keltik Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Hey guys. My headlights in my fancy 02 wagon suck! How do you like your lights? Leave a pic or a description of how you rate your headlights on whatever models you have. Also does anyone know if the 1998-2000 model legacys had better lights than the 2000-2002? Same shape but different reflector design. 2002 Legacy Low Beam HID Lights - stock 2002 Legacy High beam - blue tint halogens (low beam remains on) 2002 Legacy High beam + Fog lights (low beam remains on) Try and spot the difference between low and high beam.....then compare it to when i knock the fog lights on. 1990 Legacy Low Beam Halogen bulbs - Stock 1990 Legacy High beam halogens (low beam turns off) As you can see the 1990 Legacy headlights actually illuminate a greater distance but at a lower intensity. In my 2002 Its actually brighter for me to turn my fog lights on than to use the full beams.And the lights in my '90 are better for night driving. All of my lights are aligned to the correct level and have been checked at a vehicle testing station. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 If the blue tint halogens are an after market product, I would suspect they are the problem. I tried them several years ago on my Audi, and they were terrible. I couldn't see sh*t. Suggest reverting back to OEM bulbs, if the blues are after market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinthe202 Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 '96 OBW, stock headlights. I'd say on a scale of 1-10, my headlights are about a 5. I've got good night vision and I've checked the alignment too, but I still feel the need to use the brights more then on any car I've owned and I use them more then I do in our civic or our truck. I should ad that the plastic housing is not faded. The fog lights are worthless, as all fog lights are IMO. I grew up in a super, super foggy area and I never felt they made a bit of difference aside from making the first 12 feet in front of my car really, really bright. I understand the theory that when driving in fog you want the lights coming from lower on the car so as to light the road under the fog so it won't be so blinding, and if the the fog lights could be on with the headlights off that may work, but adding them to the low beams doesn't light up a useful area. I suppose it enables you to clearly see what it is you're about to run over, but it doesn't give you enough time to do anything about it. I may try switching to a brighter halogen, but one of my dislikes are lights of weird colors, and lights that are brighter then they need to be blinding everyone on the road but youself . Generally I hold to the thought that if your lights aren't lighting enough of the road (assuming proper aim) then you're driving too fast. There seems to be this compulsion to banish the darkness of night that I don't understand. I live in farm country outside DC and the community got together and demanded streetlights. They got some, but only one every couple of miles and they are so friggin bright that when I'm coming up on them at 4:30am going to work I can't see what's in the road on the other side, my headlights are completely washed out in the extraterrestrial, orange glow. I really don't see what help a spattering of street lights every few miles is supposed to provide.... OK rant is over... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixon Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 My '00 outback had probably the worst lights on any car I've owned, even with Osram Nightbreaker +90% bulbs in. My '00 Forester, with similar bulbs, and proper glass lenses, can start fires with it's lights! Plastic Subaru lenses suck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axel Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I've got PIAA Extreme White Plus bulbs on my Sube's low beams, high beams and fogs and I'm very satisfied with the amount of road illumination they give. The original stock bulbs gave mediocre light coverage. Not sure whether the plastic lenses on the Sube are a factor in good/bad light coverage(although I would prefer glass, they don't discolor like the plastic lenses;when the plastic discolors, the lenses are, no doubt, less efficient. I clean the plastic lenses every 10 days or so with a plastic cleaner/polish-Meguiars). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinthe202 Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Axel - Funny, the super foggy area I mentioned growing up in my post are the hills by the Laurence Hall of Science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94Loyale Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I've got a 99 Outback. My low's with the fogs are actually really nice. However the high beams suck, and I never use them,haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axel Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Axel - Funny, the super foggy area I mentioned growing up in my post are the hills by the Laurence Hall of Science. Yeah, well I've found that fog lights don't really aid in seeing where you're going in the fog. And it can get pretty foggy in the Berkeley hills . I use mine only for driving through winding roads at night, like through Tilden Park or along Wildcat Canyon Road ( some nice hairpin turns). The fog lights do illuminate the side areas in front of the car, really helpful on two lane winding roads at no more than 30-35mph, and the PIAA Extreme While Plus bulbs light up the road quite nicely. But in the fog.....forget it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinthe202 Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 ... And it can get pretty foggy in the Berkeley hills . Sure can, when I was a kid we were coming over grizzly peak from the tunnel and the fog was so thick on top coming down the other side that my pop had to slow to a crawl with his door open and watch the line so he wouldn't drive off the road. I use mine only for driving through winding roads at night, like through Tilden Park or along Wildcat Canyon Road ( some nice hairpin turns) ah yes, I remember them roads well. I am ashamed to say I was one of the obnoxious A**holes flying around on my motorcycle. But I was on a '71 cb500 blasting by squids on their sports bikes too afraid of the pavement and tried not to hassle the cars too much. Now that I'm all grown up I feel a bit differently... