hid vs retro?

[Nemesis]

whats better hid or retrofitting with projectors?

also can you retrofit a 1998 legacy outback head light?

[RCKSTR]

Why not both :shrug: thats what I did and love my headlights now :wub: I'll shoot you a PM with more info later...

[The Lighting Guru]

If you just install an HID kit, your headlights will produce glare, which can in turn blind oncoming drivers. Retrofitting projectors ensures you have a nice clean cutoff line with your HID lighting, so you don't blind drivers. Another unique feature of HID projectors is something called the "flicker effect" in which from a distance your lighting appears to be blue,but as soon as your get close, the light flicks to a different color, usually a form of white. You won't get a flicker effect solely with HIDs.

[duey]

edit : what he said +100000. You tube "color flicker" and you can see that effect he's referring to.

forgive my ignorance but did your generation legacy have any of the clear lens lights (not the diffused/fluted style). I thought I saw JDM's with a projector but I'm not sure if that was for your year.

But yeah if you're looking for bling with out spending much, PnP HID kit. If you're going for actual lighting upgrade retrofit is the way to go.

There are enough of us lighting guys on the forum to help you also if you decide to tackle the retro job yourself.

[Nemesis]

If you just install an HID kit, your headlights will produce glare, which can in turn blind oncoming drivers. Retrofitting projectors ensures you have a nice clean cutoff line with your HID lighting, so you don't blind drivers. Another unique feature of HID projectors is something called the "flicker effect" in which from a distance your lighting appears to be blue,but as soon as your get close, the light flicks to a different color, usually a form of white. You won't get a flicker effect solely with HIDs.

sense your the guru.. what would it cost to HID project my car?

[The Lighting Guru]

For a standard retrofit, I charge $150 plus supply cost.

http://newenglandsubarus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16496

Please review my vendor thread and send me a PM with interest and/or any questions you might have.sense your the guru.. what would it cost to HID project my car?

[GC84LIFE]

Just do the retro's. It may seem costly right now, but think of the tickets you'll be avoiding, the hassles of the kits burning out constantly, and overall the crappy output of HID kits that even some top recommended sellers provide.

Trust me. Im running some HID's right now in my car, both fogs and headlights. Normal driving its ok, but during bad weather you might as well be driving with all lights off. Anyway, his prices seem pretty good.

[HamSocks]

Do the projectors in a hawkeye Impreza differ between STis and non-STis or are they the same unit? I've had a basic HID kit installed in my car for while now and I've never noticed any of the problems above. The cutoff is clean with no glare, my last bulbs lasted for over a year, and color flicker is minimal.

I'm sure the performance would improve with a retrofit, but the stock projectors seem to work just fine.

[apkarian100]

Yes they are different. STI projectors have a clear lens and a different projector bowl, partly to hold the HID D2S bulbs. They provide a more crisp cutoff.Do the projectors in a hawkeye Impreza differ between STis and non-STis or are they the same unit? I've had a basic HID kit installed in my car for while now and I've never noticed any of the problems above. The cutoff is clean with no glare, my last bulbs lasted for over a year, and color flicker is minimal.

I'm sure the performance would improve with a retrofit, but the stock projectors seem to work just fine.

[Seraphinwolf]

Aren't the STi's H1 bulbs? Or are the 06/07'different from 04/05'?

[apkarian100]

Nope, the 04+ STIs use D2S HID bulbs. The 06-07 Impreza uses H7 bulbs in the projectors while the 08+ use H11 bulbs.Aren't the STi's H1 bulbs? Or are the 06/07'different from 04/05'?

[duey]

hawkeye wrx's (and 08+) take pnp HID kits better than the older generations, not as great as the STi's output but better than how a bugeye looks with a pnp kit.

Its almost the same but 04-05 STi's take d2r, 06-11 STi take d2s.

[apkarian100]

Good point on the D2R bulbs. For anyone who is curious, D2R bulbs are the same as D2S bulbs but with a slight coating on the side of the bulb to reduce glare. Again, 04-05 lights don't have projectors and have much more glare producing capability, so Subaru put in the reduced-glare HID bulbs.

Its almost the same but 04-05 STi's take d2r, 06-11 STi take d2s.