[VizagRider]

Hello Every one,

This is my first review on TeamBhp, so if in case of any mistakes pls excuse me.
Don't take me wrong if the review is lengthy.
I wanted to purchase auxiliary lights for my XUV700AX5 Diesel.

So many people might say XUV700 has pretty good stock lights why even auxiliary lights are required.
I'm spoiled with lighting setup on my Duke 390 - 1pod Baja designs Squadron Pro in Driving/combo beam(Spot+Spread) with 5000K(180$) and 1pod of DiodeDynamics SS3pro in driving beam with 4000K($150)and wiring harness($30) totalling to Rs.26,000,
These are good enough for spirited riding at 120kmph at night with good enough reaction time to avoid any surprises. And it's not that I encourage to drive high speeds at night.



I don't have night time images as of now but trust me after trying several combinations of beam patterns on both the pod lights I have arrived at the above stated setup. My aim was always to replicate a beam pattern close to output of a projector with Bright spot in the center and reducing intensity towards the periphery so that we could see as much distance as possible and I feel I have achieved to a large extent as much as possible with my set up.

For my XUV700 Cheap chinese lights were not an option as I know, especially in Lighting you get what you pay for.
Following were my requirements
1.Beam pattern similar to Projector lens
2.Should be able to see at least 400meters at 10lux. (A Vehicle travelling at 200Kmph requires at least 180meters visible distance to avoid an Obstacle) Source: Baja Designs Effective Lighting Score white paper.
3.Require cornering/ditch lights in as small package as possible to fit near the mirror to see before I turn into a corner
4.I hate reflection coming of the bonnet, so Lights should be able to fit in between front grill and radiator(also don't want get pulled over by Police and not to give thieves an easy access to expensive lights).
5.Efficiency of lights(with less power consumption, more light out put in the right place to see more distance) and also less load on Alternator
6.As much less weight as possible(want to keep weight of lights to minimum, Mahindra have gone great lengths to reduce weight of engine compared to XUV500 and I don't want to spoil driving dynamics of the vehicle by adding more weight in an overhanging position)
7.Want to control brightness of lights
8.Switch panel to control(ON/OFF) different lights individually based on need/situation and also to avoid rats nest of wires in the engine bay and in the cockpit.
7. Complete lights and lighting accessories cost not to exceed Rs.60,000(close to double the price of lights on my bike)


After exploring different lights from VisionX, BajaDesigns, Diode dynamics, KC Hilites, Morimoto and Laser Lamps UK.
For forward lighting I have short listed the following:
1.BD's OnX6+ 10inch in driving beam(12,460Lumens @ 110Watts)
2.Pair of Diode dynamics SS3 Pro's in Spot beam pattern. (5,796 Lumens @ 40watts per pod)
3.DiodeDynamics SS5 3 pod cross link bar with one-SS5pro(9,700 Lumens @ 90Watts) in Driving beam and Two-SS5sport spot beam(4800 Lumens @ 40W Per)
4.Stedi ST3301Pro 24.5inch light bar(13,600Lumens@ 132Watts)

Finally purchased the following
1.DiodeDynamics SS5 3 pod cross link bar with one-SS5pro in Driving beam and Two-SS5sport spot beam($490/Rs.40K) and Stedi ST3301Pro 24.5inch light bar(250AUD/Rs.12K) as i wanted a combination of reflector style lights and TIR optics for both intense and smooth blend of light in my budget.
Purchased From Hotshot offroad - https://hotshotoffroad.com/collectio...42079981535451

2. For cornering lights there is absolutely no competition for Baja designs S1($195/Rs.16K) in such small package of 2.1inchX2.1inch and the amount of light it produces, 2320Lumes @ 19.5W.
Purchased From Hotshot offroad - https://hotshotoffroad.com/collectio...39355296841777

3. For Brightness Control - Skene Iq-275 ($75/Rs.6K) for controlling stedi light bar and SS5 pro driving beam.
Purchased From HotShot offroad

4. 8 Gang RGB switch Panel having Bluetooth control over phone (Rs.11K) and power distribution having solid state relays. This is the same as Aux beam 8gang switch Panel but without AUX beam branding, can be bought on Aliexpress. Dealers in India will Rob atleast 25K or more for the same module.
( https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...702e1802II27kb )

I thought quit a bit before purchase of Switch Panel as I'm exceeding 15K over my budget but made a choice to go ahead as it will simplify the wiring in engine bay, no need to fumble around if some fuse blows off, instead of running multiple wires for 5 individual lights(light bar, SS5 driving, SS5 spot, S1 left and S1 right) into the cabin there will be only one single thin harness coming from controller/fuse box to Switchpanel.

