from. I guess there is always the dealership....

I have a friend of mine who is in the auto parts business, for now I'm going to "borrow" a stock 4300k bulb and put it in one side only and see if I notice a difference.

I drove past a mercedes today on my way to work and again got frustrated that he could possibly land a 747 in front of him and mine looks like I'm holding a candle!
A swap that is done correctly will retain all leveling features, manual and electronic. I think someone has already retrofitted S2000 or TSX projectors into the 06-07 WRX housing. I'll try looking for the thread to that.

I'd see if a dealership will let you compare. Just take it in when it's getting dark.

Most European cars i've seen on the road have a better projector optics so thats probably why it looks a lot better. The only Japanese cars i've seen that have excellent output are the TSX, S2000, and LS430. You'll find people retrofitting those projectors into the 02-05 Impreza.
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Old 11-26-2006, 09:47 PM   #12
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Quote:
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did you bake or otherwise take the light housings apart when you put the parking light bulbs in? it's possible that there is some fog or haze in the housings if that's so.

new bulbs would be the last thing to troubleshoot.
Nope, the headlights have never been out of the car. The only thing aftermarket that I have done is put in the two led PIAA parking lights, thats it. I've tried a brand new Phillips 4300k bulb, and its the same thing. I've raised the level of the headlights a bit, so now I can see farther down the road, but it still looks like halogens shooting down the road. I dunno, maybe I'm smokin' something, I had an 05 rsx with an HID kit and it was blazingly bright, maybe Im just too used to that. I was told the stock 06 sti projector lenses just suck....and the more and more I mess with it, the more I believe it! I still haven't gotten a pic of a headlight shot from a stock 06 sti to match mine up.....
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Old 11-26-2006, 09:49 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Okita Souji View Post
A swap that is done correctly will retain all leveling features, manual and electronic. I think someone has already retrofitted S2000 or TSX projectors into the 06-07 WRX housing. I'll try looking for the thread to that.

I'd see if a dealership will let you compare. Just take it in when it's getting dark.

Most European cars i've seen on the road have a better projector optics so thats probably why it looks a lot better. The only Japanese cars i've seen that have excellent output are the TSX, S2000, and SC430. You'll find people retrofitting those projectors into the 02-05 Impreza.
Yeah, I got a quote from www.lightwerkz.net to retrofit S2000 projectors for about $660 plus shipping and me being without headlights for like two weeks. Just wish there was an easier way
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Old 11-26-2006, 10:57 PM   #14
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What K-rating was your old RSX kit? It may have been that it was higher than 4300K? A 4300K is not going to give you a blueish hue on the road. If anything, the emitted color on the road will be right at the cusp of turning white from yellow - so perhaps it's normal and your just used to a bluer hue from your old setup?
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Old 11-26-2006, 11:03 PM   #15
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Quote:
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What K-rating was your old RSX kit? It may have been that it was higher than 4300K? A 4300K is not going to give you a blueish hue on the road. If anything, the emitted color on the road will be right at the cusp of turning white from yellow - so perhaps it's normal and your just used to a bluer hue from your old setup?
Thats what I was thinking. My RSX had 8500k and I know thats a huge difference from my stock 06 STi 4300k. But then again it was also in a reflector housing, and it just seemed that I could see much farther. I've seen the pics on lightwerkz.net and the S2000 projector looks to be exactly what I want, I'm just too cheap to fork out $660 and the pain of being out of a car for two weeks
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Old 11-26-2006, 11:10 PM   #16
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I'm really just looking for a bright white light and a very crisp edge that allows me to see fairly far ahead of me, so basically what a Honda S2000 headlight looks like. I guess I'm going to be stuck with doing a retrofit....
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Old 11-26-2006, 11:20 PM   #17
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Quote:
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I was told the stock 06 sti projector lenses just suck....and the more and more I mess with it, the more I believe it!
Who told you that? The STi projector is far from sucky, it's just not as nice as the TSX/S2K/LS projector. Still, NOT worth a retrofit/swap IMO.
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Old 11-26-2006, 11:22 PM   #18
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The 06 STI projector is extremely weak....

Produces alittle glare over the cut off line and certainly isnt intense...

You throw in those 6000k bulbs your output is going to be even weaker..

Oh have you tried to adjust your lights up alittle bit to extend your distance? They are aimed low from the factory...

Oh on another note, I saw you mention the s2000 output, yeah if you put the two together, the s2000 projector TRUELY makes the stock 06 STI projectors look like crap. The s2000 projectors are 2nd best single xenon out on the martket today, Lexus ls430 being the best because its the widest.
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Old 11-26-2006, 11:26 PM   #19
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Oh an like someone metioned your bulbs are brand new, and they are yellow!

Im selling OEM Philips 5000k bulbs if you want some color.

$100 shipped via 2 day air!
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Old 11-30-2006, 06:16 AM   #20
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RedFox,

Here's that thread I mentioned above about someone swapping TSX projectors into his 06.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=1116109
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