Pick up a new light bulb for the car to replace a burned out one. We will tell you what to buy and what to consider when replacing. Which is better to choose – with increased brightness or with a longer life.

When the bulb in the headlight burns out and it needs to be replaced, the question arises – what to buy. The first thing to do is to decide on the type of lamp, its base. They can be different: from H1 to H11. And what is needed?

The easiest option is to take it out of the headlight and take it to the store – there will pick up the necessary one. If this option is unacceptable, you can look at the technical documentation for the car.

Usually, on the last pages there are tables of all lamps in the car and the corresponding type of plinth. The third option is to go to an official dealer who knows exactly what kind of light bulb you need. If the bulb is burned out in the headlight, you need to change only in pairs – right and left at once. It is not necessary to save money, because the light bulb is worse shining, it has less light output, compared to the new one. And it is still not clear how two different lamps will shine, even if they are the same manufacturer.

When choosing not to save money – buy products from well-known companies. Among the reputable companies, we note: Philips, Osram, Narva, GE.

WHAT IS BETTER TO CHOOSE

If the store will offer to buy bulbs with higher power (for example, instead of 60 W to choose 90-watt), you should refuse. This idea will not bring anything good, and there are plenty of disadvantages. You should not think that it will shine brighter, because the electrical equipment of the car is designed for a certain power lamp.

If you significantly exceed it, you may have problems with wiring – it is often burned fuses or melted wiring. In addition, modern cars headlight glass is made of plastic, which means it can melt.

What choice should I make if I want it to shine and illuminate the road well for a long time? Miracles do not happen. The light flux depends on the on-board voltage, the higher it is, the better the light bulb works. But this has a negative effect on durability. There are bulbs with a longer life, but they do not light well. And there are lamps with increased luminous flux, which according to the manufacturer’s statement illuminate by 50% brighter. Paying for this will be a reduced resource. The lifetime of “halogen” is 600 hours and it depends on the onboard voltage. Optimal – 13.2 V. Excess of 5% reduces service life by 40% (but the luminous flux increases by 18%). On the contrary, if the voltage is 5% lower, the service life increases by 60%, but the luminous flux decreases by 10%. If you put an LED instead of a normal lamp? You should never do that, they shine worse than halogen lamps. And those that give good illumination, cost from 4-5 thousand rubles per set. It should be noted that the temperature of LED lamps is lower, which means that the headlight glass will mist up and freeze.

WHAT IS THE OPTIMAL TEMPERATURE OF LIGHT

The most pleasant for a person is the light, which color temperature is from 4000 to 6500 K. It gives white daylight. During rain, snow or fog, it is of little use and lamps with a luminous temperature of less than 3000K can be used. What to choose then? It is optimal to use 3000K or 3500K in fog lamps, for headlamps, choose a car lamp with a temperature of at least 4000K. Experience has shown that lamps with a temperature of about 4200 – 4500 K give optimal white light. If the luminescence is about 3500 K, you can clearly see a yellow tint. And the color over 5000 K gives a bluish tint.

LED headlights for cars – compare with xenon When choosing, give preference to the factory, without additional improvements. High brightness lamps, with inscriptions on the box +120%, mean that one of the control points is better illuminated compared to the same brand of the previous generation. In other conditions, the light may be worse. Bought ClearLight X-Treme Vision bulbs, they give 120 percent more light than the standard ones. They light up brighter than the standard ones, I liked them. Only burned out after 5 months, although the standard light was more than a year. So you have to choose, or take those that normally shine, but will have to change more often, or put the regulars.