The Best Headlights for Night Driving

Night driving is tricky. Even the most experienced driver can find it difficult to cruise on a road that doesn’t have any external sources of light. For this reason, you should install the best headlights for night driving. It will ensure road safety for you and other drivers.

Modern cars have changed a lot due to advanced technology and features. Like the engineering and design, headlights have also become more efficient and provide better performance. Nowadays, it is not difficult to find good headlights for night driving.

Which are the Best Headlights for Night Driving?

How do you know which headlights will provide the best performance for driving in the dark? Well, the better ones will emit bright light and last for years.

These two qualities ensure great visibility and long-term performance.  So, which headlight types can fill up these criteria? Well, you can choose any from these three types:

car headlights
Halogen headlights have been the industry standard for decades. Source: PxFuel

Halogen Lights

Except for some latest models, most vehicles come with stock halogen headlights. The emission of these bulbs is slightly yellowish and they consume a high amount of battery charge.

Because of an easy installation process and inexpensiveness, halogen lights have been the industry standard for many decades. However, the recent preference is more towards LED and Xenon or HID headlights.

Xenon or HID Lights

The monopoly of the halogen bulbs in the automotive market was first challenged by the HID lights. They were an instant hit, and automakers have gradually started using these bulbs in their vehicles.

HID headlights emit bright and high-intensity illumination, which helps during driving in the dark.

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LED Lights

Following the path of  HID lights debuted the LED headlights. The luxury automaker brand Audi has made them famous by using them in its sports cars, specifically in the Audi R8. 

LED headlights have become quickly popular because of their energy efficiency and brighter illumination than HID bulbs. Also, they have a more modern and sleek design than both halogen and HID lights.

Which Headlights are Better: LED or HID?

Which one could be the best headlights for night driving? It actually depends on a bulb’s color temperature as it determines how well the visibility will be when driving in the rain, fog, or dark. 

Both LED and HID lights have the same lumen capacity, which is 3000 lumens. So, the decision now hangs on the color temperature. A 3000K color temperature produces a yellow light, which ensures the maximum visibility in a dark and unfavorable weather condition.

best headlights for night driving
LED lights look better than their competitors. Source: Pixabay

Yellow light doesn’t change the angle or direction easily by reflecting on water droplets or dust particles. But a light in the cooler temperature, such as white light, which has a 4000K color temperature, refracts quite easily.

So, when buying LED or HID headlights, be careful about the color temperature. However, LED bulbs are slightly better than the HIDs for night driving. They cast a higher intensity light beam that creates less glare, which is safer for drivers and passers-by on the road.