| When your current bulbs fail, you will likely just | | | | standard yellow coated bulbs give an odd 'fried |
| pick up the first available bulbs of the correct | | | | egg' look, as they are visible at the centre of the |
| type from your local automotive shop or petrol | | | | reflector. Styling bulbs are now available that are |
| station. You may not realise that there is a wide | | | | silver coated, but still give a yellow light, to |
| range of choices available for your car or | | | | prevent this look. The silver bulb blends into the |
| motorcycle, depending on your needs and | | | | reflector to give a better finish. |
| preferences. | | | | |
| | | | | LED Bulbs |
| Enhanced Halogen Bulbs | | | | First seen on new cars a few years ago, there |
| Mostly available for headlights, enhanced bulbs | | | | are now LED replacement bulbs available as |
| offer increased light output over standard bulbs. | | | | replacements for most rear lights, brake light and |
| They often use different materials for both the | | | | side light bulbs, as well as some internal lighting. |
| bulb filament and the gas it is contained in. These | | | | LED lights, at the moment, are not available for |
| bulbs are often called Xenon Headlight bulbs, as | | | | headlight bulbs as they are not bright enough, but |
| Xenon gas is one of the main constituents. | | | | they are being frequently seen in factory fitted |
| Various brands are available, the most well-known | | | | and aftermarket front white daytime running |
| being Ring Xenon Max (offering 100% more light | | | | bulbs, such as BMW 'Angel Eyes'. |
| than 'standard' bulbs), Osram Night Breaker (with | | | | |
| 90% more light) and Philips X-Treme Power (with | | | | Replacement LED bulbs have one or more |
| 80% more light). | | | | individual SMD LED lamps on them, but are |
| Upgrading to an enhanced Halogen bulb is exactly | | | | designed to fit into standard fittings. Their main |
| the same as replacing a standard headlight bulb, | | | | advantages are very low power consumption |
| and can generally be done at home in a few | | | | (useful if you have a 'show car' with a lot of |
| minutes. Due to the difference in brightness, you | | | | additional lighting) and extremely long life of up to |
| will need to replace both headlight bulbs for cars | | | | 50,000 hours, meaning it should outlast the vehicle! |
| or motorcycles with twin headlights. The Xenon | | | | They provide a whiter light than most filament |
| upgrade bulbs are available in sizes to fit almost all | | | | bulbs, so are often paired with modified headlights. |
| vehicles. | | | | One drawback to using LED bulbs on some cars |
| | | | | with CAN-BUS bulb failure warning systems is that |
| Extra Long Life Bulbs | | | | the LED bulb draws so little power the dashboard |
| Extra long life bulbs use thicker elements and | | | | bulb failure warning is shown. This can be resolved |
| quality components to give a bulb life of up to | | | | by adding a resistor to the bulb wiring, or buying |
| three times longer than a standard bulb. They are | | | | one of the new range of bulbs with a resistor built |
| available as headlights, brake/tail light and sidelights. | | | | into the bulb assembly itself. |
| The most common uses for these bulbs are | | | | |
| vehicles (notably Volvo cars as well as many | | | | Xenon HID Bulbs |
| motorcycles and trucks) where the lights are | | | | Originally only available as factory fitted options on |
| always on. Long life bulbs reduce the frequency | | | | some top-end cars, xenon HID bulbs work totally |
| with which you have to replace the bulbs, and are | | | | differently from traditional filament bulbs. The light |
| only slightly more expensive than standard bulbs. | | | | is created by an arc (spark) of electricity inside a |
| Various brands are available, including Osram Ultra | | | | special mixture of gases (including Xenon) and |
| Life and Ring Vision24. | | | | metal salts. The light created by Xenon HID bulbs |
| | | | | is about 300% brighter than standard halogens, |
| Styling Bulbs | | | | and is also whiter. Some HID bulbs produce blue |
| Allied to the growth of the modified car scene | | | | tinted light. |
| has been an increasing supply of 'styling' bulbs that | | | | Aftermarket HID conversion kits are now |
| modify the light output of a standard halogen bulb | | | | available for most bulb fittings. The conversion kits |
| using altered filament or gas materials, or by | | | | consist of a ballast unit (that provides the high |
| adding filter coatings. Different coloured light can | | | | voltages required to create the arc), plus an HID |
| match a cars colour scheme, and provide a | | | | bulb. HID bulbs generally last longer than standard |
| distinctive look. Some of these bulbs also offer | | | | filament bulbs, as they do not have a filament to |
| enhanced light output, but some of the more | | | | break, but they do tend to give more blue light |
| extreme ones have poor light output due to | | | | with age, and will eventually stop working. |
| filters, and are a long way from the white light | | | | HID conversion kits are not strictly road legal as |
| required in the Highway Code. These extreme | | | | they are not factory fitted options, and there are |
| styling bulbs are recommended for off-road or | | | | issues with some cheaper conversion kits creating |
| show use only. | | | | a beam pattern that will fail the MOT test. Higher |
| Another class of styling bulbs has been seen since | | | | quality HID kits and bulbs are carefully designed to |
| the appearance on 'crystal' type light fittings, | | | | give the correct beam alignment, and not blind |
| where the lens is almost totally transparent. | | | | oncoming drivers. |
| Indicator bulbs have to give a yellow light, and | | | | |