Optimus: Mahindra XUV500 W8 FWD. Long Term Ownership Review

[kinshuk.arya]

Hello Guys,

Finally Managed to get the Hella Rallye 700FFs installed on Optimus.
Still to check the performance in the night.

Meanwhile enjoy some daylight pics.

Regards,
Kinshuk

 

[kinshuk.arya]

As of now I can say that the range for the stock Hella Rallye 700FFs is close to 400m and good clarity uptill 200-250m.

Cant wait to get the budget approved for the HIDs in the same from Home Ministry

Post that the effective range should increase to beyond 400m and range to close to a km.

regards,
Kinshuk

 

[kinshuk.arya]

Back from a 1300km trip to Goa.

hellas performed admirably. got the chance to turn them On only once.

Optimus returned a healthy milleage of 16.8kmpl even with 90% AC.

Rest everything hale and hearty.

Regards,
Kinshuk

 

[kinshuk.arya]

To Note: MID milelage was 16.8 for the entire trip and the actual milleage for the 75% of the trip was 15.5 with 95% AC.

Had to refuel in Goa because of lower prices.

 

[Iron Rock]

good one Kinshuk, are these too powerful for day to day night driving usage ? how much for hellas?

Also where did you mount it ? closer photos might help.

 

[kinshuk.arya]

good one Kinshuk, are these too powerful for day to day night driving usage ? how much for hellas?

Also where did you mount it ? closer photos might help.

In their stock conditions they are as powerful as the High Beams in XUV when turned ON separately so yes for normal driving in city they are too bright if not focussed properly.

I have mounted them on the Cross member beam behind the lower grill which is accessible by removing the top grill's 6 screws and couple of tabs.

We had to drill the cross member to get the iron strips in place.

Hellas costed me 6600rs for the pair and another 500 for mounting and bracket formation etc.

Regards,
Kinshuk

 

[kinshuk.arya]

Some WIP pics

PLace to get the wire inside the cabin


the rubber grommet which was sliced


Unscrew these scres to lift the upper grill


Cross Member visible


Final mounting of the bracket

 

[Kichu]

Re: Say Hello to Optimus: A Tuscan Red Mahindra XUV5OO W8 FWD

Posting the difference pics as promised.

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Seems like this powerful HID it is quite high enough to blind the oncoming pedestrians Cant you make the left beam a bit downwards.

How does the hid work in the fog lamp? Do we need a shield to reduce the glare? Planning to install a 35w 4300k in my fogs of the car A-star.

 

[kinshuk.arya]

Re: Say Hello to Optimus: A Tuscan Red Mahindra XUV5OO W8 FWD

image

Seems like this powerful HID it is quite high enough to blind the oncoming pedestrians Cant you make the left beam a bit downwards.

How does the hid work in the fog lamp? Do we need a shield to reduce the glare? Planning to install a 35w 4300k in my fogs of the car A-star.

Hello Kichu any pedestrian who is shorter than the heght of the projector in XUV will definitely get glare in their eyes but that doesnt seem to happen much.

I strongly oppose any kind of HIDs in Fog lamps or HIgh beams as they blind the oncoming traffic. If you are planning to use them ONLY on highways then go for it otherwise go for some Dual beam projector with HIDs in the stock housing.

 

[Kichu]

Re: Say Hello to Optimus: A Tuscan Red Mahindra XUV5OO W8 FWD

Hello Kichu any pedestrian who is shorter than the heght of the projector in XUV will definitely get glare in their eyes but that doesnt seem to happen much.

Sarcasm? [thinking]
Anyways, that's quite funny.

Obviously I was not referring to your "projector's" height but to your "low beam's" height itself, which was with respect to the height of the compound and to the car m800(140cm).
I asked you this because, from the picture its very clear that your low beam goes even above the "PILLAR" to which the compound's GATE is mounted and also the left hand side light beam's height 'seems' to be like its much higher than the height of the car m800(140cm) which is parked on to the right hand side.

Average height of Indian men and women are about 165 cm and 152 cm respectively.
Looking at the picture I had an 'impression' that, the height of that pillar should be atleast 165cm. Because, the compound 'seems' to be higher than the height of the m800.

