Let there be Light : Bike Lighting, HID etc

[Rahul.Gvli]

Difference between Halogen and HID

Hi Guys,

It will be very helpful if someone can explain the difference in Halogen and HID. As far as I understand halogen is nothing but a high power bulb say 55W/65W and above.. and HIDs are the one that can be seen on P220s illuminating white light. Please correct me if I am wrong.
But I think white light is just for the show. B'coz while riding in night, one cannot make proper judgement of road in white light as it gets scattered on hitting the surface. It makes difficult to ride in rain too.

Please reply/suggest....

[gautam_k]

hey guys. i own an TVS Apache RTR fi. Its time to change my battery. The stock battery was of exide 12V 9A. It ran quite well without any issues until one fine day it refused to take automatic starts and slowly within 2 weeks it died completely.
Im looking to fit one of those no maintenance type batteries.
Any suggestions?

[rharish90]

hey guys. i own an TVS Apache RTR fi. Its time to change my battery. The stock battery was of exide 12V 9A. It ran quite well without any issues until one fine day it refused to take automatic starts and slowly within 2 weeks it died completely.
Im looking to fit one of those no maintenance type batteries.
Any suggestions?

Try the Amaron one. Heard very good reviews about it. Maintenance free for 5 years guaranteed.

[sandeepcf]

Need Help with APE RR

Today bought APE RR for Rs.1312 which has 2 extra wires with a socket as the old RR's are no longer available at my place and also at the nearest town.
what are these extra wires meant for? can I discard them without any problem?
The mechanic at APE said that the extra wires are connected to a bulb which indicates something like the bulb turns off when the engine is started etc.

Can I go ahead with Coil rewinding and use the RR or does it need any modification? (bike is Unicorn)

Shreeni, Drvmtm, Sajjit, Abhi electric baba's .....need help....

[pankajshirke]

Yeah,Excellent write up. Keep it up bro.

Now i think i should go for:

Philips Premium bulb OR Bosch H4 P43t 60/55W Halogen

Yes Bosch 60/55 and Philips 60/55 are good bulbs with value for money and output.
Here are my findings and Ratings given to the halogen bulbs based on my experiences of night riding using Tata Ace headlight with Non-MFR lens(Hard Glass polarized Lens)
According to the light output,value for money,genuinity and durability of the products,here are my rankings

1) Bosch/Mico H4 P43t 60/55 watts bulb
2) Philips Premium H4 P43t/P45T 60/55 watts bulb
3) Osram Bilux H4 P43T 60/55 watts bulb
4) Halonix H4 P43t/P45T 60/55 watts bulb
5) Osram H4 P43t 60/55 watts bulb(Hard Glass Technology)
6) Philips Xtreme Power H4 P43T 60/55 watts bulbs
7) Autopal H4 P43T 60/55 watts bulbs(OEM for Mahindra Bolero)
8) Osram Silverstar H4 P43T 60/55 watts (Nowadays available in 100/90 watts but if available in 60/55 watts,I prefer it over Osram NB)

I have used Narva bulbs also but I dont recommend it because Narva is nothing but Philips bulbs with different name.Lot of fakes are available.Atleast I got a fake bulb of Narva wherein I met the same fate like blackening of bulb below the filaments within a week itself hence very poor light after 1 week.


Actually Osram Bilux and Osram Hard glass technology are different bulbs
Osram Bilux packed in blue box is good one which has light output like Philips Premium and this bulb is made in Germany.
Whereas Osram Hard Glass is made in China bulb available in White and Red packing box
Sorry but I will not recommend NB hence not featuring in this list
Silverstar is the only good bulb available from Osram but nowadays it is not available in 60/55 watts but it is in 100/90.
But in 100/90 category when we have Philips Rallye bulb,there is no need to go for Silverstar 100/90.Philips Rallye is the good bulb
But I recommend not to use 100/90 bulbs even if you are using sealed beam of amby/Mahindra Jeep/Tata Ace etc for your bikes
Reason is that due to heat generated by 100/90 bulbs,the reflector coating starts vaporising and hard coating gets settled on the headlight glass thus poor visibility later on

I used Osram NB for only 2 weeks(One night trip in heavy rain and once in dense fog both conditions I found it useless)
Philips xtreme power for 2 to 3 months(better than Osram NB but is highly priced if we compare its performance.)

