[IamYogi]

Originally Posted by ashishk29

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.

Agreed
Can you pls share the part numbers?

[ashishk29]

Originally Posted by IamYogi

Agreed
Can you pls share the part numbers?

I did check the box but couldn't see a part number as such. Just mentions "TLED" as type. I will have to find the receipt and check if that has any mentioned part number

[Goandiaries]

Originally Posted by ashishk29

I am hoping that the wiring hasn't been removed entirely. Originally it was was operated by the read defogger button, so I am hoping it maps on to the same.

Gonna try and check with my service guy for installation.

Hi Ashish,

Were you able to check with the service guy for installation? I did try to open myself the glass - however I couldn't see any wiring coming out of the harness. I was not able to remove the back cover myself to get a good view of the entire wiring. However, if the wiring exists, I believe it might be wrapped inside the harness - unless they had completely removed the wiring for heating. I tried to find when it was exactly removed and the earliest report was somewhere in Oct 2020 - chances are they removed the feature just after the BS6 launch in Apr/May 2020 - so there are chances that this wiring may have been removed fully. I was only hopeful when I saw the existing 10A fuse in the fusebox just for the heated ORVMs. Not sure what it is doing when the feature was deleted.

[Goandiaries]

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?

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.

I have upgraded the low beams to Osram's 35W HID 4200k. Considering the housing is projector, it gives a good amount of brightness and there's no disturbance for oncoming users considering the projector has a nice cut-off. No issues with focus as well. However, I have switched off the auto headlamp function off as it is pretty much useless in the event of it coming on. Sorry about the delayed reply - didn't check in for quite some time here!

[krishnakumar]

Originally Posted by Goandiaries

I did try to open myself the glass - however I couldn't see any wiring coming out of the harness.

I was only hopeful when I saw the existing 10A fuse in the fusebox just for the heated ORVMs. Not sure what it is doing when the feature was deleted.

I seriously doubt if the wiring harness would have the wiring for any of the deleted features. The reason I can say this with confidence is because starting my batch of vehicles (Oct/Nov 2021) they deleted the passenger side request sensor. It was a feature that I had really counted on because the passive entry feature is only half useful (or probably even less) if one cannot use the passive entry from kerb side.

Anyway, I have asked the service center multiple times on this. They have essentially removed the complete wiring required for this from the harness, so then only solution is to change the full wiring harness which they pegged to cost me ~35k just for the parts. Not to mention the need to open up the full dash to swap the harness.

It’s still something that ticks me off every single time.

Originally Posted by Goandiaries

Considering the housing is projector, it gives a good amount of brightness and there's no disturbance for oncoming users considering the projector has a nice cut-off. No issues with focus as well.

That is great. Thanks Maha for your input. Would be great if I can check it out once on your car in person when you’re in Bglore. Please let me know!

For now though, I have bought a pair of Nightbreakers. Haven’t hooked them up yet so let’s see.

[Goandiaries]

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

I seriously doubt if the wiring harness would have the wiring for any of the deleted features. The reason I can say this with confidence is because starting my batch of vehicles (Oct/Nov 2021) they deleted the passenger side request sensor. It was a feature that I had really counted on because the passive entry feature is only half useful (or probably even less) if one cannot use the passive entry from kerb side.

Anyway, I have asked the service center multiple times on this. They have essentially removed the complete wiring required for this from the harness, so then only solution is to change the full wiring harness which they pegged to cost me ~35k just for the parts. Not to mention the need to open up the full dash to swap the harness.

It’s still something that ticks me off every single time.

I wasn't sure if they made all deletions with the harness and just left the fuse as it is. Anyways, I couldn't remove the back cover myself to verify it once for all. While trying to open the cover, I only managed to scratch it with a screwdriver

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

That is great. Thanks Maha for your input. Would be great if I can check it out once on your car in person when you’re in Bglore. Please let me know!

For now though, I have bought a pair of Nightbreakers. Haven’t hooked them up yet so let’s see.

Sure. Maybe sometime soon. For now, I will try to update with a small video of the headlights if you would like.

[krishnakumar]

Originally Posted by Goandiaries

Sure. Maybe sometime soon. For now, I will try to update with a small video of the headlights if you would like.

Yes absolutely, that'd be super helpful for everyone on this thread I feel. If we can see if the cut-offs and focus are working well, then it's an upgrade that we can guilt-free.

[Duckdoc]

30,000 km update of my March 2021 XUV 300 W8 Opt MT

This is my update at 30000 kms 16 months post delivery.

This part of the post is an answer to questions raised by my colleagues at the time of buying.

