M.Motoda Photography :: Subaru. Viewpoints. 2quared.

Hi everyone!

Our last SCIC Install/Detail Day (original thread) was a huge success! It was obvious that our next one - if we were going to keep these going and maintain their size - absolutely had to take place somewhere else that had more room. While I love hosting these at my folks' place in Fountain Valley, only having a 2-car garage can make things pretty difficult/slow. Throw in a detailer or two and 30-40 peeps, and you start to feel like a sardine in a can.

Anyway, before we dive in here, I just wanted to express my utmost appreciation for the generous offers from past attendees who said they would let us descend upon their homes if we did this again. That means a lot to me, and it just shows how tight this community is! You guys rock!

So with that being said, we have something very special this time around. What started off as an idea in passing has quickly evolved into something huge! Dan Antonielli @ Prodrive, in conjunction with Bishop and MPREZYA, have been working with me over the past couple days to get this set up. This now gives me the perfect excuse to drive out to SoCal from AZ!

Again, major props to Bishop for really pushing to make this happen, and to Dan for generously offering up Prodrive's real estate in SoCal to host...



PRODRIVE
1537-C E McFadden Ave
Santa Ana CA 92705
Click here for a Google Maps link to the location!


Date: Saturday, March 24, 2007
Time: 9:00AM-6:00PM (possibly later)

Hosted by Dan Antonielli of PRODRIVE
A NASIOC Manufacturer

Media coverage provided by THE MONKEY'S TRUNK
MPREZYA, wrx grl, WHTSTirex, Rallyroo, ghibli99, and others TBA

TMT will be bringing Ms. Noelle Lyn, our first featured model!
She will be hosting a video feature for one lucky car/owner for use in TMT's very own Livevideo.com account and e'zine!

TMT will also be bringing Kailiyah Rey!
TMT will be shooting at least one car for the cover of an upcoming TMT issue with Kailiyah, so be sure to dress your Subie to impress!
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...iendid=196 98

Special Guests:

Trey and Justin from COBB TUNING
They will be in attendance to support any guests installing Cobb products, and to meet with the SoCal Subaru community!

CRAWFORD PERFORMANCE
The crew from Crawford will be bringing out a few of their monster shop cars for the day!

SUN AUTOMOBILE
Mike from Sun Auto is now confirmed to attend!

LIVE SOCKETS ENTERTAINMENT
Representatives from Live Sockets Entertainment will be there, who are working with TMT on some exciting projects!

POWER ENTERPRISE USA
Nate from Power Enterprise will be in attendance!

SPD TUNING
Mike Shields from SPD Tuning will be joining us!

HPI RACING
HPI Racing has given us some items to raffle off!

Detailing provided by:
Evan Zelien & Co. of Surfside Mobile Detailing (evanz@surfsidedetailing.com): Evan is confirmed for the 24th, and has just purchased a $2,000 hot water carpet extraction machine. They can thoroughly clean and sanitize your seats, carpets, floor mats, and other interior appointments! All details include interior vacuum/dusting, window cleaning, and tire dressing. The different types of services being offered include:

• Wash and Wax
• Wash, Claybar, Wax
• 6-12 month synthetic paint sealant: Wash, Claybar, Meg #21 synthetic paint sealant, Wax
• Mini Detail: Wash, Claybar, Machine Polish (remove light swirls and scratches), Wax
• Full Detail: Wash, Claybar, Machine Polish, Wax, Interior thoroughly cleaned and vacuumed, hot-water floor mat extraction, the works!

Dent Removal provided by:
Marvin Ronquillo of Gravel Crew Rally Team USA (mrgravelcrew@yahoo.com): Marvin is now confirmed for the 24th, so he will be periodically checking this thread over the next few weeks leading up to the meet! We have one request for those of you who are interested. If possible, please take a few pics of the damaged area at different angles and whatnot. That way, it'll be easier for him to evaluate how much work and time will be needed per car/panel. No need to post pics in this thread, but have them ready in case he requests them. Some spots are a little harder to work on than others, and please keep in mind that even the smallest dents take a fair amount of time. [I watched him work on cars at Rancho Smeade several months ago, and he does amazing, perfectionist-quality work -Mike]

Alignment Services provided by:
dads_cruizzzer: Alignment service sign-ups are now available! There will be an indoor space for this service, and those who are getting new lowering springs should first drive around a while and get the springs settled. Unless toe is obviously bad, you should put about 100 miles on it before an alignment. Those with bad tire wear or cars that drive themselves to the next lane will want to get an alignment! A few restrictions/requirements:

• No damaged frames.
• All tires must be the same diameter. Different widths are OK.
• If I can't get to the frame or the car is too low, preventing me from getting to the adjusting points, I may have to deny some cars.
• Cars with coilovers must already have their heights set at all four corners.
• Each car will take about 45 minutes, I may ask for some assistance to speed things up. These will be done on a first come, first serve basis.
• Please PM dads_cruizzzer for prices!

