[mxh]

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

The Amazon.in reviews for these (Syndicate Wipers) do not seem good - please validate: URL

Also I was able to confirm that Bosch does not make 14 inch Wiper Blades in the Clear Advantage Series - the brochure does not list it URL

Finally I bought Hella conventional wipers of 26" and 14". Installed them today after I came back from work. They are the regular ones, not frameless ones. The "import" date is 6/18 and 7/18. I wish companies are mandated to specify the manufacturing date for such imported items which are packaged in India. There is no visibility as to whether such products were manufactured near or far away from their import dates.

[kaviprem]

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

The socket type is correct [H11 is for low Beam] in the link you provided but that bulb is different from the one I bought - the blue colored one is Single colored (White only) whereas the yellow one is the Dual Beam Bulb.

Just cycle thru the different socket types and it shows up completely different bulbs now. There is some mismatch in the way Amazon has done the linking or I am guessing its deliberate as the same bulb possibly is not in stock. If you are fine with a single color bulb then it should be fine to proceed with the link that you have called out.

Never mind, its an "used" one!

Hi, I think, its back in stock now. Can you confirm if this is the item that you got.

Thanks!

[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by kaviprem

Never mind, its an "used" one!

Hi, I think, its back in stock now. Can you confirm if this is the item that you got.

Thanks!

Yes - this is the correct one - adding a screenshot as well to avoid confusion.


Oedro H11 Dual Beam Bulbs (14-Aug-2018)

As you have called out it is a used one - but its coming from Amazon Warehouse so should be a good one. I will drop a mail to Oedro Support to see if they have any idea when the bulb would be in stock again.

[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by kaviprem

Never mind, its an "used" one!

Hi, I think, its back in stock now. Can you confirm if this is the item that you got.

Thanks!

I received a response from Oedro Support today that they have stopped the manufacture of the Dual Color Headlight Models for all socket types. So while the dual color is available for H7 and HB3 as on date at Amazon.com, I believe that is only till stocks last.

In case you are keen on dual color then you could pick up the Used one on Amazon or possibly try the following one from Novsight: URL

[kaviprem]

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

I received a response from Oedro Support today that they have stopped the manufacture of the Dual Color Headlight Models for all socket types. So while the dual color is available for H7 and HB3 as on date at Amazon.com, I believe that is only till stocks last.

In case you are keen on dual color then you could pick up the Used one on Amazon or possibly try the following one from Novsight: URL

Thanks! Let me check. I am looking at reviews on this NovSight item.
Do you know how it compares with Oedro?

[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by kaviprem

Thanks! Let me check. I am looking at reviews on this NovSight item.
Do you know how it compares with Oedro?

No I do not have a personal experience of the comparison. I have only seen some videos on Youtube :

URL

The Amazon.com reviews for Novsight are not many and the ratings are not very high either.
Another dual color bulb which I located on Amazon with decent reviews seem to be the RigidHorse. Check the URL here: URL

[kaviprem]

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

No I do not have a personal experience of the comparison. I have only seen some videos on Youtube :

The Amazon.com reviews for Novsight are not many and the ratings are not very high either.
Another dual color bulb which I located on Amazon with decent reviews seem to be the RigidHorse. Check the URL here: URL

Thanks Srivatsa. I did look at this video, but not convinced much. I liked the other option you mentioned [RigidHorse]. Thanks again!

[vsrivatsa]

2014 Honda City - LED Upgrade for High Beam

Given my good experience with the Low Beams from the Oedro Brand I went ahead and ordered the 9005-HB3 High Beam Model from the same brand. Once again I went for the dual beam which provides both the Yellow Beam and the White Beam. The order was placed on Amazon.com US in mid July and I got the bulbs this month via a known person returning from the US.

Please read thru my earlier posts for details on my Low Beam upgrade which was made using the same Dual Beam Bulbs from Oedro with the H11 Socket Type.

