Product Review: Philips Crystal Vision Halogen headlamps

[ankitahuja]

Originally Posted by vikram_d

Ankit - a complete kit from Roots is available which has everything the holder, cutout, relay and all necessary wiring.

Guys, I recently got the Philips Blue Vision 100/90W with the complete Roots Wiring Kit and Relay done. I did not get the ceramic holders as the Roots kit holders are "bakelite holders" designed for 130/100W. Its so much better than the Crystal Vision, the light output is much more and crisp.

The light isnt stock yellow, its in between the white and yellow as most of the other members suggested. In my opinion, its the best option available. You see stock lights on other cars which you feel are powerful, drive up to them and you immediately know the Blue Vision is stronger!

Here is a picture of the stuff..

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7998/dscn0609ra6.jpg
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/5862/dscn0610lt0.jpg

Cheers!

[tsk1979]

Hi Ankit,
where did you get the wiring Harness. I could not find in noida
I have Narva (100/90W) which is a philips owned company. Though I have a relay do not have harness.
Could you give me the prices of the harness+relay.
I will get ceramic holders anyways so that if later I think of going 130/100W again, I can do so.

[ankitahuja]

Originally Posted by vikram_d

Ankit - a complete kit from Roots is available which has everything the holder, cutout, relay and all necessary wiring.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Hi Ankit,
where did you get the wiring Harness. I could not find in noida
I have Narva (100/90W) which is a philips owned company. Though I have a relay do not have harness.
Could you give me the prices of the harness+relay.
I will get ceramic holders anyways so that if later I think of going 130/100W again, I can do so.

Hey TSK,

I got them from Kashmere Gate for Rs. 540 for the relay + wiring kit.

I suppose you should try out the bakelite holders with 130/100W bulbs first and if you face a problem, then go in for the ceramic holders. Let's see how reliable the ROOTS kit is, besides, I would have got 130/100W too but I was scared to think that the headlamp reflectors will get spoilt as they are getting old.

[manveet]

I used to be running these about 3 months back and was VERY satisfied with their performance in the OHC.








One thing to remember - White lights give the impression that they are not lighting up the road, however this is merely psychological in most cases - the difference is immediately apparent upon switching off the lights.

And yes, they do pick up road markings much better.

p.s. I am now running on Narva's (100/90W) - will post pics when possible

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by manveet

p.s. I am now running on Narva's (100/90W) - will post pics when possible

Et Tu Brutus?
I have narva's too. How does performance compare to your earlier white lights?

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Et Tu Brutus?
I have narva's too. How does performance compare to your earlier white lights?

Damn seems everyone's getting Narva's these days. Tanveer I'm really looking forward to seeing your & Manveet's cars lights on saturday. I desperately need an upgrade from my current lights.

[tsk1979]

Sure Ishan. you can do that.
I am speculating the Narva will be only slightly better or equivalent to Bluevision.
If you want more light, and that too in white color go with Silverstar(which blew on you earlier) or the new Philips bulb(dunno its come to india, I dont think so though) Extreme Power plus.
the 60/55W H4 is said to have 80% more light than standard bulbs this brings it in the 100/90W performance range.
That said I am getting the wiring harness and I think my Narva's are not getting their due voltage due to drop on the original stock wiring.
Will keep everybody posted on the difference after wiring.

PS: Nitrous's post got me thinking. Are you sure your alternator is giving correct voltage? A faulty regulator could cause higher voltage hence bulb blowing. If you want we can do a free electrical checkup camp at the meet , see ya in the other thread.

[manveet]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Et Tu Brutus?
I have narva's too. How does performance compare to your earlier white lights?

To be frank, I was quite satisfied with my Diamond Vision. Not to say that the Narva's aren't good, but they seem to be too bright for regular city use - if there is such a thing as that !!

Now I haven't seen the Narva's from oncoming traffic's perspective and haven't driven on unlit streets as well but what I have noticed is this -
When I am parked at a red-light in bumper to bumper traffic, the light-beam falls higher-up on the car in front. Incidently, if the car in front happens to be a hatchback that is say within 2-3 feet of my car, I end up turning the HL's off as the reflection leads to strain my eyes

Hope that input helped.

[tsk1979]

If the beam is too high aim it a little lower. By keeping beam that high you will be blinding oncoming traffic and it will not help in illuminating the road.
When parked around 5 feet from a wall, at low beam the max height of the beam should not be higher than the headlights. If it is higher than that it will lead to lesser light on the road and more light in the sky into others eyes.
As for diamond vision, they are not as good as bluevision 100/90W which is a award winning bulb.
And did you get a wiring kit for these bulbs. Without wiring kit you are not utilizing the full potential of the bulb.

