[supertinu]

Originally Posted by sandeepsc

I am planning to upgrade the stock head light setup of my Hexa. I am thinking to do it in phase wise manner starting with upgrading the fog lights with LEDs. What are the options for me? Will brands like Osram or Philips be plug and play type without modifying current wiring? What precautions should be taken before going to upgrade?

Did you get it done already?

based on my experience, it makes sense to swap low beam and fogs. I prefer keeping halogens on high beam since those are reflectors and LEDs scatter lot more. I reversed from LEDs on my car to Halogens on high beam.

[sandeepsc]

Originally Posted by supertinu

Did you get it done already?

based on my experience, it makes sense to swap low beam and fogs. I prefer keeping halogens on high beam since those are reflectors and LEDs scatter lot more. I reversed from LEDs on my car to Halogens on high beam.

No. I was still waiting for someone to help me in selection of right product. Can you suggest best alternatives available in the market specifically compatible to Hexa. Should I opt for HIDs in low beam and LED in fog lamps. If results are very good I can stretch my budget for specific brand also.

[supertinu]

Originally Posted by sandeepsc

No. I was still waiting for someone to help me in selection of right product. Can you suggest best alternatives available in the market specifically compatible to Hexa. Should I opt for HIDs in low beam and LED in fog lamps. If results are very good I can stretch my budget for specific brand also.

LEDs are a bit of hit and miss in my view for beam patterns. Best results i got so far are with OSram. You can check my post below. LEDs are very easy swap as long as you get the right model. Like H7 halogen swapped with H7 LED. You can buy these on amazon and try first. Return them if you dont like.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modif...ml#post5223860 (Comprehensive guide to LED Headlight upgrades)

however HIDs will give better illumination result but cost more and require more wiring effort also.

Fogs you can stick to LEDs but get good quality all weather design without fans since fogs normally dont have enclosures.

[anuragn]

I was thinking of replacing the H7s on my Rapid (1.6 TDI). Since the LED bulbs are longer in size due to the cooling fan, how are these swapped with halogens without cutting the protective rubber cap at the headlight assembly? I am worried that if a hole is cut in the rubber cap, it will result in dust and moisture ingress and damage the reflector.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by anuragn

I was thinking of replacing the H7s on my Rapid (1.6 TDI). Since the LED bulbs are longer in size due to the cooling fan, how are these swapped with halogens without cutting the protective rubber cap at the headlight assembly? I am worried that if a hole is cut in the rubber cap, it will result in dust and moisture ingress and damage the reflector.

In most reputed brands, you don't need to do any cutting. For example:

https://youtu.be/ZKswmGO8IuY

[clevermax]

Hello All,

Yes, it's a case of returning to LEDs again, but with proper research this time. The car in question is NextGen Verna with Projector headlamps and HB3 halogen bulbs as stock. (Single bulb, single filament for both high and low beam.)

This is what the projector headlamp looks like from outside:


This is the stock halogen bulb dimensions and its filament arrangement:



Like many, I had changed to LED headlamps after doing just a little research. I ended up buying Kom Power HB3 LED headlamps from Ali Express back in 2019. Even though I have been using them up until now, they were having a couple of drawbacks.

So, this is the 'bad example' of the LED headlamp that I have been living with:

One point to note here is that even though the yellow LED strips began at 32mm from the bulb base (for halogen, the filament's far end from the base was only 31mm) the actual chips that get illuminated began only after a couple more millimeters. In essence, the source of light was offset by a few millimeters compared to the stock halogens.

The main issues I had faced with this particular LED light were:

Issue #1: Even though it has 360 degrees LED chips, The high beam from this lamp was never focussed. It used to spread out into a larger area thereby reducing the relative illumination of the road in front of you afar. If I compare this to the stock halogens, they used to produce a much focussed high beam even though the overall light output was much lower compared to the 17000 lumen LEDs.

Issue #2: Installing these LED lights wasn't that easy. It was a very tight fit inside the headlamp assembly - the dust cap used to tightly rub against the heatsinks while closing the cap, and it actually resulted in a couple of bent heatsink fins. The learning is that if I buy another LED light, its base (the heatsink cluster) shouldn't extend that much into the rear of the bulb's base. If it does, then the dust cap can't be properly closed. Or, the overall diameter of the bottom of the unit should be at least 3 to 4 mm less than this bad example, which has a diameter of 37mm.

Now coming back to Issue #1 - I have a question - for projector headlamps, what should be the design of the LED mast?

Should it be a flat metal piece with LED chips on either side like this:


OR

should it be a circular mast with LED chips all around like the one below?


Looking at the stock halogen bulb, I felt that an LED mast with chips all around would be mimicking the omnidirectional light output of the stock halogens. However, the real-world experience with Kom Power LED lights with chips all around wasn't that good, for the high beam. May be this was because of the offset it had compared to the filament position of the stock HB3 halogens.

Appreciate any technical inputs & any user experiences/insights related to this question.

[Mr. Nobody]

Originally Posted by clevermax

Hello All,


Appreciate any technical inputs & any user experiences/insights related to this question.

It's best you get a HID kit rather than these PnP LED bulbs. HID will work way better in a projector.

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by clevermax

Hello All,

Yes, it's a case of returning to LEDs again, but with proper research this time. The car in question is NextGen Verna with Projector headlamps and HB3 halogen bulbs as stock. (Single bulb, single filament for both high and low beam.)