Halonix 60/55 : used it for 3 months but didnt find it to be good one.
Osram 60/55 Bilux: It is also best product which is made in Germany.I used it for 6 months and found it good.Nowadays you will not get this bulb.Now you will get the Made in China Hard Glass technology bulbs of Osram

Bosch/Mico 60/55 W:Using it till date from 2 years and no problem.Pleasant to drive in night,no strain on eyes inspite of long night drives.Basically this bulb gives the light equivalent to the sunlight around 4 pm in evening which is the pleasant sunshine hence it is best product available in 90 rupees(You can buy these 10 bulbs in cost of a Osram NB)


For genuinity,purchase bulbs from these outlets
For Bosch bulbs
There are many retail outlets and Bosch car care centers in major cities of India

For Halonix:
1) Tata Motors Service center/TM authorized spare shops
2) Maruti Service station
3) Royal Enfield Spares and Service Station(Halonix 60/55 is OEM for bullet Classic 350 and 500)

For Osram
A good dealer is required because I dont know Osram is OEM for which car manufacturer

For Philips
Maruti Service Station(Philips is OEM for Omni,Zen)

Here are pictures of beam taken
First one is in lower beam and second is in upper beam
My mobile camera is a VGA one hence the picture quality is not that good plus my angle op photography is also not that good
But I bet that with this much light,you can tour any road during night time and for many hours.You can also travel the whole night with such illumination
But you will get an idea of how good illumination is provided with a Bosch 60/55 watts

[pankajshirke]

[QUOTE=sajjt;661253]Hi Doc, thats not right in case of OE MFR reflectors, if then how many times have you changed in your cars HL assys? I've never changed my cars even after 5 years (Swift) its sporting with a Philips Rallye 90/100. Not even a patch on the HL glass too.

I would say it will last long untill and unless you change something other than OE. Be it a Bajaj, Honda, TVS, if you change something beyond its capacity, it will give up. I accept that the quality has gone down drastically, I've used a 55/60 halogen on my bike for 2 years without any issues, still am confident of this with the current available OE HLs.

And about beamer: too much of exaggration as every one know its build quality. If the desi Swifti HL can last long then why cant a beamer which is a CBU?

Here I strongly doubt the Capsule is emitting too much of UV else, it should not blacken the reflector. If its emitting too much heat then it must've developed bubbles on it.

Most HID lamps produce significant UV radiation, and require UV-blocking filters to prevent UV-induced degradation of lamp fixture components and fading of dyed items illuminated by the lamp. Exposure to HID lamps operating with faulty or absent UV-blocking filters causes injury to humans and animals, such as sunburn and arc eye. Many HID lamps are designed so as to quickly extinguish if their outer UV-shielding glass envelope is broken.

Source: High-intensity discharge lamp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[QUOTE=drvmtm;660209]@vineeth----wow,just wow,i will not say anymore wow otherwise sajjit will kill me!/

Nice one there am always worried about the other guy in front of us as he can screw you once you blind him. I had an instinct of using the spots to these high beam morons but now I'll think about the consequences and I will just remind him that am not un armed



Bigger dome= better spread and throw, smaller the dome throw will be narrow but will be best bet for pencil beam which is essentially required for high beam. U r comparing a 3.5" High beam reflector with 7" dual lamp reflector and I guess its out of comparison.

Yes P Xtreme is considered to the best buy than the ONB. Have a look at this:

Auto Express regularly tests a wide range of headlight bulbs each year. Year after year, because of their high manufacturing standards, Philips and OSRAM top the table. This is indicative of the investment and quality that you’ll find from these manufacturers. At the moment Philips have the prestigious top place – the ‘Best Buy’ award – with Philips X-Treme Power. OSRAM came a close second with OSRAM Night Breaker.

Source:Philips X-Treme Power vs. OSRAM Night Breaker | Power Bulbs

ONB has got white tinge which is getting absorbed when the roads are wet. Where as on the normal tinge of a standard halogen which is close to day light 4-4.3K is the best CT, hence its lighting up the road better. Its the same rule of thumb in colour temp of a HID applicable here. These performance bulbs are meant for FF glass with MFR reflectors and not ideal for normal glass and reflectors like Tata Ace. I guess this could be a reason you find it more better with the standard halogen.