Technical Specifications:
Bulb Brand: Oedro
Price Paid: $44.99 (Amazon.com USA) [Approx Rs.3150]
Cooling Mechanism: Fan based, 9000 RPM
Wattage: 12V, 40 watts x 2
Socket Type: 9005 HB3 - Plug And Play, No Modifications Needed
Installation: Do It Yourself (DIY)


The LED Bulbs Arrive, Unboxing
The bulbs arrived this month - it was a long wait but was totally worthwhile, Amazon India list the same pair at Rs.9,399/- | URL

Like the earlier H11 Bulbs, these also arrived in similar packing in a Yellow box. The contents included the bulbs placed safely in thermocol and a Manual.



Oedro Box Pack




Inside the Box




A closer view of the 9005 HB3 Plug Type



Installing the LED Upgrade for the High Beam

The Honda City Low beams are very easily accessible and are truly a DIY. In comparison for my cousin's Ciaz, we had to head to the nearby car accessory shop to get them fitted.

Opened up the bonnet and checked the High Beam LED bulb placement and these are slightly more difficult to do as compared to the low beams. Especially the Bulb on the driver side, as the mouth of the pipe leading to the washer fluid tank sits right behind it restricting access to the bulbs. Both me and my cousin took turns and managed to remove the existing bulbs.

Fitting the LED bulb on the passenger side was easier and we switched on the lights to see the White Light. After that we struggled some more to fit the driver side, but finally managed to fit it successfully. The unanswered problem in all these LED fitments though is where to place the LED Drivers as these will be hanging in the engine bay. For the earlier bulbs, I tied these to the nearest cable available in the engine bay. But I would to hear of cleaner solutions from other BHPians if they have figured out one.

Here are picture from the Engine bay:

Oedro LED Bulb in the Engine Bay - View 01




Oedro LED Bulb in the Engine Bay - View 02




Oedro LED Bulb in the Engine Bay - View 03

The yellow rectangular boxes that you see with the Oedro label are the LED Drivers. Not sure what is the right place to place them in the engine bay.

Now that the lights are installed it is time to validate the Upgrade and see how well it has worked.

First a Comparison of the Low Beam Vs the High Beam which in the case of the Honda City is actually Low Beam + High Beam.


LED Upgrade Analysis: Low Beam vs High Beam


Only Low Beam LED Headlight ON




High Beam LED Headlight ON




Comparison, Side By Side View (Click on Image to get Larger View)


Conclusion: The difference in illumination between the High Beam and Low beam is clearly evident from the picture. Also I must add at this stage that Oedro Bulbs are good with the cut off and I dont see the light scatter in unwanted areas as some LED bulbs do. This is true for both the Low Beam and the High Beam Bulbs.

Now let us move onto the more important Halogen Vs LED Upgrade comparison which possibly is of more interest for everyone.


LED Upgrade Analysis: Halogen High Beam Vs LED High Beam

Before installing the newer LED Bulbs, I had taken a couple of shots with the old headlight High Beam. The older High Beams were stock Halogen Bulbs.

Here is a comparison of the Stock Halogen Headlight vs the Upgraded LED Headlights from Oedro.


Stock Halogen Headlight High Beam



Upgraded LED Headlight High Beam

The objective here would be to focus on the far end of the image in both the pictures and it is clearly evident that the light output of the LED is higher as compared to the Stock Halogen Bulbs.

Here is a Side By Side View of the same two pictures to provide a better comparison:

Comparison: Halogen vs LED Side By Side View (Click on Image to get Larger View)

I also zoomed in the pictures and cropped out the picture so that the far end of the light is more evident and below is the result:


Stock Halogen Light - Zoomed In View



LED Light - Zoomed In View


Now let me put these in a side by side view to provide more clarity to highlight the better light output from the LED Lights:


Comparison: Stock Halogen vs LED, Zoomed In (Click on Image to get Larger View)


Conclusion: I am happy with the results and hoping to provide more real world feedback after some highway drives.

