lousy legacy lights!!!???

[Flea4me]

I've had my 98 OBW for about a month now. I am really starting to hate the lights!. The pattern sucks. My 1979 Fiat has better pattern with its sealed beams! I drive a lot of twisty/gravel/deer laden roads....I MUST have good lights! I have already installed Hella 500's in the bumper (fogs)(helps alot) and once I find/ build a light bar then I can add some driving lights.
I have a rewire kit that I got from Daniel Stern for my 92 Legacy (written off) but alas the 98 has different bulbs...Sooooooo I contacted Daniel and he suggested I turf the 98 lights and find some 96-97 lights (I think 95 will fit as well). He said the pattern on the 96-97 is way better. He also said to stay away from aftermarket OE lights.....the ones you see on Ebay....Depo/TYC/Genera.

I totally believe what Daniel is telling me but just thought I would throw it out there to see if anyone else has dealt with this problem and what their solutions were....

[Huffer]

Just be aware that Daniel Stern Lighting has pissed off many a legitimate HID converter... the man doesn't know EVERYTHING.

Also, if your existing headlights are hazy, you can sand them and polish them up. I found a guy who will do this for $50 over in West NY... www.detailzdelivered.com (http://www.detailzdelivered.com) he was advertizing on the buffalo craigslist.

I have a spare set of headlights that I'm going to send to him to get done...$50 plus shipping is a lot cheaper than spending $$ on projectors.

Check out some of the other electrical threads to see how other people have wired up their lights.

[Flea4me]

Well, I'm not financially able to go the HID route at this time.

My lights are not hazy at all, they look like new. My 92 had hazy lenses and I sanded them and polished them and it made a big difference. But my 98 lenses are perfect, it's just the poor pattern. I have looked at the lenses of the 95-97 and you can see the difference...

I know the rewire will boost the output but it will not improve the pattern.

[StatGSR]

^ um my 97 one piece headlights still suck nuts, just throwin that out there....

[Grafton]

they could just need to be aimed, or you have old bulbs that are dim. imho

[ivwarrior]

I have 2 '97 Outbacks. Honestly, the only way the '97's could be "way better" than the '98 is if the '98 uses Bic lighters for headlights. In short, the '97 lights suck, as well.

[Flea4me]

97's suck as well eh ???

But what is the pattern like???

Does it angle up on the right?

My lights are aimed....new Nighthawks.

[Zedhead]

You could buy a set of JDM Projectors. The lighting output over the USDM lenses is really quite stunning. I still can't figure out why they get so much better lenses than the USDM does? Maybe we don't need to see at night?

Otherwise I'd suggest a decent set of bulbs. The Nighthawks are nice, but not the best available. Osram Nightbreakers, Or Hella Optilux. Then add an upgraded harness. You'll be able to see the ant's crawling across the road.

http://www.rallylights.com/SearchResult ... egoryID=14 (http://www.rallylights.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=14)

[Huffer]

HeresMyMind (user on this board) will do retrofits projector HID into stock housings.

[Flea4me]

Hmmmm..unfortunately right now $$$$ are hard to come by so doing a retro is out of the question. I am a single dad...just got laid off ..got a mortgage..blahblahblah. I am looking for a cheap fix at the moment. Thats why I was wondering if the 95-97 lenses had a better pattern then at least I can work from there...pick up a set of used ones.........bulbs/rewire etc....
I'd even take some hazy yellowed ones and wet sand/clear them!

I already have the wiring kit but it is for the H4 bulbs not the 9007's that are in mine. I could adapt it with different sockets but I really really need to know if the pattern is different on the 95-97's, . Guess I will have to start cruising the parking lots around town to see if I can find a 95-97 model and hopefully find the owner as well...convince them to let me see the lights at night!!! Who knows, maybe the owner will be a "she" and let me look at more than just the lights!!! LOL.. :shock:

[Zedhead]

If You were up here, Your odds of the owner being female would be great!

Seriously, check out the Osram Nightbreakers.

You can get them off eBay for around $30

[Flea4me]

I'll keep that in mind once I satisfy my curiousity about the lights.....Got a couple of auto wreckers looking around for me..

Was that $30 for the pair?......

[HeresMyMind]

my lights suck too.... :smt005

and if you find a "she" maybe she can show you her HIGH BEAMS :shock:

-B

[Flea4me]

Ha! I'd be happy just see a pair of decent low beams!!

[Grafton]

yeah the lows do suck balls the jdm fogs i have are brighter lol

[Flea4me]

The Hella 500's i installed in the bumper really help and the 100watt driving lights I am going to mount above the bumper will help(once I find a decent light bar).

Still waiting for someone to comment on the pattern of the 95-97 lights.....anybody?

Wondering if the pattern looks like this if you were to shine your lights on a wall.....
___/ ___/

[Benfolio]

Mine kinda look like this / / but not as angled.

My car's been crashed several times (before I got it of course) and I had to replace one headlight, so my light pattern was all jacked up. But my pervious cars include a yelloe headlighted '95 Neon, a '92 Talon, and the last two, Crown Vics. WOrld reknown for the Most Horrible Headlights In History.

So the Leggy was okay.

