Headlamp Upgrade For Chevrolet Optra Magnum

[bhvm]

These seem to be using CREE XHP chips.
ask the seller if they are genuine then you can get thses above all-

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Led...lgo_pvid=87b593eb-945c-4dae-adb1-d25a0926e9cb

 

[AKHAN]

Thanks @bhvm

I found these cheap options on Ali express only after buying the Philips LED. And that's a big investment for me, so I'll wait for at least a year before changing the light.
The good part with the Philips is that it has 3 yrs warranty.

Meanwhile I'm hoping to get either HID or LED (like the ones in your link) for the H3 fog lamp to get a good visibility on road (when combined with H4 Philips LED)

So, which one do you think I should go with? HID or LED? The HID seems to be costlier. The shop owner quoted 8k for it. Not exactly sure about the brands, one is P8 and another one is something like DSC?!

As for the temperature in general, which of the following you think I should go with?
Fog lamp:
i. 3000K bulbs - I really liked the golden yellow color. It's somewhat creates a good looking when both the 6000K H4 and 3000K H3 are turned on at the same time.
ii. 6000K bulbs - This is my second favorite since it matches with my H4 color and looks decent too.
iii. 4300 K - This one seems to break trough the fogs and rains but it will look odd (the yellow tint) when my H4 is pure white right?

Thanks for your valuable feedback.

 

[bhvm]

Thanks @bhvm

I found these cheap options on Ali express only after buying the Philips LED. And that's a big investment for me, so I'll wait for at least a year before changing the light.
The good part with the Philips is that it has 3 yrs warranty.

Meanwhile I'm hoping to get either HID or LED (like the ones in your link) for the H3 fog lamp to get a good visibility on road (when combined with H4 Philips LED)

So, which one do you think I should go with? HID or LED? The HID seems to be costlier. The shop owner quoted 8k for it. Not exactly sure about the brands, one is P8 and another one is something like DSC?!

As for the temperature in general, which of the following you think I should go with?
Fog lamp:
i. 3000K bulbs - I really liked the golden yellow color. It's somewhat creates a good looking when both the 6000K H4 and 3000K H3 are turned on at the same time.
ii. 6000K bulbs - This is my second favorite since it matches with my H4 color and looks decent too.
iii. 4300 K - This one seems to break trough the fogs and rains but it will look odd (the yellow tint) when my H4 is pure white right?

Thanks for your valuable feedback.

Hello there,
For fogs I suggest you get an HID. They are not much costly now. a decent kit is 5k roughly. All the details are here-
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...-hid-kit-technical-review-install-w-pics.html

About the color temperature, since your Headlights are 6000k, The combination will always create a mixed light.

3000k Fogs + 6000k H4 will look like 4000k on road. The best color of your eyes. best thing will be that 3000k cuts through fog and rain like no other.

4300k Fog + 6000k will create 5000k. Will look mismatched and serves no better purpose.

6000k+6000k looks best but thats about it. Not very useful.
I would suggest 3000k.
BTW are you sure your fogs are h3?
Most OEM fogs are H8 or H11. I hope you are not talking about aftermarket or chinese fogs.

 

[AKHAN]

Thanks so much!

I'm a bit confused now. The Optra magnum (2012) fog lamp assembly is difficult to open. Even at the aftermarket shop, they had to get it on the wheel alignment ramp and go under to open it. They said that it's H3 and I don't think I would be able to check that myself now, I don't have the manual either.

Maybe any Optra magnum owner in this forum help to understand whether it's H3?

 

[bhvm]

Cound't find details anywhere. Perhaps it would be better to take it on ramp and physically check. Generally old metal type lamps are H3 or H1. Chinese Aux lamps are also h3.

Newer fog lamps are H8 or H11. Hyundais are H27.

 

[AKHAN]

Thanks @bhvm

It's H3 in the fog lamps. In order to improve the overall visibility, I went ahead with HID for fogs. The DSC HID kit costed 8K. Now, it's a lot better than before. I never imagined I would spend this much money on headlamp upgrade, maybe I should have done enough research and gone with a HID in the main headlamp and normal halogens from Philps or Osram in the fog lamp which could have saved me around 15K.

Btw, do people make custom projectors with the light setup we want? Since I have H4 in the main unit and H3 in the fog lamp, is that possible to get customer projectors (without lights) to suit these setups?

 

[bhvm]

Its great that you have good lights now.

Custom HID projectors are available but they will use H1 Bulb. Not H4. Actually, Bulbs are the cheapest part of Projector setup. Most expensive thing is the lens itself. Make sure you choose a good lens (Like FX-R) and buy the bulbs around them rather than buying bulbs first and hunting for compatible lenses.

 

[AKHAN]

That doesn't sound good. I should rather wait for couple of years then. Saw some projector setups for around 28K at bigbrothers.com, maybe that would have been what I needed in the first place. The current setup is more than enough for city ride though it lacks so much on highways when it comes to long throw/high beam.

The hella bulbs would be awkward on sedans, won't they? And are they halogens, leds or HIDs? I see that on many Fortuners and other SUVs mostly owned by politicians.

 

[bhvm]

A projector upgrade will not give you better "Punch" or High beam at a distance, if thats what you are looking for. For increased distance you need a High beam assist-
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...ing-lamps-no-drill-metal-bumper-required.html

It would suggest use your current setup and study for atleast 6 months to clearly understand what you want and what path shall be choosen.