.

If you want honest advice, skip the LEDs and go straight for HIDs in 4200k. That is the only worthwhile solution which I found after wasting a lot of time and effort with Led bulbs in my Jeep Compass which also has HB3 bulbs in a projector lens setup. I tried at least 4 different led bulbs options (spent over 25k on these) but none of them were worth it and some had a really bad low beam and some had a very bad high beam and also all of them were higher than 5500k CCT. Finally I went for 42w HID asic ballasts and 35W yeaky HID bulbs with 4300k CCT. This combination is working very well since the past 3 years on my Compass and is absolutely miles ahead of any LEDS available. I had installed the whole setup myself and it took me around 3 hours on my Jeep Compass (as lights are very hard to access). I had also installed the same setup on my Skoda Laura - that took me 30min to install as it had very easy access to headlamps and the drivers also fit inside the headlight housing itself.
If you are worried about reversibility for warranty, just but a separate set of headlight caps and keep as spare.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by Mr. Nobody

It's best you get an HID kit rather than these PnP LED bulbs. HID will work way better in a projector.

Originally Posted by Behemoth

If you want honest advice, skip the LEDs and go straight for HIDs in 4200k.

Thanks for the suggestions on HID. The reason why I am not preferring HIDs are:

1) HID bulbs inside halogen projectors may ruin the projectors in the long run (heat)
2) The second option is to replace the projectors too and get a complete HID kit including its own projectors. However, I am not inclined towards this option at the moment as this requires more extensive work on the headlamp assembly.

[Mr. Nobody]

Originally Posted by clevermax

Thanks for the suggestions on HID. The reason why I am not preferring HIDs are:

1) HID bulbs inside halogen projectors may ruin the projectors in the long run (heat)
2) The second option is to replace the projectors too and get a complete HID kit including its own projectors. However, I am not inclined towards this option at the moment as this requires more extensive work on the headlamp assembly.

If you are concerned about heat you can go for a 35w HID kit instead of 55w/45w. It will be cooler than even your stock halogens and still be brighter than any LED bulb.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by Mr. Nobody

If you are concerned about heat you can go for a 35w HID kit instead of 55w/45w. It will be cooler than even your stock halogens and still be brighter than any LED bulb.

Thanks. It seems everyone is obsessed with 6000K white/bluish types. Amazon doesn't even have anything other than 6000K.

Are there any alternate online shops that offer say 4200K or 4800K HIDs?

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by clevermax

Thanks. It seems everyone is obsessed with 6000K white/bluish types. Amazon doesn't even have anything other than 6000K.

Are there any alternate online shops that offer say 4200K or 4800K HIDs?

You can use the HB4 kit as below:
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B071G58JZG/...92E71S0HBKC5WB

Basically HB4 and HB3 are exactly same bulbs - HB3 is for low beam usage and Hb4 is for shuttered projectors with low+high beams.

On the heat issue, this is a huge misconception about HIDs. Hid bulbs generate 70% light and only 30% is given off as heat. So a 35w bulb will generate almost 25w of light and only 10w as heat. In case of a 60w halogen bulb, 45w is given off as heat and only 15w is light generated (for high efficiency bulbs). So this is a misconception about HIDs that is incorrect.
However there are two aspects to be careful about on HIDs. They need a high voltage 22kV spike to start, which is made using a electronic driver. The wires and cables need to be high quality silicone material to withstand this surge. Any poor quality cables in cheap HID kits will not last long. After startup the operating voltage generally stabilizes around 48V (depending on the kit used).
In HID bulbs, they have a special anti UV coating inside to prevent UV light blocking as the light is generated by a Arc jumping in a Xenon atmosphere across electrodes (there is no filament). In case of inferior bulbs the UV coating is not proper and it lets out UV rays in the beam which can damage reflectors in the long run.
So it is essential to use a good quality bulb which has proper anti UV coating.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

You can use the HB4 kit as below:
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B071G58JZG/...92E71S0HBKC5WB

I have come across this item, but I was doubtful about the specifications as it is listed as 'DHB4'.

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Basically HB4 and HB3 are exactly same bulbs - HB3 is for low beam usage and Hb4 is for shuttered projectors with low+high beams.

Oh ok. For Verna, the spec is HB3, but it is used for both high and low beams (Shuttered projector).

[supertinu]

Originally Posted by clevermax

I have come across this item, but I was doubtful about the specifications as it is listed as 'DHB4'.

I agree with Behemoth, for Verna with a single projector for hi/lo beam, you are much better off using a warmer HIDs than after market LEDs. LEDs are best used for lo beam or fogs, but not for high beam.

[drhoneycake]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Basically HB4 and HB3 are exactly same bulbs - HB3 is for low beam usage and Hb4 is for shuttered projectors with low+high beams.

Actually it’s the other way round. HB3 bulbs are for bi-beam projectors that have a shutter to control low/high beam. The Verna, Elite i20, Creta, Seltos all use HB3 bulbs in their halogen projector.

HB4 bulbs are for low beam usage.

Coming to the Verna’s projector, that is one awful projector. Nothing apart from a halogen bulb works correctly in there. Tried em all in my Verna until I swapped the halogen projector with an LED one.