How to choose car headlights

In the life of every motorist there is a need to choose new headlights for the car. The need lies in the accident that happened and in the banal desire to improve the light of the head optics - even high-quality headlights “get tired” over time, ceasing to perform their functions. The solution is the restoration or purchase of new headlights, the characteristics of which are fully consistent with the recommendations of the manufacturer.

maintenance

1. Top Automotive Optics Manufacturers
   
2. Types of headlights. What to choose?
3. Main selection criteria
4. Features of the choice of fog lights

Top Automotive Optics Manufacturers

A lot of companies are engaged in the production of lighting devices for automobiles, while the products of the following concerns are in demand:

1. Bosch;

2. Hella;

3. Depo;

4. Phillips;

5. Mitsubishi;

6. Osram;

Before you opt for specific models, you need to study the characteristics and compliance with the intended brand of cars, as well as feedback from users who have checked specific headlights on their own car and highlighted both their positive and negative features.

Types of headlights. What to choose?

A variety of models are on sale, ranging from nameless Chinese-made products to original headlamps with factory stamps. Depending on the type of light source, head optics are divided into several types.

Halogen headlights

The traditional type of lighting, which is an incandescent lamp operating in the environment of halogen - a special gas that provides bright and directional light. Differ in worthy service life and warm yellow light.

Virtues

• Bright;

• Easy lamp replacement if necessary;

• Inexpensive;

disadvantages

• Sensitive to shaking and vibration;

• Average service life;

• Consume a lot of electricity;

Xenon headlights

Advanced version of optics, installed on most modern cars. Represent a glass flask filled with xenon gas. The luminescence process is caused by two electrodes, between which the discharge occurs. Almost all xenon headlights are equipped with a focusing lens, which allows you to create a powerful directional light of cool white color.

Virtues

• Bright;

• Not afraid of shaking and vibration;

• Unpretentious in operation;

• Long service life;

disadvantages

• Expensive;

• If installed incorrectly, blind cars “blind”;

LED headlights

Modern optics installed on expensive premium cars. It is based on LEDs that work in conjunction with a special optical offset. As a result, this design is capable of producing extremely bright and saturated light, exceeding that of xenon by 2-3 times.

Virtues

• High brightness;

• Low power consumption;

• Long service life;

• Unpretentious operation;

disadvantages

• You can not install on all cars;

• Expensive;

Main selection criteria

Having decided on a specific type of optics that fits into your budget and is allowed to be installed on a specific car, you need to carefully examine the main characteristics.

Optics manufacturer

1. Original optics - the most correct solution to this issue. Buying headlights similar to those installed on the car, it is possible to avoid a large number of problems, starting with incorrect adjustment and ending with incompatibility. The disadvantages of such a solution lie in the high cost of the original optics, as well as in the limited options: it is impossible to pick up anything for the same “classic” except the factory halogen;

2. Headlights manufactured by so-called suppliers to the conveyor - Denso, Depo, Hella, Phillips. In their catalogs you can find many different models of headlights for a variety of cars. With a very high quality workmanship, the products of these brands has a democratic price;

3. "Nouneym" lights produced by various Chinese factories. The variety of models here is extremely large: thousands of styles and designs suitable for installation in a variety of cars. The price of such optics is relatively low. Disadvantages - poor workmanship, unpredictable service life and the complexity of adjustments and settings, causing the headlights can blind oncoming drivers.

Lamp power

The higher the power - the brighter and more intense light flux the lamp will generate and the higher its power consumption. The most common value is 30-80 W, while the headlights of trucks and SUVs can reach 100-120 W in peak.

Brightness of a light stream

The parameter measured in lumens and characterizes not only the degree of intensity, but also the temperature hue.

1. Lamps that produce light 2000-4000 Lm generate warm light with a pronounced yellow tint.

2. 4000-6000 lumen models produce cool white light;

3. The brightness of the luminous flux, exceeding 6000 lumens, gives a blue light beam, and over 9000-1000 Lumen takes on a pronounced purple outflow;

Light output coefficient of optics

It characterizes the amount of lumen that the manufacturer managed to “remove” from one watt of the power of the headlamp. It is calculated by simply dividing the flux brightness by power. As a rule, halogen lamps are characterized by the lowest efficiency, the highest inherent in LED and laser headlights.

Features of the choice of fog lights

The principle of choosing a protivotumanok for a car is in many ways similar to that when choosing ordinary head optics, the main difference lies in the principle of their design, as well as the power of the installed light source.

1. Choosing fog lights for cars, preference should be given to halogen lamps. The ratio of "functionality - cost" for such models is the most effective. Xenon lamps, due to the presence of the ignition unit, it is difficult to install in small foglights, the LED lamps are unreasonably expensive;

2. The power of the installed lamps should be at 30-50 watts;

3. The outer surface of the glass must be treated with a special compound that prevents mechanical impact and sandblasting;

4. The brightness of the luminous flux is selected based on the motorist's own preferences;

5. The mount should provide a rigid fixation of the fog light on the bumper and prevent its movement during the movement of the car;

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Attention! This material is the subjective opinion of the authors of the project and is not a guide to purchase.