[krishnakumar]

Originally Posted by ashishk29

Update on the headlight upgrade:
So after some thinking and budgeting around, I settled on a hybrid combo.
Osram Nightbreaker Laser H7 for the low beam: 2600/-
TVS LED H1 for the high beam: 5500/-

Hi Ashish!

Did you considering converting the low beam to HID? If yes, any reason why you went ahead with the Halogen?

Compared to the stock, how is the brightness of Osram Nightbreaker Laser? I also see another Osram Nighbreaker 200 (difference being the Laser is quoted as 150% that of minimum legal light and the 200 being 200%). Did you consider that?

I'm contemplating between an HID conversion vs. going for a Halogen upgrade. Not sure where to settle.

Also had some other queries:

1. If we go for HID, how do we ensure the headlight is still focused and calibrated? Can we do this ourselves?
2. Would the auto headlamp feature affect the HID performance?

Other BHPians who have done headlight upgrades to their XUV300, please chime in.

[SDx]

Originally Posted by RahulC

Thanks to everyone on this forum for all the valuable inputs. Went ahead with a W8 trim Petrol and got the delivery this Sunday. Extremely happy with the decision so far

Congratulations mate!

This might be too early to ask, what is the milega on petrol version? I have seen a few discussions on diesel milage in this thread however haven't noticed anything about petrol. Also, is this Manual or AMT? Thanks.

[ashishk29]

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

Hi Ashish!

Did you considering converting the low beam to HID? If yes, any reason why you went ahead with the Halogen?

Specifically because I did not want to blind oncoming traffic. My drives are like 70% city, 30% highways. HID(or even LED) in the lower would have completely blinded oncoming traffic. I hate when other cars have blinding headlights within city limits. I wasn't going to be one myself. So the conscious choice to have halogens in the lower beam which I would be using in city, and LED in the upper which would only be used on the highways.

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

Compared to the stock, how is the brightness of Osram Nightbreaker Laser? I also see another Osram Nighbreaker 200 (difference being the Laser is quoted as 150% that of minimum legal light and the 200 being 200%). Did you consider that?

The "Laser" is much brighter than the stock, and I'm happy with the output. And it's more than enough even out on the highways. Have done extensive testing in both city and highway scenarios.

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

I'm contemplating between an HID conversion vs. going for a Halogen upgrade. Not sure where to settle.

Do you really need such a bright lower beam though? Just curious. If your driving is overwhelmingly highway or rural areas, I could maybe understand that. But then if the area itself is poorly lit, even average headlights will seem much brighter to the eye due to the way our eyes adjust.

I would really suggest not to just go for the brightest possible option especially for the lower beam. It completely blinds the traffic in the other lane and makes driving very difficult for them, while not providing that much of a use in terms of raw illumination. I feel like we as a driving community should be more conscientious of our decisions and how they might potentially affect others. Especially since it would be an overkill in most situations.

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

Also had some other queries:

1. If we go for HID, how do we ensure the headlight is still focused and calibrated? Can we do this ourselves?
2. Would the auto headlamp feature affect the HID performance?

Other BHPians who have done headlight upgrades to their XUV300, please chime in.

Auto headlamp wouldn't affect HID performance. However, HID do have a certain warm-up period before they run at full illumination. So you wouldn't necessarily get full illumination even if the auto circuit powers on the bulb.

[krishnakumar]

Originally Posted by ashishk29

The "Laser" is much brighter than the stock, and I'm happy with the output. And it's more than enough even out on the highways. Have done extensive testing in both city and highway scenarios.

Thanks! Will check this out then. Do you know how long these would last? The datasheet on Osram website says a Lifespan Tc of just about 250hrs. Was this under consideration?

Do you really need such a bright lower beam though? Just curious. If your driving is overwhelmingly highway or rural areas, I could maybe understand that.

Well, my driving is overwhelmingly highway usage. The primary usage with car is to do road trips and I have minimal city usage apart from a few weekend errands.

But to your question, I'm not really sure how much brightness I'd need. I am maybe 60% happy with the current stock headlamps. If I could get it up to let's say 80-90% happy, that would meet my needs. I don't know if that makes any sense. But more than the brightness, it's the range of illumination that I have problem with. I feel the stock headlamps in low beam barely covers 100m of the road ahead making it difficult to spot potholes etc. until we are too close.

I would happily go for a halogen upgrade if it helps bump up the visibility by 20-30%. And yes, the idea is to not blind oncoming traffic and I'm dead set against that.

[ashishk29]

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

Thanks! Will check this out then. Do you know how long these would last? The datasheet on Osram website says a Lifespan Tc of just about 250hrs. Was this under consideration?

