[triedeverything]

I had imported a set of Roolites (Australian brand that's similar to Lightforce, but a little easier on the pocket) for my Scorpio. Umm... not that easy actually... worked out to 22K after customs, 4 years ago... but still significantly cheaper than similar sized LF lights. They have the ability to focus the beam to a wider spread, or a sharp beam. The throw of the beam on the cover says 750 meters. I was pretty happy with the performance of the lights that I removed them when I sold Mr Muscle in August last year.

Yesterday, I installed these lights on Whiskers, my XUV 500-W8. The cherry on the cake is the remote switch that controls the lights. No slices, no dices, no holes anywhere inside. There are two remotes, so switching these on/off can be outsourced to the better half. I'm going to let the pictures do the talking.

The Awakening - Beware I can bite.


At the wrong end..


At the right end..


Comparison with low beam Morimoto HIDs


Anti-theft nuts protecting my investment.


Spanner (it's actually only the bit) used to tighten the security nuts.


And the star of the show - The remote switch


Total Cost: I'm not certain of the exacts, and it's been almost 4 years now, I'd say roughly around 25 K
Cost of Remote (Sourced from: Amazon): Around 1.5 K
Installed at : Slick Cars (near Silk Board, Bangalore) (Neat job, reasonable, efficient, customer friendly.)
Install time: Roughly an hour
Install Cost: Rs - 500
The feeling of the cheetah ready for a nocturnal attack of the highways... priceless!

Disclaimer: The high beam on the XUV is very poor, especially in bad weather. I intend to use these light responsibly, only when I can't see enough road. So no flak please. Save the Cheetah!

[adi_sun]

Looks amazing, can you please share the throw on an open road. Also I noticed that these are installed on a thin metal strip, does this shake ? Or are the lamps sp light weight that it can be mounted on a thin strip of metal ?

[VinodDevil81]

That's really a lot of light !! Is it because of the camera angle/lens flare or does the light really give that dazzling effect? If that is for real, then I doubt there is any place inside the city where you may be able to use this as a substitute for your weak-high beam, without troubling anyone. May be for off-road purpose it fits the bill.

btw, what is the color temperature?

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by triedeverything

I had imported a set of Roolites (Australian brand that's similar to Lightforce, but a little easier on the pocket) for my Scorpio. Umm... not that easy actually... worked out to 22K after customs, 4 years ago... but still significantly cheaper than similar sized LF lights. ...

And the star of the show - The remote switch
Attachment 1226550

Cost of Remote (Sourced from: Amazon): Around 1.5 K
...

Good one. So the lights did NOT come with remote? What changes did you have to do to make the remote compatible with the remote?

I would have loved to see how the lights are connected - is it directly connected to the battery?

[triedeverything]

Originally Posted by adi_sun

Looks amazing, can you please share the throw on an open road. Also I noticed that these are installed on a thin metal strip, does this shake ? Or are the lamps sp light weight that it can be mounted on a thin strip of metal ?

Just had the opportunity to drive with the lights. There is a small vibration. This is only a temporary fix. I need to find some time to get a more rigid setup done. I'm also worried about the actual position of these lights. I would have preferred something that's at the same level of the headlights. Currently, it impacts my parking space. If it is raised up, the lights won't be the first point of contact in every day nudges in bumper to bumper traffic. It also needs to be focused correctly on an open road. Will post pictures soon!

Originally Posted by VinodDevil81

If that is for real, then I doubt there is any place inside the city where you may be able to use this as a substitute for your weak-high beam, without troubling anyone. May be for off-road purpose it fits the bill.

BTW, what is the color temperature?

Some of it is because of the camera angle. Like I mentioned... these are not for city use. I never use the high beam inside city limits either. There's no reason for that. These are strictly for use in the ghats/forests (when there is no vehicle in the opposite direction) that my travels frequently take me through.

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Good one. So the lights did NOT come with remote? What changes did you have to do to make the remote compatible with the remote?

I would have loved to see how the lights are connected - is it directly connected to the battery?

Yeah... the lights did not come with the remote. Nothing special was done to make it compatible. The remote can be use instead of a switch for any 12 V device. The wires are all well labeled, color coded and there's a schematic diagram as well... on what goes where. The manager/owner at Slick cars was not very sure if they could install it... but the electrician there took one look at it... and gave a confident nod. There was no trial and error. Got it right the first time.
It is connected directly to the battery. So the receiving unit is probably always on. I was in a hurry as I had some night driving in the ghats at short notice. When I have more time, I'll take it to a electrician I know and rewire it so that it is turned on only when the key is in the ignition. Good point!