Dude, I really dont understand why you are using another RR and making it complex. I used to lightup 2X55 (55/60W HL+55W Spot lamp) on my old Samurai without any mods. Only down side was, on lower rpms it tends to flicker and will not be in full brightness, once you keep the speed not less than 50KPH it was giving steady brightness from both. And during those times only Philips/Flosser and Halonix were the readily available options.

Sajjt
I am using seperate regulator because due to this,my bike headlight doesnt flicker even at low rpms
I mean to say during night time,I am able to travel in hilly regions with speed of 20 in top gear at low rpm yet full intensity
A gentle movement of throttle and the headlight is normal
My headlight only flickers at rpm around 1000 to 1400

And regarding any TVS headlight
The magneto coil for Samurai/Victor/Fiero/Apache has got 50 watts reserved for headlight out of the 90 watts and RR unit of these bikes are around 120 watts
Hence you can source a 60/55 watts bulb on TVS bikes without any problem
But these bulbs without any modifications will not give full brightness unless you give something extra
Hence I used a second extra regulator of 80 watts
Due to this regulator,first it gets charged and then sends current to headlight and since it is 80 watts,a 60 watts bulb glows to its full intensity

[princesirohi]

Today bought APE RR for Rs.1312 which has 2 extra wires with a socket as the old RR's are no longer available at my place and also at the nearest town.
what are these extra wires meant for? can I discard them without any problem?
The mechanic at APE said that the extra wires are connected to a bulb which indicates something like the bulb turns off when the engine is started etc.

Can I go ahead with Coil rewinding and use the RR or does it need any modification? (bike is Unicorn)

Shreeni, Drvmtm, Sajjit, Abhi electric baba's .....need help....

yes you can use that APE RR without any problem, just discard the extra two wires that are connected to a socket. seal the socket tightly with an insulation tape. do not try to cut the socket and then seal the wires with tape as this may short circuit those two wires, if not done properly.

old APE RR unit with only 4 wires is not available now easily and needs to be ordered specially. this is because new APE vehicles now come with this new RR, which has two additional wires for battery indicator.

check whether your RR unit has same part number as shown in attached image. i am also using the same one, i replaced my old APE RR a month back.

[pankajshirke]

Hi Guys,

It will be very helpful if someone can explain the difference in Halogen and HID. As far as I understand halogen is nothing but a high power bulb say 55W/65W and above.. and HIDs are the one that can be seen on P220s illuminating white light. Please correct me if I am wrong.
But I think white light is just for the show. B'coz while riding in night, one cannot make proper judgement of road in white light as it gets scattered on hitting the surface. It makes difficult to ride in rain too.

Please reply/suggest....

Absoloutely right
White light gets absorbed on wet road surfaces hence you are not able to see the road when it has been rained and roads are wet
Also white light is not useful in fog conditions
Also in upper beam,if you try to visualize a black object,it will appear whitish hence it produces strain on your eyes
White light is good only if you are using 100/90 watts bulb
But due to this 100/90 watts bulb,your headlight reflectors will get baked in 5 to 6 months and turn black
Plus white light is very irritating to the oncoming traffic
Well about HID or high intensity disharge lights,So far I know that it contains inert gas like Xenon tube with metal hallides which gives bright white light like the Mercury vapor lamps used in street lights
Halogen is a normal tube containing Inerrt gas due to which the filament doesnt blow off even at high temperatures and thus giving good yellowish white light.
This yellowish white light gets reflected from the wet surface and doesnt gets absorbed hence with these bulbs you can see the road very well.
Also the yellow light travels maximum length.Yellow light has got longest wavelength hence it traverses more.Thus in fog conditions,this yellow light is visible to oncoming vehicles from much long distance.
The light with yellow tinge is best one for visibility
Normal halogen bulbs give visibility of sunlight around evening say around 4 to 5 pm
Whereas HID and white light halogen bulbs give intensity equal to afternoon sun/cloudy environment etc
Hence normal halogen bulbs are preferred over white light ones for better road safety at night and longer visibility and in extreme climatic conditions