Guidelines & Other Important Info:

• 4 cars can be worked on at any one time in Prodrive's garage/bays. There are no lifts, but the bays are fully lit, so lighting should not be an issue as the sun goes down. There will be an air compressor, although this will be operated only by Dan and other authorized folks for safety reasons.
  
• Bishop, teiva-boy, and paulsaidhi will be lending their expertise and offering up additional help in the bays. Please note that while Dan will have his own tools, please bring your own tools if possible.
  
• There will be select parts available at reduced prices! However, please don't turn this thread into a For Sale one, and this meet isn't a garage sale.
  
• Food is being provided by Prodrive, as well as multiple barbeque grilles.
  
• Sometimes installs take specialized tools. Make sure these are available, or please source/borrow them before the meet. Also, please be considerate of time. Although everyone online will tell you they can do a turbo swap in 15 minutes with one hand tied behind their back, reality is something else. This isn't Monster Garage... it's a very casual event. And historically, we've gotten through about 1/3-1/2 of everything on the original lists, so please be realistic about both the type and amount of installs you're looking to do.
  
• Use your common sense and be respectful. No speeding, blasting your stereo, or littering.
  
• If you borrow tools, it is important that you return them to the person you borrowed them from, and return them exactly where you found them. There's nothing more aggravating that asking everyone where your 12mm socket went.
  
• A part of why these install/detail days are so successful and fun is because of the contributions from those who attend. I encourage everyone to please chip in something for snacks/drinks and the comfort of yourself and others. Chips, crackers, candies, sodas, water, juice, ice, coolers, chairs, etc. are all cheap and easy ways to contribute. For the Install Day vets, you know how this works. And please, NO BEER OR ALCOHOL. If you guys want to go out afterwards for some dinner and some suds, that's an option, but please respect the place, and do not bring alcohol onto their property.
  
• Most importantly, HELP OUT. If you want to get work done on your car, we expect you to get dirty and help. You'll have fun, learn a lot about your car, and move things along faster for everyone!

Congratulations to Jon for winning the 2005 Bi-Coastal GT4 Time Attack Challenge!  With some unbeatable times, superb consistency, and very smart strategies, Jon came through with a landslide victory in the end.  Great run, but I vow to give you at least some competition next year in 2006! :)

 

For next year, expect new surprises in the rules and regulations.  You're going to see a lot more "gray area" races that will require just as much time in prep as it will on the track.

 

 

Enjoy the holidays, and hopefully I'll be back soon with some long-delayed write-ups on the STi. :)

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, and thoroughly stuff themselves silly with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberries, yams, and of course, pumpkin pie!  Also, please be safe out there on the roads, as this is one of the busiest weekends for travel during the year.

 

I'll be back in the near future with write-ups on all my latest STi mods, so stay tuned!

Just a quick note to say that while it took some time, the site has surpassed its first milestone of 10,000 hits!  Most visitors lately have come from the various WRX/STi sites, so I appreciate you all swinging by to take a look at my installs and write-ups.  I'm sorry that I'm so far behind in getting the latest reviews up, but I'll get to those just as soon as I can.  In the meantime, I hope you've been enjoying the photo galleries. 

 

As always, I welcome comments and questions from visitors, so shoot me an email if you'd like (contact information up top).  Thanks again -- you've made a completely unknown blogger feel good knowing that this stuff is getting read. :)

As mentioned in the original Time Attack announcement, there will be two Tsukuba Circuit Special Time Attack Events.  They will be as follows:

 

WEEK 1 (Oct 31 - Nov 7): You may choose any car, 200hp or less. Only Normal and Tuner cars will be allowed to enter.  You can practice with as many different cars as you’d like, but official laps must be done with the same car... so choose wisely!

 

WEEK 2 (Nov 21 - Nov 28): Again, you are free to choose any car, but this time, the power limit is 400hp or under. Restrictions are the same as they are during Week 1.