The first one, from a person with Mahindra vehicles on his farm was that the interiors in Mahindra vehicles age fast. I was also worried about the light interiors. The answer is in the picture below with the rear middle seat 3 point seat belt installed 3 months after purchase:




The other was of another colleague who drives a Cysta which was that while he was always impressed with the advertising and image creation of Mahindra, they always failed to deliver.

The short answer to that is that they have more than delivered with the XUV 300.

This article below gives details of the XUV 300 in South Africa where there are differences:
https://www.autotrader.co.za/cars/re...ce-hikes/10484


'The XUV looks compact but the second row is remarkably spacious, and wide enough to seat three adult passengers side-by-side, with sufficient legroom and a three-point safety belt for every passenger who has his/her behind on the supportive leatherette seats.
Another nice surprise is the Bridgestone Turanza tyres usually reserved for luxury cars.
The central touchscreen, now a little bit bigger, features onboard sat-nav as well as wireless smartphone mirroring, compatible with your Android device and/or an Apple iPhone.'

The 3 point seat in the rear middle seat got taken care of in my car.

The stock MRF Ecotred tyres were horrible which I replaced with Conti UC6 and now it is grippy and quiet. The NVH is also probably better because of the damping for the audio upgrade.

I am happy with the touchscreen, with the size and functionality.




While my daily drive is only around 13kms, I like to get out on weekends. Being on the wrong side of 55 and having had multiple surgeries on my left knee I have enjoyed using the clutch which I find good therapy.

The ride and handling is superb even with r17 rims. I use 32 psi in the city and 33 for highway driving. This is cold tyre pressure which increases around 2 psi after half an hour of driving.

The only sore point is the lack of feedback in the steering and I use the 'Normal' mode for city driving and 'Sport' on the highways which is artificially weighted.

The other problem I face is with the blindspot created by the A pillar and the ORVM especially at dusk when a man standing still could be missed and one has to be aware of this.


The FE has increased and gives around 17.5-18 kmpl with spirited driving on the highways and around 16.5 kmpl in the city.

I have not upgraded the stock headlights which I have found adequate.

Overall, I am happy with the car with the ride better than when bought.

[ashishk29]

Originally Posted by Goandiaries

there's no disturbance for oncoming users considering the projector has a nice cut-off. No issues with focus as well.

I would like to shine a light () on this cut-off. The light is still pretty bright even above that cut-off line. The region above the cut off is not devoid of light, or shadow. It is simply of lower brightness than the main region.

For example:

Image 1: Photo of the cut-off line. As you can see, the light is bright enough to cast a solid shadow of the phone. This shadow is purely from the headlight.


Image 2: Photo of the car from the exact same position as the previous photo. As you can see, the headlight bulb is extremely bright even beyond the cut-off region.


And this is the result with just halogens.

Since I realised this, I have actually started driving around the city with the leveler set to 3(lowest).
I have turned the leveler to default highest position for these photos. But you get the gist of it.

[Goandiaries]

Originally Posted by ashishk29

I would like to shine a light () on this cut-off. The light is still pretty bright even above that cut-off line. The region above the cut off is not devoid of light, or shadow. It is simply of lower brightness than the main region.

Good point. Any ideas if this is how projector setups from other cars work as well? Before going for the HIDs I was looking at various options including LEDs, and I ended up with the Ssangyong Tivoli's top spec's specification - which is a HID in the same projector. Now I am not sure if the projectors are not up to the mark in the Indian versions, but the international versions did have HIDs in the projectors according to their manuals. Also, since my driving is 70% in highways and rarely at nights - I chose it. Have been looking for a good high beam option, but still haven't found one yet.

Originally Posted by Duckdoc

30,000 km update of my March 2021 XUV 300 W8 Opt MT

This is my update at 30000 kms 16 months post delivery.

The stock MRF Ecotred tyres were horrible which I replaced with Conti UC6 and now it is grippy and quiet. The NVH is also probably better because of the damping for the audio upgrade.

I am happy with the touchscreen, with the size and functionality.

Attachment 2337009
Attachment 2337014

While my daily drive is only around 13kms, I like to get out on weekends. Being on the wrong side of 55 and having had multiple surgeries on my left knee I have enjoyed using the clutch which I find good therapy.

The FE has increased and gives around 17.5-18 kmpl with spirited driving on the highways and around 16.5 kmpl in the city.

Overall, I am happy with the car with the ride better than when bought.
Attachment 2337012

Great to have a 30k update! You have been very proactive. I promised one when you reached 20k but still haven't managed to put together one! What you mentioned about the FE is strictly dependent on different types of cities I believe. A slow city gives just between 12 - 15 km/L while a fast city ends up giving up to 18 km/L on an average.

