The question of modifying standard optics is always relevant. Standard halogen headlights often cannot provide good visibility at night or in bad weather, so car owners often replace them. Let's talk about what headlights you can drive in the Russian Federation according to the traffic rules, as well as what lamps you can put in the headlights.

What bulbs can be put in the headlights

In fact, the answer to the question of which headlights can be put on a car is quite simple: you cannot independently change factory optics and use unsuitable lamps in it. It has to do with security. If the optics do not work correctly, then the light created by it can not only impair visibility on the road in poor visibility, but also blind drivers of oncoming cars.

The situation is approximately the same with the question of which lamps can be used in factory-made headlights. In the original headlights, you can put only those lamps that are provided by the manufacturer. This applies specifically to the design of the lamps, but not their characteristics. That is, if the headlight is designed for halogen lamps, xenon cannot be installed, since in this case it will not work to pass the technical inspection and you can even get a fine.

What headlights can be installed? Only in those that have special optics - it is able to correctly collect the light emitted by xenon and form clear cut-off lines.

Today, there are many non-original headlights on the market in which xenon or LED lamps work normally, that is, the flow of emitted light does not go beyond the boundaries indicated by traffic rules. Such headlights will normally illuminate the roadway and will not interfere with other road users.

What headlights can you drive with

Another fairly common question: what kind of light bulbs can be put in the headlights? We answer: traffic rules allow you to install white, yellow and orange lamps in front, and red, yellow and orange lamps in the back (only white ones to illuminate the state sign). Also remember that the optics must scatter the light emitted by the lamp in such a way that the cut-off lines formed by it correspond to the traffic rules.

As for the color, for example, it passes well through fog, rain and works better in dusty conditions, but at the same time it illuminates the road less brightly in good conditions. weather conditions. neutral and does not distort the natural colors of the surrounding world.

At first glance, it may seem that buying a vehicle headlight bulb is a simple task. But sometimes a huge choice makes car owners devote a lot of time to this issue. In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about buying lamps for your car.

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A variety of types and types of automotive lamps

Today, vehicles are equipped with a large number of different light bulbs, which are divided among themselves according to various parameters, such as power, light beam strength, etc. Such a variety of species sometimes confuses the buyer and it can be problematic to choose the best lamps for optics.

So, if you decide to choose those very best light bulbs, you need to know a few things about them:

1. Any car lamps are divided into different types - devices for the car interior, for additional lighting, for headlights, as well as for the instrument control panel.
2. Even if you choose one type, its subtypes may be different. For example, to designate cars, overall, fog optics, turn signals, near and far lighting, brake lights, reverse, etc. are used.
3. As for the type of headlights, there are two subtypes in this type - low and high beams. The near one is designed to ensure normal visibility on the road at 50 m, and the far one is up to 150 m.

Automobile lamps allow you to well illuminate the roadway, but at the same time they should not cause inconvenience to other road users, that is, blind. When choosing this type of lamp, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of the luminous flux, as well as the service life of the device. The use of high beams is relevant when driving at night on an unlit section of the road, that is, the safety of the car and the driver directly depends on them.

Nuances of choice

How and what is the best way to buy headlights for your car? The choice of optics and its elements is carried out in accordance with the characteristics of the operation of the vehicle.

1. When choosing a headlight or lamp, you need to know about the marking of the car, model, year of manufacture, as well as the volume of the motor.
2. The marking of standard factory lamps and purchased ones is always marked on the devices themselves - on the bulb, as well as directly on the base, which facilitates the selection process. As for the lighting elements of the control panel, such data are not marked on them.
3. There are gas-discharge halogen, neon, xenon, incandescent bulbs. As for diodes, today they are the most economical, have a long service life and high cost.
4. Depending on the type and marking, the device can be equipped with two spirals, characterized by different power. This element of optics can perform several functions at the same time, for example, marker and brake lights. If the optical element is sufficiently complex in structure, then it will have a different power on each spiral.
5. If the element has a Y index, then this indicates that its flask is colored.

