The Best Headlight Bulb for Automotive in 2023

The Headlight Bulb is a device to ensure the vehicle's normal operation in low light conditions such as rainstorms or dark nights. The design and selection of car headlights not only affect the aesthetics of the vehicle but also concerns the safety of those behind the wheel. Therefore, headlights are also a factor to be considered when researching and buying a car. The following are the notes when buying the Best Headlight Bulbs.

Top Picks

• Best LED Headlights Bulb: Fahren Headlight Bulbs

• Best Halogen Headlights Bulb: Philips 12362CVB2 H11 CrystalVision 

• Best Xenon Headlights Bulb: DMEX D2S Headlight

• Best Fog Headlights Bulb: Alla Lighting LED Fog Light Bulb

• Best Budget Halogen Headlights Bulb: Hella +50 Performance Bulb

Buying Guide 

Automotive Headlight Bulbs play an extremely important role. Because car lights have the effect of positioning, signaling, lighting, etc. to help ensure safety for users when participating in traffic, especially in low light conditions. In addition, today Headlight Bulbs have become a huge influence on the aesthetics and luxury of the car.

1. What are Headlight Bulbs?

Headlight bulbs are standard and mandatory lighting equipment on current car models. The headlights are capable of producing strong and focused beams of light, providing a long, wide (range of about 300ft) and precise vision to the driver.

In order to meet the requirements of wide lighting angle, car headlights usually have a large size and capacity, wide cross-section. Car lights must ensure high durability, strength, heat resistance, and water resistance to help the car operate well in all weather conditions.

Headlight light usually has two basic colors, cold white with a color temperature of 6500K and warm yellow with a color temperature of about 3000K. The higher the color temperature of the light, the higher the luminous efficiency.

There are four types of headlights commonly used in the car manufacturing industry today: halogen, xenon, LED - typical is Fahren H11/H9/H8 LED Headlight Bulbs and laser lights.

2. Types of popular car headlight bulbs

Halogen bulbs

This is the most commonly used type of car headlights today, often equipped on popular cars. Halogen headlights have a simple structure consisting of a tungsten filament, a mixture of inert gas, and a small amount of halogen (iodine or bromine) enclosed by a bulb.

Halogen bulbs have an average lifespan of about 1,000 hours. The production cost of this type of light bulb is not high and it is easy to replace, so it is applied in most popular cars to optimize costs.

Halogen headlight bulbs give a yellow light, giving them an advantage when traveling in foggy conditions, but the lighting distance is shorter than other types of headlights. In addition, most of the energy of a halogen bulb is converted into heat, only a very small percentage is converted into light energy. This causes a lot of power consumption and reduces lighting efficiency after a period of use.

With many disadvantages, this type of light bulb is likely to be replaced and no longer be used in the automotive industry in the future. 

SYLVANIA 9005 XtraVision with up to 1700 Lumens brightness

and 65 watts will ensure your trip safety.

Xenon bulb

Xenon bulbs, also known as High-Intensity Discharge (HID), are used in some high-end cars. This type of automotive headlight bulb has superior lighting performance and longer life than halogen headlights, with an average lifespan of up to 2,000 hours.

Xenon headlights have the same operating principle as neon bulbs, glowing by a combination of xenon gas, argon, and vaporized metal. HID bulbs produce blue-white light with 2 to 3 times brighter than halogen bulbs, with less scattering for improved visibility and longer, wider distances.

However, also because of the high lighting efficiency, this type of headlight can make people in the opposite direction blind. Light is less scattered and too concentrated, making it impossible for the driver to see anything but the light field of the headlights, making it difficult to park and change lanes.

Another limitation of this type of xenon headlight is its complicated structure with bulbs, converging lenses, and voltage-stabilized ballast. Therefore, the production cost of HID headlights is relatively high, and it is not easy to maintain and replace.

If you are wondering about xenon bulbs, the Innovited 55W AC HID bundle with Service Life up to 5,500 Hours and many colors for you to choose from.

LED headlights

LED (Light-Emitting Diode) is a new technology applied in car headlights and many other lighting devices. LEDs are capable of emitting light through small-sized diodes when an electric current is applied.

LED has the ability to reach brightness extremely quickly in just a few millionths of a second without consuming too much energy. Besides, the emitted light is directional light, not diffused, so it is often used in turn signals and rear lights. This type of headlight has a very long lifespan, up to 15,000 hours, and is the most durable of all headlights.

Automotive LED headlights are made up of many small semiconductor chips, the color of the light depends on the substance in the semiconductor chip. That allows manufacturers more flexibility in designing and manufacturing headlights of the right shape and size, enhancing the vehicle's aesthetics.

The disadvantage of this type of headlight is quite expensive to manufacture. In addition, the heat emitted from the bulb is quite large, which can affect the surrounding electronic components. Therefore, manufacturers have to integrate additional cooling systems, increasing the cost burden.

The lighting performance is good, but the cost is still quite high, so most LED headlights are only applied to high-end cars. However, this type of lamp has the potential to become mainstream and be used more commonly in the future automotive industry.

Laser light

Laser light is the most modern lighting technology but also the most expensive, currently only applied on some high-end car models.

Automotive lasers emit light by activating chemical reactions by firing a laser at a lens containing phosphorus gas. It can produce a light source that is 1,000 times more powerful and consumes only ⅔ as much power as LEDs.

In addition, the lamp has a large luminous intensity, double illumination range with a distance of up to 600m. Lamp life can be extended up to 50,000 hours.

When operating, laser lights generate a lot of heat, so it requires a more complex heat dissipation system than LED headlights. Meanwhile, a laser light bulb cannot simultaneously take on the two functions of high beam and low beam, so it still has to be installed in parallel with other types of headlights such as halogen, HID, or LED. Not to mention, the cost of equipping a set of laser lights can cost you thousands of dollars more. Therefore, in the current conditions, this type of lamp is still not as popular as the other 3 types.

Car headlights help orient the road and improve visibility for the driver in bad weather and low light conditions. Problems with headlights can impact the safety of all occupants.

FAQs

1. Should I change my car's LED bulb?

With car headlights, if the vehicle does not have a Projector available, it is advisable to limit the replacement of LED bulbs because it is easy to cause glare for the opposite vehicle. LED or Xenon bulbs should be combined with ball bearings like the SEALIGHT Headlight Bulbs Package 6000LM to reduce scattering and increase light precision.

2. What kind of car bulbs should I buy to increase the brightness?

There are many types of car light bulbs such as super-bright Halogen bulbs, LED bulbs, Xenon bulbs, etc. The most economical is using super bright Halogen bulbs. The strongest brightness is the Xenon bulb, Torchbeam D1S HID Headlight Bulbs is a great choice.

3. What should I pay attention to when upgrading car headlights?

The rule when upgrading car headlights needs to be followed that is not to dazzle others when running on the road. Because this is both potentially dangerous when participating in traffic, and easy to be fined and denied registration. Safety first, DMEX D4S 35W Xenon Headlight will help minimize risks for you on the journey.

Hopefully, through our article on the types of headlight bulbs available on the market, you will have more experience in choosing headlight bulbs for your car!