I did consider that, but I also had the same Osram on my previous car, and they lasted me pretty well. So I was OK going with the same this time around.

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

But to your question, I'm not really sure how much brightness I'd need. I am maybe 60% happy with the current stock headlamps. If I could get it up to let's say 80-90% happy, that would meet my needs. I don't know if that makes any sense. But more than the brightness, it's the range of illumination that I have problem with. I feel the stock headlamps in low beam barely covers 100m of the road ahead making it difficult to spot potholes etc. until we are too close.

I would happily go for a halogen upgrade if it helps bump up the visibility by 20-30%. And yes, the idea is to not blind oncoming traffic and I'm dead set against that.

I agree the stock bulbs do leave one wanting for better illumination.

To answer your question about brightness, I have driven through Sharavathi forest (on my way to Jog falls) in monsoons, at 8pm, in complete darkness, miles away from even the smallest human settlement with this bulb setup. And I still used the LED only at some patches. I could do fine with the halogen for most of the stretch.
That's about as much of a testimonial as I can give.

I certainly encourage you to stick around and check the feedback from other owners here who might have modified their lighting setup too.

But to my knowledge, the brightest halogens can easily improve visibility by 30-40%.

[krishnakumar]

Originally Posted by ashishk29

I did consider that, but I also had the same Osram on my previous car, and they lasted me pretty well. So I was OK going with the same this time around.

Great! Can you please help with some details around how much night usage you have and how long it lasted for you?

I could do fine with the halogen for most of the stretch. That's about as much of a testimonial as I can give.
But to my knowledge, the brightest halogens can easily improve visibility by 30-40%.

I have ordered the Nightbreaker Laser for now and will report back on how it goes. While I was contemplating the HID conversion, I was uncomfortable tampering with the dust cover etc. That with the fact that it is quite expensive to begin with, seems like a path I would want to take only after I confirm whether the Halogen upgrade works for me or not.

Regarding the TVS LED that you had bought, is this the one you're referring to? For some reason, I thought that the brand is the TVS manufacturer but this seems to be by some other brand.

Are they working well for you? I saw in your earlier post that the beam pattern is working well for the high beam with these LEDs. How are they working now?

[ashishk29]

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

Great! Can you please help with some details around how much night usage you have and how long it lasted for you?

I think I got maybe ~2 years is use out of them.

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

Regarding the TVS LED that you had bought, is this the one you're referring to? For some reason, I thought that the brand is the TVS manufacturer but this seems to be by some other brand.

Are they working well for you? I saw in your earlier post that the beam pattern is working well for the high beam with these LEDs. How are they working now?

The bulb link you shared seems to be the same one.
myTVS is indeed a subsidiary of the same TVS group: https://mytvs.com/page/about-us

The LEDs have served me well so far. I won't say I do a lot of night driving specifically, and even more so since these are the high beams, which I sparingly use. But it is now just a month or two short of a full year since I installed the bulbs. Performance is bright as day 1, and no other issues either.

[RahulC]

Originally Posted by SDx

Congratulations mate!

This might be too early to ask, what is the milega on petrol version? Also, is this Manual or AMT? Thanks.

It's a Manual Petrol W8 variant. I recently completed 1500 km, most of which has been highway drive and I'm getting 14KMPL as per the MID. Most of my drive was in the range of 90-100 kmph on the highways and I would say this is a decent mileage figure per my expectations. Also based on my conversation with other owners, this is a fair range to expect and you shouldn't compare with the likes of Maruti K15C engines (just an example) because the performance and build quality of the vehicle is much superior.

[mihir_m13]

Originally Posted by SDx

This might be too early to ask, what is the milega on petrol version? I have seen a few discussions on diesel milage in this thread however haven't noticed anything about petrol. Also, is this Manual or AMT? Thanks.

I have a W8 Petrol and have clocked just 5000 Kms since i got it last Nov.

In city in normal traffic conditions i get around 12. On National Highways -

about 16 is really good conditions driving in the range 80-95.

If you reallly want good fuel efficiency - try and keep the RPM below 2000 in the top gear(6th). I also use the cruise control a lot.

[IamYogi]

Originally Posted by ashishk29

The bulb link you shared seems to be the same one.
myTVS is indeed a subsidiary of the same TVS group: https://mytvs.com/page/about-us

I've been following your post for quite some time now. The image of the lamps in the link shared by Krishna is not the same as the image from your original post. Is it possible for you share the part number please?

Also, did you do the installation by yourself? Is it just plug and play? I am planning to do it myself. If you could share some more photos of your installation, where you have placed the balast and how you secured it etc., that would be of great help.