If you familiarize yourself with the manufacturer's catalog, you will be able to see the most complete and detailed information on optical components in it. As a rule, the manufacturer indicates the marking, power and type of devices, so based on these parameters, you can easily make a selection (the author of the video is the Car Program).

The most significant characteristics

If you don’t know which headlight bulbs are better to choose - neon, gas discharge, halogen or others, then for the right selection, read the main characteristics:

1. Base for cartridge. If the base is not appropriate, the light bulb simply will not enter the headlight socket. This parameter, as a rule, is noted on the optics body, next to the cartridge. The bulb is a part of the component made of glass, its appearance depends on the type of device. Through the cartridge, the base provides a connection to the car's electrical network. It must be remembered that even if the base of the replaced bulbs looks the same, this does not mean that it is suitable for the headlight socket. In practice, devices may be similar but not interchangeable. So, if you do not want to buy a device that will not fit in a cartridge, it is better not to buy it "by eye".
2. Power. In addition to the base for installation in a cartridge, the power level must also be taken into account, which can be equivalent and nominal. The equivalent parameter is an indicator of the intensity of the glow of the element, which does not depend on consumption. If the light bulb says that its power is 60 watts, then in principle, it can function with a power of 130 watts. Manufacturers can achieve this through the introduction of new technologies, complex design compositions, etc.
   As for the nominal parameter, it always remains unchanged, since it is directly related to the electrical wiring of the machine. When selecting gas-discharge, neon or other optics components, it is necessary to focus on this parameter, since the car's on-board network is designed specifically for it.
3. Voltage. This parameter is completely dependent on the electrical circuit of the machine, so it can be 6, 12 or 24 volts. As well as the choice of a base for a cartridge, this indicator is quite important. After all, if the element is designed for 6 volts, but will be used in a 12-volt network, it will burn out immediately. If you're lucky, the headlight will simply shine dimly.
4. color temperature - no less important parameter, as well as the selection of the base for the cartridge. In fact, this parameter determines the tone of the light flux, respectively, the shades can be completely different. The higher the color temperature level, the colder the luminous flux, closer to blue. If the indicator is lower, then the luminous flux will be warmer. It should be borne in mind that this parameter does not indicate that one color is better than another, in this case it all depends on the preferences of the consumer. Some drivers believe that white is the safest color.

Own preferences

A test of car lamps, conducted by the specialists of our portal, showed that 90% of cheap Chinese bulbs are of poor quality, which is not surprising. So what are the best neon, gas discharge or other lamps for the headlights of your car? Do not forget about your own preferences.

In general, there are several types of consumers:

1. The first type of car owners - these people primarily think about their safety while driving, in particular, about active safety. We are talking about those motorists who want to see more lighting on the road while driving. As a rule, such people buy more powerful light bulbs in their headlights, brighter ones that would shine well and at the same time have a high service life. It should be borne in mind that the resource of using an element is one of the most important characteristics in any case, because every motorist wants to change devices in the headlights as little as possible. As practice shows, the most significant advantages for a motorist are provided by all-weather or all-weather devices. In fact, bulbs of this type provide excellent visibility of the roadway in almost any weather conditions, both in high and low light.
2. The second category of motorists are people who care more than about safety about the aesthetic parameters of optics. As a rule, such consumers focus on the most optimal color temperature.
3. As for the third type of car owners, passive safety on the road is quite enough for them. Usually, motorists who belong to this light category do not care about the high luminous flux of the headlight, as they try to move along well-lit sections of the road.

Video "Testing lamps for headlights"

Which light bulbs shine brighter than the rest - find out from the video (the author of the video is Test Lab Autolamp tests).

Sorry, there are currently no surveys available.

Headlights not working? Need to change car headlight bulbs? Let's figure it out.

First, let's look at what kind of light bulbs are in the headlights.

First of all, car lamps can be divided into 2 main types:

headlight lamps- installed in the headlights of the car.

