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Brighter headlights:Which bulb??

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 11:09 pm
by rally370
In the good old days in the UK I would up-grade my rally car head lights with 100w dip/150w main complete with H/D wires and relays.Nobody (law) paid much attention.

Here in good old California I would think think the local CHP would not be to happy.I want a white light much brighter than I have now,but please no blue,green ,yellow as sold in the speed shops.

I've seen 60w/80w at Autobacs but not the 9004 I need plus they were blue.

So any suggestions to save me time and money shopping around??

Also my headlamp lenses are dull/frosted over anyway to clean them.

Cheers

Chris

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 11:55 pm
by vrg3
You can't get overwattage bulbs in a 9004 application... the best you can do is get high-output stock-wattage bulbs like Sylvania Xtravisions.

You can also improve the output somewhat by upgrading the wiring harness: http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=18754

For the lenses, you basically have to remove the outer layer of oxidized/pitted plastic and replace the surface. Some options to consider:

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=739
http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=1939

Don't get your hopes up too high though... Even with all these things, your lights still won't be very good. They're just a poor design to begin with.

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 12:43 am
by evolutionmovement
I think the lights are great! I wouldn't spend a dime to change a thing.

Steve

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 12:56 am
by rally370
Thanks I knew I would save time and effort here.



I think the lights are great! I wouldn't spend a dime to change a thing.

Steve

Lights are OK for the street,but scare me a bit on a night rally.

Cheers

Chris

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 1:02 am
by evolutionmovement
I was joking. I'm nearly done converting to Hella 90 mm units. Can't wait to try them out.

Steve

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 4:39 pm
by rally370
Steve

I did look at the other post about the hella conversion.Looks interesting.Sort of got me thinking......

Cheers

Chris

Posted: Tue May 10, 2005 6:08 am
by gnuman
Actually I really do like the lights on my Legacy. They are the best of all the cars my family owns. I feel far more comfortable with them lighting the road than any other vehicle I drive. Perhaps I'm not very picky? I just expect to be able to see the road ahead of me. What really annoys me is those folks that have headlights so bright I can see the shadow of my car in the area where my headlights hit the road, and if you look in the rear view mirror, your eyes start to bleed. . . Worse is when they are oncoming, and it feels like they are drilling straight through your head. . .

With the stock headlights (after cleaning the lenses) I can see plenty well enough to avoid any obsticles. Driving lights might be nice on the open hiway, but that is pretty much the only use I would have for them.

Posted: Tue May 10, 2005 6:53 am
by BAC5.2
You have post facelift lights which are infinitely better than pre-facelift lights.

Posted: Tue May 10, 2005 4:46 pm
by tris91ricer
After owning and driving both, I'm forced to agree. The post facelift lights are worlds apart from their predecessors, in terms of light output, and driving comfort.

Posted: Tue May 10, 2005 4:53 pm
by IronMonkeyL255
I still like the pre-facelifts.

Though I am probably going to get some auxiliary lights to supplement their feeble output.

I found this while poking around on Summit's website: 9004 Headlight relay kit.

Posted: Wed May 11, 2005 12:26 am
by jamal
I would also say clear the lenses, put in relays, and get some Xtravisions.

Or you could get light pods and run 4 Hella 4000 HIDs.

Well, that might be a little pricey, but I think better/more driving lights are a good idea.

The only complaint I have about my setup is a lack of cornering lights. They're pretty good on a twisty backroad, and fantastic on a straight, but coming down del sur I couldn't see around the tight corners very well. I wasn't going quite as fast as you, but they put out enough light down the trail for me to get up to 40-50 mph in places. I'm tempted to pick up a set of smaller less expensive driving lights and mount them in the fog light holes for cornering lights.