[Surya-TJet]

Originally Posted by shravansp24

Thank you. I have my service due this month and I will check for the screws then. And as far I've heard about Philips Xtreme variants of the bulbs are very unreliable. But looks like that's the only solution as of now without voiding the warranty.

Hi, those are the older versions (with +110% written on the box). The newer ones are far more improved (with +130% written on the box).

Have been using this newer version in my car for more than a year now. And, its still really good. Same intensity and brightness. So, I'd say go for it confidently.

[Behemoth]

Honestly if you ask me, none of the Philips Xtreme Vision / Osram night breakers are worth it and do not yield any more than 5% actual difference in light output on road. (I have worked with an automotive oem lighting company during my career). In fact in many countries these companies have been fined heavily for misrepresentation and false advertising.

Firstly the +110% etc numbers are just for spot brightness and not for total light output. How this is done is by making the filament smaller and more tightly wound so that the hot spot is smaller and burns hotter. Hence the spot brightness is higher at that point. However the light output of the bulb is not much higher than the OE bulb. The OE bulbs have a wider spread of light and illuminate the road in a better way.
Another major drawback of these High brightness bulbs is that their life is typically half or even one fourth of regular bulbs as the filament is smaller and burns hotter.
In my opinion they are just not worth the prices of 1500-2000 for which they sell. Also they will fail almost every 9-12 months and need replacement.

The only worthwhile upgrade which can be done for cars with projector halogen headlights is to put in 35w HID retrofit kits with 4300k cct. This gives an actual 2.5 increase in light levels and is actually effective. However this should be done only in projector lens headlights and NOT in reflector headlights.

[Stribog]

Originally Posted by Surya-TJet

I will suggest you to take Hella 470 LED Light Bar at the location highlighted in the attached photo.

You can power it using a custom 12v socket modification (as shown in the attached picture) and route the wiring to your dashboard.

Brilliant solution. Does it improve the light throw that much though?

[Surya-TJet]

Originally Posted by Stribog

Brilliant solution. Does it improve the light throw that much though?

Please see the video in the link below for visualizing light output.

https://youtu.be/zCNaIJzPw7Y

[Stribog]

Originally Posted by Surya-TJet

Please see the video in the link below for visualizing light output.

https://Youtu.be/zCNaIJzPw7Y

Thanks, after your lead been doing some research as well, going with the Hella 350.

The price difference is 11k (350-14k, 470-25.5k). There is a dealer who is doing the instal some 2 kms from my office as well.

Should get this done today.

Thanks again.

[Surya-TJet]

Originally Posted by Stribog

Thanks, after your lead been doing some research as well, going with the Hella 350.

The price difference is 11k (350-14k, 470-25.5k). There is a dealer who is doing the instal some 2 kms from my office as well.

Should get this done today.

Thanks again.

All the best. Be sure to take the Pencil Beam. Its for highway driving. Avoid Spread/Flood Beam. Thats purely for off-road purpose.

And, be sure to get power supply using the 12v socket I mentioned. Avoid using relays to retain factory warranty.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Surya-TJet

Hi, those are the older versions (with +110% written on the box). The newer ones are far more improved (with +130% written on the box).

Their Crystal, White, Extreme - all have the same light output, the beam patterns are slightly different - that is all, please do not waste money on this, its not worth it. Just use the normal original Philips , that would work just fine and change them after 200 hours of use. Philips have conveniently removed their normal line up of 100-200Rs bulbs from their website for obvious reasons.

Originally Posted by Stribog

Thanks, after your lead been doing some research as well, going with the Hella 350.

The price difference is 11k (350-14k, 470-25.5k). There is a dealer who is doing the instal some 2 kms from my office as well.

Should get this done today.

Thanks again.

Originally Posted by Surya-TJet

All the best. Be sure to take the Pencil Beam. Its for highway driving. Avoid Spread/Flood Beam. Thats purely for off-road purpose.

And, be sure to get power supply using the 12v socket I mentioned. Avoid using relays to retain factory warranty.

Please avoid using light bars on roads, their beam patterns are not suitable for that purpose. There will be glare (glare is wasted light that is of no use to you) on on-coming vehicles which if it happens to be a bigger taller vehicle, you will learn the lesson the hard way.

However if you do need to install them, wire them to the high beam (together - with a switch to isolate the light bar when not needed) so that you can turn them off with a flick of the headlight stalk rather than search for a switch in the dark. Install a relay and fuse for good measure with power drawn directly from the battery. The last thing you want is an aftermarket lightbar to start a fire inside your cabin.

I have not seen any vehicle losing warranty due to installation of Aux lights, just make sure not to cut through factory wiring.

Usually Hella aux lights come with the necessary bits (includes bits to take signal from factory wiring), wiring and instruction booklet to do the wiring properly, make sure the installer follows it properly including the mounting position.

[Surya-TJet]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Their Crystal, White, Extreme - all have the same light output, the beam patterns are slightly different - that is all, please do not waste money on this, its not worth it. Just use the normal original Philips , that would work just fine and change them after 200 hours of use. Philips have conveniently removed their normal line up of 100-200Rs bulbs from their website for obvious reasons.

Please avoid using light bars on roads, their beam patterns are not suitable for that purpose. There will be glare (glare is wasted light that is of no use to you) on on-coming vehicles which if it happens to be a bigger taller vehicle, you will learn the lesson the hard way.

However if you do need to install them, wire them to the high beam (together - with a switch to isolate the light bar when not needed) so that you can turn them off with a flick of the headlight stalk rather than search for a switch in the dark. Install a relay and fuse for good measure with power drawn directly from the battery. The last thing you want is an aftermarket lightbar to start a fire inside your cabin.

