I will have my 04 WRX in about 2 weeks and I already have an HID kit for it. My question is, do the STi headlights have a different type of reflector housing to accomadate (sp?) the HID's? Or can I just put my HID's in the stock WRX housing with some proper aiming so I don't get any glare? Thanks in advance.

 

6 views and not one of you knows?

 

It's possible the reflectors are designed somewhat differently to accomodate the HIDs. I haven't had an opportunity to directly compare them next to each other. Just be sure that if you install HIDs in your 04 lights the bulbs are the D2R type which have the anti-glare mask for use in reflectors. Many of the H1 kits use D2S bulbs which are unmasked and made for projectors.

 

Does anyone have pictures of their 04 STi's HID beam pattern? I'm assuming the STi uses D2Rs then?

 

Your original Subject line was pretty vague. My first impression was that you might have been asking how much they were worth, or how much the average asking selling price is...

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"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

 

Since this was first posted I have read several accounts from people who installed HIDs in their 04's. Almost universally their experiences were negative and they reported the beam pattern was poor with a lot of scatter and glare. Some were convinced to go for the extra expense of the STi lights, others removed the HIDs and went back to the stock halogens.

 

I'm one of those people that bought the HID kit before knowing what the heck D2S and D2R was. So I have D2S bulbs, and yes, the beam pattern is pretty funky, with glare galore. What I'm wondering is, as I'm sure many others are, what is the difference with the 2004 STi housings/bulbs that makes them OK? For all intents and purposes, they look the same. They're reflectors not projectors, just like the WRX. So do they accomplish a legal beam pattern simply by using D2R bulbs? Or is there some other fancy hidden optical magic? Or do they have a glaring beam pattern as well? Can anyone out there with an STi attest? I'm hoping there's a way to amend my HID setup without having to buy STi housings, but I dunno.

 

The STi housing (whole headlamp assembly) is different. The reflector pattern is different and so are the bulbs. The ballasts are mounted underneath the assembly. May want to try aiming your lights down a little to deal with the funky glare problem...