[Centaur]

[pankajshirke]

Image no 5 and 6 of upper beam itself shows how much strain white light puts on the eyes of the rider
From the angle of photography,I imagined myself to be the biker using this white light and in image 5 and 6,guess if you are caught in foggy weather(most common on the top of mountains in rainy season) how will be the illumination.
All the objects in that beam is appearing whitish hence just imagine you are travelling at night with too much speed and a person who is wearing white/light colored dress is crossing the road,can we see him/her easily?
I bet it will put lot of strain and if you are very very attentive,then only you will be able to notice that person and that too at very last moment.
Just notice in the images even the black colored tyres of cars are appearing whitish which gives trouble to eyes of the rider itself.
Just try to look at the third white car to the left.You will there itself know the drawbacks of white light.

Also notice the black spots on the road surface.These patches are wet ones where the illumination is less thus it shows that white light is absorbed by water to a larger extent.

the images taken on wet surface is of concrete which is whitish thus it is reflecting the light and giving good illumination.It will be better if you post pictures on wet and black tar roads because country side roads in India are not of concrete.They are black tar roads with potholes.
Basically black color has tendency to absorb maximum colors and white color body has tendency to reflect maximum but since yellow color has maximum wavelength and propogates maximum, hence yellow is least absorbed color in light hence on a wet and black tar road there is very little effect of absorption hence greater visibility.

[navnish]

Image no 5 and 6 of upper beam itself shows how much strain white light puts on the eyes of the rider
From the angle of photography,I imagined myself to be the biker using this white light and in image 5 and 6,guess if you are caught in foggy weather(most common on the top of mountains in rainy season) how will be the illumination.
All the objects in that beam is appearing whitish hence just imagine you are travelling at night with too much speed and a person who is wearing white/light colored dress is crossing the road,can we see him/her easily?
I bet it will put lot of strain and if you are very very attentive,then only you will be able to notice that person and that too at very last moment.
Just notice in the images even the black colored tyres of cars are appearing whitish which gives trouble to eyes of the rider itself.
Just try to look at the third white car to the left.You will there itself know the drawbacks of white light.

Also notice the black spots on the road surface.These patches are wet ones where the illumination is less thus it shows that white light is absorbed by water to a larger extent.

the images taken on wet surface is of concrete which is whitish thus it is reflecting the light and giving good illumination.It will be better if you post pictures on wet and black tar roads because country side roads in India are not of concrete.They are black tar roads with potholes.
Basically black color has tendency to absorb maximum colors and white color body has tendency to reflect maximum but since yellow color has maximum wavelength and propogates maximum, hence yellow is least absorbed color in light hence on a wet and black tar road there is very little effect of absorption hence greater visibility.

pics dont do justice. The hid is a 4300k one 55w on the high and 40w on the low. They are very warm .

Uncle George dennis needs more pics . Can you post some more pics on a tar road

[velociraptor13]

pics dont do justice. The hid is a 4300k one 55w on the high and 40w on the low. They are very warm .

Uncle George dennis needs more pics . Can you post some more pics on a tar road

or would rather suggest uncle johnny to swap the set up,55 for the loa wnd 35 for the higher

[sandeepcf]

yes you can use that APE RR without any problem, just discard the extra two wires that are connected to a socket.

check whether your RR unit has same part number as shown in attached image. i am also using the same one, i replaced my old APE RR a month back.

Thank you prince. Not sure about the part number because I threw away the packing cover.
Any suggestions regarding rewinding? like any specific make/brand of magnet wire, insulating material etc. also what about the gauge(19 or 18) and the difference/effect of using these sizes?

[Aneesh@4GHz]

Try the Amaron one. Heard very good reviews about it. Maintenance free for 5 years guaranteed.

Amaron 9Ah MF battery is 1650rs with 4yrs warranty,Company stopped the series with 5yrs warranty.