Additional light lamps- these include side lights, parking and interior lamps, brake lights.

Each type of lamp has its own designations and connection standards (for example, H1, H3, H4 - designations for lamps containing halogen gases).

Secondly, according to their purpose, the front lamps are divided:

high/low beam bulbs- the main lighting of the road surface in front of the car. They are components of the block headlights, switched if necessary, to illuminate the distant / nearest sections of the road.

fog lamps- installed in the head optics. The light from the headlights, as it were, spreads along the road, not illuminating the fog in height. Used in severe weather conditions (fog, rain, snowfall). They not only help the driver to better navigate the road in bad weather, but also increase the visibility of the vehicle itself for other road users.

Third, division by design:

Automotive incandescent lamps- the oldest type of lamps. You could say it's outdated.

Halogen (halogen) lamps- represent an incandescent lamp, in the flask of which there is a buffer gas (halogen vapors - bromine or iodine). Differ in big service life. The most common type of lamp used in car headlights. Constantly refined to obtain greater light intensity and increase the radius of illumination in front of the car.

xenon lamps- consist of a flask with gas (xenon) and electrodes. They glow thanks to an electric arc that occurs as a result of applying voltage. The light that a xenon lamp emits is white, close in spectrum to daylight, and bright (the intensity is 3 times higher than that of halogen lamps). Bright, energy efficient, and long lasting lamps. Comfortable for the driver's eyes, but may be excessively bright for other road users.

LEDs- consist of numerous light emitting diodes (LED). The emitted light is close to daylight. They consume less electricity than halogen ones and have a very long service life. Work without wear for a long time of use. Thanks to their small size, they offer a wide range of design possibilities. However, in winter, the luminous flux of LED lamps is significantly reduced.

What you need to know about headlight bulbs before replacing

1. The basic rule to remember if you are planning to replace headlight bulbs is that headlight bulbs need to be changed in pairs.

There are good reasons for this:

• Light bulbs were installed together at the same time, which means that once one burns out, the death of the other is not far off.
• If you decide to leave the second and replace only one in order to save money, then you will break the picture of light distribution, because. a new lamp will always shine brighter than the one that has already worked a lot.

2. When going to the store for new headlight bulbs, take the old ones with you. So it will be easier for you to choose similar ones and eliminate the risk of buying inappropriate ones. However, do not forget to study the labels on the packages.

3. Continuing the topic about packaging: check if it has a compliance mark. This is a prerequisite if the product is of high quality (and this is exactly what is needed). If you saw the inscription Offroad use only (“Use only off-road common use”) or Not for use in Europe (“Do not use in Europe”), then we skip such lamps - they are prohibited for use in Russia.

4. The inscriptions +50% Light or Beam Performance +60% on the package promise you that some points in front of the car will be illuminated better than conventional lamps. However, remember that additional effects reduce the life of the bulbs, which means they can be replaced more quickly.

5. White and yellow lamps and inscriptions like 2600 K. Here, the standard for comparison is the daytime color temperature, which is in the range of 4000-6500 K.

The value on the package is close to it - the light emitted by the lamp is similar to daylight. It is comfortable and familiar, creates less strain on the eyes, objects are clearer in it. However, in rainy weather or in fog, visibility drops sharply, because. white light reflects off water droplets.

The value on the package is below 3000 K - in front of you are yellow glow lamps. They are effective in bad weather, although they are not so comfortable in good weather conditions. In this regard, they are installed in the fog lights, and not the head ones.

If the lamp bulb is colored, most likely this is a purely aesthetic decision - the light will be white. In some cases, the bulbs are dyed blue to increase the color temperature.

6. Is there no indication of the lamp life in the headlights? The standard lifetime at a voltage of 13.2 V is:

• for halogen lamps - 600 hours,
• for gas-discharge (xenon) lamps - about 3000 hours,
• for light-emitting diodes (LED) - 10,000 hours,
• for organic light emitting diodes (OLED) - 30,000 h.

