The car has been used for five years, and the headlights have turned into "candle lights". Driving at night is scary and timid, and I dare not drive!
In fact, the lack of sight caused by lights greatly affects driving safety. According to incomplete statistics, 22% of traffic accidents occur when visibility is poor. So, can the "candle light" be upgraded? What kind of change would be more appropriate?
Let’s take a look at these cool modified headlights first!
Is upgrading the headlights really illegal?
Some people say that it is illegal to upgrade the headlights, and the lights will not pass the annual inspection. is that true?
In fact, car lights can be replaced, as long as the lighting angle and brightness of the lights meet the standards. If the lights of the old car are too dim, it will not pass the annual inspection!
What are the common headlights?
For car headlights, we generally believe that halogen lamps = low configuration, xenon lamps = medium configuration, and LED = high configuration. If you want to upgrade your headlights, you can consider the following three options.
1. Halogen lamp
Halogen lamps are a type of incandescent lamp. Under the same power, the brightness of halogen lamps can reach 1.5 times that of incandescent lamps, and their lifespan is also 2 to 3 times that of incandescent lamps.
Advantages: low cost; good penetration; light up instantly
Disadvantages: high temperature, easy to bake yellow lampshade; poor durability, low brightness
2. Xenon lamp: a high-pressure gas discharge lamp
Advantages: high brightness, low energy consumption, long life, safer
Disadvantages: poor light concentration, poor penetration, lighting delay
3.LED lights:
Advantages: energy saving and environmental protection, long life, high brightness, safety, diverse shapes
Disadvantages: high cost, poor light concentration of low-end LEDs, optical characteristics need to be considered in lamp design
Replace your "candle lights"
If your car headlights are halogen lamps and begin to decline and age after being used for a long time, you can directly buy halogen bulbs with better performance, or of course, you can replace xenon lamps. Xenon lamps are generally equipped with lenses, which can increase the brightness to 4 times, have better illumination width at short distances, are more energy-saving, and have a longer service life. However, it is more difficult to directly switch to LED lights, and many components need to be re-changed.
Be careful when upgrading!
1. Halogen lamps are not necessarily bad
Although halogen lamps are antique-level, they still have features that cannot be replaced by other light sources. It is cheap, has mature technology, is easy to replace, and has strong penetrating power. Therefore, the original halogen lamp is not necessarily worse than the later modified xenon lamp.
Of course, if your car has been used for a few years and the headlight shades are yellowing and affecting lighting, you may consider upgrading.
2. Don’t just change the light bulbs
Generally speaking, if the original headlights are halogen lamps, they do not have lenses. If you want to change to a xenon lamp, it must be used in conjunction with the lens. The best thing is to directly replace the assembly. In this case, the degree of matching and safety will be increased. If you just buy two xenon bulbs and replace them, the astigmatism will not be suppressed, the lighting effect will not be achieved, and it will cause trouble to other cars.
3. Cheap LED lights cannot be trusted
Don't believe the hundreds of dollars worth of LED headlights on the Internet. On the surface, the brightness seems to have increased, but you will be confused as soon as you hit the road. The original car's halogen lampshade is specially designed for halogen lamps, and the reflection angle is also planned for the original car lamp. After being directly replaced with LED bulbs, the light is extremely scattered, like high-pressure spray, and the light paving effect is extremely poor.
4. Reasonable headlight color temperature
Lights with low color temperature have stronger penetrating power and are safer to use in rainy and foggy weather. Lights with high color temperature have poor penetrating power in rainy and foggy weather, which is not conducive to driving. The color temperature of halogen lamps is about 3000k, the color temperature of xenon lamps can be between 4000-12000k, and the color temperature of LED lamps can be adjusted according to needs.
If it is used as a car headlight, considering brightness and penetration, we recommend generally choosing a headlight with a color temperature of about three to four thousand.
Tips to save money
Generally, 4S stores can replace the headlights, but the cost is higher. In fact, many repair shops can replace the lights, which is a piece of cake for the repairman;
There are also repair shops, beauty shops, etc. that specialize in headlight modification. They are highly professional and know what kind of lights are legal. Their fees are also relatively transparent. It is good to go to them for replacement.
New ways to play headlights
Currently, some high-end cars are beginning to use OLED headlight technology. This technology is prepared for autonomous driving. It can control lights more accurately and project key information about driving and roads. It is very smart.
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Editor in charge: Xiuzhen
