Drove down to Chennai on tue evening for a function and this time i was better prepared for the night drive.
I bought the Osram Nightbreaker Plus bulbs in the stock rating from a distributor in Wilson Garden, Blore. I bought a set of headlight bulbs (H4) and a set of fog lamp bulbs (H8) and these cost me 2200 bucks. Got these installed at the Mandovi Motors service center in the same area for 50 bucks. Took less than 15 mins for the mechanic to install the bulbs.
Earlier, the fog lamps were hardly of any use and functioned more like a set of DRL's but after the bulb switch/upgrade, i must say that the fog's are super bright and i don't need the headlights in the city at all. Not even the low beam.
Before the switch to the Osram's, I had to crane my neck and see if the fog's were working but now they are very bright and light up the road immediately in front of the car without the need for low beam lights inside the city limits.
I highly recommend that existing Ritz owners who are looking for better lighting go in for such an install, instead of planning for 90/100 W bulbs and fitting a relay which involves load on the electrical system and a possible warranty lapse.
These bulbs are brilliant and significantly better than the stock bulbs. Miles ahead and a world of difference I would say.
On my earlier trip, around 2 weeks back, i was struggling to cross the 80kph mark due to limited visibility from the stock headlights but this time i comfortably managed to touch 130kph on some wide and open stretches where traffic was sparse.
I cruised between 100 and 120 kays and i recall I covered 97 kms in one hour in the late evening (around 9pm).
Big thanks to our friendly moderator, Vidyut (vid6639) for suggesting me these bulbs.
I dont have comparo pics of stock vs. the Osram's but these pics will indicate how bright these osrams are.
These were shot in my parking lot using my phone camera. Earlier i had to switch on the tube light just above my parking spot since the corner slot gets very dark even in the daytime but now the fog's are more than enough.
Hope these pics help interested members in making the right decision.
Fog lamps:
Low Beams + Fog's:
High Beams + Fog's:
Fog lamps:
Low Beams + Fog's:
High Beams + Fog's:
Only disadvantage of installing these bulbs was lower FE, due to higher speeds.
I got an average of 18.5kmpl to and fro from chennai with a/c.
On the drive to Chennai, I got 21.5 kmpl. I have measured the FE by tankful to tankful method and there is only a 0.5 kmpl variance between this and the MID indicator for FE.
In 2.5 months, the odo has crossed 4000 kms.
