[mp417]

Mods, not sure whether this thread is right place to post review. Please merge with relevant thread if needed. Thanks.

Replaced the stock bulbs last night as I could not wait till Saturday. The replacement is pretty straightforward and not complex. Few observations based on my quick drive within society premise. The difference in the color is immediately noticeable as Osram Nightbreaker Ultimate is whitish and not completely yellow. The white tone is more evident on upper beam. Lower beam is almost yellow. Net net, Osram NB Ultimate are way better than the stock bulbs which I used for almost last 6 years. Should have upgraded early. Thanks to TBHP, I have really started taking these small upgrades seriously

Uploading few photos. I will observe how the new bulbs perform over next few days and will post additional comments. I really liked the ease with which stock bulbs can be replaced without the hassle of adding relay and other wiring changes and you still get better light.

Photo 1: Stock Lower beam

Photo 2: NB Ultimate Lower beam

Photo 3: During installation. Left is stock and Right bulb is NB. You can notice the difference in color.

Photo 4: Stock Upper beam

Photo 5: NB Ultimate Upper beam

[yosbert]

I am planning to upgrade the headlamps of my Grand i10 with the Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited.
I am bit of a noob in this area, so apologies if this question sounds silly. How do I figure out the correct size (H?) for my car. I checked the car manual, but it didn't throw up anything.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by yosbert

How do I figure out the correct size (H?) for my car. I checked the car manual, but it didn't throw up anything.

Most of the hatches on sale in India are equipped with 60/55W H4 P43t headlamps.

In your owners manual there will be a section that gives out specifications of the car:

1)Engine details;

2) Fluids it takes along with the quantity and grade;

3) Types of fuse and their ratings;

4) Tyre and wheel data

In this part there will be another section that mentions the various bulbs used and their rating. Here you'll get your answer.

Anurag.

[mp417]

Originally Posted by yosbert

I am planning to upgrade the headlamps of my Grand i10 with the Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited.
I am bit of a noob in this area, so apologies if this question sounds silly. How do I figure out the correct size (H?) for my car. I checked the car manual, but it didn't throw up anything.

Yes. As mentioned by a4anurag, most of the cars have H4.

Another way to verify is, check the spare bulbs provided by hyundai. The box will have exact specification.

As far as NB unlimited bulbs are concerned, found them very good over last few days while driving home from office. The brightness is much better than stock. With lower beam more road details are visible. And upper beam throw is longer and bright.

[yosbert]

Thanks guys for the pointers. It never even occurred to me to check the spare bulbs .

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by yosbert

Thanks guys for the pointers. It never even occurred to me to check the spare bulbs.

You could have looked at the head light bulb only to get your answer only! Isn't it?!

Anurag.

[MalluDude]

Did you happen to stand at a distance away from your car and view the full beam? How was it? Think it might be too blinding to the on-coming traffic? This is the only thing keeping me from upgrading.

[mp417]

Originally Posted by MalluDude

Did you happen to stand at a distance away from your car and view the full beam? How was it? Think it might be too blinding to the on-coming traffic? This is the only thing keeping me from upgrading.

I haven't tried this. I think these bulbs are at par with 100/90W high intensity bulbs. Main advantage is you don't have to fiddle with wiring so it doesn't void warranty for new cars.
Will try your suggestion tomorrow and let you know.

Thanks.

[eldiablo]

Originally Posted by thefuturist

The beam performance might depend on the lamp type and the reflector setup for your headlamps. The Honda City takes in H4s and I am quite satisfied with the way the NB+ high beam performs on the highways. However, don't expect to drown those dual headlamps of oncoming trucks on the highways - you would need Hella Rallyes for that.

Depending on your need you may try out Philips Xtreme Vision - unlike the Nightbreakers the beam is not blue-tinted, so it might serve you better if you drive in very dusty conditions or in the fog / rains.

I do not drive in dusty conditions or at night mostly. I would like a set of 'white lights' that light-up the road ahead for a good distance without being a problem for other drivers. I should also be able to use the high-beam - and it has to be powerful enough to -

1.) See my side of the road despite the powerful high beams used by other
drivers
2.) Discourage other drivers from causing a black-out by the use of
excessively powerful head-lights, but I do not know how much head-lights
will help

I also think that the Hella-type lights do not suit cars of all makes. I therefore want lights that are powerful enough and compact enough to fit into the head light setting. As such I am not a fan of Octavias' with DRLs and Hella lights.

Regards

[thefuturist]

Originally Posted by eldiablo

I do not drive in dusty conditions or at night mostly. I would like a set of 'white lights' that light-up the road ahead for a good distance without being a problem for other drivers. I should also be able to use the high-beam - and it has to be powerful enough to -

I am sure similar questions would have been answered elsewhere in the forum, but let's see if we can help you out here. I like my cars to be stock as much as possible, so Hellas or for that matter any external retrofit are a strict no-no for me as well. So basically you are staring at the following options:

1. Stay street-legal and upgrade to the 60/55 high-performance lamps like NB+ or the newer NB Unlimited. I don't really like the Xtreme Visions, having used them in my earlier car after the much better NBs - they might work well on your Octavia though for all I know
   
   PROS: No modifications needed while getting the best illumination this side of the law
   CONS: Shorter life than stock lamps, slightly expensive (NB+ / NB Unlimited retail for around 1100 / 1900 respectively)
   
   
2. Go 100/90 or even higher(!).
   
   PROS: Cheap, Best illumination for your bucks (seen those Indica cabs?)
   CONS: Too many. Basically being on the wrong side of the law while also voiding your electrical warranty after splicing the wires and installing the cut-out relay. Your entire headlamp housing can take a beating as well from the heat generated by these high wattage bulbs
   
   
3. Get the projector setup for the Octavia (the vRS had one if yours is the older generation model). Sure it might burn a hole in your pocket, but it would tick all the boxes for the issues that you have listed here. However, from what I hear Xenon setups also require headlamp washers to keep the lenses clean and prevent the beam from dispersing

Whatever option you choose do keep your headlamp lenses clean. Of the various factors that affect the beam quality, dust accumulation on the lenses is a major one.