Review/Opinion-Power consumption/ lights test: Stedi ST3301 PRO 24.5 INCH 16 LED LIGHT BAR

I have asked my friend to buy this light bar in Australia and bring it to India while coming.

Stedi has different light bars with different beam patters but I bought ST3301 24.5 Inch model as it has a very smooth bend between spot and spread beam and Stedi also has Night time light out put images for each lights they sell, images are over exposed in my opinion which give a feel that they are too bright. But it gives an idea on how the light out put is going to be. Below are the image from the website.




And Below are the real world images comparison of the light output, sorry I couldn't take pictures in a completely dark location. The end of the Street is 110meters, I feel i can comfortably see 120meters with this light bar alone.



Even though the light bar build quality is quite good, some where I felt the performance of the light was not meeting its spec.
Since I wanted brightness control by Connecting to Skene iq275 module, i wanted to see the actual power of the Stedi light bar as Skene module can carry max current 12amps on one circuit, if Stedi light bar pulls more than 12amps current the controller might burn.
So I wanted to test the light bar by connecting it to a test setup where i can vary voltage and see max current draw and calculate actual power draw. Power(watts) =Voltage(volts) X Current(Amps).

Below are the specifications of lightbar from website and they state 9.7A @ 13.6v that means 132Watts power.



Below are the test results, with room temp at 26degC.
All the readings are taken as soon as the light bar is powered on
7.1A @ 13.5V = 95.85W
6.5A @ 14.3V = 92.95W
8A @ 12.1V = 96.8W
10.8A @ 9V = 97.2W
5.8A @ 16V = 92.8W











The average Power stands at 95.12W when the light bar is still not fully warmed up, that is 28% less than the stated power of 132Watts

After the light bar is stabilized for 45minutes the current draw is 4.9A @ 12.7V = 62.23W
This is less than half of the specified power of 132Watts.



Here I'm not saying Stedi makes bad products but point is they are not meeting the stated spec(132W) right out of the box.
And I feel Stedi's thermal/Heat management is not very good.

Reputed lighting manufactures like Diode dynamics have minor losses after 30 minutes of stabilization and with no moving air around the lights.

One more thing I didn't like about the wiring harness provided by Stedi is, the wires are made of aluminum not copper.
Just to double confirm whether it is tin plated copper or aluminum, I have cut the wire of the Deutsch Connector pig tail provided along with light bar and it is found to be aluminum.
Some might say Aluminum wires are also ok for electrical conduction, but aluminum wires need to be much thicker than copper, which results the wiring harness to be heavier compared to copper wire harness.


Power consumption and First impressions of DiodeDynamics SS5 3pod cross link light bar with one-SS5pro in Driving beam and Two-SS5sport spot beam:

SS5 Sport and Pro Spec sheet:



Test results are taken at room temp 26degC.
Below reading is taken as soon as the SS5 Pro light is powered on
9.5A @ 11.9V = 133W


Below readings are taken after stabilization of 45minutes of SS5 Pro light
6A @ 13.6V = 81.6W
5.7A @ 14.3V = 81.5W
5.1A @ 16V = 81.6W




SS5 Sport didn't have any effect over 45 minutes of operation, below are measured values
3.5A @ 11.9V = 41.6W
3.3A @ 12.7V = 41.9W
3A @ 13.6V = 40.8W
2.9A @ 14.4V = 41.7W
2.6A @ 16V = 41.6W






Currently I do not have the light out put images of Diode dynamics lights.
Once my installation is complete on my car, I will upload all the final images.

Thanks for your patience reading.
This is my first post/review hope it is useful and informative.
Any advices are most welcome

[mayankthebest]

Impressive setup. How do you take care not to blind oncoming traffic? Mahindra has gone out of its way to provide auto dimming feature specifically for this purpose in XUV700 and in IMHO this negates that. Or is there something I am missing?

