[AShubrah]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

I was planning to get a hella 500FF to augment my next to useless headlights, when i got the suggestion of LED driving lights. seem they are cost effective, and a credible alternative to halogen fogs, but has anybody used them? How to they compare to a halogen fog, how long have they lasted, which specific model did you buy?.
I understand we already have a thread on LED light bars, but this is for auxillary driving lamps
Any reviews welcome!

A close friend of mine got a pair of Hella Rallye 4000 Compact LED lights installed on his S-Cross 1.6 last year due to the candlelight like illumination by the OEM HID setup.
He had plans of getting the Morimoto FX-R Stage III from TRS, but the idea of opening up the headlight of a brand new car & further warranty issues made him step into the direction of auxiliary lights.
They are mounted to the front bumper, with a separate switch in one of the blank spaces next to the OEM parking sensor switch & light up the road light it’s day, working very well during the rains as well, considering their 6000K colour temperature.
Here’s a link to the lights I’m talking about -
http://www.myhellalights.com/index.p...0-compact-led/
https://www.amazon.in/Hella-01181504.../dp/B00PHSSQI8

[adi_sun]

Originally Posted by COMMUTER

MY QUESTION:
Can I upgrade the bulbs in these 4 500ff Hellas to 100w while continuing to use 55/60w in headlights and leaving the ford fitted fogs switched off? I don't have music system or power windows. (I use head phones on my regular 500km drives). There is no other major load on the wiring.

While if you can is a technical question that depends on the quality of wire etc. Take a minute to imagine you being on the other side of your car, if you are not yet dazzled go for it.

PS Mahatama Gandhi said something about eye for eye once.

[AShubrah]

Originally Posted by COMMUTER

Can I upgrade the bulbs in these 4 500ff Hellas to 100w while continuing to use 55/60w in headlights and leaving the ford fitted fogs switched off? I don't have music system or power windows. (I use head phones on my regular 500km drives). There is no other major load on the wiring.

Good sir, IMHO, 4 of them is an overkill.
I constantly drive on NH-19 & NH-22, from Jamshedpur to Patna, as well as on NH-33, to Ranchi, which isn’t illumited at all & find two Rallye 3000s on our Tata Safari to be sufficient in illuminating the road.

Lighting all of them up at once wouldn’t be much of a problem with properly installed relays & good quality wiring.

Please make sure that the oncoming traffic doesn’t suffer the wrath of these lights, as it can lead to major accidents on the highway.

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by AShubrah

http://www.myhellalights.com/index.p...0-compact-led/
https://www.amazon.in/Hella-01181504.../dp/B00PHSSQI8

Whoa those are expensive. My budget is a lot humbler, looking for something that costs within the 500ff price, which are mostly Chinese options

[COMMUTER]

Originally Posted by adi_sun

While if you can is a technical question that depends on the quality of wire etc. Take a minute to imagine you being on the other side of your car, if you are not yet dazzled go for it.

PS Mahatama Gandhi said something about eye for eye once.

I drive with 55w low beams on the dual carriageways. Once when I was completely blinded by oncoming traffic( two AL DOSTs overtaking each other pushing my Indica to the line separating the shoulder), I collided with a cyclist. Henceforth, whenever the oncoming traffic makes dangerous things imminent, I flash for a second or two to avoid them.

[condor]

Are you looking for LED or Halogen ? IIRC the 500FF are only Halogen. LED will be more expensive.

If Halogen :
What distance do you want the lighting to be effective ?

The 500FF driving will light up the area more like the low beam and little further, but much further than the fog lamps would.

I felt it is an ok lamp. Try the Rallye 3000 or 4000 compacts if you can.

Also pls remember that 500FF is available in both Driving & Fog lamp versions. Ensure you buy the correct one.

700FF would be big for the Indica

[condor]

Originally Posted by COMMUTER

... I decide to end the turmoil and opted for 4 Hell's 500ff wired in parallel. I have stopped switching on ford fitted fogs for expressway drives.

Originally Posted by COMMUTER

.. I was completely blinded by oncoming traffic( two AL DOSTs

The first statement makes me want to congratulate you on overtaking these AL Dosts

Anyway, 2 of those should have been sufficient and also ensured better cooling for the radiator.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

... How to they compare to a halogen fog, how long have they lasted, which specific model did you buy?..

May I ask which vehicle you are looking to add these to? The reason being, just a bulb swap could lead to improved lighting. Other solutions like bi-xenon projector foglamps are also effective. As these are mounted low, the glare to oncoming vehicles is almost nil and they illuminate way better than even the stock headlamps.