In Conclusion, I would say I have successfully completed the LED Upgrade for my 4th Gen Honda City. Now the Low Beam & High Beam are both Dual Beam LEDs from Oedro. The Fog Lights are Dual Beam LEDs from Lasfit Lighting

Note: There is a risk in LED Upgrades as some bulbs scatter the light all around. Check for reviews that call out the cut off aspect of the LED Bulbs while selecting them. While I hit a roadblock with Lasfit LEDs, I am fortunate the Honda City uses the same socket for both Low Beam and Fog Lights and hence I demoted the Lasfit LEDs to the Fog Lights since I found these to not have a proper cut off.

Happy Motoring!

[kaviprem]

Great work.
I like your experiments and truly appreciate the time you take to write down all the details that would be of great help to all others!

I am thinking of going with "Oedro" pure white for both Low and High beams. Of course the reason being the low beam is no more available in dual colour :(

On a lighter note, you seem to have good contacts coming in from US to carry these items for you

Good luck and Thanks again.
Prem.

[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by kaviprem

Great work.
I like your experiments and truly appreciate the time you take to write down all the details that would be of great help to all others!

Thanks - it has been a great learning experience for me as well and I am enjoying the experiments too

Originally Posted by kaviprem

I am thinking of going with "Oedro" pure white for both Low and High beams. Of course the reason being the low beam is no more available in dual colour

Here is a goldmine of site I came across today. They have conducted a test of various LEDs available in the market and provided a rating chart.

BulbFacts.com Rating Chart: URL . They also have an interesting video where they have selected their top 2 Bulbs here:

Top 10 LED Headlight Kits under $100 on Amazon Tested

As per them some bulbs perform well in Low Beam scenario and may not be the best for the High Beam scenario and they have called out both scenarios and how each bulb fares. Since you are going for an All White setup, you could possibly refer the chart and choose different set of bulbs for Low Beam and High Beam.
They seem to recommend BeamTech for LowBeams : URL . Good Luck!

As called out on the BulbFacts page, some of the Bulbs require re-aiming. Currently after installing the new bulbs, I realized that these need to be re-aligned/re-aimed to get the best experience. I am currently learning how to do this for the Honda City. I have it figured out for the Low Beams and plan to give it a try. For the High Beams I am yet to find where the provision is provided. Planning to post more information on this aspect after I have completed some research on this part

[vsrivatsa]

2014 i-DTEC City Completes 50,000 KMS on the Odometer

Happy to call out that my 2014 City completed 50,000 KMS this month. It has been a great 5 years of ownership typical Honda style with no major issues.


The 50,000 KMS Milestone



The 50,000 KMS Milestone - Additional View

I had changed the Tyres on the date of delivery of the car so two of the Michelin Energy XM2 tires have clocked 50,000 KMS as well and still going good.

The other two tyres had to be changed in early 2015 as I unluckily got them to hit sharp objects on different occasions which caused sidewall cuts. (These two 2015 XM2 tyres have done around 37,000 KMS each approximately.)

Given the confusion over BS VI, I have for now decided to continue with the Diesel City for as long as I can ...till the confusion clears out around Diesels. Also, I don't see any must have type of attractive differences yet between my current car and the 2017 facelifted City...

[vsrivatsa]

Tyre Upgrade

Upgraded Tires on my City to Michelin Primacy 4ST at 54,164 kms on the Odometer. Enjoying the super smooth ride quality and the low noise of the Silence Tuned (ST) tires thoroughly.


Michelin Primacy 4ST - 195/60R15



4ST on the Alloy


All tires from the May 2019 Batch. Full report of the purchase and fitment experience detailed here >> (The Michelin Primacy 4, now available in India)

[Adrian Stephens]

Originally Posted by frankmehta

You are just like most of us here. Trials and errors before you reach desirable results!

Hello Frank,
Can you share a few pictures of the headlight bulb upgrade including the light throw with the XHP70's - please?

I drive a 2013 Vento 1.4 lac on the odo with the H4 headlight sockets and have tried unsuccessfully for the last 6 years to find proper lighting for the headlights. I've gone from stock to 90/100's to HID's (Big Mistake), to Hella's 550 aux lamps back to stock and now Novasight LED's that do anything but gives light when really needed.

