Changing car lights is no longer unfamiliar to current car owners. When I picked up the new car, I found that the halogen candle lights couldn't stand it and had to be changed.
At least replace the light bulb, either xenon or LED.
why? Because the halogen lights of the original car are so blind, there is no difference at all in the city with the lights on and without the lights on.
This affects the driving experience, because the street lights are neither too bright nor too dark, and they only provide basic lighting.
Street lights in the city
So, how to change it to best suit your needs? For friends who have already changed the lamp, they already have a clear direction. This article is mainly to help novices, let’s get to the point.
Anyone who changes lights cannot do without two principles of demand: brightness and beauty.
There are two types of assembly replacements, 1. Original high-end assembly; 2. Modified finished assembly.
There are two ways to modify the original car lights: 1. Replace the bulb directly; 2. Upgrade the xenon lens, LED lens or laser lens.
From the perspective of demand, replacing the assembly = making it look better, and changing the original light = making it brighter. Why do you say that?
[Picture 1] Golf 7th generation original car halogen headlight assembly
The original car headlights have two halogen lamp bowls, and the high beam position uses an H15 halogen bulb, which has both high beam and daytime running lights. It can be seen that the OEM has done everything possible to save costs, saving materials and space. .
[Picture 2] Appearance of Volkswagen Golf 7 after assembly replacement, with LED daytime running lights and xenon lens
[Picture 3] With streamer steering
From the appearance, the finished headlights are undoubtedly original halogen lamps.
1. Finished headlight assembly
This kind of lamp is divided into two types, original high-end models and personalized style models. The golf balls in Figures 2 and 3 are the new original factory high-end models. The 2014 Toyota Prado (picture) and ATSL take into account two different styles of appearance.
[Picture 4] Prado imitation Mercedes-Benz S600 style headlight assembly (daytime running lights)
[Picture 4] Prado imitation Mercedes-Benz S600 style headlight assembly (turn signal)
Another example is the JEEP Compass, which imitates the appearance of a large car. This style is very popular among young people.
[Picture 5] Compass replaces the appearance of imitation Cherokee headlight assembly
[Picture 6] Compass replaces the imitation Cherokee headlight assembly with daytime running lights close-up
There is also a cross-racial style that is extremely weird. Sega imitates Audi A8, Cruze imitates Audi A8, Fit imitates Mercedes-Benz S600, Prado imitates Mercedes-Benz S600, etc. At present, there are many domestic manufacturers of this kind of lamps, with prices ranging from a few hundred to several thousand. The appearance of some of these lamps is more beautiful than the original ones, but the quality of the materials and the original ones is incomparable. The lenses used in the past few years were all made of water bubbling, and optical principles and optical designs were never considered. Since 2016, manufacturers have been slowly improving from high-end cars, but they have only made the lighting effects similar to those of the original manufacturers, so that they ultimately cannot reach the brightness of modified lights. For example, if you don’t turn on the lights on Taurus, China-made Ruijie and Mondeo, you can’t tell whether they are original factory lights or finished lights. The 2019 Focus’ Quake, Mercedes-Benz SMART, and BMW MINI are even more beautiful than the original ones.
[Summary of original car replacement assembly]
[Advantages] The appearance is beautiful and pleasing to the eye, and the grade is also upgraded.
[Disadvantages] Later accident maintenance costs are higher, because the insurance only pays for original (unmodified) lights, not modified lights. Then you have to buy a new assembly to replace it.
[Price] The cost of the finished headlight assembly is mid-range, ranging from about 1,800 to 6,000 depending on the model. The cost of the original headlight assembly is relatively high, ranging from about 3,000 to 40,000 depending on the model.