[GeeTee TSI]

Due credit to the DIY, but I am yet to encounter a light bar which does not blind the oncoming traffic or even pedestrians, unlike OEM lights on low beam no matter what type they are; maybe because of their sharp cut off

[professortarzan]

Reminds me of Jeremy Clarkson's "Collapsed Sun".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiQNPGhK8Lc

I am sorry that even the third response to your first post here comes across as critical/condescending, but I am honestly concerned about how this setup effects the oncoming traffic. This is probably the first time an image on a webpage is giving me headlight glare. The three LED setup of TVS 50 is enough to blind an average person, I cannot imagine the state of my retinas after facing this setup.

If you have you already taken care of this aspect, that's fantastic, please shed some light on it. If not, I strongly suggest you to drop this project. We already have a ton of issues with headlights on our roads.

However, kudos to the efforts you have put in and sharing your observations here. Looking forward to your participation in the community.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by VizagRider

I'm spoiled with lighting setup on my Duke 390 - 1pod Baja designs Squadron Pro in Driving/combo beam(Spot+Spread) with 5000K(180$) and 1pod of DiodeDynamics SS3pro in driving beam with 4000K($150)and wiring harness($30) totalling to Rs.26,000

How would you rate the SS3 Pro against Squadron pro? Between these two pods, which puts out more useable light? I have used a pair of BD S2 Pro Driving+Spot Combo in the past which was very impressive for its size.

Originally Posted by VizagRider

Review/Opinion-Power consumption/ lights test: Stedi ST3301 PRO 24.5 INCH 16 LED LIGHT BAR

Below are the specifications of lightbar from website and they state 9.7A @ 13.6v that means 132Watts power.

The average Power stands at 95.12W when the light bar is still not fully warmed up, that is 28% less than the stated power of 132Watts

After the light bar is stabilized for 45minutes the current draw is 4.9A @ 12.7V = 62.23W
This is less than half of the specified power of 132Watts.

Here I'm not saying Stedi makes bad products but point is they are not meeting the stated spec(132W) right out of the box.
And I feel Stedi's thermal/Heat management is not very good.

That is quite a revelation, especially the initial draw! Less than 28% on before initial warmup for a 132w advertised light is not right! Throttling down after 45 minuted is expected as the lights are not in the wind, but less than half? That is low.

I have a STEDI 3301 Pro 18.6" light bar, basically the same as yours but 4 flood beams less. I chose this over the 24.5" as the number of spots were the same for both.

Although advertised as Australian I guess STEDI lights and accessories are just higher quality China made lights. I would say STEDI is a better alternative to Rigid Industries lights (had a 20" E2 Hyperspot driving combo, lots of unusable light) at less cost but not in the same league as Baja Designs or Diode Dynamics.

Originally Posted by VizagRider

Power consumption and First impressions of DiodeDynamics SS5 3pod cross link light bar with one-SS5pro in Driving beam and Two-SS5sport spot beam:

Test results are taken at room temp 26degC.
Below reading is taken as soon as the SS5 Pro light is powered on
9.5A @ 11.9V = 133W

Below readings are taken after stabilization of 45minutes of SS5 Pro light
6A @ 13.6V = 81.6W
5.7A @ 14.3V = 81.5W
5.1A @ 16V = 81.6W

Much better than STEDI but again since these are not in the wind throttling down is expected. Initial draw at warmup is also much closer to stated spec.

Originally Posted by VizagRider

SS5 Sport didn't have any effect over 45 minutes of operation, below are measured values
3.5A @ 11.9V = 41.6W
3.3A @ 12.7V = 41.9W
3A @ 13.6V = 40.8W
2.9A @ 14.4V = 41.7W
2.6A @ 16V = 41.6W

Magic of ZES chips? Considering the LED driver must be in house by DD for both S5 Sport and Pro and optimised for the respective chips. Or the heatsink area provided by the S5 Pro housing (which is same as S5 Sport) is less for the higher wattage CREE chips in S5Pro. It would be great if you could do a similar test with the BD light also.

[bbhartia]

Honestly any addtional lights are a menace to others on the road no matter highway or city or a village road. These in my opinion are banned for the same reason. I simply drive slower during night time to make sure that the visibility and speed match. There have been multiple times when I have missed a speed hump/pothole in the night as oncoming traffic had these additional lights or were driving on high beam on a 2 lane road.

[VizagRider]

Originally Posted by mayankthebest

Impressive setup. How do you take care not to blind oncoming traffic? Mahindra has gone out of its way to provide auto dimming feature specifically for this purpose in XUV700 and in IMHO this negates that. Or is there something I am missing?

