The automotive aftermarket is developing rapidly, and people are becoming more and more accepting of modifications and upgrades to meet their needs for configuration and personalization. Lighting modification is a very important part. It significantly improves the lighting system, but there are also many misunderstandings, especially when halogen headlights are modified to xenon headlights. Many car owners spend a lot of money on this but do not get any improvement. . As an editor who once worked as a modifier, today I will talk about lamp modification.
For the xenon headlights, there is one main controversial point: whether to install a lens, and what its effects, advantages and disadvantages are. Some people say that it is not enough to replace the xenon bulb alone, but also to install a lens. Because although the xenon bulb is bright at this time, its light is scattered and may even cause safety hazards to oncoming cars; and without a lens, the lighting effect of the xenon lamp will not be greatly improved.
Is that really the case? Let's figure it out in principle.
First, let’s understand what a lens is. It is actually a magnifying glass. Its function is to gather light and shine it on the ground at an angle, increasing the field of view and improving the lighting effect. It can also deal with "astigmatism", which we have all learned in physics class. Halogen lamps generally do not have lenses, because they are relatively dark and there is no need to install them.
Having the same function as the lens, there is also a reflective bowl. Every car will have this thing. It adopts a parabolic design and has a chrome-plated surface. It is very smooth and can reduce light loss and focus light. Due to its special material , able to withstand high temperatures.
Now that we know the functions of lenses and reflective bowls, let’s look at the modification process of xenon bulbs on the market. If you only upgrade the xenon lamp without installing a lens, you can only make the light whiter and slightly increase the brightness, but there is no substantial improvement. . And not adding a lens will cause the light to scatter and shine on oncoming cars. Therefore, if you want to qualitatively improve the brightness of the light, you still need to replace the xenon bulb + lens together.
However, adding a lens is troublesome and may even damage the original headlight. It requires separating the headlight shade from the base and resealing it after installation. Of course, the sealant must be reapplied. This kind of modification has relatively high technical requirements, and many modification masters I have seen failed to meet the requirements. Moreover, after the lens is installed, water leakage and fog may occur inside the lamp due to sealing problems, which is not worth the loss. To replace only the xenon bulb, you only need to open the back cover, unscrew the bulb and replace it, without touching the internal structure, let alone the circuit.
In the same principle, it is not recommended to replace LED headlights, because LED bulbs are brighter, and they emit light from both sides. This requires higher requirements for the reflective bowl and hood inside the headlights, so replacing the LED bulb alone will cause The light shape diverges, the effect of the high and low beams becomes worse, and it also affects the vehicles on the opposite side. The most important thing is that LED headlights generate huge heat when they light up. If there is no heat dissipation inside the headlights, the consequences will be very serious. And modifying LED headlights requires the installation of decoders, power plugs, and metal heat pipes. Modification of such circuits can easily cause fires.
So theoretically speaking, I do not recommend modifying xenon headlights/LED headlights. The best way is to replace a set of original xenon headlights. Also, don’t believe that just changing a xenon bulb can greatly improve the lighting effect. You must know that this is a “trick” used by many repair shop owners.
