The show comes to an end
After the audio came the turn of the lights. The left LED foglamp bulb had turned blue, and warranted a replacement. From among the options available, a rather expensive option was chosen - on the store owner's recommendation. This was X7- Seven LEDs. Time will tell if this was a good choice - fingers crossed
New LED Bulbs - the old fog lamp bulbs were of a brand called Sonilex The Fortuner light show - BEFORE - with stock HIDs on low, Philips 100W halogen bulbs with relay kit on high, and Sonilex LEDs on fogs The Fortuner light show - AFTER - with stock HIDs on low, X-7 Seven 60Wx2 LED bulbs on high, and X-7 Seven LEDs on fogs Driving back enjoying the sound and light show and rewarding myself with a well earned Neer Dosa Day well spent and some key takeaways
I really enjoyed Baby's day out with the Fortuner and did learn a few things:
1. With LED lights, it is a money spinning story out there - so many brands, so many explanations, and no one knows what is the legitimate price that one must pay for a pair of bulbs
2. Again with LEDs, there are no regulations on the maximum wattage allowed - we even saw 110W per bulb
3. For the first time in my automotive life so far, I found good workmanship and no sense of urgency in an installation at an accessory store - kudos to Taj Pasha who did the job
4. Do not expect discounts of more than 12-15% on MRP on standard products like branded HUs and speakers
5. When on an upgrade project, resist the temptation to overshoot one's budget; the thrill will soon give way to some shrieks
6. Getting a double din dash kit for a 2012 Fortuner has become a challenge now
The spend
1. Head Unit INR 24k
2. Drivers - Components plus coaxials INR 23k
3. Damping - INR 10k
4. OEM integration kit, wiring, installation, dash kit INR 10k
5. Lighting upgrades INR 18k
What could have been done better
1. If one was sure of not upgrading to an amp set up in the future, two pairs of lower priced components ( eg. Morel, Hertz, Alpine) could have been used instead of the Audison Component - Coax set up
2. Wiring harness - it is better to source this from a recognised brand eg. Metra /dhc instead of going with whatever was available without planning. Reason : the commercially locally available OEM integration harness wiring which connects the Head Unit to the stock wiring may not have good enough cables resulting in a signal loss.
3. If the properly functional Toyota archaic head unit had been used, the money saved could have been used to provide speaker level inputs /via Hi-Lo converter to an amp which could have powered all four speakers and created a better upgrade. Yes, here the opportunity to upgrade to an Android Auto - Apple car play set up would have been missed
In my view, expenses at points 4 and 5 were a little over the top, but the quality of work and the satisfaction of seeing a good end product more than wiped that away. It was a day well spent!