Among Car&Driver’s 5Best Trucks for three years in a row – 2004, 2005 and 2006 – the Subaru Forester SG built on the popularity of the first generation Forester by introducing new weight-saving measures and a range of powerful engines. The turbocharged engine of the XT version even won the coveted International Engine of the Year award. As a result, the SG remained in production from 2002 right through to 2008. But the lighting technology used in these cars is more than 15 years old today.
Factory-fitted options included H4 halogen headlights on the pre-facelift SG (2002–2005), and H1/HB3 halogen or D2R/HB3 single-xenon headlights on the facelift SG (2006–2008).
Both halogen versions use reflectors: a single H4 bulb for low and high beam on the pre-facelift, and separate H1 (low beam) and HB3 (high beam) bulbs on the facelift. They produce an average light beam even when new. In many cases, their light output has been further compromised as bulb heat and general ageing cause the reflective layer to peel off.
The single-xenon setup uses a D2R xenon bulb in a reflector rather than a projector, with a separate HB3 halogen high beam. A xenon reflector gives a less defined beam than a projector, and its reflective layer also degrades with age, reducing light output.
Needless to say, buying new or used original headlights for your Subaru Forester is not recommended. But there is fortunately no need for that. Whether your car was factory-fitted with H4, H1/HB3 halogen or D2R/HB3 single-xenon headlights, there are upgrade kits that will fit inside your existing headlights.
These complete retrofit kits not only provide you with superior brightness and durability; they are also more affordable than average Subaru Forester xenon headlights with bulbs and ballasts, and since all components are brand new, they come with a 2-year warranty. Additional benefits over OEM headlights include Canbus-proof designs and effortless halogen-to-xenon conversions. What’s more, the levelling systems will work without any adjustments to the headlight connectors, and you can use any ballasts that you might already own to save further on xenon upgrades.
Forester SG headlights can be upgraded whether your car has halogen or xenon lights. Halogen headlights can be converted to bi-xenon or to Bi-LED, and cars with factory D2R xenon reflectors get a bi-xenon projector upgrade kit, so both low and high beam come from the projector. Every kit fits inside the existing Forester headlights.