 

Since this is a Special Event with increased practice time (you are free to start practicing on either at any time), Bonus Points will be awarded, so be sure to post the make/model of the car you used and all three of your lap times. If you have a hard time remembering your times (GT4 only displays your best lap and last lap), it is suggested that you put your session into Replay mode or have a friend, family member or SO record your times.  

 

Hint! Any entrant posting times with a car 15% or more under the max allowable hp (<170hp and <340hp respectively) will receive an additional point added to their week’s score.

 

Other bonuses may be announced later!

 

These Special Events will be a good chance for the front-runners to solidify their positions, or for the others to make a charge back up in the standings!

 

Good luck!

Here we go with our first official challenge!

 

Course: Seoul Central

Car: TVR Tuscan Speed 6 (`00)

Selected by: Coconut

 

3. Spriggan: 1'05.494 (3 / 3)

4. Coconut: DQ (0 / 0)

4. Greg: DQ (0 / 0)

 

None.

Gentlemen, welcome to the 2005 Challenge!  Starting this week, we'll be formally introducing a points system to our competition, and begin tracking the weekly results.  Since we intend to reward participants based on performance, some formalized guidelines are required this time around.

 

The rules were based on determining driver's skill more then car performance.  That was the basis of choosing unmodified cars and racing them in "stock" condition.  The impetus for allowing the previous week's high time poster to choose the car/track combo was to give that person an assumed benefit of picking a combo they'd feel the most comfortable racing.  The 3 lap time attack mode was another means of hopefully "leveling the playing field" between seasoned veterans who have practiced more and others who might not be afforded that opportunity.  By limiting it to 3 laps, we all have to bring our "A Game" to a spotlighted moment in time.

 

1. Best Lap Time must be taken from 1 of 3 consecutive Official Laps.

 

2. Each Monday, lap times must be received by 12:00PM noon PST, or a Disqualification ("DQ") will be posted for that week, and no points will be awarded to the driver.  It is the responsibility of each driver to turn in their scores before the Monday at noon deadline.  As an example, if you know you're going to be out for the weekend, or you won't have internet access available on Monday, etc., please be sure to turn your time in on Friday or earlier. It is not mandatory to post Official times on Monday.  Official laps can be posted at anytime prior to the Monday deadline.

 

3. Along with your Best Lap Time, be sure to include a choice of car/course for the next Time Attack challenge.  That way, the current week's combination can quickly be determined from the submitted entries.

 

4. Keep free the weeks of Monday October 31st - Sunday November 7th and Monday November 21st - Sunday November 27th. These will be Special Time Attack Events, where extra points and specially modified rules will be in place for those two weeks. The designated track for both of those weeks will be Tsukuba Circuit.  Additional details to be released shortly.

 

5. While GT4 doesn't provide a significant penalty for hitting barriers or any damage modeling, please keep in mind that "wall-riding" and cutting corners (4 wheels in the dirt, cutting chicanes, etc.) is frowned upon. This is impossible for us to enforce, but we felt it was necessary to make a statement on the subject due to how some of the tracks are constructed.

 

6. The points system will be as follows.  Since there are 5 entrants, as long as you post a time, even if you come in last, you will receive a point.  Only Disqualifications will receive 0 points.

 

    1st Place: 6 points

    2nd Place: 4 points

    3rd Place: 3 points

    4th Place: 2 points

    5th Place: 1 point

 

Shiba-kun has planned on shipping out a celebratory prize to the Winner of the 2005 Challenge, and if possible, to other categories of participation as well.  For those who'd like to make a non-mandatory donation to help finance the costs of these prizes, please email him to set this up, or you can send them to me, and I will make sure he gets everything.  All funds that we receive will go towards actual purchase prices of the prizes and are not associated with logistical costs (shipping & handling, time and effort to gather the prizes, etc.), so hopefully in the end, he'll be able to get some decent swag for you!

 

7. The final week of competition will be Monday December 5th - Monday December 12th, just in time for the Holiday Season!

 

Most importantly, what we want to do is preserve the spirit of friendly competition and racing education.  What we've enjoyed most from the previous Time Attack is sharing strategies for the various courses and cars.  I think that in doing so, we've gained a much deeper respect for not only the courses and the cars that we race, but for each other.

 

9/26/05 Update: This week marks the end of our current Time Attack runs.  It was kind of a mess, at best!  I'll have a new post up outlining our new official Time Attack race rules, which will be taking us through the beginning of December.  Everyone's starting at the same time, so it'll be more fair this time around, and unlike last time, prizes will be awarded for the winners (and losers!) come December.  Good luck, and I'll be back with the official rules and opening car/track combo!

