[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by electric_eel

Am I really missing some thing ?

I guess the issue with LEDs and white lights in general arises when it rains or if its foggy.

[Raghu M]

For me, the issue only arises because the majority lot is moving towards LEDs. The halogen is a good bulb but when you compare the two, the LED are more bright. It's just that during night driving, the halogen is sufficient if there is no oncoming traffic. If you experience a lot of it, then you will feel the need to upgrade. I drive the 3OO which has poor lighting (as per reviews), but I find it sufficient for the occasional or rare night drives.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by electric_eel

After reading many posts I realise that I seem to be a minority in that I find the stock halogen lamp better than LED headlamps. I
Am I really missing some thing ?

I am with you. And have mentioned this multiple times in several threads on the Thar and Gypsy and all.
High quality Halogen headlamps are much better in conditions of rain and fog. They are every bit as good as LEDs and far less hurtful to the eyes at night when one is either being approached by a vehicle from the front OR when one encounters them in the rear view mirror.
This new age penchant for over-lighting with far too much wattage, is potentially causing excessive unnecessary load on the car batteries and wiring, despite the relays, as well as being a pain to other road users.
So as far as I am concerned I’d rather just buy the best halogen bulbs of the same stock wattage for my vehicles like the Thar and Gypsy. The Cooper comes with stock OEM projector Xenon lamps which are effective enough in the hills at night but I very rarely drive that car in the night. And I am disinclined to mess with the OEM set up in that car.

[headers]

Originally Posted by electric_eel

I realise that I seem to be a minority in that I find the stock halogen lamp better than LED headlamps. I am asking this because if one computes the lumens then LEDs are much brighter. (I understand that brighter does not mean better) but since reading many posts here, it looks like one of the first upgrade is the headlamp. There can be multiple reasons of this but I want a more knowledgeable soul to pitchin

Reason why people upgrade is its FASHIONABLE

Personally, I think a good halogen is great for night driving - Have done 500+ kms in the night in one go!!

The advantages of LED headlamps are:
1. Lower power consumption when compared to Halogens
2. Smaller Battery in the vehicle as electrical loads are smaller
3. Better life than halogens in harsher operating conditions

The negative is the color temperature of most indian car LED Headlamps. They are in the region of 5000K upwards which make them useless on the highways and are extremely disturbing to the eyes. Some high end cars have great LEDs headlamps in the 3500K -5000K range. They also have a mixture of high beam being a different color and the low beams being LEDs [white projectors]

[mayuresh]

I often drive late night or early morning and have often felt annoyed by bright oncoming lights - often in the "upper" mode.

I think the issue is brightness, rather than LED or halogen. I'm sure they can make LED lamps with a little sane brightness level.

[NSN]

Purchased Philips racing vision it is not a LED but the shopkeeper told it is white bright light and it is far better than stock bulbs also no need to add any relay to fit it in the existing holder itself.

Fitted both the headlamps went and returned at night. The light illumination and throw was not at all adequate, only middle 40 cm of the road was getting light, the sides, kerb shoulder nothing was visible, if switched to low beam that was showing next 90 cm ahead of car.

Had a frightening drive. Replaced it next day 1900rs spent for 2 hours use.

[carlover86]

This demand from public has even reached the ears of Tata Motors who have now come up with LED Head Lamp as an accessory. The MRP per set is around Rs 7000. My Feedback of usage is, I own one Tata Nexon EV MAX and experience shared here is of that car only:

Pros:

1. Its a genuine Tata Motors accessory and would take care of my EV's warranty not getting impacted
2. The power consumption of LEDs are always lower than of Halogens
3. The LEDs are generally brighter than stocks
4. As the offered accessory's OEM is German company named Blaupunkt, I can be certain of quality and service.
5. The fitment is done by show room people so no hassles of disturbing anything unknowingly.

Cons:

1. The original projectors worked well with halogens but with LEDs, we were not able to get the same consistency of throw in all of our 5 vehicles. Lemme clarify the brightness has increased but its in falling uniformly on the road.
2. The dispersion wasn't controlled well and had to visit the showroom for adjustments 3 times.
3. Using them on High Beam shall be a crime, I have only installed them on Low Beam.
4. They are costly.
5. The LEDs, which are offered here from Tata, have fans at their end to cool the LED when its warm. The only challenge here is the cover of headlight which would prevent free flow of air, as it locked the headlight from getting any moisture and dust. I am still unsure, how would the cooling of LEDs happen when they are already placed in a locked plastic environment.

Final Verdict:
I would say its better than the stocks in terms of illumination but its no where near to stock LEDs which comes with the cars, like my other car WRV, their throw and uniformity in throw is just awesome. White LEDs shall not be allowed to get installed on Hyper as they almost blind the oncoming traffic.

[Night Raven]

Originally Posted by NSN

Purchased Philips racing vision it is not a LED but the shopkeeper told it is white bright light and it is far better than stock bulbs also no need to add any relay to fit it in the existing holder itself.

Had a frightening drive. Replaced it next day 1900rs spent for 2 hours use.

Which car model is yours? In my previous car, the Punto Evo I had switched to racing vision bulbs in the last year of ownership. Changed the bulbs myself and I absolutely loved them. They were whiter and brighter and worked perfectly with the stock headlamp set up. I actually used the fog lamps much less often even in rains after switching to racing visions. May be something wasn’t right the way it was installed or may be the bulbs weren’t genuine.

[locusjag]

I've found that my TUV 300's halogen headlights are quite sufficient for nocturnal highway use. It certainly helps that this is a tall car; high-beams or white lights from other cars don't really bother me. All of that is literally beneath me when I drive!

But perhaps this is another reason why I find my halogen lamps sufficient; as a rule I do not touch 3 digit speeds even in the day. I find that most drivers seek high cruising speeds at night and they seek an every-elusive and utopian headlight that can illuminate the road ahead for them when they cruise at high speeds. Why not just slow down and drive at a pace which your existing halogen lamps can adequately and safely light up the road for you?

A corollary to this theory of mine would explain why so many drivers these days abuse their high beams - to compensate for their insanely high speeds. If they would just slow down a bit, they could very well make do with low beams.

[Small Bot]

I just drove my Brezza back home from office, over 10 kms in pouring rain. The LEDs clearly showed their weakness. In fact, the Low Beam combined with Fog Lamps was hugely better than the High Beam, so I did not even attempt the High Beam.

Within city conditions, I could adjust and drive it back home safely. But I suspect driving on highways in rains is going to be a nightmare.

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by locusjag

I
But perhaps this is another reason why I find my halogen lamps sufficient; as a rule I do not touch 3 digit speeds even in the day. I find that most drivers seek high cruising speeds at night and they seek an every-elusive and utopian headlight that can illuminate the road ahead for them when they cruise at high speeds. Why not just slow down and drive at a pace which your existing halogen lamps can adequately and safely light up the road for you?

A corollary to this theory of mine would explain why so many drivers these days abuse their high beams - to compensate for their insanely high speeds. If they would just slow down a bit, they could very well make do with low beams.

That explains. I think I crossed 100 in my entire driving life only twice and that too in broad day light in the relatively empty stretch of Hyd-Banglore and Pune-Mumbai express way . Does not make any sense on any of the kerala high ways not even the best one (PKD-Thrissur sector) where most of my driving is currently. And hence once I got a high seated car (Nexon), I have never felt the need.