[manjubp]

Originally Posted by Jessierider

Appreciate the fast response, I shall go through the relevant thread.
Sure would go through them, Could you please let me know if there are any reliable mechanics/electrical expert who does a wonderful job around bangalore.

This was DIY experiment, with the help oh another BHPian shashank.nk. It is two full days of of work (6-8hrs each, can't remember now). It is better to DIY, or buy one ready available. Morimoto FX-R series are pretty good quality.

[pixantz]

Originally Posted by Squanderer

Xposting here for much needed advise.

I got my Rapid rider delivered a couple of weeks back and don't miss a single opportunity to take it for a drive. I drove it in the night for the first time yesterday and found the stock headlamps absolutely underwhelming. To tell you that I found the throw very inadequate would be a gross understatement.

I am curious if others who have the rider variant faced the same issue and have replaced its headlamps. Also interested in hearing what options are available!

Originally Posted by Squanderer

The headlamps on my rider are Halogen headlamps ( they are not projector headlamps). Is there anything I should keep in mind while buying bulbs?

Originally Posted by Squanderer

Thank you!. I see that this item "cannot be delivered to India" on the website. I have heard good things about Osram Night breakers, do you have any experience with that, If yes can you recommend a model to go with the Rider?

Originally Posted by Jessierider

Has any one among us used the Philips Ultinon series of LED lights. Please share your ownership experience. I heard they are good for reflector setup but have issues when used on a projector setup. If that is true, then please share an idea for an LED setup on a projector based headlamp.

I wish to upgrade lighting on my 09 MS Swift dzire and 19 MS Ciaz Delta. Both cars have no upgrades to either the assembly or the wiring. Please advice on the best LED option.

In addition, how efficient in terms of reliability are HIDs when compared to LEDs.

I personally think that people should forget about HIDs in today's age(except of your car comes with them stock), save a lot of hassle when we have a good standard set by the world leader Philips in LED car lamps too. Use the Philips Ultinon Leds which are available for most type of car headlamp types.

Just look up the bulb type and put the corresponding Ultinon and forget about it. Like H4 Ultinon if your car came with H4 lamps. The Rapid Rider will need H4 lamps, I believe.

Look up experiences some pages back with pictures put up by members like Sheel etc.

Just my two cents. Have fun!

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by pixantz

I personally think that people should forget about HIDs in today's age(except of your car comes with them stock), save a lot of hassle when we have a good standard set by the world leader Philips in LED car lamps too. Use the Philips Ultinon Leds which are available for most type of car headlamp types.

Just look up the bulb type and put the corresponding Ultinon and forget about it. Like H4 Ultinon if your car came with H4 lamps. The Rapid Rider will need H4 lamps, I believe.

Look up experiences some pages back with pictures put up by members like Sheel etc.

Just my two cents. Have fun!

Well I was working with Philips for 6 years and I can tell you that it is not a one size fits all solution!
Philips was initially selling HID kits for a long time but it never gained substantial volume due to people not being able to install DIY and also being wary of warranty on new cars.
Then they launched LEDs for cars around 2015 in India (had already been selling in other countries since 2010) but the LEDs did not match beam patterns too well.
Also fanless Ultinon LEDs bulbs operate at around 24w and put out around 2400 Lumens of light (compared to 1600 of Halogen 65W)
In some markets they had also launched Fan versions which run at 34W and put out around 3000Lumens, but they are very restricted and generally only found in China and Thailand local markets.

One of the biggest limitations with most led bulbs (even now) is that the beam is not 360 degrees and with Ultinon the beam is 2*135 degree on either side. This leaves a dark area in each half (top /bottom) of 45 degrees. This dark area is exactly in the field of view and is very perceptible in low beam. When these leds are used in reflectors this dark area is less visible due to reflector optics but when these are used in projectors, the dark area becomes very prominent and the resultant output is often worse than the halogen output initially.
With LEDs the best output and distribution is from OE headlamps which are designed for reflector / projectors and using retrofit leds in Halogen headlight units does not yield much benefit most of the time. I have also learnt this from experience over the years and tried at least 7 led kits on different cars. As both my current cars (Skoda Laura and Jeep Compass) have projectors, I found HIDs to be the best solution.
Also with LEDs , 4300K cct is much less available and I personally don't like 6500K cct, I went with 4300k cct HIDs.
Recently though I am starting to see some good 4300K cree LED bulbs on Aliexpress and I am using one which is quite good on my Jawa 42 bike (in the reflector headlight).

[pixantz]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Well I was working with Philips for 6 years and I can tell you that it is not a one size fits all solution!