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

Yes absolutely, that'd be super helpful for everyone on this thread I feel. If we can see if the cut-offs and focus are working well, then it's an upgrade that we can guilt-free.

Will soon send you one. I tried making one yesterday but realised the windshield was awful only after I came back from the drive.

[ashishk29]

Originally Posted by Duckdoc

[b][u]
The stock MRF Ecotred tyres were horrible which I replaced with Conti UC6 and now it is grippy and quiet. The NVH is also probably better because of the damping for the audio upgrade.

The other problem I face is with the blindspot created by the A pillar and the ORVM especially at dusk when a man standing still could be missed and one has to be aware of this.

Did they have UC6 in 17" ?
I tried checking on the conti website and they don't even list a 17" option. 16 and directly 18. I'm still quite far away from a tyre change, but I like to keep an eye on options. This could be a good option if it is also available in 17.
The blind-spot you mentioned is very real. Exactly as you mentioned. the A pillar + ORVM can hide a full sized man quite easily.

Originally Posted by Goandiaries

Good point. Any ideas if this is how projector setups from other cars work as well? Before going for the HIDs I was looking at various options including LEDs, and I ended up with the Ssangyong Tivoli's top spec's specification - which is a HID in the same projector. Now I am not sure if the projectors are not up to the mark in the Indian versions, but the international versions did have HIDs in the projectors according to their manuals. Also, since my driving is 70% in highways and rarely at nights - I chose it. Have been looking for a good high beam option, but still haven't found one yet.

I am quite sure that no projector will have a hard cut-off. The pattern will still have light in the upper half, albeit at a lower intensity.
Interesting that the international version gets HIDs as stock! Didn't expect that.
I have an LED high beam. Has served me well so far. Though I don't have as heavy a highway+night usage as you do.

[Duckdoc]

Originally Posted by ashishk29

Did they have UC6 in 17" ?
I tried checking on the conti website and they don't even list a 17" option. 16 and directly 18. I'm still quite far away from a tyre change, but I like to keep an eye on options. This could be a good option if it is also available in 17.

Pictures taken when I changed mine in January.

[Goandiaries]

Originally Posted by ashishk29

Did they have UC6 in 17" ?
I am quite sure that no projector will have a hard cut-off. The pattern will still have light in the upper half, albeit at a lower intensity.
Interesting that the international version gets HIDs as stock! Didn't expect that.
I have an LED high beam. Has served me well so far. Though I don't have as heavy a highway+night usage as you do.

Yeah, the bulb specs / set-up in both the cars are almost identical except for this HID inclusion. Here's a snapshot.



A couple of queries regarding LEDs. How well are the LED lights focused on the road for the high beams? Do we have to do any headlamp alignment post install? And how about the LED canbus? Do you make holes on the dust cap or keep everything inside the highbeam lamps?

Also, any output wrt the heated ORVMs? Do they have heating connectors?

Thanks!

[ashishk29]

Originally Posted by Goandiaries

A couple of queries regarding LEDs. How well are the LED lights focused on the road for the high beams? Do we have to do any headlamp alignment post install? And how about the LED canbus? Do you make holes on the dust cap or keep everything inside the highbeam lamps?

Also, any output wrt the heated ORVMs? Do they have heating connectors?

Thanks!

The LED throw a decent pattern as is. Didn't do any alignment or such. There are no discernible dark spots in the throw pattern. Did not have to cut anything to fit the LEDs. The heat sink fit well inside the headlight compartments.

Ah. I kinda lost track of the heated ORVMs thing. Didn't have much luck finding a trusted mechanic who could help me investigate things. On the flip side, did get the mirrors ceramic coated as well, so it's working out right now.

[Goandiaries]

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

Yes absolutely, that'd be super helpful for everyone on this thread I feel. If we can see if the cut-offs and focus are working well, then it's an upgrade that we can guilt-free.

Here's the video update that I promised. Hope it is of some use. I passed through some well lit roads, NICE road and the dark exit ramp just for some realistic impressions of the headlights. Somewhere around 4:40 mark you can see a couple of cars overtaking, with normal halogens I believe. Just for a side by side comparison!

https://youtu.be/yTcWc3jdQhg

These are pictures that I took in the last few seconds in the video from the exit ramp.

I feel the camera slightly exaggerates the scatter here. But yes, when I look into the lights, they look bright like Ashish mentioned.


Still looks bright from this angle.


Notice how the LEDs also look very bright. Do they glare the oncoming users at night? Maybe when you look directly at it?


Phone camera creates a good looking output than the dashcam. But I feel the dashcam view is more closer to reality.