The Best Headlights
Dealing with road hazards at night can be a nerve-wracking experience without the proper headlights. While dense woods and vast plains conceal all sorts of wildlife, drivers in urban environments can just as easily be taken by surprise by unforeseen dangers behind buildings. If you feel like you could benefit from a wider viewing angle and an extra second of reaction time, we highly recommend upgrading your vehicle's headlights. Premium headlights enable safer driving by focusing brightness where it matters, keeping electrical components cool, and persisting through adverse weather. Even if you're not due for an upgrade at this time, we think you'll love our top headlights for their wide compatibility and far-reaching gaze.
GS Power Headlight Replacement Kit
Brighten up backroads
Driving through hazardous conditions can be a nightmare without a set of durable and efficient headlights. While choosing an appropriate headlight capsule is important, bulbs are guaranteed to dislodge or break long before they burn out without the proper housing. Thankfully, GS Power provides a lighting option that shields vehicles against bumpy roads and airborne debris. Unlike many headlights of this era, GS Power does away with sealed beam configurations that force you to toss the entire unit when bulbs die. This replacement also touts an original design that offers compatibility across a wide range of older vehicles.
Pros:
- Highly resistant to overheating
- Silicone seal that eliminates condensation
- The chrome-plated interior reflects more light
Cons:
- There are sharp metal edges where the glass housing ends
Fahren LED Headlight Bulbs
Vivid vehicular vision
After decades of supremacy, halogen bulbs are slowly losing the fight against LEDs. Boasting revolutionary longevity and depth, these newer bulbs are dropping in cost and quickly becoming a plausible option for standard vehicles. If unflinching control during stormy or nighttime trips is essential for you, check out Fahren’s LED bulbs. Not only is this brand three times brighter than traditional bulbs, but they’re also significantly safer. Fahren focuses its light source in a narrow pattern that won’t blind oncoming traffic and uses quality aluminum components to dissipate heat during long drives.
Pros:
- Fully waterproof and dustproof
- No warm-up time is necessary
- Allows for angle adjustment of beam
Cons:
- Some vehicles may require software fixes for use
Hella 500 Series Driving Lamp Kit
Interface and illuminate
When you spend just as much time on unpaved tracks as you do paved highways, your lighting system could benefit from some extra bulbs. The 500 Series from Hella is a great accessory for adding width to your line of sight without luxury headlamp bulbs. Available in LED or halogen, this product features versatile hardware for installs anywhere on the front end of your vehicle. While it may take some time to find an appropriate base, Hella’s plug-and-play design comes with every component necessary to shine right out of the box. If persistent wildlife gives you anxiety on the road, trust Hella to identify threats before they close in.
Pros:
- Includes protective covering cap
- Also available in amber tint or fog lighting
- They draw only a limited amount of battery power
Cons:
- The switch can’t handle more than two lights
Torchbeam T2 LED Bulb Kit
Darkness be doomed
If your most frequented roadways are free of streetlights and straightaways, surprises tend to appear more often and without warning. Automatic vehicle sensors aside, the best defense against roadside obstructions starts and ends with the driver’s reaction time. With sixteen thousand lumens, the T2 bulb kit from Torchbeam lets you plan ahead by delivering five hundred feet of high-definition clarity any time of night. These headlights easily fit into halogen fixtures without conversion kits and produce a white glow that’s stable in dangerous weather and sleek during the daytime.
Pros:
- 50% brighter than most LED competitors
- Very little light decay as the bulbs age
- Will not interfere with radio signals
Cons:
- The motor is quite loud when your engine is off
Hella Xtreme Yellow Bulb
Handle hazy hazards
While headlights are incredibly helpful during most situations involving low visibility, fog is an entirely different animal. Though often overlooked, fog lighting is a legitimate way to peer through water vapor without blinding reflections from water vapor. We’re big fans of the Hella Xtreme bulb because its vivid yellow beams contrast with dark surfaces extremely well. Not only is this feature is helpful when identifying road lines in storms, but it also lets your vehicle stand out while driving, a comforting bonus for motorcyclists and compact cars.
Pros:
- 60-watt requirement
- Remarkable price for the quality
- Approximately 500 hours of drive time
Cons:
- Contaminating the bulb’s surface will impact longevity
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there different types of headlight bulbs?
While headlight enclosures and accessory lights can vary greatly, built-in headlight bulbs rarely deviate from a handful of designs and materials. The first modern headlights were built using tungsten filament and halogen gas. This design has persisted for quite some time. The primary reason behind their longevity, however, was their successor: Xenon bulbs. Despite being much more effective than halogen, high maintenance costs meant their purchase was hard to justify. Today, LED bulbs dominate the marketplace because of their low cost, breathtaking brightness, and unmatched energy efficiency.
How do fog lights work?
If you’ve ever driven home through particularly damp or humid weather, chances are you ran into clouds of mist and fog along the way. Fog lights are a supplement found in most vehicles that help your headlights illuminate the road ahead. Unlike regular bulbs, this system fires a very narrow beam of off-color light underneath the primary headlights. While surprisingly bright by default, their fixtures are usually angled downwards to help eliminate glare from precipitation and protect oncoming drivers. Fog lights are also much wider than standard beams and crucially reveal road markings with ease.
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