I am also planning for a H7 by TVS for my low beams, pls suggest. TIA

[ashishk29]

Originally Posted by IamYogi

I've been following your post for quite some time now. The image of the lamps in the link shared by Krishna is not the same as the image from your original post. Is it possible for you share the part number please?

Also, did you do the installation by yourself? Is it just plug and play? I am planning to do it myself. If you could share some more photos of your installation, where you have placed the balast and how you secured it etc., that would be of great help.

I am also planning for a H7 by TVS for my low beams, pls suggest. TIA

I will check for the exact part number in some time.

It is plug and play. Could be done as DIY. The bulbs are contained in separate compartments, and you just need to unscrew and flip one retention pin to take the bulb out.
There is no ballast. Ballasts only apply to HID bulbs. This LED does have a chunky heat sink, but even that fits within the bulb compartment. No modification/cutting necessary.
I did not fit it myself, the shop where I bought these did the installation for me. I did however observe the installation quite closely.

[IamYogi]

Originally Posted by ashishk29

I will check for the exact part number in some time.

Thanks, that would be of great help.

There is no ballast. Ballasts only apply to HID bulbs.

In your picture there is cable seen coming out of the bulb, whereas in the amazon site's picture there isn't one, also the bulb on the site itself is quite different from what you've installed. The amazon site picture has some red colored gasket. Please confirm.

Can you please share your thoughts on H7 LEDs for low beam?

How do you compare TVS LEDs to the some of the leading products in market such as Philips & Osram?

[ashishk29]

Originally Posted by IamYogi

Thanks, that would be of great help.

In your picture there is cable seen coming out of the bulb, whereas in the amazon site's picture there isn't one, also the bulb on the site itself is quite different from what you've installed. The amazon site picture has some red colored gasket. Please confirm.

Can you please share your thoughts on H7 LEDs for low beam?

How do you compare TVS LEDs to the some of the leading products in market such as Philips & Osram?

1. Amazon pictures are often cropped/edited to just show the main product. The wire does come out, however that wire fits perfectly within the headlight compartment. The red gasket is not present. I guess they are using some generic images for representation since even the box for my LED has a picture of bulbs with that red ring. Do note that bulbs do not generally have any gasket, and that red ring would purely be for aesthetics. NO functional purpose.
2. I am personally against LEDs in low beams because that pretty much ensures that you end up blinding the oncoming traffic, especially in city. You can read the posts between me and krishnakumar discussing this very aspect. This is why I opted for the brightest halogen option for the lower beam rather than picking an LED for it.
3. Bright halogens in the lower can serve most of your driving purposes with ease. I have driven around in pitch black unlit forest areas with these halogens and it works fine. So if it's intensity you're concerned about, you aren't losing by a huge margin.
4. I can't really compare it to other LEDs since I haven't used any others . I can only comment on my personal experience, which has been great so far. One of my considerstaions while buying these bulbs was also the cost factor. These bulbs were cheaper than most other competitors.

[IamYogi]

Originally Posted by ashishk29

1. Amazon pictures are often cropped/edited to just show the main product. The wire does come out, however that wire fits perfectly within the headlight compartment. The red gasket is not present. I guess they are using some generic images for representation since even the box for my LED has a picture of bulbs with that red ring. Do note that bulbs do not generally have any gasket, and that red ring would purely be for aesthetics. NO functional purpose.

Thanks for the clarifications, I'll go ahead and make the purchase.

2. I am personally against LEDs in low beams because that pretty much ensures that you end up blinding the oncoming traffic, especially in city. You can read the posts between me and krishnakumar discussing this very aspect. This is why I opted for the brightest halogen option for the lower beam rather than picking an LED for it.
3. Bright halogens in the lower can serve most of your driving purposes with ease. I have driven around in pitch black unlit forest areas with these halogens and it works fine. So if it's intensity you're concerned about, you aren't losing by a huge margin.

I thought LEDs in the low beam would make sense since it is a projector set up. I totally agree with you, blinding the oncoming traffic could be disastrous.

4. I can't really compare it to other LEDs since I haven't used any others . I can only comment on my personal experience, which has been great so far. One of my considerstaions while buying these bulbs was also the cost factor. These bulbs were cheaper than most other competitors.

Got it, Thanks again.

[ashishk29]

Originally Posted by IamYogi

I thought LEDs in the low beam would make sense since it is a projector set up.

So projectors can typically work fine with halogens as well, since halogens spread light all around in a 360 degree circle anyways.

The apprehension I had was installing an LED in the the reflector. Since reflectors are specifically designed assuming light being projected in a 360deg circle, and their throw pattern depends on this.

However thanks to the two LED chips being mounted slightly above the base level at 180deg positions on the current bulb, I don't see any dark spots. So it did work out in the end.