As we grow up we have become accustomed to halogen lights in our vehicles. But things have changed and what is really better? Halogen or xenon headlights? And who cares anyway, what difference does it makes? Well it makes a huge difference. The US 'National Highway Traffic Safety Administration' states that
"nearly half of all traffic-related fatalities occur in the dark, despite only 25% of traffic travelling during darkness"
So it's a lot safer to be seen- and to see better in the dark. But how do we do that without braking the law? And how do we do that in such a way that your car still looks awesome?

Halogen lights

We are not going to tell you the ins and outs of the halogen light. How it works with the gas and the filament etc. Just go to Wikipedia for that. What is more interesting to know is that the first halogen lights were build at General Electric in Nela Park, Ohio in 1953. But it wasn't until 1955 that a engineer at Philips created the first halogen bulb that would be the standard for use in cars. So basically you are using a halogen technology that is more than 60 years old in your car that's average 6 years old. Time to throw out this old garbage and upgrade to those nice new xenon lights!

Xenon lights

Xenon lights for cars were introduced in 1991. The world's first series production low beam Xenon high-intensity discharge headlamps (Litronic, only low beam) were introduced on the BMW 750iL. So the xenon technology already goes 20 years back. A lot has changed since then. The xenon projecters have gotten a sharper cutoff and a better view and the HID Ballast has become more powerful and more stable than ever before. There is a lot to gain when switching from halogen to xenon lights. These are definitely the greatest advantages:
  • Two to three times as much light compared to halogen lamps
  • Whiter, brighter light output: the light is comparable to daylight; research has proven this allows better concentration while driving.
  • Consume less than half the amount of power than standard halogen
  • Your headlights will have a longer lifespan
So are you better off with xenon bulbs in your headlights? You sure are! Just don't forget to order your stuff at Retrofitlab and when you have questions, don't hesitate to give us a call.