Bi-Xenon in a 2015 Suzuki Alto: Customer Review

With a brand-new car you'd expect the lighting to be good, at the very least, but nothing could be further from the truth. Poor lighting and night blindness: not exactly a match made in heaven, if you ask Andrea. After some online research Andrea came to us for advice and decided on xenon lighting.

Bi-xenon Suzuki Alto: why did you choose a xenon kit?

In 2015 I bought a gorgeous Suzuki Alto, but I didn't pay attention to the lighting, because I thought, that will surely be fine on a new car. But after a few drives in the dark I felt anything but safe. And because I'm night blind, I can't see very much with the standard halogen bulbs, so I thought: let me have a xenon kit fitted, because I'd read so many good stories about them.

Night blindness: halogen vs xenon

The difference between what Andrea saw with her standard lighting and with xenon is almost literally night and day, and therefore many times safer!

Of course night blindness is different for everyone, some people see more than others, but one thing is certain: you will feel far safer and more confident when you can see better in the dark. It makes driving a lot more pleasant.

Why xenon and not LED?

For now, xenon gives the most light. Because I'm night blind, I can use every extra centimetre I can see, which is why choosing xenon was easy despite the slightly higher price.

Which products did you install and why?

I used the H4 Bi-xenon kit from Hilox. Since I know next to nothing about this myself, I let a specialist advise me, and he had the xenon kit installed in no time as well. We also replaced the parking light bulbs, which used to be yellow, with nice white LEDs.

Products used

• H4 Bi-xenon kit from Hilox
• 4-SMD LED parking light
• 75mm rubber housing caps

Suitable for every Suzuki

Want a Hilox xenon kit like this in your Suzuki? You can: the Hilox Evolution xenon kit fits any Suzuki, young or old, fat or thin. All you need is a left hand and a right hand (installing a xenon kit is very easy, so you don't strictly need two right hands!) and a xenon kit with the right fitting. Not sure which fitting your Suzuki has? Check our fitting finder or get in touch with us.

How did the xenon kit installation go?

If I'm to believe the Hilox specialist, it was nothing much: old bulb out, new bulb in. I was on my way home again within 30 minutes.

Pro installation tips: fitting H4 Bi-xenon

On some H4 headlights the cover sits right up against the bulb with the 3-pin plug. In that case, use our deeper housing caps. This Suzuki got rubber caps with a diameter of 75mm. With these you can seal the headlight neatly and keep it waterproof again. After that, connecting everything is a piece of cake. To make it even easier, you can unscrew the cap of the H4 Bi-xenon bulb so it fits into the headlight more easily. Once the base of the bulb with its cap is seated in the headlight, screw the xenon bulb in.

Bi-xenon in an H4 headlight: how it works

An H4 bulb does two jobs in one: low beam and high beam. With halogen, there are two filaments in the bulb for this. A xenon bulb has only one arc, so for an H4 headlight you need a Bi-xenon bulb. In it, the bulb or a small shutter moves as soon as you switch on the high beam, which shifts the beam from low to high. That is why an H4 Bi-xenon bulb has an extra connection, such as the 3-pin plug Andrea's specialist worked with.

A xenon kit always consists of two parts per side: the xenon bulb and a ballast. The ballast converts your car's 12 volts into the high voltage needed to ignite the arc and keep it burning steadily. You tuck that ballast away in or next to the headlight. After switching on, xenon needs a short warm-up before it burns at full strength.

If your car has separate bulbs for low beam and high beam, you don't need Bi-xenon but a regular xenon kit in the fitting of your low beam, for example H7 or H1. Take a look at the Hilox xenon kits for that.

What you need to know about the Hilox Evolution II xenon kits

The current Hilox xenon kits are the Evolution II Black kits. According to the product details of the H7 Xenon Kit Hilox Evolution II Black Duo:

• 4 times more light than halogen straight away.
• An IC chip keeps the current stable and prevents overheating and flickering bulbs.
• A CAN-bus II module, so the kit also works trouble-free in cars and motorbikes with CAN-bus or lighting control.
• Available in three colours: 4300K, 5500K and 6500K.
• 2-year warranty on both the bulbs and the ballasts.
• The Duo includes 2 xenon bulbs and 2 Hilox Evolution II ballasts.

The Evolution II Black kits are available in D1S, D2S, D3S, H1, H7, H11, HB3/9005 and HB4/9006, as a Duo or a Solo. You can find separate bulbs under xenon bulbs and ballasts under xenon ballasts.

Please note: according to the product details, this kit has no ECE approval or E-mark and is intended for racing circuits and private land, not for public roads. After fitting, have the beam pattern aligned and check that your car still meets the APK (the Dutch roadworthiness test) requirements. If in doubt, ask the RDW (the Dutch vehicle authority) or your inspector.