 

9/20/05 Update: Gonna try a points system, retroactive to our first race.  Points will be awarded as follows:

 

1st place: 5 pts.

2nd place: 3 pts.

3rd place: 1 pt.

4th, 5th, NO ENTRY: 0 pts.

 

I'd like to try this to make the results race more interesting and fun.  Jon is absolutely wiping the floor with all the rest of us ranking-wise, but this should make the race for overall point totals more competitive, as well as making the goal more tangible to grasp.  We'll see how it goes!

 

9/6/05 Update: My friend and fellow car nut, Greg, is joining in!

 

9/2/05 Update: My cousin down in San Diego (Coconut) has joined in!  He bought a PS2 and GT4 the day after he found out about these time attacks, and it sounds like he's ready to roll.  His first time will be posted next week!

 

8/31/05: For the past few weeks, my cousin (Shiba-kun), my buddy in Florida (Jon), and I (Spriggan), have been competing in weekly time attack contests in GRAN TURISMO 4 (PS2).  I've been pretty unenthusiastic about this game since its release, but my cousin suggested we try comparing times, and it's become quite an addiction!

 

The rules are pretty simple:

 

You can practice all you want during the week, and when you're ready (before the following Monday), you have to commit to an official 3-lap time trial.  Even if you get a lower lap time during the week, you have to take the lowest of the 3 official laps.  It adds a tremendous amount of pressure that is pretty effective, and evens things out a bit fairness-wise.  Cars must be run stock with the driver's choice of transmission.

 

On the Monday following the official runs, the person who has the highest lap time (or lowest ranking overall) from the week prior gets to pick the next car and track. 

 

Red denotes that week's winner.

 

---------- ---- --- -- -  -   -

 

1. Jon: 25 pts.

2. Shiba-kun: 16 pts.

4. Coconut: 2 pts.

5. Greg: 1 pt.

 

---------- ---- --- -- -  -   -

Spriggan (9/18/05): Averaged about 1'38.5 during practice, totally choked during official run!

 

Spriggan (9/17/05): Jon comes through with another time that'll be tough to beat.  Good luck, everyone!

 

Spriggan (9/12/05): Bad tendency to be overly ambitious on turn 2...

 

---------- ---- --- -- -  -   -

 

Car: Mini Cooper S

Track: Autumn Ring Mini

Selected by: Shiba-kun

 

Shiba-kun: 0'45.941 (2nd, 7 pts.)

Jon: 0'47.894 (4th, 10 pts.)

Coconut: 0'47.468 (3rd, 1 pt.)

 

 

Car: Subaru Impreza WRX STi Spec C

Track: Suzuka East

Selected by: Shiba-kun

 

Shiba-kun: 0'59.--- (2nd (tie), 4 pts.)

Spriggan: 0'59.--- (2nd (tie), 6 pts.)

 

 

---------- ---- --- -- -  -   -

 

Car: Subaru Impreza WRX STi Spec C

Track: Tsukuba

Selected by: Spriggan

 

Shiba-kun: 1'04.156 (3rd, 1 pt.)

Spriggan: 1'04.07- (2nd, 3 pts.)

 

Spriggan (8/22/05): My thousandth-of-a-second time was not recorded.  Jon kicked our butt, so it didn't much matter!

Sorry for the lack of updates!  I've been really busy at work and in my personal life, so I haven't had time to update the text on this site.  Hope you've enjoyed the photo updates, though! 

 

 

Date of modification: August 15, 2005

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 5 minutes

 

Subaru of Japan offers customization of the front emblem for the Impreza line of cars.  There is a blue "i" badge and a pink "i" badge.  The blue one is pretty subtle, and I like that it's hard to notice it if you don't know what you're looking for.  It gives the car a nice balance of custom detail with an almost stock appearance.

 

However, since the STi is far from a subtle car, I didn't really feel like taking the subtle route.  Plus, a lot of custom STi models in Japan have the pink badge, so I opted for that one.  At first, I bought a $15 one off of eBay, and I figured a knock-off would be decent enough.  When I received it, though, to be perfectly honest, it was a piece of garbage.  I searched around and finally found an online store that sold the genuine article, so I sold my knock-off and bought the latter. 

 

When I received it, it was immediately obvious that this was a quality piece.  Excellent construction, perfect fit, and on a personal level, it gives you a nice feeling knowing that you didn't skimp on using a second-rate piece on your car.

