[CPToversteer]

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

 

[BlueRidge]

send them to me I will post them up.

 

[BlueRidge]

Pic #1

 

[BlueRidge]

Pic #2

 

[BlueRidge]

Last one. I just opened these in MS paint and shrunk the size. I could not respond to those emails you sent. Sorry. I just have that account forwarded to work and can't reply.

 

[BlueRidge]

I like it. I was thinking of trying to do something like that to add round fogs or driving lights.

 

[CPToversteer]

project started because i was greedy and wanted rdriving lights AND fogs, and cuz mounting em at fog lamp level wouldn't work right for driving lights. acc to literature i've read, they are supposed to be between 16 and 42" off ground.

i originally started with the OBS grille and using the Hella FF75s, which are a flattened rectangle in shape that almost exactly matches the openings in the stock 02 OBS grille if you could line them up. i think this could be done but would involve cutting some material off the rear of the grille (prolly not viisble when installed), and i wanted to keep stock grille intact in case i really butchered things up.

hella also makes a combi driving/fog lamp in same housing in their Optilux (cheaper) line which is roughly a flattened recangle and might work with stock grille.

let there be.....

 

[The_Lizard]

Looks nice! I did something similar with Hellas in a 1980 Phoenix.

 

[bheinz57]

Looks very unique, and that poor old BMW got hit by the light bandit, too! . Brian

 

[FMGreen]

Nice!
I love the way they match the oval of the Subaru logo.

 

[mcomwo]

cptoversteer:
Could you give us a rundown of the wiring you did to add the driving lights. Do you think these could be wired into the existing fog light circuit so fogs and driving lights would come on together? I would like to make the same mod to my OBW but I am not sure where I would add another switch for the driving lights. Thanks

 

[CPToversteer]

Do you think these could be wired into the existing fog light circuit so fogs and driving lights would come on together? I would like to make the same mod to my OBW but I am not sure where I would add another switch for the driving lights.

i just used the stock Hella wiring harness that came with lightsand routed it along existing wire harness paths. likewise for running switch wires through firewall.

for interior switch, i removed one of the "knockout" plugs in dash (down low and to left of steering column, near cruise control switch) which fit into holes that i think would house switches if my car had more options. drilled hole in plug and mounted Hella switch in that; didn't want to drill holes in dash itself, and this will be cheap to replace if i ever decide to remove. not too wild on look of Hella switch, but figure it'll be easy to eventually replace witha real Sub switch if i want. at least on my OBS, there are also a couple of similar blanking plugs on center console, near turning, er parking, brake handle where a switch could be placed.

as far as wiring to come on with fogs, this is technically easy but not good idea and illegal in nearlyall states. one of the wires going into relay is the "sensor" wire which uses a small amt of current from an existing circuit to energize the relay and close the contacts in it (a relay is basically an electrically operated switch). for driving lights, it's normally hooked into the high beam wire. real easy to instead hook it into fog light hot lead for simultaneous operation. or you could wire into parking light wire to have em available any time you have eitherhigh OR low beams on.

problem is that driving lights are essentially a "super high beam" which project gobs of light way down the road for high speed night driving. as noted, they appear to more than double the effective range of existing high beams. so they will blind anyone oncoming or infront of you badly. if you don't have em hooked into high beam circuit (so they'll go off when you hit the dimmer switch), you'll have to remember to turn em off each time you dim lights. and if oncoming car happens to be a cop and is annoyed by being blinded..... trust me, you don't want to do it this way.

if you want em both on at same time, you'd be smarter to wire the fogs to the parking light circuit instead of low beams, so THEY stay on whether you're on high or low beam. as Brian correctly pointed out, this is also illegal in many states but since fogs throw a low flat beam that doesn't blind anyone (at least outside of urban OH... ) even as badly as low beams, you're less likely to get hassled over it. if you are, play dumb but freindly and cooperative and claim that lights were installed by previous owner (this may not work if you bought car new...) i plan to do this to mine at some point, if i can ever get the car back from my lady....

what i'd do differently if doing it over again is use a Sub switch inside stead a the Hella item, mount lights a little further toward outboard ends of grille so it looks less like a Saturn, and mount relay elsewhere than radiator overflow bottle bracket so it doesn't seize in open position due to radiator heat. it was really confusing when lights stayed on even after i took key out of ign! i know one other guy reported relays shorting out due to water splashing up from road so this is also a mounting consideration.

good l;uck and write back if you have more Qs. i think info on rewiring the fogs can be found at scoobymods.com.

bw