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 The SVX headlights are like daylight when they're clear. I have 55w lows and 100w fogs and I get flashed a lot for how bright my fogs are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnuman Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Generally I hold to the thought that if your lights aren't lighting enough of the road (assuming proper aim) then you're driving too fast. But I like driving too fast. . . Heh, I grew up where you are now, and live out here. You grew up out here and live where I grew up. . . Sounds like we swapped. . . Oh, '92 Legacy wagon so my headlights are great. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinthe202 Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Heh, I grew up where you are now, and live out here. You grew up out here and live where I grew up. . . Sounds like we swapped. . . Yeah, both my wife and I are "bi-coastal" we can't seem to stay on one side of the country for more then a few years before we miss the other side. It's a real problem.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newsoobdude Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 1998 Outback. Have stock lighting and found that if I adjust the light higher up (1 turn) I have better visibility. I live in BFE, CA out in the sticks and streetlights are non existent and the elevation changes in the road make it fun at night while driving 40+ w/o the POS factory fogs which I personally use to highlight what's beside the road. Will be replacing someday all lighting with either EDM and PIAA lighting (both fog and driving) or just the fog and driving with PIAA. I drive with my regular h.lights unless driving the canyons at night at any speed then debate between h.and fogs or brights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY_Dave Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 '03 OBW, I hate 'em. Low beams are OK, but subaru f'ed things up royally by leaving the low-beams on when you switch to high-beams. The bright wash of light near the car drastically reduces your ability to process the dimmer returned light coming from far down the road. Stupid, stupid, stupid, its of no benefit. They did it, I think, because if you are going to turn off the low-beams when you turn on the high-beams you actually have to do some work on the lens or reflector to splay a little light near the car, and they were too f'in lazy to do it, or the headlight assembly would havme cost too much. Best headlights I ever had were the 4 small round system. 2 with seperate high beam and low beam, and 2 that just come on for high beam. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY_Dave Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 '96 OBW, stock headlights. I'd say on a scale of 1-10, my headlights are about a 5. I've got good night vision and I've checked the alignment too, but I still feel the need to use the brights more then on any car I've owned and I use them more then I do in our civic or our truck. I should ad that the plastic housing is not faded. The fog lights are worthless, as all fog lights are IMO. I grew up in a super, super foggy area and I never felt they made a bit of difference aside from making the first 12 feet in front of my car really, really bright. I understand the theory that when driving in fog you want the lights coming from lower on the car so as to light the road under the fog so it won't be so blinding, and if the the fog lights could be on with the headlights off that may work, but adding them to the low beams doesn't light up a useful area. I suppose it enables you to clearly see what it is you're about to run over, but it doesn't give you enough time to do anything about it. I may try switching to a brighter halogen, but one of my dislikes are lights of weird colors, and lights that are brighter then they need to be blinding everyone on the road but youself . Generally I hold to the thought that if your lights aren't lighting enough of the road (assuming proper aim) then you're driving too fast. There seems to be this compulsion to banish the darkness of night that I don't understand. I live in farm country outside DC and the community got together and demanded streetlights. They got some, but only one every couple of miles and they are so friggin bright that when I'm coming up on them at 4:30am going to work I can't see what's in the road on the other side, my headlights are completely washed out in the extraterrestrial, orange glow. I really don't see what help a spattering of street lights every few miles is supposed to provide.... OK rant is over... Real fog lights are great- they have to be mounted low, amber, and have a very narrow beam vertically, and very wide horizontally. They have to be aimed to just over the ground. Aiming them a bit off to the sides is a great help, too, so you can pick up the edge-of-road cues when its really foggy or snowy. And one other thing- you have to turn off the regular headlights. Big gain in safety for the driver, absolutely no loss in safety for those around you. At the speeds you go in those conditions, the fog lights (with the standard marker lights) are plenty. Sometimes here in CNY it is foggy enough I miss having real foglights, and its ofte snowing hard enough they'd be a big help. Every winter I swear I'm going to drop the coin and get some, I think its just that I'm too lazy to disable the DRLs. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinthe202 Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Real fog lights are great- Yeah, I've always been curious to experience a real pair. I figured there must be a working example out there or they wouldn't be as prevalent as they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted August 30, 2008 Author Share Posted August 30, 2008 A bit of closure - i replaced my high beam bulbs with some philips OEM spec replacements and the situation has improved immensely!! MY headlights still arent quite where i want them but im getting closer to happiness. The previous japanese owner had installed some PIAA tinted blue bulbs, which had a very strange metallic coating on the bulb glass itself (much like the reflective coating on trendy sunglasses). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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