[Takumi-san]

Since I firmly believe that there is no such thing as a stupid question - here I go. I always had these queries and I do believe many others have too , so members please share your knowledge.

1) What are Xenon lamps , is this the same as HID kits?

2) Since the general public calls this as 'white light hai kya?' ; a lot of shops sell white light bulbs which sell for a fraction of the cost , what are these then?

3) What are projector headlamps?

4) How does one go about installing these (HIDs/ projectors)?

5) Which are the best companies in India (made or sold here) - which ones do you prefer / recommend and why?

6) Are there any drawbacks? Such as damage to the car , overloading the car circuitry , voiding car warranty etc?

7) Is this entirely road legal?

8) How much can one expect to spend for the whole modification?

9) Any cars which do not support such mods? Is there some sort of requirement?

10) How long do these bulbs last? Is it as expensive as the first time to replace them?

11) How does the high beam / low beam work in such a case, do they have seperate bulbs? Can you simply make low beam as Xenon leaving the other ? Is this a good idea?

I will add more questions as you guys help me out.

I would have added my queries to an existing thread but I believe everyone would be better served by a FAQ thread and I couldnt find anything similar. Mods please redirect this if such a thing exists.

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by Takumi-san

Since I firmly believe that there is no such thing as a stupid question - here I go. I always had these queries and I do believe many others have too , so members please share your knowledge.

Let me try

1) What are Xenon lamps , is this the same as HID kits?

xenon lamps are a type of HID lamps. there are others, but what you get here are mostly xenons. for more info , check Gas-discharge lamp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2) Since the general public calls this as 'white light hai kya?' ; a lot of shops sell white light bulbs which sell for a fraction of the cost , what are these then?

Chances are, they are regular bulbs with blue tinted glasses.they cost anywhere between 300 ~1.5k.they are popular since you get the xenon colour without any serious mods.

3) What are projector headlamps?

xenons are a very powerful point source. either reflectors can be use like regular cars, provided they are designed with an HID light source in mind, such as the corolla altis, or a lens- the case where a lens is used to focus the HID beam is called a projector
4) How does one go about installing these (HIDs/ projectors)?
An HID kit is usually a plug and play setup. you'll get adaptors to plug the HID bulbs in the stock reflectors, wiring, and electronic ballast ( sort of tube lights).
Projectors on a car without them involves serious modding, You can either get aftermarket headlamp assembles with built in projectors for frequently modded cars like the swift, lancer etc, or get it done locally - only few modders in india know how to do this properly.

5) Which are the best companies in India (made or sold here) - which ones do you prefer / recommend and why?

I believe philips sells HID conversion kits with bill and warranty.a bit pricey, but they're the only official source AFAIK. the rest are just importers, and a lot of fakes abound - more details here
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...sion-kits.html

6) Are there any drawbacks? Such as damage to the car , overloading the car circuitry , voiding car warranty etc?

HID's generally draw lesser power than stock bulbs (35W as opposed to 55/65) so there is no risk of overloading. a dealer *may* claim the warranty void if you have fitted a conversion kit, since it is a nonstandard item, but there are no inherent risks to the electrical circuitry as long as you use a good conversion kit ( and not some cheap crap which might die and short out the wiring etc). projectors on a car which doesnt have them will mean that the warranty is void, but ideally not if the issue is not electrical related. In either case, if you are really paranoid, switch to the stock setup before paying the dealer a visit.

7) Is this entirely road legal?

anything aftermarket is illegal unless you get it homologated by the ARAI or something like that ( fat chance unless your car has projector headlamps in a higher spec variant). Cops might bust you out of their ignorance even if your car has stock projectors, or just blue/white 55/65W bulbs - which is entirely legal.

8) How much can one expect to spend for the whole modification?

From what I've heard, good conversion kits are at the 10k ballpark, chinese ones cheaper, and if you want to go for projectors, even more (another 10~15k for the Headlamp assembly)

9) Any cars which do not support such mods? Is there some sort of requirement?

Some upmarket cars have a warning sytem which detects if a headlight is fused etc - such cars might need a 55W HID kit so as not to trip these systems. a 55W HID kit does not make more power than a 35W kit.it just draws the same amount of power to fool the car into thinking that the bulb is working properly. Otherwise, all you need to do is find out what type of holder your car uses ( H4, H7 etc) check the following thread
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...dian-cars.html
and get corresponding kit.

