My Crosstrek (so far)
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Sure. First the types of bulbs.CJBROWN said:
H11 - Low Beam
HB3 (9005) - High Beam
H16 - Fog lights
The Brands:
I've used a lot of different brands, but i've always found Luminics to work and fit very well. For the Low beam i went with the Luminics Krypton Ultra Whites. I've used them in other vehicles in the past and the reason i like them is they are much brighter at night and they are a very white light with no blue hue on the road. There's a little blue in the headlight housing depending on the angle you look. For the high beam i went with Luminics Krypton JDM Yellow. I've read numerous conflicting things talking about yellow light being better in fog and at night. I honestly notice very little difference, as far as being able to see things more clearly with yellow bulbs other than things look... well, yellow. and i heard you get a gain of 15 whp per yellow bulb. The Luminics were litterally plug and play, perfect fit, same wattage, no problems. Now for the fogs, i had a hard time finding yellow H16 bulbs. eventually i came across the Nokya Hyper Yellows. I never used them before, and will probably never use them again. The fitment was terrible. Just fitting the bulb into the harness was work, where as the Luminics slipped right in. For the H16 bulb to fit into the fog light housing, there are 2 tabs that need to line up, then the bulb snaps right in. The Nokya hyper yellows' tabs were on the opposite side as the stock bulbs. I took a razor blade, cut the tabs off the bulb and they snapped right in. They look good, but i'm dreading having to change them. Hopefully they last a long time.
Install:
You don't "need" to take off your front bumper and remove the headlights to change the bulbs, but it would make the install a bit easier (just longer). For the passenger side you need to remove the air funnel on the intake box. Its very easy, its only held in with 2 push rivets. Once thats moved, you will see the where the bulbs are. unplug the harness, twist the bulb and pop them out. The low beam (closest to the fender) was a pretty tight fit to get my hands into. For the driver side I found it easier to shift the washer fluid receiver (held in by 1 push rivet). This gives your hand a bit more play when accessing the bulbs. Once again, its a pretty tight fit. The fog lights are pretty easy. The plastic under body right beneath the fog light housing is held in by 4 plastic push rivets. remove them gently and you'll be able to shift the plastic under body and gain access to the back of the fog light housing.
A couple of simple tips. Be gentle with the plastic push rivets, you can pop one in half very easily if you try and force them out. And make sure you wear some rubber gloves. the grease on your hands will cause the bulb to burn hotter, frying the bulb faster. I have not changed the turn signals, but i have a feeling the whole front end will need to come off to get to those.
Hope this helped!
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So, you never said but I gather that they are much brighter than the stock ones?
You wanted yellow for the driving lights?
Are they worth the investement if you drive at night?
What's a ballpark cost?
BTW, perhaps you know about the day-time running lights. I can't figure out how or when they come on. When I start the car they are not on, if I get out to look at them they are not on, but when I pull away from the parking lot they're on! Wow...got me on this one!
I'm not used to fiddling with headlight switches anymore, all my cars have had auto-lamps. Seems to me the crosstrek shuts them off after 30 seconds, right?
You wanted yellow for the driving lights?
Are they worth the investement if you drive at night?
What's a ballpark cost?
BTW, perhaps you know about the day-time running lights. I can't figure out how or when they come on. When I start the car they are not on, if I get out to look at them they are not on, but when I pull away from the parking lot they're on! Wow...got me on this one!
I'm not used to fiddling with headlight switches anymore, all my cars have had auto-lamps. Seems to me the crosstrek shuts them off after 30 seconds, right?
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The day-time running lights only come once the car is in drive. I'm not sure if they're engaged for reverse too.CJBROWN said:
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The Ultra whites are noticeably brighter than stock. They give off a very clean white light. They High beams are yellow, and I do like them when driving at night. When I ride my motorcycle at night, I use goggles with a yellow lens. I'm not sure of the science behind it, but things looks more defined, and yellow.CJBROWN said:
If you do a lot of night driving I would not hesitate to buy the Ultra Whites, they do work well and are much brighter than stock. All six bulbs shipped cost me right around $100. And if you don't want to go with a smaller company like Lumanics, I have also used (and currently use on my bike) Sylvania Silver Stars. Never had a problem with those either. The Sylvania's are a little bit less expensive also.
I think the daytime running lights are always "on". I have no idea how to turn them off while driving. When in park they stay off, but once you put the car in drive and begin to accelerate they will turn on automatically. I'm pretty certain once you take the keys out of the ignition, the lights will turn off automatically, even if the lights are set to "on" and not "auto". But I also just leave it on auto so i don't have to think about it. The only switch i use is to turn the fog lights on when it rains or is foggy (which is rare here).
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Great info.LarryA said:
The reason yellow tinting improves vision is because blue light focuses in front of or behind your retina due to its place in the spectrum, and is therefore more blurry than other colors. That's why Serengeti Drivers moreorless block blue light - so it sharpens your vision.
My car doesn't have auto-headlamps - I think that's one of the up-features of the limited. I would love to just leave them on, but they're not really needed in full daylight. The daytime running lamps are a nice touch tho.
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Looks great, Larry, coming along nicely. I really need to jump on the aftermarket ball and get some stuff on my Crosstrek.
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I know Sylvania last a very long time. I can't even give you a time range because there was such a long gap in between changing the bulbs, i have literally forgotten. A friend of mine bought some PIAA for his 2010 Chevy Malibu and had one of the bulbs burn out in 3 months. He was not happy (I think they were over $40 for a pair). However they did ship him a new bulb right away. I've had a set of Luminics last over 3 years. I had a fog light go out once because the roads were flooded and the bulb got wet and exploded, so i replaced both, but the headlights are still going strong in my Ex's tribute.H15A said:
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