[eldiablo]

Originally Posted by thefuturist

I am sure similar questions would have been answered elsewhere in the forum, but let's see if we can help you out here. I like my cars to be stock as much as possible, so Hellas or for that matter any external retrofit are a strict no-no for me as well. So basically you are staring at the following options:

1.) I already have the 60/55 setup, and believe me, I am extremely unhappy with the output. In fact within getting a new set of bulbs a little less than a year ago, one of them has gone kaput. This leaves me with no choice to change bulbs.

2.) Unfortunately, I do not see any promising products in the market for the 60/55 setup. They are so-so and therefore I have decided to go for the 100/90 or higher. I totally agree with you on the "heat generated by these high wattage bulbs" and will bear that in mind before I make the purchase.

3.) I hear that this (xenon headlights) is a very expensive proposition. I do not know how much to be exact, but I have heard that this setup will run into a 5 digit figure. I am not ready for such kind of a commitment for my 7 year old Octi.

I need to keep the lights clean.

[EcoBeast]

Hi fellow BHPians.

Thought I’d share my recent experience about the “NB Unlimited” that I installed on my Ecosport.

Mods: Please move to the relevant thread if you think this post doesn’t belong here. Thanks.

The Requirement

• I wanted more light than what my stock bulbs were offering.
• I wanted to avoid making changes in wiring and stay at 55/60 setup.
• After reading various reviews of Phillips and Osram, I decided to go with Osram NB unlimited.
• The specifications claimed that they produce 110% more light than stock halogens.
• I prefer yellow light over white, as it gives better visibility in rain. Since the specifications said it is just 20% white I decided to go with it.

The purchase

• The best deal I could find was on ebay and ordered a pair for Rs. 1900/- + Shipping Rs.50/-
• I received the package within a week and in perfect condition.
• Installation was plug-and-play, as these are standard H4 halogens and fit almost all Indian cars.

The Results

• The bulbs had a blue coating and a silver tip. Also, they were slightly slimmer than the stocks.

• The light was yellowish, just as I had expected.

• The light was brighter than stocks but, not too impressive. It just didn’t look like 110% brighter. The difference was noticeable but that’s about it. It was just “noticeable”. May be I expected too much, but can you blame me? I paid almost 2k for these bulbs.

• After I installed the NBUs I drove to Mumbai. On my way, in one of the tunnels on the express highway, I passed by an old Santro. It had had significantly brighter yellowish light than mine. I think those were 90/100 halogens.This is also evident in the pictures in the above post. The color difference is more significant than brightness.

• The headlight reflectors get a blue tint once you install these. That is due to the blue coating on the bulbs, which is there to make the light whiter. This is not really an issue. I just thought it is worth mentioning because I’m not too fond of it. IMO it sends out the message that “I wanted white light but chickened out of buying HIDs”. Please don’t get me wrong. Many people like the blue tint and I respect that.

Conclusion

• Considering a life especially that is around 60% of the stock halogens, IMO these bulbs are overpriced. The box they come in, show a comparison with stock halogens on different parameters. One of the parameters is 'Lifetime'
• If you want significantly brighter light, I think 90/100 are a better option (keeping the HIDs aside)
• I think Osram NBUs are good bulbs and are brighter than the stocks but don’t get your hopes too high just by looking at the specifications.

Here are some images:

Osram NBUs vs Stock halogens


The blue tint on the reflectors


Spec comparison with stock. Observe the 'Lifetime' comparison

Originally Posted by MalluDude

Did you happen to stand at a distance away from your car and view the full beam? How was it? Think it might be too blinding to the on-coming traffic? This is the only thing keeping me from upgrading.

Hi,
I recently posted a review on NBUs and had some images that you might find useful.
On low beam, NBUs are not too glaring. They look just as bright as stock bulbs. On high beam, NBUs are noticabely brighter and little more glaring than stocks. While I was standing in front of the car to take these snaps, The NBUs were not causing too much discomfort than stocks.

Here are some snaps of my car with lift headlamp having stock bulb and right having NBU.

At low beam


At high beam

[Intelsingh]

I am residing in Gurgaon, driving a VW Polo GT TDI.
One of the mods that people recommend is to go in for Osram Nightbreakers. It seems different cars have different output with it.

Does it make sense for the Polo? (If the difference is marginal-would rather stick to the stock bulbs)
Any vendor in Delhi/ Gurgaon where I can get Nightbreakers or ebay is the best bet?

Thanks

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by Intelsingh

I am residing in Gurgaon, driving a VW Polo GT TDI.
One of the mods that people recommend is to go in for Osram Nightbreakers. It seems different cars have different output with it.

Does it make sense for the Polo? (If the difference is marginal-would rather stick to the stock bulbs)
Any vendor in Delhi/ Gurgaon where I can get Nightbreakers or ebay is the best bet?

Thanks

E-bay is the best bet. Get e-bay discount codes for further discounts. I got NB+ for INR1400.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by EcoBeast

Installation was plug-and-play

How accessible is the headlight bulb in the EcoSport? Is it a quick and easy change? I've ordered my Night Breaker Unlimited, and am just waiting for it to arrive.

Thank you for your pictures, it was quite useful, considering I've got an EcoSport too.