Questions on going from 1-piece to 2-piece headlights (BD)

[peugoby]

I drive a '95 Legacy BD "L" that has the standard one piece headlights. I am looking into replacing them as they are showing their age; yellowing, hazing and some stone chips.
I am well aware that the 97+(I believe) Legs came with 2 piece headlights. My question is, what is involved beyond just fitting the headlights into my 95. Is the wiring any different (I would think it would be) and what would it entail in parts other than the physical housings and corner lights. It would be amazing if it was just plug and play but I doubt thats the case. Also, is it even worth the effort in the end? I do a bit of night driving, and in my personal opinion the O.E. 1 piece lights are total crap as far as the light they emit.

On another note, I have seen some owners on here with clear corners on their two piece headlights. How is this done (maybe someone can shoot a link my way) or where can these be purchased?

Any and all responses will be greatly appreciated in advance.
Toby

[Plays_with_Toys]

So first to answer if it'll be worth it. Not really. The 95-97 headlights are touted as the "better" of the head lights, though they look less cool. As far as hardware, everything is there and is a bolt in affair. The newer headlights use different bulbs, so you'd need to change out the sockets.

For removing the orange, its a matter of baking the corner lamp in an oven, prying off the glass, removing the reflector and sealing it back up. Probably nowhere near as easy on the one piece units (and could cause the beam to go in wierd directions if you don't put the glass on square.

A few options to consider is to simply sand your headlights, starting at like 400 and working to 2000, followed up with a polish and possibly a clear coat or other protectant. The next option is switching to JDM projectors, which look cooler, however are designed for a right hand drive road. You'd need to aim them as far left as posssible just to get a straight beam pattern. This is also a bolt in affair with the need to swap light harnesses.

The more expensive option past that is purchasing some Hella/ Morette headlights. They are the single piece, dual lense ilghts like on sybirs car: http://www.sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?t=3435&start=30

I would suggest cleaning up the headlights and investing in a set of good foglights, like some hella's, or going with an aftermarket headlight like mentioned.

[Wiscon_Mark]

What Dan said ;)

[JPaul99GT]

way to raise the ol post count mark :wink:




.... wait i just did the same thing, useless posts FTW.

as for the headlights, i would just clean the ones you have up. the 98-99 headlights do look pretty but thats about all. there is no signigicant difference in light output, and they dont hold up nearly as well (i have to polish mine every few months to keep them clear). my mom's 97 has the one piece lights and they are in better shape than mine :mad:

EDIT: And get some Sylvania Silverstar bulbs, they are brighter and also give off a more appealing white light

[warrior]

Before spending a lot of money, try cleaning them out. It will make a difference, here's a step by step do it yourself

http://www.sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?t=3636

You can see how bad they were in the last pic and look how clean they are now!

[peugoby]

Thank you everyone for replying to my post. I am going to first attempt to do a big cleaning on my 1 piece lights, to see if I can get all of the hazing out.
I'll let everyone know how that goes. As far as bulbs, do they really make much of a difference? I've heard sometimes they just admit a "hotter" light, but not necessarily any brither over O.E.

Again everyones input is greatly appreciated.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Silverstar is brighter, but kinda sucks in the rain (due to the fact that the blue spectrum reflects on water, causing you to see more rain than road). I'd go for Halogen Xtravision, it's a nice pleaseant OE appearance, but it is brighter. And the cleaning does make a difference aswell. Don't let me fool you into thinking that this stuff will make the headlights good though :-?

I'm running silverstars right now (we had an extra set and my xtravisions burnt out) and I've found that eyestrain is a problem moreso than with the xtras.

[Plays_with_Toys]

Silverstars look great in anything dry, but the second you add any type of moisture you might as well be driving without headlights. I'm using yellowstars which are also kind of useless in the dry, but are awesome in the snow/rain, and if you have a good set of foglights with yellow bulbs then you'll have plenty of useable light. I know my hella 500's far outshone my headlights with a brilliant yellow glow (that sybir is now enjoying haha).

[phi11]

It's all about the foglights,

I've had both one-piece and two-piece headlights, (USDM)




both suck.

[peugoby]

I just bought some 2 piece lights because my old ones are leaking and have water on the inside of them. These will be a huge improvement I already know. There in good shape and should look really nice once properly cleaned. I am going to buy some Halogen Xtralight bulbs for them aswell. Also going to bake the corners in the oven and take out the orange reflector piece.
I got 'em for $100 bucks including the sockets- I thought it was a decent deal. I'll post some pics once installed.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Improvement?

I always heard that they were worse performing, but better looking...

[mr_choung]

mark is RIGHT for the first time...jk mark...but i own a 97 gt and HAVE right now 98-99 headlights. they aren't the worst nor the best but i had to adjust them to see properly. anyways, you have to rewire your h4 to 9007 i believe. cut and splice is what i did. AND by means, they LOOK better but DOESN'T have a perfect fitment as 95-97(one piece headlights do). if you run into problems, pm me as i log in like 2-3 times a day lolz....i know that's how devoted i am :razz:

choung

[peugoby]

they aren't the worst nor the best but i had to adjust them to see properly. anyways, you have to rewire your h4 to 9007 i believe. cut and splice is what i did. AND by means, they LOOK better but DOESN'T have a perfect fitment as 95-97(one piece headlights do).

choung

So I cleaned the headlights today and installed them. They definetely dont have anything near perfect fitment (kinda sucks) and I'm sure they aren't aimed correctly either. :-? . The pass. side headlight is really weak too. I think I've narrowed it down to being a crappy connection from the used socket I got. So I'm going to pick up a new socket either later tonight or this weekend. I'll post pics when both the lights have full power. :twisted:

[Wiscon_Mark]

I honestly don't know why you switched...

[peugoby]

I honestly don't know why you switched...

Well for one thing there was bad condensation in my old lights. BAD. I don't believe any amount of cleaning would of cured this. Anytime it rained, or I washed the car, it was leaving even more water inside the drivers headlight. I believe everyone on the new vs. new argument that the 1 piece were brighter... but not in my case. They were seriously dim with all the hazing, yellowing and water going on with them. If I could of found some new O.E. 1 pieces that wouldn't break the bank I would of done it. This was my reasoning.