I have not seen any vehicle losing warranty due to installation of Aux lights, just make sure not to cut through factory wiring.

Usually Hella aux lights come with the necessary bits (includes bits to take signal from factory wiring), wiring and instruction booklet to do the wiring properly, make sure the installer follows it properly including the mounting position.

Hi, with regards to your statement on standard bulbs being as bright as the Xtreme Vision G-Force ones; sorry. Will have to disagree on that. Have seen that the brightness is improved by a fair margin (around 25-30% increase in LUX values when checked with a light meter). Have been using them consistently without any issues. The Philips G-Force are really improved over the original Xtreme Vision.

And, as far as LED light bars are concerned; Hella makes some of the best light bars with perfect reflector and lens design. And, the pencil beam variants are meant for highway driving because they focus the light to a 5-10m wide beam but give a really long throw. Do not compare them to El-Cheapo chinese light bars in the market.

Also, for the wiring part; the moment you take supply for the relay from the battery directly; it is going to create issues with warranty. Because it is purely at OEM discretion for any electrical modifications.

The idea for the 12V socket is that; it takes up only around 1/6th of the max rated power of the 12V socket. So, it really wouldn't start any issues any more than any other gadget such as a Car Air Purifier or Car Refridgerator.

Have already seen many people do it on their cars. Hence my suggestion to follow that method for powering up the light bar without any warranty hassles.

[Stribog]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

However if you do need to install them, wire them to the high beam (together - with a switch to isolate the light bar when not needed) so that you can turn them off with a flick of the headlight stalk rather than search for a switch in the dark. Install a relay and fuse for good measure with power drawn directly from the battery. The last thing you want is an aftermarket lightbar to start a fire inside your cabin.

I have not seen any vehicle losing warranty due to installation of Aux lights, just make sure not to cut through factory wiring.

Usually Hella aux lights come with the necessary bits (includes bits to take signal from factory wiring), wiring and instruction booklet to do the wiring properly, make sure the installer follows it properly including the mounting position.

Thanks for this useful info.

Is there any alternative? This is not even hyperbole when I say if I had known it's highway light performance will be so bad, I would have gone for some other vehicle.

One question though, the beam pattern on the YT videos seem pretty top-notch, am I missing something?

Edit : Surya Tjet, any suggestions on what colour cover (they have 3 transparent, amber and black) to get? Any benefits to any of these?

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Surya-TJet

. Have seen that the brightness is improved by a fair margin (around 25-30% increase in LUX values when checked with a light meter).

Sure you will see a difference because the beam pattern is altered, you can check the spec sheet in their website, all three of them have them same light output.

Originally Posted by Surya-TJet

And, as far as LED light bars are concerned; Hella makes some of the best light bars with perfect reflector and lens design. And, the pencil beam variants are meant for highway driving because they focus the light to a 5-10m wide beam but give a really long throw. Do not compare them to El-Cheapo chinese light bars in the market.

They do not have good range or light output, the 350mm version is not as bright as a halogen bulb either. Their websites used to publish a 'heat-map' of the beam earlier, now they have removed it because the light bar is not having a good spread through the range which their normal halogen lights that costs 1/3 the money has.

I`m not trying to discourage anyone from fitting a Hella light bar, sure the light looks good and fancy, its just that if you are planning to use it for night driving on roads, it is not useful.

[Gemini83BLR]

Jeep compass stock HID's are not great, any recommendation on upgrade without voiding the warranty?

Even in slight drizzle in the night visibility is very poor.

Preferred location: Bangalore

[Stribog]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Sure

I`m not trying to discourage anyone from fitting a Hella light bar, sure the light looks good and fancy, its just that if you are planning to use it for night driving on roads, it is not useful.

Very casually, what would be a gain I can see? 20-30% or lesser?

The only knowledge I have are YT videos and there it seems to be throwing a decent and narrow beam on the highway.

The 14k is not a constraint but I would rather get some benefit from it.

[somspaple]

Originally Posted by Stribog

Thanks, after your lead been doing some research as well, going with the Hella 350.

The price difference is 11k (350-14k, 470-25.5k). There is a dealer who is doing the instal some 2 kms from my office as well.

Should get this done today.

Thanks again.

Get the Hella 470. And please use a proper relay along with the fuse. Also try installing it behind the grill - that way you can avoid unnecessary harassment from cops.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Stribog

Very casually, what would be a gain I can see? 20-30% or lesser?

The only knowledge I have are YT videos and there it seems to be throwing a decent and narrow beam on the highway.

The 14k is not a constraint but I would rather get some benefit from it.

You are adding light, the general thought process is that more light is better - but that is not necessarily the case.

You would see lots of light right in front of the vehicle and not much beyond it with a light bar, the beam diagram from Hella also says the same thing. It will cause eye fatigue.

I`m assuming low beam is not the problem for you, its not something that can be easily improved nevertheless especially if its an LED set up. High beam is something that you can add a set of driving light and improve. go to Shop 4 hella website, in the four wheeler section select driving lamps.

There is the blackmagic series, which is more discrete. Then the rallye series and the FF series. All round ones of course - they come in Halogen, HID, LED (with reflector). They have to be installed and set up in a way that it complements your highbeam and takes it further. Else there will be random bright and shadow spots that will ruin your drive.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Stribog

The Seltos LED set up might look good but it is utter garbage for Highway drives.

It is also a serious safety hazard. Want to upgrade, but have no clue on how to go about it and need advice

Not a viable option but I think one 2020 Creta owner has done it. He exchanged the LED headlights with a lower variant (projector) setup and then retrofitted HID projectors into them.