Originally Posted by GeeTee TSI

Due credit to the DIY, but I am yet to encounter a light bar which does not blind the oncoming traffic or even pedestrians, unlike OEM lights on low beam no matter what type they are; maybe because of their sharp cut off

Originally Posted by professortarzan

Reminds me of Jeremy Clarkson's "Collapsed Sun".

I understand the inconvenience faced by other drivers facing ill knowledged people installing off-road lights on Vehicles to lighting up everything up to tree tops.

First of all I thought of fitting projector set up in my head light(for getting sharp cut off) but retro fitting a projector in side XUV700 led head light is not advisable as one needs to remove the low beam reflector completer to to fit-in and LED projector retro fitting in side head light housing has its own limitations of brightness, distance and cooling.
I'm not here to say that I'm an expert of lighting but, just trying to improve my visibility to confidently cruise at speeds during night and also while trying to be sensible by not creating discomfort to the oncoming traffic.

I feel asking questions is much easier than providing solutions to a problem.
I have already thought of this problem for oncoming traffic, following is the way by which I'm trying to reduce inconvenience.
1. Try to use lights with reduced brightness.(Remember the Skene iq-275 brightness controller?) during oncoming traffic.
2. Use DiodeDynamics spot light only on 4+ lanes road or while no oncoming traffic.
3. DiodeDynamics uses an optic called Total Internal Reflection(TIR) which allows them to capture all the light form led, focus on exactly where they wanted and how they wanted. This TIR optic is so good that even Stock oem halogen reflector head light cannot match focused beam.
Driving beam pattern of SS3 pod light is SAE certified to used as an auxiliary high beam when positioned, SS5 also has the same beam pattern of SS3 pod but SS5 is brighter so it is not SAE certified. below images might help in understanding better.








4.Regarding Stedi ST3301 light bar, it has a conventional parabolic reflector so it tends to shine light in all directions and also has glare to on coming traffic, but the smooth blend of light of from spot to spread is what I intend to get on the road.
Since the reflector diameter is around 35mm approximately and the opening of the of the grill in Mahindra is 24mm, so I plan to install the light bar in such a way that I will be blocking the top 11mm of reflector to avoid glare and it also helps me to avoid lot of reflections form overhead sign boards on highways.
Below image might help in understanding better



Hope to receive ideas from members.

[revsperminute]

First time I am reading about someone upgrading the lights on their XUV700. Have driven a friend's XUV in pitch-black conditions on both expressways and curvy ghat roads and I loved the headlight performance. It was almost at par with what's there on my GLE. I had another owner sing praises for the headlights after completing an overnight drive to Mandrem.

I don't see a situation in which a FWD crossover goes off-road. Where exactly do you require the extra lighting?

[VizagRider]

Originally Posted by Sankar

How would you rate the SS3 Pro against Squadron pro? Between these two pods, which puts out more useable light? I have used a pair of BD S2 Pro Driving+Spot Combo in the past which was very impressive for its size.

For your your first question:
SS3 Pro is the most efficient light out of both. But anodizing of heat sink is much superior on Baja designs.
But each have their pros and cons,
Except Fog beam and flood beam, Diode dynamics beam patterns are actually quite different from Baja designs beam patterns.
I would choose the following for the below beam patterns from the brands.

Driving beam(off road spot+spread) - Baja Designs(use this if your existing lights are basically useless and you want to start building your lighting package from scratch)
SAE driving beam - Diode dynamics
Spot beam - Diode dynamics
Combo beam - Morimoto 4 banger

If i were to answer your question on which puts out more usable light - then I would first ask you
what is your current existing lighting setup and how far can you see.
are you looking for improving near field, mid field or long range visibility,
are you planning to use additional lights on a 2 wheeler or a 4 wheeler
Where are do you plan to mount the lights on your vehicle.


For your second question on initial power draw and throttling down of Stedi light bar:
Lights should always be measured atleast after half an hour of stabilization because that is when the actual heat dissipating capability is know and you can always expect consistent performance from lights in any situations.
To honest i was quite disappointed after seeing the measurements and it really sucks to see these values right out of the box.
I haven't mentioned it in my previous post as it was getting lengthy, but i have also done testing by keeping a 9cfm fan just to see the effect of flowing air after 45 minutes of stabilization and it was measuring 6.2amps @12.7 V = 78.74Watts. So I wouldn't consider this light bar more than 80watts in any case.