 

Installing it is really simple.  Remove the front grille (push down on the tabs), heat up the badge with a hair dryer, and then carefully pry up the emblem with a thin object (a letter opener is what I used).  Take care in not scratching the lip around the emblem.  It can get damaged easily, so it's a good idea to put a piece of cloth between the grille and whatever you're using to pry it up.  The adhesive comes off easily.  You might want to use some Goo Gone to clean the surface of the grille before putting the new emblem on.  Putting the new emblem on is self-explanatory.  You may also want to heat up the new emblem when it's installed and press firmly to get a super-secure bond.

 

Anyway, after putting it on, I definitely like it.  I thought it'd stand out too much, but it accents the center grille nicely, and I get compliments from fellow owners who want to do the same to their cars.

 

Pictures of it can be found here.

 

 

Date of modification: August 17, 2005

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 30 minutes

 

Like the purchase above, this is nothing more than an exterior dress-up modification, giving the car a nice custom look.  From what I've read, turbo model Imprezas in Japan carry the red-trimmed emblem, so it didn't take long before I wanted the same for my car.  This is a genuine piece from Subaru of Japan, and comes with a handy guide on the emblem's paper backing to line it up properly after removing the stock one.

 

The process I followed was the same as when I debadged the "SUBARU" letters from my trunk lid, only this time, not only was the emblem more stubborn, but the adhesive was an absolute pain to remove.  The "Impreza" emblem actually broke the fishing like I was using.  If I had tried to do this with dental floss, I don't think it would've worked.  Anyway, after I got the chrome pieces off, I soaked them in Goo Gone for about 15 minutes.  It helped, but getting the rest of the adhesive off took almost as long as it took to let them soak.  My fingers hurt for the next day or so afterwards!

 

I used paint cleaner and wax to prep the surface, and then carefully lined up the new emblem and applied it to the trunk lid.  My stock "WRX Impreza" emblem actually looked crooked to me from the factory, so I made a slight adjustment to the new one, and now the new one looks straight to me.

 

Several other WRX and STi owners have already come up to me asking about the emblem, since it's not the easiest part to find.  I got lucky and found it on eBay, so I would suggest looking there.  It's a subtle change from stock, but I like the look of it, especially on the STi, since it more or less matches the pink/red logo theme of the car.

 

Pictures of it can be found here. 

 

 

Date of purchase/first use: August 28, 2005

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 3 hours

 

Last weekend when I washed and waxed my car, I noticed a gritty residue on the entirety of my car that didn't want to come off.  It felt like fine tree sap and road tar, so I tried using both a paint cleaner and bug and tar remover, but it didn't really help.  I panicked, and got that sinking "I don't want to clean the car anymore" feeling.  I'd heard about clay bars and the rave reviews they got from just about everyone who had used them on their cars. 

 

It's hard to understand the enthusiasm without actually using the product, so I dropped by my local AutoZone and decided on the Clay Magic kit (which was about $5-7 less than the competitor's product).  It comes with a 100g bar of blue clay and a 12 oz. bottle of spray lube, which can be substituted for clean, soapy water.

 

After washing my car, I went at it.  I did one panel at a time, rubbing over the entirety of each panel about 3-4 times.  It didn't feel like the clay was doing much while I was rubbing, but once I ran my hand over the paint, there was a definite difference!  All of the grit, sap, and other contaminants had pretty much vanished.  A faint brown/yellow residue got caked into the clay after each panel, and all it took was a bit of kneading to restore the clay back to normal.

 

Next, I washed my car again to get all the spray residue off the car, and upon drying it, it's pretty obvious that the clay strips your car of most of the wax that might've been on there prior to claying it.  Lots of uneven spots, and even some areas where it looks like the clay rubbed the clear coat.  On spots like this, I went over it with a paint cleaner, but there weren't too many obvious ones, so I moved on shortly after that.

 

Finally, while I was at AutoZone, I made an impulse buy and picked up a can of Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax paste.  I'd seen blurbs about it on NASIOC, etc., and I was hesitant about it, since the packaging makes it look like it's aimed at the Fast and the Furious crowd.  Meguiar's has a 100% satisfaction guarantee, so I figured I'd give it a try.  I also picked up a Meguiar's microfiber polishing cloth.

