Just some background first, 11 months ago I picked up a very original 2010 Outback with only 29,000 miles on it. I needed a newer vehicle as I knew I would be doing some serious miles in the future and needed an economical, safe and comfortable vehicle.
Having done 26,000 miles in 11 months I feel some what vindicated in the need for my purchase.
Footnote Here: As a coincidence: In 1980 I had a Subaru Wagon adorned with Marchal 902s and a 905? plus Marshal 7" round inserts with the dual reflectors (maybe these were Cibie?, was eons ago now)
Though being very happy with the 2010 Subaru, I felt the need for better lighting, as I do a lot of night driving at up to 70mph on our 'freeways'. I toyed with the idea of a LED lightbar, (though there is no easy mount for this with that lightweight bumper cover) but anyway, a light bar was not going to help the Low Beam at all. I also trolled ebay for HID 'upgrades' but these just seemed dodgy to me. (that is even before I started reading CPF).
About 4 weeks ago I was at an auto store and found JW Speaker H7 upgrades, these seemingly high quality well made units appeared to be an answer. I did search the 'net quite a bit but could only find info on their full replacement systems. With no better idea than I was dealing with a reputable manufacturer I purchased the LED H7.
First problem, the Subaru is just ridiculous when it comes to changing the Low Beam bulb, once you peel back the inner plastic guard, you then have to decide whether it is your lefthand or your righthand or your sight that you wish to use for the task. You can only use one of these 'tools' at any one time.
Second problem, The heatsink does not allow the dust cap to be reinstalled once you manage to fit the LED
Third problem, The results are not worth the hassle or the money. Sure the lighting looks "whiter" but I found it no better than the OEM's in usefulness and the light seemed to be washed out by orange street lamps ??
Luckily as they didnt fit the car I was able to return them and the quest continued.
It was about this time I stumbled across CPF and my life was changed. No more "...xyz lights are the best 'coz I have 'em on me Evo". I found some factual and scientific information.
Many hours of reading later.... I concluded that I wanted Philips Rally +150 (yes, at the expense of long life, yeah I know...), and I also purchased from the US, the Philips 9011 HIR's (the mod is very easy).
The Results
The low beam is noticably better, there appears to be more light on the road, and I am very happy with the upgrade, it is certainly more comfortable to drive with this lighting.
The high beam is also noticeably better, though not so easy to quantify as the Low Beam stays on, and this I feel, detracts from my impressions of the High Beam improvement.
Its only been a week so far, but I feel I wont bother with any further auxillary lighting as this upgrade is enough to make my night driving much safer and comfortable.
As an analogy here, for those who think 'white vision' type bulbs are the answer, consider this. If I gave you $50 in notes and small change and you said "keep the coins, I dont want them." Do you still have $50? I guess the same applies when you start removing the colours you think you dont want, from the visible light spectrum.
Thanks all on this site for the valuable information provided, even those wrong assumptions in some posts, helped formulate the end result.
Having done 26,000 miles in 11 months I feel some what vindicated in the need for my purchase.
Footnote Here: As a coincidence: In 1980 I had a Subaru Wagon adorned with Marchal 902s and a 905? plus Marshal 7" round inserts with the dual reflectors (maybe these were Cibie?, was eons ago now)
Though being very happy with the 2010 Subaru, I felt the need for better lighting, as I do a lot of night driving at up to 70mph on our 'freeways'. I toyed with the idea of a LED lightbar, (though there is no easy mount for this with that lightweight bumper cover) but anyway, a light bar was not going to help the Low Beam at all. I also trolled ebay for HID 'upgrades' but these just seemed dodgy to me. (that is even before I started reading CPF).
About 4 weeks ago I was at an auto store and found JW Speaker H7 upgrades, these seemingly high quality well made units appeared to be an answer. I did search the 'net quite a bit but could only find info on their full replacement systems. With no better idea than I was dealing with a reputable manufacturer I purchased the LED H7.
First problem, the Subaru is just ridiculous when it comes to changing the Low Beam bulb, once you peel back the inner plastic guard, you then have to decide whether it is your lefthand or your righthand or your sight that you wish to use for the task. You can only use one of these 'tools' at any one time.
Second problem, The heatsink does not allow the dust cap to be reinstalled once you manage to fit the LED
Third problem, The results are not worth the hassle or the money. Sure the lighting looks "whiter" but I found it no better than the OEM's in usefulness and the light seemed to be washed out by orange street lamps ??
Luckily as they didnt fit the car I was able to return them and the quest continued.
It was about this time I stumbled across CPF and my life was changed. No more "...xyz lights are the best 'coz I have 'em on me Evo". I found some factual and scientific information.
Many hours of reading later.... I concluded that I wanted Philips Rally +150 (yes, at the expense of long life, yeah I know...), and I also purchased from the US, the Philips 9011 HIR's (the mod is very easy).
The Results
The low beam is noticably better, there appears to be more light on the road, and I am very happy with the upgrade, it is certainly more comfortable to drive with this lighting.
The high beam is also noticeably better, though not so easy to quantify as the Low Beam stays on, and this I feel, detracts from my impressions of the High Beam improvement.
Its only been a week so far, but I feel I wont bother with any further auxillary lighting as this upgrade is enough to make my night driving much safer and comfortable.
As an analogy here, for those who think 'white vision' type bulbs are the answer, consider this. If I gave you $50 in notes and small change and you said "keep the coins, I dont want them." Do you still have $50? I guess the same applies when you start removing the colours you think you dont want, from the visible light spectrum.
Thanks all on this site for the valuable information provided, even those wrong assumptions in some posts, helped formulate the end result.