Yes, Going for a Projector setup in the 1st go (Rather than spending double money) as Some TAI'ans suggested on the first page would've been less hassle and more gains. I also hope you are not planning on using modified lamps in city as they would cause significant discomfort to other road users.

 

[AKHAN]

Thanks @bhvm :-)

It was never my intention to blind the oncoming traffic. I really like the throw of projector headlamps focusing on the center of the road unlike the reflectors that scatters the light. Never drove any high end vehicle with projector setup but recently had a chance to drive my friend's new innova with high beam projector lamps and it was really nice. It gives confidence on high way drives. I cannot stop thinking how would it be on high end cars from the likes of BMW, AUDI, MERC....wow I become a fanboy of projector lamps lol

For now, I'll stick with my current setup and maybe in future should upgrade to a car with projector lamps.

 

[AKHAN]

Hey guys,

It's me looking for your help and valuable feedback again.

It's been some months now with
1. Philips Xtreme ultinon LED H4 bulbs (hi/low) in main headlight assembly
2. DSC H3 HID in fog lamp

I bought the LED for 11K and the HID for 8k from the same automobile shop near me. I did a mistake of choosing LED first and then going with HID for fogs which in fact another bad decision since fog lamps are not meant to be highly bright or long thrown.

So, I decided to sell them off in ebay and go with projectors. I inquired 'hybrid customs' who quoted me 24k for the projector and installation. There's one more shop that asks 20k for the FX-R projector lenses. So, I'm thinking whether it would be best idea to buy them from Aliexpress and DIY myself or better go with these shops. How do you rate the difficulty in a scale of 1-7 based on your experience?

Projector:
Lens - 3 inch preferably
Shrouds - not decided yet
Light - Hybrid customs said they use HID (D2S) while I didn't inquire much about the brand and projectors. But all their YT videos looks really great. From some of their FB pics, it looks like they use NHK and Hella brands for projectors.

As I read, I got to know that HID will fail when you have to frequently use high beam flashing but the HIDs are far brighter than the LEDs which is my primary reason for switching. Should I be concerned with what light I choose for my projectors? Finally, why do some people black out their reflector housing when they fit the projectors while some people leave it as it is?

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[bhvm]

1. H3 is a very stupid format and rare one with transverse filament. It does not take kindly to ANY kind of upgrade. First If I were you, Throw out those h3 housings and get something modern or retrofit small projectors in those housings.

2. Don't do projector retrofit at home, Getting beam properly focused and leveled is quite difficult.

3. HID should never be used for high beam flashing. They'll fail faster than you can guess.

4. Blacking out is for looks. Optional.

 

[AKHAN]

Thanks for your continuous replies, bro : -)

1. Yeah, that's a stupid decision of me to invest 8K in for H3 fog lamps. The glass itself (even though it's not turned yellow yet) cuts most of the brightness it seems. Maybe I should get crystal clear glass or find projectors that supports H3 support.

2. I may also need cutting so that the projector sits, so yes you are correct.

3. So, most of the people who use HIDs only use it for Low beams?

I was also told that in the projector setup, the projector does the hi/low thing not the bulb, so I don't have to worry of HIDs failing. Is that true?

Finally, before another big investment in projectors, I'm also thinking of this highly rated, high lumens (means more brightness right?) CREE LED bulbs as the replacement of my philips xterme ultinon leds. Any word of advice? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LCE19PW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=A20DLZVH04R37U&psc=1

 

[bhvm]

Thanks for your continuous replies, bro : -)

3. So, most of the people who use HIDs only use it for Low beams?

I was also told that in the projector setup, the projector does the hi/low thing not the bulb, so I don't have to worry of HIDs failing. Is that true?

Finally, before another big investment in projectors, I'm also thinking of this highly rated, high lumens (means more brightness right?) CREE LED bulbs as the replacement of my philips xterme ultinon leds. Any word of advice? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LCE19PW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=A20DLZVH04R37U&psc=1

3. this is true for OEM low beam projectors + High beam reflector. Like in XUV, Zest etc. There are seperate bowls for both.

The system you are talking about is a Bixenon projector retrofit which uses magnet solenoid to raise/lower the shield and bulb is not affected. So high beams can be used in HID in this type. This is generally for BMW, Audi etc

4. If your reflector glass have become poor, There is no point getting brighter bulbs. Get a nice Bixenon Retrofit done from reputed shop with quality projectors (FXR, Morimoto) and enjoy is my suggestion.

 

[AKHAN]

Thanks for replying, my friend.

The reflector glass looks new which I cannot believe even after 6 years now. There are mild scratches which are only visible during night. Other than that the glass is super clean and neat.

You are correct, I've been in contact with Morimoto, The Retrofit Source and Lightwerkz since I started looking into upgrading my headlights.

My choices so far as suggested by both TRS and Lightwerkz,

D2S:
HID - Osram CBI (110$) - There are CBB and CBA series now, but still they don't seem to worth the extra money for small improvement over LUX.

Projectors
Morimoto D2S 4 Inch Projector - 140$
Or
G5-R - 120$ as suggested by Lightwerkz who has a lot of YT videos comparing the projectors (Hope there's RHD version too)

Ballast
For ballast, I decided to go with Morimoto XB Ballast 35W. Your help on choosing the right ballast would be much appreciated.


Thanks :-)