To some extent i know how derating circuit works to avoid permanent damage of the complete circuit board.
The mechanical heat dissipation and thermal management of Stedi is not at all close to what to bet from reputed manufactures.

I will also try to do similar test on Baja lights but it will not be very soon.
Baja designs them say that they test their light with fan so at room temperature after stabilization they are going to be under performing.
For example BD S2 Pro outputs the almost the same power as the sport variant at room temperature after stabilization, source:
Diode dynamics SSc2 vs competitors comparison:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLh-hR6ROm8

May be you would like it.

[GeeTee TSI]

Originally Posted by VizagRider

I understand the inconvenience faced by other drivers facing ill knowledged people installing off-road lights on Vehicles to lighting up everything up to tree tops.

I have already thought of this problem for oncoming traffic, following is the way by which I'm trying to reduce inconvenience.
1. Try to use lights with reduced brightness.(Remember the Skene iq-275 brightness controller?) during oncoming traffic.
2. Use DiodeDynamics spot light only on 4+ lanes road or while no oncoming traffic.

Pardon me for splitting hairs here, but I am sure you are mindful of how uncomfortable super bright lights are on the IRVM of cars in the same lane, let alone ORVMs and non-auto dimming mirrors. A trial in another car with your car trailing it should make you realise its impact

It would bode well to use never use light bars on public roads IMHO

[shashanka]

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[OffRoadFun]

"Glaring" disregard for others on the road is what I see with this installation. Unregulated use will lead to even more chaos on road, many cabbies etc seem to already have it. I agree XUV700 stock lights are already more than sufficient.

It is tempting to install blinding lights to force oncoming traffic with high beam ON, but that's not a solution. I still try to drive on low beam even on BLR-HYD highway/others as much as possible though many incoming vehicles have high beam. High beam annoys even people ahead of you via mirrors.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by VizagRider

I'm not here to say that I'm an expert of lighting but, just trying to improve my visibility to confidently cruise at speeds during night and also while trying to be sensible by not creating discomfort to the oncoming traffic.
.

Hope your glass is crystal clear and free of any sunfilm etc.

More light doesn't necessarily mean better visibilty and from a road use perspective, you have to get the beam pattern correct as well as where the light is bright, our eyes have good dynamic range but they can be overwhelmed too.

Study the stock beam pattern well and see how best you can complement it, avoid having anything extra when low beam is on, you may add aux lights to complement the high beam.

For XUV it's a bit of overkill , I know that it works well even in pouring rain , very few vehicles have such a set up.

[professortarzan]

Originally Posted by VizagRider

I have already thought of this problem for oncoming traffic, following is the way by which I'm trying to reduce inconvenience.

The main intention here is for general public to be more mindful and considerate on the roads. You seem to know what you're dealing with, and I cannot criticize further without seeing your work in person. So I'll refrain from more finger-pointing.

Credit when it's due, you clearly are doing your homework, thanks for acting responsibly.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by VizagRider

If i were to answer your question on which puts out more usable light - then I would first ask you
what is your current existing lighting setup and how far can you see.
are you looking for improving near field, mid field or long range visibility,
are you planning to use additional lights on a 2 wheeler or a 4 wheeler
Where are do you plan to mount the lights on your vehicle.

The near field and medium range illumination provided by the stock lights are excellent at legal speeds. What I wanted was better far field illumination on divided roads. This is the setup I had 4 years ago, 3301 Pro Stedi 18.6" and BD S2 Pro mounted behind the grill. Installing it behind the grill cuts out a lot of glare to the top and other directions.



Amongst the aux lights I have used (Rigid, BD & Stedi) I like the colour temperature of the BD. Stedi 3301 18.6" is marketed as 5500K but I do not think they are true 5500K lights but cooler. BD S2 Pros were driving+spot combo beams and mounted higher up horizontally which added more body to the stock lights and a bit of extra throw for the high beam. When the Stedi came I converted the BD to spot beams and mounted as seem in the picture here, mounting it vertically is not ideal I know, but being spots doesn't matter much. Similarly 3301 18.6" was chosen because it had more spot beams (8) over flood beams (4). I have removed the aux lights since, Stedi is in storage and BD's were sold long ago.