Was seriously thinking about getting projectors retro fitted till I read about your discovery ... maybe you have found the holy grail ... fingers crossed.

Cheers and thanks you.


Note from Support: Typos fixed. Quote trimmed.

[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by Adrian Stephens

Was seriously thinking about getting projectors retro fitted till I read about your discovery ... maybe you have found the holy grail ... fingers crossed.

Not sure about the ones that Frank fitted but I would recommend that you check my Ignis LED Headlight Upgrade thread on Team-BHP for a good H4 Setup based on the TechMax H4 LED Bulbs that I have: > (DIY: LED Headlights Upgrade (Maruti Ignis))

[vsrivatsa]

Clutch Replacement
The Service Advisor had recommended a Clutch Replacement/Overhaul during the last Service. As the gears were not slipping in any way, I decided to use it for some more time. The clutch though had become hard to depress. After consulting with fellow City owners, I understood that in the Honda Cars typically the clutch becomes hard but the gears do not slip until much later.

After much deliberation, with 57,600 kms on the ODO, I felt it would be good to make the Clutch Replacement now rather than waiting for it to fail later so I can derive the benefit now.

As has been reported on multiple threads on Team-BHP, the clutch replacement is a total rip-off and one has to be extremely careful.

I called multiple Honda Authorized Service Centers and here are the Prices Reported for the exact same task:

1. Inspire Honda, Mysuru : Rs.12,500/-
2. Dakshin Honda, Hosur Road : Rs.20,000/-
3. Dakshin Honda, Magrath Road : "Have to see the car Sir"
4. Magnum Honda, Kanakapura Road : Rs.16,500/-
5. Magnum Honda, Yeshwanthpur : Rs.14,500/-
6. Whitefield Honda, Whitefield : Rs.14,000/-

The SA at Inspire Honda Mysuru quoted the lowest and said he can deliver the car with the clutch replaced on the same day except for Saturday or Monday. If he had agreed for Saturday I would have surely driven to Mysuru for this task

Whitefield Honda was the next lowest but given the lack of public transport - it would be difficult to return home or go for the car pick-up - so this was dropped.

Dakshin Honda quoted the highest quote of 20K and their peer in Magrath Road refused to even provide a quote.

Magnum Yeshwanthpur quoted 14.5 K and their counterpart on Kanakapura Rd quoted 16.5K. So I questioned the SA of Kanakapura Rd asking him how they are more expensive. He double checked the prices and said "Sir, if Magnum Yeshwantpur is quoting lower, you please go there itself". How the price quote for the same task can be so different across the different Authorized Service Centers is mind boggling to me

Clutch Replacement at Magnum Honda - MES Road, Yeshwanthpur:
Anyways, I finalized on Magnum Honda Yeshwanthpur as the Metro connectivity is good and the nearest Metro Station is just 450m away from the Service Center.

The SA over phone said they have 3 more cars in queue for the same task and asked for 3-4 days of leaving the car at the service center.

I dropped the car on 01-Jan-2020 at around 10 AM. I told them not to service the car since the service was still a month away. I did not want the service cost and Clutch Replacement cost to be mixed up. I reminded the SA that they had committed to 14.5K for the job and left the service center with fingers crossed.

No one called me back. I called again at 12 noon on 2nd Jan and enquired on the status. The SA said, the work has started on priority and that I would get the car back on the 2nd itself in the evening. After this call, there was no callback. I once again called the SA at around 4-30 PM and he said the car is ready and only the car wash is pending.

I reached the Service Center at around 5-40 PM. The car had been washed kept ready. I took a test drive, the clutch felt much much smoother and softer to depress as compared to earlier. The Gear Shifts were smooth as well. It felt like driving a new car! Was pleased with the results and the work done here. And now for the Bill: it was Rs.15,207/-

Was higher than quoted but they did do a Car Wash for free as well - so left it at that and took the car.

Here is a break up of the Invoice for others who may be in similar situation:


Clutch Replacement - Cost Breakup



Clutch Replacement - Labor + Parts Breakup

Overall Happy with the work down by Magnum Honda - MES Road, Yeshwanthpur!