One of the biggest limitations with most led bulbs (even now) is that the beam is not 360 degrees and with Ultinon the beam is 2*135 degree on either side. This leaves a dark area in each half (top /bottom) of 45 degrees.

Hey, I never claimed one size to fit all. I said you use the corresponding type of bulb as the original type. Like an H4 for an H4 Halogen, An H7 for an H7, and so on. That said, you're right, they're not a hit with projectors setup. But Phillips is better than most crap you get in India claiming to be great Bulbs. They've done their rnd better, sort of. They work much better on Halogen bulb reflectors than most others is what I've seen. You've been having mostly Projector based cares so you have had a sour experience.

You're also right about the 360deg shortfall of Leds. Don't know when the folks will work a way around that fact.

[yesyeswe]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

I have tried at least 5 different LED headlight bulb options and this is one of the best options I found for H4 LEDs in 4300K
http://a.aliexpress.com/_dUXklIw
I am using this currently in my Jawa 42 bike and they are much better than all other options and also are 4300K in CCT. These bulbs need to be installed Horizontally.

I have a GT 650 with the old school headlight glass(not clear one), currently i am looking for various options to increase the headlight intensity. Maddog has a headlight replacement unit which costs 7200 but i'm not sure with the output. I don't want to get auxiliary lights as well. The led bulb which you have mentioned, how good is it? In most leds low beam is good but the high beam is unnoticeable.

I am even thinking of installing a projector headlamp inside with a good bi xenon bulb, research going on.

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by yesyeswe

I have a GT 650 with the old school headlight glass(not clear one), currently i am looking for various options to increase the headlight intensity. Maddog has a headlight replacement unit which costs 7200 but i'm not sure with the output. I don't want to get auxiliary lights as well. The led bulb which you have mentioned, how good is it? In most leds low beam is good but the high beam is unnoticeable.

I am even thinking of installing a projector headlamp inside with a good bi xenon bulb, research going on.

The Headlight bulb I am using is quite good and suited for reflector setups. The high beam is also pretty good and a straight narrow beam with good focus. Take the 4300K Bulb as that is more natural in light.
Projector unit inside will be a difficult install, maybe you can try getting the Thunderbird headlight (as that is with Projector lens) and fitting that with Hid.
One plus with the Led bulbs compared to H4 bulbs is that when you switch to high beam, both the low beam and the high beam (of the Led) are on, so light output is much higher.
Unfortunately, the AliExpress suppliers (from where I had bought mine) are not currently shipping to India and you may have to wait a while before things become available again from there.

[yesyeswe]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

The Headlight bulb I am using is quite good and suited for reflector setups. The high beam is also pretty good and a straight narrow beam with good focus. Take the 4300K Bulb as that is more natural in light.
Projector unit inside will be a difficult install, maybe you can try getting the Thunderbird headlight (as that is with Projector lens) and fitting that with Hid.
One plus with the Led bulbs compared to H4 bulbs is that when you switch to high beam, both the low beam and the high beam (of the Led) are on, so light output is much higher.
Unfortunately, the AliExpress suppliers (from where I had bought mine) are not currently shipping to India and you may have to wait a while before things become available again from there.

I'll wait for the seller to make the product available for India, or maybe look for led bulbs with similar design to the one which you have mentioned, what do you think about that? The reason i am inclined towards hid with projector is because of the superior light output but installing in the round dome of the headlight would be indeed difficult.

[AkhPetrol]

Just wondering if someone could help me out, I have a honda city 2012 petrol version. I'm really confused with what size halogen is factory default. I think it should be H4 but when I'm trying to find products for honda city it says h11.
Kindly suggest the right size, an appropriate halogen lamp, and as an option an after market led solution.
Thanks in advance.

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by AkhPetrol

Just wondering if someone could help me out, I have a honda city 2012 petrol version. I'm really confused with what size halogen is factory default. I think it should be H4 but when I'm trying to find products for honda city it says h11.
Kindly suggest the right size, an appropriate halogen lamp, and as an option an after market led solution.
Thanks in advance.

My SIL has a 2011 City and if it's the same as yours, H4 is the headlight bulb. I had fixed relay with 100/90W bulbs to it about 2 years back. I'll suggest to upgrade to 100/90W bulbs with a proper relay and wiring harness. The beam quality improves a lot. LED in halogen reflector will not give you good illumination.

[AkhPetrol]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

My SIL has a 2011 City and if it's the same as yours, H4 is the headlight bulb. I had fixed relay with 100/90W bulbs to it about 2 years back. I'll suggest to upgrade to 100/90W bulbs with a proper relay and wiring harness. The beam quality improves a lot. LED in halogen reflector will not give you good illumination.

