Color matters when considering your night vision and what helps you navigate roads best in the dark. There are more color variations in the HID variety of light ranging from the familiar golden glow to a more blue tone. The light output of an HID headlight averages to 3,500 lumens which is approximately three times that of a halogen lamp. This type of light runs at approximately 20 watts less than the halogen lamp and is still much brighter. High Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting is available in “plug and play” style kits using a 35 watt ballast. HID lamps are brighter and vary more in color The downside to this option is the higher wattage, the more fuel is required to power it. For improved visibility at night, the only way to stick with a halogen lamp is to use a higher wattage bulb. Halogen lamps give off a yellow tinged light. Most cars come with halogen lamps which tend to run at approximately 55 watts and emit between 900-1,000 lumens of light. If you want to know what all the fuss is about when wanting to upgrade your car lights, read on for a comparison of performance between halogen, HID, and LED car lamps. However, if you are on a budget, opting for premium halogen bulbs may be the best option.The headlight with which you have the most experience is most likely the standard halogen headlight and incandescent fog light bulbs. Whereas others prefer the white/blue light output from xenon and HID bulbs. Some people are not bothered by the color and just want maximum visibility of the road at night. ConclusionĬhoosing between the different types of headlight bulbs is dependent upon your personal preference. However, you result is far brighter light than halogen, which is more natural. This voltage can be as high as 30,000 volts. Xenon bulbs do have a drawback, which is down to the amount of voltage that is required to operate them. Xenon is a sub type of HID and they are often combined to form a headlight bulb type known as Xenon HID. The xenon gas inside the bulb simply lights up as a high voltage is applied to it. Unlike HID, xenon lamps do not need to warm up whatsoever and provide instant light and also provide a more natural light. Xenon headlights are usually an optional extra when you purchase the car and are relatively expensive. They range from 3,000K to 30,000K but its worth mentioning that not all colors will be road legal. When it comes to choosing your desired color, HID bulbs offer a wide variety of selection. This will usually include xenon bulbs, ballasts and separate power packs in order to provide the additional voltage required. If you are converting from halogen bulbs to HID, you will need to purchase a conversion kit. Choosing the best HID kit you can get your hands on can completely transform the look of your car and look very similar to the more expensive xenon alternatives. HID BulbsĬompared against xenon bulbs (discussed below), HID (High Intensity Discharge) bulbs can be fitted as an aftermarket part to virtually any car. LED bulbs are also used a lot within DRL ( Daytime Running Lights) units due to their long lifespan and lack of parts that wear down. Therefore, you may find yourself having to pay a small fortune to upgrade the headlight unit itself. As they are cooled from the back, the standard headlight design may not be adequate. With regards to changing the headlight design, this is required due to the way the LED bulbs function. The benefits of using LED headlights include: There are many brands that also offer optional extras or aftermarket headlights that use LED bulbs too. LED bulbs for car headlights are becoming far more popular with regards to modern cars. This type of lighting is fairly inefficient and experts state that the filament produces 95% wasted heat energy.Īs you can see from the table above, they also have the drawback of having a short lifespan compared to the alternatives, which means you will be replacing them more often. This is the result of the tungsten filament that is used for the light. The best replacement headlight bulbs are usually produced by brand such as Philips, PIAA, SLYVANIA and a few others.Ī major drawback of halogen headlight bulbs is the fact they produce heat. You can purchase halogen bulbs that produce similar color temperatures to that of a LED or xenon bulb but these will cost far more. The majority of halogen bulbs produce between 3,200 to 4,500K but there are a few that will fall outside of this range. This is because these headlight bulbs are the cheapest to produce and install on most vehicles on the road. Halogen is by far the bulb that most people would have heard of before and it is the most popular on the road today.
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