The headlights on your car are something you take for granted until they are fading fast while driving. They are essentials whenever you are going home through unlit roads. When it’s time to replace them, you might have several questions that you need to answer.
Replacement comes in handy when your lamps have already burned out, dimmed, or reached their life expectancies. When other drivers can’t see you at night, it’s time to take things seriously. It would be best if you always prioritize your safety, and you can achieve this with little adjustments in your car.
The local authorities will issue tickets for dimmer bulbs, so it’s better to look for ways on how to fix them in the soonest time possible. Besides, after all the convenience of getting the right lights from sites like LEDlightstreet factory bulbs, your visibility will improve significantly. A slight increase in the brightness will make your car more visible to others, so there’s no reason you should be stuck with yellow, uneven, and inadequate light.
When Is the Right Time for Replacement?
It would be best if you never waited until your lights go out in the middle of the night to think about replacing them. This can put you in a risky situation, and the place where you may get stuck may be unsafe. If you see red flags such as the bulb starting to dim or going out, the other one will surely follow in the soonest possible time. It would help if you replaced both of them and at the same time.
There are vehicles where their headlights serve as both low and high beams. But on the older manufactured models of cars, the two lamps are needed and used on both sides. For a more consistent effect, you need to replace all four headlamps for a consistent road vision. You may want to consult the manual first and see what types of bulbs you have and the specifics that will be compatible with your vehicle.
What Are the Types of Headlights?
There are lots of cars out there, and they come with different and specific types of bulbs. Some of the most common lights that people are familiar with are xenon, halogen, and LED. The newer vehicles generally use LED lights while the older models have xenon or HID installed in them. Here are some of the differences that you should know.
HID or Xenon – HID or high-intensity discharge bulbs are composed of xenon as gas. You can read more about HIDs on this useful website. Instead of using heated filaments, this type of bulb uses gas. The result is that the lighting emitted by the vehicle is brighter, and has lower temperatures generally. Note that the HID bulbs are often costly, and you need a pro to install them in your car.
Halogen – Halogen lamps are the conventional lights used in many older models. The headlights are often composed of a filament with tungsten-halogen thrown into the mix. The beams produced are typically bright.
LED – Light-emitting diodes require lesser power than halogen lamps to operate. They are cooler, brighter, and also more durable. If you have a newer car model, it may come equipped with LED lights that came from the factory.
How to Know Which One is the Right Match?
The standard for the majority of cars is the halogen lights. However, many manufacturers are turning into other technologies such as LEDs and HIDs to improve road visibility. One of the references that you can look up when you want to know which one is right for you is the owner’s manual. It can provide you with the specifications of the bulbs that are compatible with your vehicle.
If the manual requires you to use the halogen varieties, but you want to upgrade, you can talk to a professional about it. You can upgrade to xenon or LED that can emit a bluish-white glow for more vision. You can know more facts about xenon here: https://www.livescience.com/37504-facts-about-xenon.html. Others do upgrades so that they can make their cars look more luxurious while driving.
When you are planning to replace the lamps with xenon or HID, you need to have kits for the installation. The process can take up to a few hours, and you can spend a lot during the upgrade. The bulbs themselves are costly, but the difference in lighting can be dramatic.
Are All Halogen Lamps Similar?
If you have the older models, you might think that all the lamps are alike. But this is not the case at all since halogen can emit both blue and white beams. The whiter the light, the brighter it will be. If you increase the brightness, you allow other drivers to see you in advance.
There are white color temperatures that are not blinding at all, but they closely resemble the natural morning light. Choose the lamps carefully when buying and make sure that they adhere to your state’s regulations.