3. Modification of the original car lights - changing the bulbs
1. Replace the original car halogen lamp with a new bulb. This is nothing more than replacing LED bulbs or xenon bulbs, but the brands are indeed diverse, and you will spend money to learn a lesson if you are not careful. These direct replacement bulbs are all H-type bulbs, such as H1
H1 model LED bulb
H3 (for fog lamps), H4 (integrated near and far)
H4 model LED bulb
H7 (German multi-purpose)
H7 model LED bulb
H8 (fog lamp)
H8 model LED bulb
H9 (Nissan high beam)
H9 model LED bulb
H10 (Regal, Malibu fog lamps), H11 (Japanese low beam and fog lamps)
H11 model LED bulb
H13 (uncommon light), (H15 high beam with daytime running light and width light functions). H16 (fog lamp) 9005/HB3 (Japanese high beam)
9005 (HB3) model LED bulb
, 9006/HB4 (Japanese low beam, Volkswagen fog lamps also use this model)
9006 (HB4 model) LED bulb
, 9012 (mostly used for halogen bifocal lenses)
Model 9012 LED bulb
Then the advantages of changing the bulb directly are: 1. Simple installation, except for very few models, such as Feixiang, 17 GL8, 16 Qashqai high beam, 14 to 19 X-Trail high beam, Focus, etc. 2. Cheap, generally medium-sized A set of xenon bulbs with ballast costs four to five hundred, with the lowest price ranging from one to two hundred. LED bulbs have a wider price range, ranging from tens to more than a thousand. 3. You can replace it manually. 4. The installation time is short and can usually be completed within half an hour. The disadvantage is that the focus is extremely inaccurate, because the original lamp, whether it is a halogen lamp bowl or a halogen lens, is designed according to the light-emitting position and focus of the halogen bulb. After the bulb is replaced, the focus will change greatly after the position shifts. Replacing a halogen lens with a xenon bulb will cause dark shadows on the pavement because the cathode tube can only face upwards. However, now better LEDs not only do not have this problem, but can also fine-tune the focus. When used correctly, the product is better than xenon bulbs, but astigmatism will always exist. Whether it is xenon or LED bulbs, this method is better than xenon bulbs. The original car halogen lamp has a 30% to 50% improvement in effect.
2. Replace the original car with xenon and light bulbs. This kind of lamp is very limited, because the original car must have xenon lamps, and the models are very few, and they must match the model of the ballast. There are several types of xenon lamps: D1S, D2S, D3S, D4S, D5S, and D8S. There are only two prerequisites for this kind of light bulb replacement: the new lamp is not bright enough and the old lamp is aging. If the new lamp is not bright enough, you need to upgrade it to a higher-level bulb. If the old lamp is aging, the original bulb will usually suffice.
D1S/D3S/D8S xenon bulb appearance
D2S/D4S xenon bulb appearance
[Summary of changing light bulbs]
【Advantages】Fast installation and cheap price.
[Disadvantages] The effect improvement is not ideal (depending on the needs, it varies from person to person).
[Price] Around 100 to 500.
4. Modify the original car lights - change the lens to xenon lamp or LED or laser bifocal lens
Comparison renderings
The main purpose of upgrading the original car lights is to pursue more practical lighting effects. If the lens is modified on the original car without adding angel eyes, devil eyes, streamer steering LED daytime running lights, etc., then the appearance will not be much different from the original car. , if the original car itself has a halogen lens, the appearance of the model will remain unchanged after modification. So why change the lens? Can’t I use the original car’s halogen lens? The function of the lens is to collect the light and spread it evenly on the road surface, which is to concentrate the light. The original car lens can be used, but the bulb must be replaced directly, which will cause astigmatism. This is only suitable for people who require lighting, and there is basically no night road. It's often in the suburbs, and the vision is not good for long distances. Just changing the light bulb is just a waste of money. It's better to happily change the lens in one step. Another advantage of changing the lens is that changing one lens is equivalent to upgrading both the high and low beams at the same time, while directly changing the light bulb requires changing two pairs.
So what kind of effect can be achieved after changing the lens? The naked eye effect is improved by 300%, and the data test is a 5 to 8 times improvement. The advantage is that the improvement effect is obvious, the safety of driving at night is greatly improved, and the distance can be seen clearly. It is equivalent to taking one step from before liberation into the 21st century. The disadvantage is that the construction time is relatively longer, usually about 3 hours, and the cost is more expensive than replacing the light bulb directly.
[Summary of changing lens xenon lamp or LED lens]
[Advantages] The effect is significantly improved and the lighting experience is the best, no one else. It is super practical, you can freely choose according to your needs, and the maintenance cost is low in the future. 99% of the accidents will not damage the lens, bulb and ballast, and you can continue to use it just by transplanting it.
[Disadvantages] The installation time is long, the headlights need to be disassembled, the cost is slightly higher, and professionalism is particularly required.
[Price] From about 1,500 to 3,000, if it is less than 1,000, you can basically ignore it. It is better to change the light bulb.
Overall summary
[Is it necessary to change the lights?] If the original car lights affect driving safety at night and make you uncomfortable, then change them. After all, the cost of changing the lights is basically acceptable.
【How to change the lamp】
To look good - replace it with a finished product assembly.
Want a higher grade - replace it with the original factory high-end assembly.
Be cheap - replace light bulbs (LED recommended).
For the best effect - change the lens to xenon lamp or LED lens.