But with winter here and having to drive to and from work IN THE DARK now, I decided I'd try and align them. Brough then to center via the marks on the adjusters, and raised them up to where I THINK they should be (10 feet from a wall, top cutoff on the top of the light pattern 3-4 inches lower on the wall than right in front of the car) and it's MUCH better.

Still want JDM projectors (and tails!) but can't justify the price.

[Flea4me]

Thanks for confirming the pattern...my 98's don't have that angle to them at all and I was sure the 95-97's did from what I've seen. My lenses are mostly clear with no pattern.....they look cool but offer no useful pattern.....looks like two bats when I shine them at a wall!!!!! They also throw a lot of stray light skyward....don't need to see the owls in the trees while I am driving!!!!

You mentioned you have replaced one light...did you replace it with an OEM light? Or one of the aftermarket OEM replacements??? I have been told the aftermarket ones are not as good...

Ya, projectors are out of the question for me at this time, $$$ are very tight.

[decke48]

TYC have a little better output but the housings are cheap

[chuckthefuk]

Both housings are terrible!
95-97 one piece / 98-99 two piece.

I had the 1 piece and my buddy had the 2 piece, both had equal bulbs (sylvania silverstars) and both produced terrible patterns / illumination

I'v switched to the JDM projectors awhile back and I have to say "its night and day"

The H1 bulb produces a great amount of illumination through the projector lens compared to the H4 on the USDM lens.

There is a proper cut off line and the distance the projectors cover is incredible.

You can get projectors for $200ish + shipping.. Just save its worth every penny.

-Chuck

[Flea4me]

so where did you get your lights from? $200 + shippings is ppretty cheap...I was led to believe it was way more expensive...

[Huffer]

andivic (who is an active member on this board) will sell you JDM projectors for $200 shipped.
PM him and get on it!

[Flea4me]

but the cut off is on the wrong side...correct? The last thing I want to do is piss off one of my neighbours comin at me on the twisty mountain road I live on!!!

[HeresMyMind]

my lights are pretty expensive.

jdm lights
200
projectors
180
lenses
70
ballasts
200
bulbs
80

730$ so far into my headlights, but they are pretty much the best projectors u can retrofit into our headlights. I can also retro regular headlights too. I just got some parts to retrofit my fogs with HID stuff, so i cant wait

-B

low beam
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2008/11/b6woj4-1.jpg
highbeam
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2008/11/2qu6tyr-1.jpg

[Flea4me]

Wow.....nice!!!!

[chuckthefuk]

but the cut off is on the wrong side...correct? The last thing I want to do is piss off one of my neighbours comin at me on the twisty mountain road I live on!!!

The cut off is not a real issue.. If the cops wont pull me over for this then no ones going to get pissed off..
- Chuck

[TheAngryPidgeon]

You think the Leggy's lights are bad? I used to drive an '87 Honda CRX, I would leave my high beams on all the time because A) I couldn't see anything with the lows, and B) nobody even noticed they were my high beams, lol.

But I do agree, the Legacy lows are abysmal without the fog lights on.

[Okin DaVanh]

JDM FTMFW!

When I replaced my USDM style with the JDM ones, it was a "night to day" difference. My lights also came with Raybriggs and LED city lights. Huge difference for me, and I never adjusted them for the Left hand drive difference. Some people that I know, even thought I got HID's at first glance.

BTW, if you're wondering.... I do own a 97. And the old ones were new replacements that I couldn't see jack isht with.

[anothernord]

The projectors really are the best option for upgrading the legacy's lighting. I was totally amazed at the difference when I first drove on a dark country rode with them.

Also, I passed 2 cops last night, and apparently neither were bothered by the beam pattern, and so far no one has flashed me.

[impreza_GC8]

I have both types of headlights. The 97 one piece headlights have the same low beam output in my opinion but the high beams blow the two piece lights out of the water. No competition whatsoever. I have 4 Hella 500's though so I don't really care about the light output of my headlights. I'm too cheap to buy JDM projector lights because I rally my Outback and I know they would get broken.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/

[Flea4me]

Okay....I'm sold!! JDM lights sound like the way to go...saw some on Ebay. Not a bad price actually. May have to wait a bit though as our dollar (CDN) is pretty low right now.

I am also running Hella 500 fogs in place of the stock fogs and some older Bosch driving lights above the bumper...it helps lots.

James....interested in your mounting bracket for your 500's.....

[impreza_GC8]

James....interested in your mounting bracket for your 500's.....
It is Home Depot angled aluminum and Home Depot square aluminum stock. About $15 in parts.
I'm interested in how you managed to fit the Hella500 fogs into your stock foglight location. Any more info on that?

[Flea4me]

All I did was remove the entire factory assy., removed the headlight assy., drilled a hole through the bumper bar and mounted the bracket (the lights are upside down). I also had to take my dremel to the lower portion of the foglight opening as the 500's were resting on the plastic. Works good.

Do your lights shake on rough roads?? I made a couple of brackets that go through the grill and attach to the bumper bar to mount mine. They don't shake as the lights are small rectangular. Hoping one day to find a RalliTek bar!!!!!

[99SUS SFD]

I just installed the JDM projectors in my BD and wondered to myself why I hadn't done it before. The light output is great.