[sagarpadaki]

You have installed Morimoto HID's in your low beam? Does it not void the warranty?

[triedeverything]

Then their export vehicles will all be out of warranty. I've had a few parts changed and there is no issue with warranty.

[gopzdoc]

Good lights! Did you not consider changing your high beams also to HID with projectors ( bi-xenon)? When low beam is used both the highbeam (dim part) and low beam comes to play and when you bright the lights the low beam stays low where as the high beam shifts to high. It involves opening up of the headlights though. I had a quote of 21000 for bixenons with 6 months warranty for my fortuner in Cochin.

[triedeverything]

Originally Posted by gopzdoc

Good lights! Did you not consider changing your high beams also to HID with projectors ( bi-xenon)? When low beam is used both the highbeam (dim part) and low beam comes to play and when you bright the lights the low beam stays low where as the high beam shifts to high. It involves opening up of the headlights though. I had a quote of 21000 for bixenons with 6 months warranty for my fortuner in Cochin.

High beams are best left as Halogen. You'd want them to switch on instantly when 'flashing' your lights. I don't think I can wait for the HID lights to warm up and slowly get to their effective output. I also don't want to do any opening up of the headlights for 3 years, during which the vehicle is covered under warranty.

[arunr]

The installation looks neat. Curious about the value addition of the remote in place of a conventional switch.

Although this would make one heck of a Guide-Me-Home light

[tharian]

On reading the title, I thought it was something which I always thought of doing.

That is fixing the lamps on a motorized rotator base which has a remote to control by the which the lamps can be pointed to a desired angle according to the situation.

This idea came to my mind long back when I used to get so annoyed with high beams hitting my face and me flashing my lights did not make any difference. Next step, a way to point the beams directly on that drivers face for a second. I know its sound sinister, but my life is in equal danger when I am blinded for those few seconds.

[Wanderers]

Truly using this light may be little cumbersome as every time we have to use remote while driving, which is not going to be easy.

Can it be routed through the Head-light switchgear ?

[triedeverything]

Originally Posted by Wanderers

Truly using this light may be little cumbersome as every time we have to use remote while driving, which is not going to be easy.

Can it be routed through the Head-light switchgear ?

Not really. But if you do find it cumbersome, with a little ingenuity, it can be strapped on to the steering wheel. But the value really is that the operation of these lights can be 'outsourced' to the 'navigator'. Let her do some work I say! And be worthy of my signature

I'm sure it can be routed through the Head light switch. In fact, when I had fitted it on the Scorpio, the electrician even offered to wire it like that. It will involve slicing the wires which might void your warranty.
However, I wanted the ability to just have my high beam when required, Not having the ability to switch these off independently will be a pain.

[triedeverything]

Originally Posted by triedeverything

Not really. But if you do find it cumbersome, with a little ingenuity, it can be strapped on to the steering wheel. But the value really is that the operation of these lights can be 'outsourced' to the 'navigator'. Let her do some work I say! And be worthy of my signature

I'm sure it can be routed through the Head light switch. In fact, when I had fitted it on the Scorpio, the electrician even offered to wire it like that. It will involve slicing the wires which might void your warranty.
However, I wanted the ability to just have my high beam when required, Not having the ability to switch these off independently will be a pain.

I actually stitched a small cloth pocket for this remote and then stitched pieces of velcro to it so that it can be strapped on to any part of the steering wheel.
Here are some snaps.





Aesthetics 5 (yeah overrated). But utility 10. (Not worried about the appearance as I can remove it and keep it aside till I really need to use it. And it's usually pretty dark when it's time to switch on the sun.)

Next project - enable mounting the remote on the gear stick.

[rider60]

hi triedeverything.

nice lights and remote combo.

A small suggestion bro, you can go to a steering wheel cover tailor, ask him to stitch a cover in either rexine/textile/leather, for this remote with Velcro straps, that snug fit like done on steering would look killer, it would be a much neater job. Also you can stick this remote on dash behind the high/low beam lever/stick for easy access, it might look nicer like stock finish/good after market finishing.