10) How long do these bulbs last? Is it as expensive as the first time to replace them?

much longer than stock bulbs. if the bulb itself is dead, its just a matter of buying just the new bulb - D2S or D2R or whatever - will be cheaper than the kit. Alternately, if the ballast blows - they are not available seperately - high chance of this in cheaper kits - you'll need to get another pair.

11) How does the high beam / low beam work in such a case, do they have seperate bulbs? Can you simply make low beam as Xenon leaving the other ? Is this a good idea?

usually in the case of bixenons, the filament moves back and forth for highand low beams. If your car /head light assembly has seperate high and low beam reflectors, you can use halogens in the high beam. most folks have found that HID's suck as high beams

[theMAG]

Mod's note: Topic exists/thread closed. Please continue further discussion here, here and here.

[Nikz]

Hi All,

I am using a Next Gen i20 Diesel for the last 15 months. Since I love driving at night, I changed my headlamps to OSRAM night breaker since the wattage is the very same and 1st year warranty is unaffected. But recently, especially in rainy season, the support to my vision from night breakers has drastically reduced. This prompted my to go for projector head lamps since it serves the job better than 100/90 lamps.

I did a small background study and got to know that i20 can have 35w HIDs and 55w HIDs. Everyone I asked and Team-BHP forums preferred 35w ones over 55w ones.

Then I came to know that 35w ones have sub variants of 4300K, 5000K and 6000K. Nobody explained me what that really means. Also heard of Bi-Xenon HIDs which is slightly yellowish and normal ones which is pure whitish.


My doubts are:

1. Why 35w HIDs are better?
2. Which gives better visibility on rainy and foggy roads - Bi-Xenon HID or normal?
3. What is the difference between 4300K, 5000K and 6000K HIDs?

I am damn impressed about the projectors of Skoda Laura. Please educate me with which segment it belongs to and whether I can install it in my car. I request the veterans to suggest me the best HIDs for i20 along with brand name, precautions to look out for if any and the cost of installation.

I am currently held up at Trivandrum, Kerala. If you can suggest me with any good shops here, its pretty much appreciated.



Many thanks in advance.
Nikz

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by Nikz

Hi All,

My doubts are:

1. Why 35w HIDs are better?
2. Which gives better visibility on rainy and foggy roads - Bi-Xenon HID or normal?
3. What is the difference between 4300K, 5000K and 6000K HIDs?

Nikz, let me see if I can help you.

1) Simple reason why 35w HIDs are better - Long life. The expected life for 35w HIDs are around 4000-5000 hours whereas 55w can be around 2000 or 3000 hours. That's the main difference. Since 55w use more power, it will be brighter.
2) I think you got the idea wrong. Bi-xenon HIDs are single filament bulbs that houses both low and high beam in one single bulbs. Normal HIDs will have a separate bulbs for low and beam. For rain/foggy conditions, you need to go for 4300k HIDs.
3) K- Kelvin shows the color temperature of the bulbs.
3000k - Yellow
4300k - Yellow with a tinge of white color
6000k - Pure white
8000k - Bluish white
10000k - Purple
and so on.
OEM cars use 4300k color temperature. Some high end cars use 6000k. The best visibility is attained for 4300k HIDs.

The color of the HIDs depends on the kelvin rating and not on their type.

Hope this will help you. Let me know if you need any help. Check "Auto Lighting Thread" for in-depth information.

[ani_meher]

I think 4300k is as close to natural light as you can get. I have a 35W 4300k HID in motorcycle, and it is clearly white with no visible tints of yellow or blue.

[Nikz]

Thanks guys for your valuable inputs. So, you both conclude to go for 4300K 35w normal HIDs. Could you please suggest me with any brands in particular, which has good quality and life so that even I can go for it. I believe Skoda Laura stock is also 35w 4300K ones. Correct me if I am wrong. Thanks a lot in advance for your time.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by Nikz

Thanks guys for your valuable inputs. So, you both conclude to go for 4300K 35w normal HIDs. Could you please suggest me with any brands in particular, which has good quality and life so that even I can go for it. I believe Skoda Laura stock is also 35w 4300K ones. Correct me if I am wrong. Thanks a lot in advance for your time.