I am looking for more of an off the shelf solution due to this pandemic situation. It is really difficult to leave the car at the mechanic currently. How long will the above take? And what is the expected cost involved? Any thing particular that would need attention?

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by AkhPetrol

I am looking for more of an off the shelf solution due to this pandemic situation. It is really difficult to leave the car at the mechanic currently. How long will the above take? And what is the expected cost involved? Any thing particular that would need attention?

The harness with relay would be around Rs.900-1000/- Hella harness is for around 960/- You'll require 2 pieces of 100/90 W bulbs. Osram bulbs are for around 500/-. Total time taken would be less than 30 minutes. If you're a DIY guy, it'll take the same time. The harness has a positive terminal that needs to be fixed to the battery positive terminal. The input current will be from the left side headlight socket as you need to fix relay nearer to battery due to length of positive wire. Then the connection to bulbs by the new harness needs to be routed through the front grill. Both sockets will have a negative terminal that needs to be attached to body for body earth. Once fixed, change the bulbs to higher wattage ones and switch it on, it'll work. The best part of this wiring is that in case one of the higher wattage bulbs fuses and you don't have a spare in same wattage, you can use the lower wattage one. So it's better to keep both the original bulbs as spare ones. The harness and bulbs in my SIL's Honda City are nearly 9 years old. They were doing duty on my brother's Ritz. I removed them before we sold it off and fixed it in her City.

[logicalidiot]

Hello bhpians.
Need some inputs on headlight bulb upgrade on my VW Polo. It's in stock halogen form right now and I'm not looking to invest in a projector or HID at this moment.

I'm apprehensive about how the H4 LED's would perform on the halogen reflectors in general. I've been looking at Philips Ultinon & other Chinese brands from AliExpress as well, the latter does seem like a good option considering the bang for the buck. But first, I'd like to know if the LED's are any good on the regular reflectors. Any opinions on the same is appreciated.

[yesyeswe]

Originally Posted by logicalidiot

Hello bhpians.
Need some inputs on headlight bulb upgrade on my VW Polo. It's in stock halogen form right now and I'm not looking to invest in a projector or HID at this moment.

I have a polo too and i have been researching a lot on this topic, many experienced members have guided me and answered my queries and the conclusion is that Leds installed in stock reflectors don't give proper output, you will get good low beam, but the high beam isn't there. Either retrofit bixenon projectors in your existing setup but that is costly and requires a lot of adjustments and careful work for it to work properly.

Or the cheaper option is to buy a relay kit and fit in 100/90w bulbs, it is failure proof and works 100%, both available on Amazon, it's DIY job or any garage will do it for you in 30 minutes. I am going with this route for now and just waiting for the stuff to arrive. The whole stuff costed me 1400rs

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by logicalidiot

Hello bhpians.
Need some inputs on headlight bulb upgrade on my VW Polo. It's in stock halogen form right now and I'm not looking to invest in a projector or HID at this moment.

I am using these H4 Led headlight bulbs and they are really good. I am using the 4300K versions in H4 in my Jawa 42 reflector headlight and the beam focus is really good, both in low as well as high beam.
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mPMTct9

Originally Posted by yesyeswe

I'll wait for the seller to make the product available for India, or maybe look for led bulbs with similar design to the one which you have mentioned, what do you think about that? The reason i am inclined towards hid with projector is because of the superior light output but installing in the round dome of the headlight would be indeed difficult.

These bulbs are available now and you can order them. Get the 4300k variants in H4 for your bike. When installing, they need to be installed with blade horizontal from front. The low beam led (one farther out) has to be at the top while the high beam led (one inward from base) has to be at bottom (only for h4 bulbs).
Rest all variants have both leds at same distance.
The good thing with these is that when you switch to high beam, both low beam and high beam led are on and you get double light, which is not the case with halogen h4 bulbs.

[logicalidiot]

Originally Posted by yesyeswe

Or the cheaper option is to buy a relay kit and fit in 100/90w bulbs, it is failure proof and works 100%, both available on Amazon, it's DIY job or any garage will do it for you in 30 minutes. I am going with this route for now and just waiting for the stuff to arrive. The whole stuff costed me 1400rs

Let me know if you have installed it. I tried sending you PM but don't see an option (probably cos I'm new). I guess this should be the best and quickest turnaround for now.

Originally Posted by Behemoth

I am using these H4 Led headlight bulbs and they are really good. I am using the 4300K versions in H4 in my Jawa 42 reflector headlight and the beam focus is really good, both in low as well as high beam.
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mPMTct9

Thanks. I researched my bit over time and I hear people saying that installing LEDs is either a hit or a miss. I'm glad to know it is functioning good on your Jawa. As each vehicle has a different design of reflector, not sure how it would function on VW Polo.