If on a budget, you could swap the main headlight bulbs to 90/100 bulbs with relays and ceramic holders. I have such a set up on my car and it is a good upgrade over the stock for just Rs. 1500 (approx). However, be very cautious of using the high beam - I never use high beam for extended period of time - at max 1-2 minutes. The reason being it tends to get hot. People have reported blackening of their reflectors, but I never encountered this. Been using such a set up on my old Punto since 2009 and the new one since the last year and a half.

Regarding the LED vs. Halogens, personally I have grown to prefer the halogens, around 4300K bulbs to be specific. The only LED lights that I have come to like are the BMW's adaptive LED lights. They are phenomenal!

[AShubrah]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

Whoa those are expensive. My budget is a lot humbler, looking for something that costs within the 500ff price, which are mostly Chinese options

That was exactly my reaction when I got all excited looking at the light output & asked him the price, wanting to get a set of these on our EcoSport as well.

After having looked at the accessory hubs in New Delhi, I found several LED options within the 500FF price range.
The only problem with them was the lack of warranty & the subpar illumination they provided, when compared to regular halogen auxiliary lights in the same price range.

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by condor

Are you looking for LED or Halogen ? IIRC the 500FF are only Halogen. LED will be more expensive.

If Halogen :
What distance do you want the lighting to be effective ?

The 500FF driving will light up the area more like the low beam and little further, but much further than the fog lamps would.

I felt it is an ok lamp. Try the Rallye 3000 or 4000 compacts if you can.

I just want a good lighting solution, and the consensus is that the stock indica headlamp assembly is useless, hence me looking for auxillary laps
Some folks were saying that LED aux lamps are more cost effective ( cheaper and better) hence me looking at LED options. I am still open to suggestions

Also pls remember that 500FF is available in both Driving & Fog lamp versions. Ensure you buy the correct one.

How do I know which is which? especially buying online

Originally Posted by blackwasp

May I ask which vehicle you are looking to add these to? The reason being, just a bulb swap could lead to improved lighting. Other solutions like bi-xenon projector foglamps are also effective. As these are mounted low, the glare to oncoming vehicles is almost nil and they illuminate way better than even the stock headlamps.

This is for an indica - the general consensus on threads is that the indica headlight is poor, and i dont want my headlights to get fogged up , plus previous efforts have not yielded much improvement

[condor]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

How do I know which is which? especially buying online

The packing box will mention the type of lamp, so should not be a problem.

[AShubrah]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

How do I know which is which? especially buying online

Here you go, good sir.

Hella 500FF Driving -
http://www.myhellalights.com/index.p...ving-lamp-kit/
https://www.amazon.in/Hella-Rallye-5...inhydr18418-21

Hella 500 Fog -
http://www.myhellalights.com/index.p...-500-fog-lamp/
https://www.amazon.in/HELLA-00575097.../dp/B002MOAHCI

[greenhorn]

as per my understanding and the hella website, there are 3 variants of the 500
500 fog
500 driving
500FF driving.

500 fog has a flood beam
500 driving and 500FF have bothspot beams, with FF having a longer throw.

still not sure if there is a 500FF fog - the link you posted is for the 500 fog

[ashis89]

A noob speaking.

Are projector headlamps better than halogen ones?

I saw a brand new Rapid passing by and loved the beautiful projector lamps. However I looked onto the road and could hardly find any light falling on it. A Storme followed and I had the same (slightly better than Rapid) observation. An Indica cab passed with its low beam on. The Indica was a lot better than the previous two cars.

What am I missing here? Is it looks vs. functionality? Are the OEM bulbs in the expensive headlamp units of such expensive cars low powered?

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by ashis89

A noob speaking.

Are projector headlamps better than halogen ones?

I saw a brand new Rapid passing by and loved the beautiful projector lamps. However I looked onto the road and could hardly find any light falling on it. A Storme followed and I had the same (slightly better than Rapid) observation. An Indica cab passed with its low beam on. The Indica was a lot better than the previous two cars.

What am I missing here? Is it looks vs. functionality? Are the OEM bulbs in the expensive headlamp units of such expensive cars low powered?

Not necessarily. A well designed reflector is better than projectors. Projectors are better for high lumen package lighting like HID and LED as the peripheral glare is better controlled. End of the day both systems can give good light on the road but projectors have fad value nowadays. Between a reflector system and a projector system with the same wattage halogen I would prefer a good reflector anyday.