You can go for Philips, P8, Osram. Yes, it's got 4300k HID's.

[Sommos]

The i20 has a single beam with dual filament.
So you need to go for a bi-xenon projector with D2S bulbs.

Projectors : Morimoto Mini or Hella E55.
Hid : Philips or Morimoto D2S.

Please do your homework and then choose the type of projector and bulbs.

[Nikz]

Originally Posted by Sommos

The i20 has a single beam with dual filament.
So you need to go for a bi-xenon projector with D2S bulbs.

Projectors : Morimoto Mini or Hella E55.
Hid : Philips or Morimoto D2S.

Please do your homework and then choose the type of projector and bulbs.

Hi Sommons,

HID : D2S MORIMOTO XB35
Projectors:

[Nikz]

Originally Posted by Sommos

The i20 has a single beam with dual filament.
So you need to go for a bi-xenon projector with D2S bulbs.

Projectors : Morimoto Mini or Hella E55.
Hid : Philips or Morimoto D2S.

Please do your homework and then choose the type of projector and bulbs.

If I understand correctly, you are referring to Morimoto Mini H1 bi-xenon projectors. Correct me if I am wrong.

HID: D2S MORIMOTO XB35
PROJECTOR : Morimoto Mini Gatling Gun

The life for the same is 25K hours as per the vendor.
The pic below shows an Elantra fitted with the above combination.
I have uploaded Mini Gatling Gun and Morimoto XB35 D2S-3090s images along with it. Kindly confirm whether it fits to I20's low beam.


Can I use the existing reflector of low beam [with a cut on it] for this, without applying black shade on it? I guess it wont be heated up by the HID.

Can someone update me with the total cost for the entire kit in India with vendors at Trivandrum, Kerala.



Many thanks ,
Nikz.

[Nikz]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

You can go for Philips, P8, Osram. Yes, it's got 4300k HID's.

Naveen,

Could you please suggest me with any reliable shops to fix the projectors [Morimoto XB35 D2S-3090 with Mini Gatling Gun] at TVM/Cochin ? It will be great if you can get a rough idea about the pricing.




Many thanks,
Nikz

[Sommos]

Originally Posted by Nikz

If I understand correctly, you are referring to Morimoto Mini H1 bi-xenon projectors. Correct me if I am wrong.

HID: D2S MORIMOTO XB35
PROJECTOR : Morimoto Mini Gatling Gun

The life for the same is 25K hours as per the vendor.
The pic below shows an Elantra fitted with the above combination.
I have uploaded Mini Gatling Gun and Morimoto XB35 D2S-3090s images along with it. Kindly confirm whether it fits to I20's low beam.


Can I use the existing reflector of low beam [with a cut on it] for this, without applying black shade on it? I guess it wont be heated up by the HID.

Can someone update me with the total cost for the entire kit in India with vendors at Trivandrum, Kerala.



Many thanks ,
Nikz.

Firstly I'm sorry, I forgot that the new gen i20 has double barrel headlamp.
In that case you can go with the Morimoto Mini H1 6.0, otherwise I was actually proposing the Morimoto Mini D2S 2.0.

Whether it fits the low beam of the i20, you need to ask some installer. Actually no cutting should be involved. The process is simple - remove headlight lens, insert the threaded mounting shaft through the pre-existing hole in the back of the reflector, tighten the projector after checking the setting and re-seal headlights.

BTW Gatling Gun is the shroud.

There is no problem of over heating with the HID.

[baludharmarajan]

Hi Nikz,

I own an i20 diesel and have the same problem as well. I am also thinking of upgrading to projector headlamps. Please update me the details (cost, time spent for fitting and model) one you have done the upgrade. Will this upgrade void the warranty or should we fit the OEM bulb back when we go to a Hyundai showroom.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by Nikz

Naveen,

Could you please suggest me with any reliable shops to fix the projectors [Morimoto XB35 D2S-3090 with Mini Gatling Gun] at TVM/Cochin ? It will be great if you can get a rough idea about the pricing.

Many thanks,
Nikz

Do you already have the projectors and HIDs? Do you require only fitment? In Cochin, you have Team Energy.