Team-BHP - Are you happy with your OEM headlights?
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Hyundai Getz - wasn't happy with the OEM lights, upgraded to 90/100 W and had mixed results - the brightness has obviously increased, but the throw and hotspot weren't ideal.

Ford EcoSport - wasn't happy with the OEM lights. Upgraded to Osram Night Breaker+ and am reasonably happy with it. Happier still that its a stock change, and is road legal.

Hyundai i20 (iGen, 2012) - I've driven and experienced my brother's i20 that has a stock setup - it is brilliant. It also reassured me that I didn't have any vision problems :) (as a proud wearer of portable Hubble telescopes, this was a worry).

Voted 'No' because the 2 cars I owned didn't cut it.

I've gone for "No"

Creta - Good headlight setup for City usage but on highways it is not up to the mark. I feel strained more when I'm on the highways than in the city. Low beam coverage is good but the intensity is low. On paper, the specification of 60W is good but in reality doesn't feel like it is 60W.

Swift - Best setup so far and even more brilliant with 100/90W bulb upgrade. I still love those outputs from the headlights. No reflector damage or discolouration with the 100/90W setup.

Voted : No

Have a Jetta 2012 model. Happy with the lights in the city but not on the highway where speeds are over 100.
However the Bi Xenons that the 2016 Jetta model came fitted with seem to be fantastic. Is there a possibility of upgrading the old Jetta's lights to the new Jetta's system?
Has anyone done it here?

Have also realized that some roads act like a light sink. They don't reflect back at all. Feels as if you are driving into an abyss. Have noticed this even on smooth roads.
Do we have any standards for material specifications when laying roads that take care of reflection?

I think the award for most pathetic headlamps should go for the Figo/Aspire twins. I literally feel like not having headlamps at all when out on the highway, such is the OEM lamps from Ford.

Moreover, there is a known issue of blackening of the headlamp reflectors in these cars which could not be solved even upon replacement!

The low beam setup in Linea is a joke. The high beams are decent though. Still voted No.

If I bring my two-wheelers in,
I'm satisfied with the dual 55W projectors of my 2016 RC 390. I don't find them to be a problem on the highways too. (Low beams are not switched off when high beams are turned on unlike 2017+ models)
The one on my Apache RTR 160 is there just for the purpose of passing road worthiness. Enough said.

I think as we age, our eyes ability to see the actual light intensity reduces and hence, we start getting dissatisfied with the Car head lights

I never used to be bothered about the head light intensity in my 118 NE, Esteem, or Qualis till 2010

Post 2010, I started feeling the inadequacy in my Qualis(probably because, I turned 40 then)

In 2012, I changed the bulbs to 100/90 in Qualis and was a bit satisfied for some time. Then, I started feeling Not enough even with 100/90 bulbs.

Now, I have realised that it is not the car's headlight that is the issue, but the issue is my headlight :)

So, got adjusted to whatever I can see in Fortuner and Santro.

Current rides-

WagonR - The illumination was poor especially on highways so I got it changed to 100/90W with relays. It's been good since then.

Brezza ZDi+ - Poor would be an understatement. Highway drives were scary as I would find it difficult to see things properly. I changed the OEM bulbs to Philips Xtreme Vision plus in same wattage. Still lights were not good. So I went ahead with Micro XP Fogs. Since then, I would say I'm 99% satisfied.

New S-Cross Alpha - I've not driven it as yet during night so can't say but my brother says that headlamps are good. He has upgraded from a Ritz running 100/90W setup.

Honda City (3rd gen in India) - Not happy with its illumination so swapped the 100/90W from Ritz before selling it off. Now lights are much better.

Sold rides -

Ritz - Headlights were not offering good visibility so went ahead with relays and 100/90W setup few days after purchase.

Santro - Lights were good for both, city and highways in our Santro Xing. But I wouldn't say the same for Santro GL Plus we bought in exchange of Xing. GL Plus lights were not that great.

So my vote goes for NO.

Another point that I would like to mention is the quality of OEM stuff that I've found in Brezza. The headlamps had fogging issues so we're replaced under warranty within 1 year. But the replacement ones also have fogging issues, although much lesser than the original ones. The projectors are of poor quality, their throw, illumination as well as their material. The light vibrates at its cut-off when idling. The price of its headlamps are over 9K each side. So why don't they take 15K for each side but give better headlamps? Aftermarket lighting solutions appear much better than OEM ones. :Frustrati

voted NO
In my current rides, I find the Laura's halogen headlights were decent in OE but insufficient for Highways, so I upgraded my Low beam to a Canbus HID kit (42W) with 35W 4300k HID bulbs. The difference is night and day and light output is more than 2x of OE and uniformity is also very good. Initially there was a ground wire shadow as the return wire on the bulb was on top, but I solved that by modifying the retainer slightly so I could put in the bulb upside down so that the return wire of the HID bulb is at 6oclock position. For the High beams I have retained the original bulbs but have aimed them properly to my liking.
For My Jeep Compass, the OEM lights were absolutely pathetic and I tried many LED kits (4 different ones) - but none of them worked well. I then went for 9011 HIR bulbs (with some modifications) but they are at best a 40% improvement over stock. I have already ordered an HB3 4300k HID kit for my Compass too and waiting for it to come in so that I can go ahead and install it on my Compass.

The weak headlights on the Ltd version are really a big sore point and one that compromises safety - Jeep should have given Xenon headlights on all the variants above the Sport version (that comes with dual reflector setup) while the Longitude and Ltd version come with single projector setup. Only the LTD (O) and Ltd Plus come with HID lights.

Votes yes.
My A-Star has a good stock setup and I am happy with it.

Voted NO because of the Ertiga.

Ertiga: Headlights on the Ertiga have been very weak since the pre-facelift model. I assume it's poor reflector design to blame for. The same lights when installed on my uncle's Swift, improves the hotspot and the throw by at least twice.

Baleno Alpha: Very happy with the stock HID setup. It is more than sufficient for city driving. For highway driving, I think fog lights upgraded to LED should suffice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by smartcat (Post 4474352)
Santro has the best headlights in an entry-level car - all Santro owners would vouch for that. ;)

And I think it had the worst set up for a car coming from the opposite direction :)

Santro - Drove it for 10 years, never felt the need to upgrade.

i20 Active (halogen projectors) - Pathetic! Upgraded to a Mini H1 kit within the first 3 months, very happy. Looking forward to getting the D2S 5.0 kit.

I voted NO for my 2016 VW GT TSi. The lights for some reason seem to be set for a left hand drive car. Though I have tried to assign it for a right hand drive, even with it extreme settings it is at best set for a "centre drive". The throw and intensity could be better.

Could anyone suggest what I could do to
a. Set the lights appropriate for a right hand drive
b. Better bulbs without voiding the warranty.

Voted yes for SX4, upgraded to 90/100 phillips rally and after adjusting the lamps the visibility improved quite a bit.
Few days back the LED bug bit me hard and got a pair of h4 leds, they seem bright enough and do the job, in the excitement bought two pairs and somehow forgot to choose h11 instead of h4 for fogs, so have a extra pair with me.

No for my MS Vitara Brezza.

The Low-beam is very poor. I have noticed many MS Brezza owners upgraded to stock headlamps with Philips Xtreme Vision Plus 130 %. I am also considered the same upgradation.


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