JClements Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Our family is considering buying a Legacy (2.5i Limited, 17" wheels). Either a 2012 or 2013. A very important issue for us is night driving and the headlight illumination on the road. We've driven a 2010 Legacy and it was very disappointing; the lighting didn't broadcast very far forward onto the pavement (compared to our 2009 Forrester and other models of other manufacturers). We did test drive a new Outback and that seemed okay. 1- I would like to get advise from any Legacy 2012 owners that could "shed some light" on this topic. ========================== 2- If there were any lighting issues, I am wonder if Legacy owners have gone the HID replacement kit route? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faded-a-fool Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 I went with HID replacement bulbs and the lighting is awesome. Our headlamps work well with HIDs. Do a search...there are quite a few posts of peoples headlamps with HIDs lighting up the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 I don't ever recall myself driving at night and thinking "these headlights suck". Sorry, that's the best information I can give you as of now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSpan Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 I don't ever recall myself driving at night and thinking "these headlights suck". Sorry, that's the best information I can give you as of now! Agreed, and I came from an up-high Explorer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byll Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 My 2012 2.5i Legacy has excellent forward lighting. Next to our two generation 2 Legacies, it is a minor miracle. There are many other issues between the 2012 and 2013 models that you may wish to consider. There will be a new FB engine, and a new model of the CV transmission, and other changes. Depending on your views concerning being the test bed for newer technology, your decision will be an interesting one... Best. Byll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxrider68 Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 My 2012 2.5i Legacy has excellent forward lighting. Next to our two generation 2 Legacies, it is a minor miracle. There are many other issues between the 2012 and 2013 models that you may wish to consider. There will be a new FB engine, and a new model of the CV transmission, and other changes. Depending on your views concerning being the test bed for newer technology, your decision will be an interesting one... Best. Byll The motor is a carry over from the Forester, the CVT is a revision of the existing one and is whats done in the impreza. Not really a test bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Remember, when making the switch to HID lighting you're also inviting other problems along with them. First of all, they're not legal. Secondly, the optics of the housings aren't designed for HID bulbs and can cause discomfort for oncoming drivers. Third, quality. The forums are littered with people who have their HID ballasts and bulbs fail prematurely or suffer from other issues. Sometimes it's due to a botched installation, other times it's due to poor quality since aftermarket HID "kits" are 1) illegal and as such 2) aren't built to any standards. Do you really want to be troubleshooting an HID ballast issue in the middle of the night in the rain when your headlights don't come on? The tuners and the ricers don't care about these issues, but most "ordinary" drivers do. Just stick some 65w OSRAM bulbs in there and be done with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faded-a-fool Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 ... Do you really want to be troubleshooting an HID ballast issue in the middle of the night in the rain when your headlights don't come on? ... You wouldn't be doing this anyway with your high-end stock HIDs anyway, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claw Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Third, quality. The forums are littered with people who have their HID ballasts and bulbs fail prematurely or suffer from other issues. Sometimes it's due to a botched installation, other times it's due to poor quality since aftermarket HID "kits" are 1) illegal and as such 2) aren't built to any standards. Do you really want to be troubleshooting an HID ballast issue in the middle of the night in the rain when your headlights don't come on? The tuners and the ricers don't care about these issues, but most "ordinary" drivers do. Ironically, I put in cheapo HID's to replace my OEM 05 LGT bulbs which were burning out every 5 months. I haven't had a single HID bulb fail on me yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 My OEM halogen bulbs were burning out quickly too, but once I replaced them with the OSRAM 65w bulbs and left DRLs enabled, I stopped burning through them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralphtc Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 I went with HID replacement bulbs and the lighting is awesome. Our headlamps work well with HIDs. Do a search...there are quite a few posts of peoples headlamps with HIDs lighting up the road. Same here went with a HID Conversion kit, and couldn't be any more happy. They do fit well since our cars already have the projector housings, I love the sharp cutoff point the xenon lights give, and there not illegal, people that put hid bulbs in multi-reflector headlights do them illegal, and those are the ones that are blinding people at night. My HID's are aimed correctly, and have never had an issue with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 and there not illegal, What do you base that on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralphtc Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Let me rephrase myself, in my opinon there not illegal, my hid's are correctly installed and aimed,nobody has flashed highbeams at me ever, and I've had these headlights for many months now. You have your opinion, and I have mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrD123 Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Let me rephrase myself, in my opinon there not illegal, my hid's are correctly installed and aimed,nobody has flashed highbeams at me ever, and I've had these headlights for many months now. You have your opinion, and I have mine.They may be aimed properly, and never draw undue attention, but the legality isn't a function of your personal opinion - they are illegal, as in against the laws presently on the books. (just like most aftermarket exhausts, going catless, etc. - doesn't mean folks aren't going to do it, or that it's going to cause a problem to others, but they are still illegal) personally, I've been blinded by enough kids who run them in their cars to look cool that I wish they were off the market... However, aimed properly, with a headlight design that can handle the intensity, they aren't a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10legacy Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 I don't have any trouble seeing at night with the stock headlights, The foglights are also nice for rainy nights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterPeon Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Not being able to see at night while driving is one of the biggest peeves I have about driving. That is why I went the HID route. Correctly installed and aimed, they throw a lot more light down the road. Putting higher wattage conventional bulbs in do improve lighting when compared to the stock bulbs, but they do make your headlight housing hotter. I don't know what temperatures the housing can tolerate, but I assume hotter temps generally aren't good. Like ssbtech said, HID ballasts can fail and you don't want to remedy something broken in the middle of the night in the rain with an axe murderer after you, but are they both going to fail at the same time? I think you would be in the same boat as someone with a regular burnt out bulb. There are also various quality levels on HID kits. You probably want to stay away from the $30 ebay ones. Other things to consider are how clean your windshield is both inside and outside. I used to hate driving in the rain at night because I couldn't see through the hazy glary windshield with oncoming traffic. I then discovered glaco and aquapel window treatment and piaa silicone wipers. Those in combination with HIDs, night driving in any weather is wonderfully stress free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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