Now, about the height of your XUV's projector. It should be a max of 85-90cm from the ground. Is'nt?
But, according to your previous post "any pedestrian who is shorter than the heght of the projector in XUV will definitely get glare in their eyes" that means, here the height of that compound and pillar should be below to the height of your XUV's projector, ie below 85-90cm in height.
Ie, height of that compound and pillar should be almost half of the height of an average men.

Since you didn't find my query to be genuine, I don't have any other option other than to swallow your words, though its bit difficult for me to digest.

I strongly oppose any kind of HIDs in Fog lamps or HIgh beams as they blind the oncoming traffic. If you are planning to use them ONLY on highways then go for it otherwise go for some Dual beam projector with HIDs in the stock housing.

Okay. :)
Had seen about the shields for the HID bulbs so as to reduce the glares. No, currently I'm not interested to go ahead with the hids into my main headlights, since the risk of getting caught by the cops are high. When it comes to the hid in fog, I need just to use it only when i really need some extra lumens.

Regards.,

 

[kinshuk.arya]

No Kichu it was not sarcasm actually the compound has a downward slope. And the m800 is quite near to the xuv. In cases where the driver's eye level on the opposite side is closer then less than 8-10meter and around 85-90cms in height he will get the glare but other than that there is no glare.

For extra lumens you can go for Osram nightnreakers or Philips xtra vision in replacement to the current bulbs.

 

[bhvm]

Hello Folks,
I think in the Pic, The road slopes downward hence the Low beam cutoff seems higher than it really should. Believe me, XUV low beams even on Highest setting have ZERO Glare compared to beams of other/weaker lamps like single HL H4 setups etc.

About the Fogs, Yes I would suggest you add HID only if you have Factory Fogs , Not hellas etc.
The glare is not much with Factory Fogs. Im using the same with my XUV & i10.

 

[Kichu]

No Kichu it was not sarcasm actually the compound has a downward slope. And the m800 is quite near to the xuv. In cases where the driver's eye level on the opposite side is closer then less than 8-10meter and around 85-90cms in height he will get the glare but other than that there is no glare.

Hello Folks,
I think in the Pic, The road slopes downward hence the Low beam cutoff seems higher than it really should. Believe me, XUV low beams even on Highest setting have ZERO Glare compared to beams of other/weaker lamps like single HL H4 setups etc.

Yes, I can see the downward slope in the picture. But I thought, the area upto the gate is level with your xuv,, hence the confusion.

For extra lumens you can go for Osram nightnreakers or Philips xtra vision in replacement to the current bulbs.

Already have a Philips rally 100/90w H4. Sorry for not making it clear, I want those extra lumens in to those area where are my factory low beam fails to illuminate.

About the Fogs, Yes I would suggest you add HID only if you have Factory Fogs , Not hellas etc.
The glare is not much with Factory Fogs. Im using the same with my XUV & i10.

Do they have any shield for the bulbs?
Currently having a cheapo aftermarket fogs, since its reflectors shape has changed with the usage, now even the halogen bulbs are making problem with the oncoming traffic. So I don't wanna put hid into it, will get MGA fogs.
Brought a cheap 1.3k worth 35w h11 4300k slim ballast hid kit from china as a test product. Don't have any experiences with the HIDs before, so decided to go with the low cost product at first to get some experiences. :)

 

[bhvm]

what car you have?
h4 certainly can't fit xuv lamps. and xuv fogs are h8.

my suggestion will only apply to factory designed and installed fogs. any aftermarket fogs you add aren't actually fogs!!
the big round lights like hellas etc are called'off road spot lights' and these seems to have the worst glare of all. much worse even than high beams.

the factory fogs on the other hand, are low and shoot a flat, horizontal band of light to illuminate the lower area below the fog. they are also DOT approved which means glare shield is built in (you can't see by eye as it isn't something extra you can see)

about low cost HID, it's ok as a test product but I'll suggest you upgrade to a better canbus compatible AC hid kit. cheap. kits have high uv output which can mess up your light housings and also make glare.

and good idea getting 4300k ones.

 

[kinshuk.arya]

Hi All,

Apologies for missing on this thread. The thing is there is nothing to update. No issues no niggles. Optimus has completed more than 36k kms, FE is close to 13kmpl.

By the way my wife has learned how to drive the XUV now.

I am also planning a trip to Surat sometime in the future. need to know if the yellow strip on the headlight rule is still applicable or not?

Regards,
Kinshuk