02 OB sport, 2.5, 5MT, WRX seats/catback/rear bar, Hellas, Home Despot CAI and roof rack
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Got driving light installation inside grille area done recently and I’m really happy with results so thought i'd pass along idea.
removed grille. bolted one roughly 50mm section of 1" alum L-channel to front edge of upper radiator support on either side of center with two 5mm b0lts. Added 3/8-1/2" worth of flat alum stock to bottom side of bracket to shim lights downward, then bolted lights to these assemblies.
Used a WRX grille and cut out a few of the “honeycomb” sections so lights had a clear shot forward. Trimmed license plate and moved downward to offset obstruction to radiator airflow due to lights.
Lights are Hella FF50s, which are an oval shape that looks near factory among all the ovals on nose of car. Mounting seems sufficiently rigid and lights are at correct height and easy to aim. despite tiny size of lights, they nearly double range of my high beams. And it makes car look waaay cool (IMHO) and unlike any other silver Impreza wagon on the road....
I have had one problem, maybe due to heat in the area where i put the relay on the radiator mounting bracket: the relay “seized” up in the “on” position....so my lights wouldn’t turn off even when i killed the car. Had to yank fuse. Gonna relocate and try a different relay. You can see how close it is to radiator...bad idea, methinks.
i have digital fotos of all this but am too computer illiterate to figure out how to shrink em to the max # of kb, so if anyone's interested, give me an email address and i'll send.
bw
removed grille. bolted one roughly 50mm section of 1" alum L-channel to front edge of upper radiator support on either side of center with two 5mm b0lts. Added 3/8-1/2" worth of flat alum stock to bottom side of bracket to shim lights downward, then bolted lights to these assemblies.
Used a WRX grille and cut out a few of the “honeycomb” sections so lights had a clear shot forward. Trimmed license plate and moved downward to offset obstruction to radiator airflow due to lights.
Lights are Hella FF50s, which are an oval shape that looks near factory among all the ovals on nose of car. Mounting seems sufficiently rigid and lights are at correct height and easy to aim. despite tiny size of lights, they nearly double range of my high beams. And it makes car look waaay cool (IMHO) and unlike any other silver Impreza wagon on the road....
I have had one problem, maybe due to heat in the area where i put the relay on the radiator mounting bracket: the relay “seized” up in the “on” position....so my lights wouldn’t turn off even when i killed the car. Had to yank fuse. Gonna relocate and try a different relay. You can see how close it is to radiator...bad idea, methinks.
i have digital fotos of all this but am too computer illiterate to figure out how to shrink em to the max # of kb, so if anyone's interested, give me an email address and i'll send.
bw