Yes Bosch 60/55 and Philips 60/55 are good bulbs with value for money and output.
Here are my findings and Ratings given to the halogen bulbs based on my experiences of night riding using Tata Ace headlight with Non-MFR lens(Hard Glass polarized Lens)
According to the light output,value for money,genuinity and durability of the products,here are my rankings

1) Bosch/Mico H4 P43t 60/55 watts bulb
2) Philips Premium H4 P43t/P45T 60/55 watts bulb
3) Osram Bilux H4 P43T 60/55 watts bulb
4) Halonix H4 P43t/P45T 60/55 watts bulb
5) Osram H4 P43t 60/55 watts bulb(Hard Glass Technology)
6) Philips Xtreme Power H4 P43T 60/55 watts bulbs
7) Autopal H4 P43T 60/55 watts bulbs(OEM for Mahindra Bolero)
8) Osram Silverstar H4 P43T 60/55 watts (Nowadays available in 100/90 watts but if available in 60/55 watts,I prefer it over Osram NB)

I have used Narva bulbs also but I dont recommend it because Narva is nothing but Philips bulbs with different name.Lot of fakes are available.Atleast I got a fake bulb of Narva wherein I met the same fate like blackening of bulb below the filaments within a week itself hence very poor light after 1 week.


Actually Osram Bilux and Osram Hard glass technology are different bulbs
Osram Bilux packed in blue box is good one which has light output like Philips Premium and this bulb is made in Germany.
Whereas Osram Hard Glass is made in China bulb available in White and Red packing box
Sorry but I will not recommend NB hence not featuring in this list
Silverstar is the only good bulb available from Osram but nowadays it is not available in 60/55 watts but it is in 100/90.
But in 100/90 category when we have Philips Rallye bulb,there is no need to go for Silverstar 100/90.Philips Rallye is the good bulb
But I recommend not to use 100/90 bulbs even if you are using sealed beam of amby/Mahindra Jeep/Tata Ace etc for your bikes
Reason is that due to heat generated by 100/90 bulbs,the reflector coating starts vaporising and hard coating gets settled on the headlight glass thus poor visibility later on

I used Osram NB for only 2 weeks(One night trip in heavy rain and once in dense fog both conditions I found it useless)
Philips xtreme power for 2 to 3 months(better than Osram NB but is highly priced if we compare its performance.)

Halonix 60/55 : used it for 3 months but didnt find it to be good one.
Osram 60/55 Bilux: It is also best product which is made in Germany.I used it for 6 months and found it good.Nowadays you will not get this bulb.Now you will get the Made in China Hard Glass technology bulbs of Osram

Bosch/Mico 60/55 W:Using it till date from 2 years and no problem.Pleasant to drive in night,no strain on eyes inspite of long night drives.Basically this bulb gives the light equivalent to the sunlight around 4 pm in evening which is the pleasant sunshine hence it is best product available in 90 rupees(You can buy these 10 bulbs in cost of a Osram NB)


For genuinity,purchase bulbs from these outlets
For Bosch bulbs
There are many retail outlets and Bosch car care centers in major cities of India

For Halonix:
1) Tata Motors Service center/TM authorized spare shops
2) Maruti Service station
3) Royal Enfield Spares and Service Station(Halonix 60/55 is OEM for bullet Classic 350 and 500)

For Osram
A good dealer is required because I dont know Osram is OEM for which car manufacturer

For Philips
Maruti Service Station(Philips is OEM for Omni,Zen)

Here are pictures of beam taken
First one is in lower beam and second is in upper beam
My mobile camera is a VGA one hence the picture quality is not that good plus my angle op photography is also not that good
But I bet that with this much light,you can tour any road during night time and for many hours.You can also travel the whole night with such illumination
But you will get an idea of how good illumination is provided with a Bosch 60/55 watts

Again thanks to you bro. Wonderful information on bulbs. and try to click pics of the bosch 55/60W bulb with a friends cam and post it here,Both the pictures you given looks like same to me. any way thanks for the blur pic,still it has a lot of light.

[siddharth_ZMR]

Bi-Xenon or HID lights for ZMR.. Pune

Hi to all,
I am thinking of changing the headlights to Bi-xenon or HID. Can anyone please suggest a reliable dealer in Pune for same? Please also give the exact name and configuration of Bi-xenon or HID if you know. Posting of Pics is always welcome!!!

Thanks in advance

Sid