[manveet]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

If the beam is too high aim it a little lower.

How do we do this?

Originally Posted by tsk1979

As for diamond vision, they are not as good as bluevision 100/90W which is a award winning bulb.

Why are you even comparing a 60/55W bulb with a 90/100W bulb

Originally Posted by tsk1979

And did you get a wiring kit for these bulbs. Without wiring kit you are not utilizing the full potential of the bulb.

No, I didn't get a wiring kit. But I'm pretty much satisfied with current level of brightness.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by manveet

How do we do this?

get your tool kit in the meet, we will figure out. Its a simple matter of twisting a screw in most cars

Why are you even comparing a 60/55W bulb with a 90/100W bulb

Even with bluevision 60/55W the light output may be better, I dont have the link now by some UK magazine did extensive tests on various brands. Osram silverstars and bluevision were among the best

No, I didn't get a wiring kit. But I'm pretty much satisfied with current level of brightness.

Thats great. I dont know how good is OHC stock wiring, but in most cars stock wiring cannot take the current load and this leads to reduced light.

[iraghava]

Ok TSK - Electricals are not my thing but here's what I'm trying to suggest an option. I think my bulbs are the standard wattage so if I upgrade the wiring harness & relays & shift to 100/90W Narva's or some other brand will it make a substantial difference in the brightness & throw for my highway usage????

[tsk1979]

Ishan, actually for city driving in delhi upgrade is not needed as street lighting is excellent. But for highways stock bulbs fail. So you have 2 options while upgrading
1. The least pain way
Get Vision+ or Silverstar or Philips Exreme power plus(may not be in India) 60/55W and enjoy more light. No relays, no wirings needed.
2. Some pain way
This way will get you more light. Get the above mentioned bulbs or something like Narva etc., in 100/90W
But make sure you have wiring harness and Relays. Otherwise its like putting load on your electrical system and you wont get full output.
But a high wattage bulb can blow if high+low beam is used continuously for a long time(minor flashes are okay). So have to be careful in that.

This will make a big difference to your lighting, but all said, a very important criteria is headlight aiming. I have seen cars with good headlight failing to light up the road because of improper adjustment of headlights. It can be done within 5 minutes by parking against a wall and twisting the screws, and will make quite a bit of the difference.
Another factor is your reflectors. Reflectors get dirty with time, esp in old cars due to moisture, pollution etc., and rubber environmental sealing deteriorates. A bad reflector will make your light output suffer quite a bit.
The solution is to get your headlight cleaned from inside including front glass if this happens.
If there is moisture formation, a good way to get rid of it is take out the bulb, hang in a silica gel pouch and park in sun. After couple of hours you can take out the silica gel pouch and moisture gone

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Ishan, actually for city driving in delhi upgrade is not needed as street lighting is excellent. But for highways stock bulbs fail. So you have 2 options while upgrading
1. The least pain way
Get Vision+ or Silverstar or Philips Exreme power plus(may not be in India) 60/55W and enjoy more light. No relays, no wirings needed.

Tanveer I need the illumination for my unlit highway trips which take place every week. Also have already tried Osram's and they were great. Vision+ is currently being used & is ok, but not satisfactory.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

2. Some pain way
This way will get you more light. Get the above mentioned bulbs or something like Narva etc., in 100/90W
But make sure you have wiring harness and Relays. Otherwise its like putting load on your electrical system and you wont get full output.
But a high wattage bulb can blow if high+low beam is used continuously for a long time(minor flashes are okay). So have to be careful in that.

Hmmm seems like I'll wait for your install & then go for the upgrade this way.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

A very important criteria is headlight aiming. I have seen cars with good headlight failing to light up the road because of improper adjustment of headlights.

This is always done at the services & I'm very particular about it.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Another factor is your reflectors. Reflectors get dirty with time, esp in old cars due to moisture, pollution etc., and rubber environmental sealing deteriorates. A bad reflector will make your light output suffer quite a bit.

The headlights are new so no problems there with the reflectors or moisture.

[Debasischatterj]

Recently I upgraded the stock (60/55W) headlight of my Baleno to Philips Halogen H4 100/90W yellow light. But the shopowner did not fix any cutout wiring and relay. I am definitely getting more light than before. However, I am not sure that whether I am getting the full potential of the bulb or not. Could anybody kindly advise the same(relay +wiring )are really required or not with the pros and cons. Rgds.