 

I applied the wax to the hood and hood scoop first, let it dry, and wiped it off.  First of all, I couldn't believe how easy it was to remove.  It came off smoothly and with zero fuss.  I ran my fingers across the hood and the first thing I blurted out was, "WOW!"  I couldn't believe how smooth it felt, and the resulting deep shine (even on a bright color like white) was unbelievable.  The pictures on this site don't do it justice, and it really has to be seen (and felt) to be appreciated.  You almost don't want to drive the car afterwards, since it looks and feels better than brand-new from the dealer.  The wax residue also doesn't turn into the annoying crumbles of dry wax specks, like most paste waxes (including Meguiar's own Gold Class carnauba wax), and only produces a trace amount of wax dust.  Amazing.

 

While the clay and wax combo are about $25, it's well worth the money.  I can't stop raving about the results I got, and I can only imagine what a huge difference this will make for those who have darker and more complex paint jobs.  Everyone knows how hard it is to keep a black car looking great... look no further, here's your answer.  My highest recommendation!

 

I tried to take some pictures capturing the results I got in this photo album.

 

 

Date of purchase/first use: August 28, 2005

Date of install: August 4, 2005

Difficulty: Easy

 

The value of a radiator shroud is pretty questionable.  With the STi engine bay being as hot as it is to begin with, I don't know if a thin aluminum piece sitting above the radiator makes any significant difference to temperatures under the hood.

 

In theory, radiator shrouds are supposed to prevent air from escaping over the top of the radiator, reducing coolant temperatures and prevents overheating during extended, hard driving.

 

Well, whether or not that's true, I've always liked the way this particular piece looks on the current-generation Impreza.  It surely couldn't hurt to have it on there, and it really makes the engine bay stand out with the trademark Cusco blue aluminum finish.

 

To install it, you simply have to remove 4 bolts (2 on the radiator mounts, 2 on the giant "walrus flipper" intake piece), and the front grille (6 easy to undo plastic tabs).  Fitment is perfect, and the complete installation is done in a few minutes.  Watch your knuckles when loosening the left bolt on the intake piece, since you can easily hit them on the passenger-side headlight bolt.

 

If you're using the stock intake or a drop-in air filter, mount the intake piece on top of the shroud after tightening the radiator bolts.  If you are using a short-ram intake (SRI) or cold air intake (CAI), you can delete the intake piece (if you haven't already done so).  I think the shroud and engine bay in general looks so much better without the gigantic intake piece, and gives it a beautiful, symmetrical look.

 

In the end, the Cusco radiator shroud seems more like a gimmick or dress-up item than anything else, and for what you get, these are pretty pricey for just a thin piece of aluminum if you don't shop around carefully.  The swap meet packaging sure could be better, too, and it would've been nice of Cusco to at least include a decal or two.

 

If you're going for performance, your money will be better spent elsewhere, but if you are looking for a nice piece to give your engine bay some personality (and debatable efficiency), this will certainly fit the bill.

 

Pictures of the installed radiator shroud can be found here, showing it both with and without the intake piece installed over it.

Date of install: August 3, 2005

Difficulty: Easy

 

The STi comes with excellent high-intensity discharge (HID) driving lights, and standard halogen high beams.  The HIDs have a nice bluish-purple tint to them, but the high beams are the standard ugly yellowish color that most stock headlight bulbs emit.

 

Although there isn't much use for high beams in the bright lights of Southern California, there are still many roads that are either poorly lit or not lit at all.  The stock HID/high beam combo is more than adequate in giving the driver confidence during night driving.  The mismatched color of the bulbs, though, is something that I didn't care for, so I decided to replace the 9005 high beam bulbs.

 

The STi comes with Sylvania bulbs, so I figured I'd try some of their SilverStar bulbs for a more natural, cooler white light.  I also like the fact that since both sets are Sylvanias, there were no fitment issues.  Sometimes aftermarket bulbs are manufacturered slightly off-spec, and can cause small problems when installing them.

 

As cramped as the STi's engine bay is, Subaru was merciful and made the lights a snap to change out.  No panels or reservoirs needed to be moved out of the way, and I had the new bulbs installed in a matter of a couple minutes.

 

Upon turning the car on and switching the driving lamps and high beams on, I noticed that they were noticeably whiter, but did not have the blue/purple tint of the HIDs.  In this respect, they don't match the HID color temperature, but are definitely an improvement over the stock bulbs, especially when the light is reflected off a white surface at close range (such as a garage door or wall).

 

This is an extremely inexpensive modification that will help fix the glaring color contrasts of the stock headlight bulbs.  I like the way it looks, and you can rest assured that the bulbs you're using in your car are 100% legal.

 

Comparison before/after pictures can be found here.