Is the stock headlamp setup in XUV really that inadequate for night drive?
No I do not think so.I have done 7 different night drives on the highway, during last 1 year.I wouldn't have been successful had the stock setup failed or underperformed.I was surprised over the amount of criticism on the net,over the poor performance of OEM setup.After reading multiple reviews and compairing with my real time experience here is
what I have to say :
1. High beam is really good and lightens up the highway for a long distance.
Totally agree. The high beams are good enough for night drives on the highway.
2 .Low beam with projectors,suddenly decreases the visibility distance,forcing the driver to revert to high beam again!!
True again.
3 .To get the proper light on the highway, play a little with the headlamp levelling device.Personally I found level 2 and 3 suits me best depending upon the load conditions.When I am travelling alone with light wt., position 2 does the trick for me and no more I have to toogle between high and low beams for proper visibility.
Position levelling is based in the load in the vehicle. Normally it should be at 0 if only driver and one passenger is there, at 1 when there are 2 rows of seats full, at 2/3 depending on the weight of the luggage + the above situation.
4. I have been in more than a few sedans,hatchbacks and muvs(read innova).None of these cars boasted of any extraordinary lightening apparatus.All of these cars performed just adequately in night drives.Why then single out the XUV for this?
None of the Indian cars at sub 15 lakh rupee range comes with adequate low beam for night highway driving (period)
5. Is there a chance of improvement? Yes, definitely.But why screw up the factory settings by installing HID,which is most likely to void warranty.It may also spoil the reflectors,and discolour the headlight glass,which may not have been designed for extra high temperatures generated by HIDs.
HIDs installation if done properly will not void your warranty i.e. no cutting or splicing of stock wires. as long as the HIDs are of the same power output 55W in this case it will not spoil the reflectors, discolor the glass as the HIDs as HIDs run cooler than the Halogen bulbs.
I have been using HIDs in XUV projector from more than a year now, and no problems whatsoever same is the case with my bike. I had installed HID(without projectors) in the stock headlamps almost 4 years ago. no issues till date.