[vigneshg]

Hi all,

It's been a long time since I wrote on T-BHP.

As a weekend project, I wanted to get some Daytime Running Lights fit on my Suzuki Estilo.

I didn't really prefer the LED strips that most cars have sitting between the grille. Many of them looked shoddy and out of place. Of course, there were some LED strips that went with the car really well too. But I knew that wouldn't suit the Estilo.

I somehow fancied that spot on the bumper where fog lamps go. And as mine was an LXi version, it didn't come with those. Instead there were plastic caps where you could optionally fit fog lamps later on.

I had seen some cars in the city having white LED fog lamps and I immediately knew that those were the kind of DRLs that I wanted. Well-fitting and having that OEM look.

So, when the weekend came, I went to JC Road in Bangalore, visited a couple of shops asking them for an "LED fog lamp". None of them had what I was looking for. They all had the usual LED strips that go on the grille or regular fog lamps.

After about an hour of searching, I finally found a store that specialised in selling lights and LED strips. I could tell because it had all sorts of LED lights displayed outside.

He seemed to have what I was looking for.

He showed me a round LED lamp with a lens in the front. It came with a pivoting clamp to be fit in the fog light area. It seemed bright enough and was about the same size as the fog light slot in my car.
He sold me a pair for Rs 1200. He also said that I had to find my own mechanic to have them fit. And I knew one.

The ones I bought weren't an exact fit but the car decor shop I knew was able to fit them by drilling into the fog light holder of the car and screwing them in. He charged me Rs 300 for it.

The end result seemed like what I had hoped for - a DRL that sat in the fog light slot of the car.

Here are some pictures of it. Comments are welcome.

Regards,
Vignesh

[negativeH]

Looks great.

Are you using them as proper DRLs, as in direct connection to the Battery, or have a bypass switch?

[dman]

Do you have photos of the For lamp on its own ? so that it will be helpful for others to source out a similar one. And also what is the Wattage of the LEDs ??

Regards,
D.

[vigneshg]

They are connected to the ignition. Which means that they are, as the name suggests, running all the time the car engine is on. I was told that fitting a switch was not possible with this set up.

The mechanic offered to connect them along with the pilot lamps (city lamps) at first but then I told him not to. That would defeat the purpose.

I am not sure of the wattage but the lens in the front is simply a screw-in one. On unscrewing it, I was able to find a small yellow board of 9 or 12 LEDs. The shopkeeper claimed that they are replaceable (in case they go bust) but I'm not counting on that.

Here is a picture of the lamp itself. It's available on ebay.in as well but it costs about Rs 2000 there.



Regards,
Vignesh

[GTO]

Originally Posted by vigneshg

So, when the weekend came, I went to JC Road in Bangalore, visited a couple of shops asking them for an "LED fog lamp". None of them had what I was looking for. They all had the usual LED strips that go on the grille or regular fog lamps.

After about an hour of searching, I finally found a store that specialised in selling lights and LED strips.

Please share his name, number & address; will surely help others.

If you were really satisfied with his product, install & pricing, how about creating a thread in the Team-BHP Directory (only 5 posts away from BHPian status )?

Thanks!

[pramodkumar]

Originally Posted by GTO

Please share his name, number & address; will surely help others.

If you were really satisfied with his product, install & pricing, how about creating a thread in the Team-BHP Directory (only 5 posts away from BHPian status )?

Thanks!

for guys from trivandrum, its available at hotwheels (opposite infosys)

Dont know the cost yet.

Pramod

[getsurya]

Hi Vignesh,

Good find and they look good on your car. Also, provides that actual DRL effect and should be visible from a long distance.

[samarth.bhatia]

I have a single piece of the same lamp, imported direct from China.
It has fit in very well & looks neat.. However, FYI DRLs are supposed to have a scattered effect, thus ensuring that they are spotted from various angles, whereas what you have installed is a spot lamp - more useful as an auxiliary lamp.

Cheers,
Sam

[WYN]

Nice topic Vignesh. I hope it gets lot of input. I have been actually searching for DRL type LED Fog Lamp that can actually fit into the Bumper like OE Accessories for my Toyota Etios GD.

Via a car magazine, I came across the attached "Esuse" LED DRL Type Fog Lamps.
Really what I was looking for. They had a quality look and build.
So I called them up. They said drop an email Sir.
OK, so I wrote to the Company months ago, gave a reminder but no response till date.
Out of luck with these ones.

[arjithin]

VigneshG, good one. It looks very neat on your car. Please share the shop details.

I am considering the same led lamp for my Bullet500, primarily because it doest stand out due to its small size.
Where in bangalore are you located at? If possible I would like to see this in person before investing on it.

[devilwearsprada]

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

I have a single piece of the same lamp, imported direct from China.
It has fit in very well & looks neat.. However, FYI DRLs are supposed to have a scattered effect, thus ensuring that they are spotted from various angles, whereas what you have installed is a spot lamp - more useful as an auxiliary lamp.

Cheers,
Sam

But, Samarth in this case the scattering effect has not been fully enforced, but neither does it have a spot effect. Thus, giving a viable DRL option?
What say?
Next DIY?

[torque!!]

How I wish all cars in India are sold with mandatory safety features like DRLs. But in a country where even tail lights are not mandatory (not on paper but in real world) there’s not point in hoping for ‘non-essential’ safety features.

The DRL fog lamps you have put in look really great and do not look like an afterthought. Great work.

[damore]

I have a similar setup on my Figo since past almost 2 years. I could manage to get my hands on Taiwan LEDs as DRLs which fitted in the Figo fog lamp space. However unlike vigneshg these are not projector looking DRLs but you can actually see the LEDs in it.

(snaps via my cell phone, please excuse the quality) 1st snap shows you the DRLs switched off and 2nd is when they are switched on. The connection is done directly from the battery and I insisted on an extra switch for this setup.

[samarth.bhatia]

Originally Posted by devilwearsprada

But, Samarth in this case the scattering effect has not been fully enforced, but neither does it have a spot effect. Thus, giving a viable DRL option?
What say?
Next DIY?

The spot effect should be there - this needs to be confirmed by the user.

Without scattering effect, the DRLs are not technically DRLs But they still do have part of the effect - increasing visibility of the vehicle.

Should be a good DIY project.

[nishantdlv]

Great job vignesh! They look neat and go very well with the looks.
Even I was thinking about some good DRLs for my estilo but couldn't find any options. Yours though are quite sober and I love them! Surely considering them for mine!

Thanks for sharing!