Excessive voltage reduces the life of the light bulb (for example, a 5% increase in voltage leads to a decrease in lamp life by 40%). However, the light output will be stronger. At low voltage, the situation is reversed.

7. The original lamp was 60/55 W, but only a more powerful 100/90 W is available. Is it worth buying it, and does it give more light? No, more doesn't mean better. If you do not want the experiment to end in fire due to the excess load on the wiring.

8. Are a gas discharge (xenon) lamp and a halogen lamp in headlights marked intense white xenon effect equivalent? Both emit pure white light, but they are still different - discharge bulbs shine better.

Replacing headlight bulbs

If your headlights do not turn on, you usually do not need to completely remove or replace the headlights to restore their functionality. The process of replacing the headlight bulb and the sequence of steps may differ depending on the car model, but it is often enough to unscrew a few mounting bolts and a little time. For instance, headlight bulbs are replaced as follows: the bolts are unscrewed, the headlight is removed (you can remove it without pulling out the connector) or pull the headlight without completely removing the entire unit in order to reach the light bulb, carefully unscrew or press the special plug to separate the lamp, install a new light element.

The main difficulty in the process of replacing a lamp in a headlight is the design of the car, which does not allow easy access to the mounts and the bulb itself. Sometimes it is necessary to remove other parts of the car in order to make a replacement. Also, some parts are too tight, so not everyone will cope with this task (mostly for girls) or there is a risk of damaging the parts with excessive force (especially if this effort is not needed there). In this regard, sometimes it is easier to contact a car service than to spend time trying to figure out the nuances of the process, besides, the service is inexpensive, and it will take a little time for professionals.

Read how to tint headlights.

Trips at night, no matter how dangerous and uncomfortable they may seem, are inevitable. To ensure traffic safety in such difficult conditions, each car is equipped with a number of special devices, the most important of which are lighting devices. The quality of road lighting and the detail of the view directly depend on their condition and level of equipment.

About which lamps are best suited for the right dipped beam, and what to look for when choosing them, Dmitry Kulkov, a specialist in the technical center of the FAVORIT MOTORS Group of Companies, service manager of the KIA FAVORIT Koptevo auto center, told.

What determines the quality of headlights

Today, almost a third of cars are equipped with insufficiently effective headlights. The main reason for poor luminous flux is the improper technical condition of the equipment. The main reason for poor luminous flux is the improper technical condition of the equipment and the mismatch of the direction of the luminous flux. But in some cases, to improve the visibility of the road, a simple replacement of a light bulb, polishing the headlight and adjusting the direction of the headlight beam is required.

How to choose the right lamp?

To date, the market offers a wide range of lamps from various manufacturers. However, among the variety of expensive and affordable artificial light sources, it is important to figure out which lamps are best placed in the dipped beam of your particular car. Depending on the type of lamp, they may differ in their functionality.

1. Xenon lamps guarantee excellent visibility on the road, even in rain or snow. An important advantage of such lamps is their relative safety for the human eye. Xenon light is similar to natural daylight and, even if you drive for several hours at night, you will not feel very tired. At the same time, the declared lifetime of xenon is about 3000 hours with a power consumption of only 35 watts. The only drawback of xenon bulbs is the high cost.
2. Halogen lamps are also used for installation in headlamps. A feature of such incandescent autolamps is the bulb filler - an inert gas. Speaking about the amount of luminous flux received, "halogens" are less efficient than xenon, however, the price of such lamps compares favorably. Besides, halogen lamps have a wide choice of standard sizes and service life about 4000 hours.
3. LEDs can also be put in the optics of your car. The diode-type lamp has a particularly long service life - about 50,000 hours and a low voltage requirement of only 12 V. LEDs are often installed in the headlights of foreign cars, as well as in conventional fog lights. This type of small-sized lamps does an excellent job of providing bright low beam, as well as additional illumination. If these are non-original headlights designed for the use of LEDs, they do not provide the required shape of the luminous flux. A reliable heat dissipation design is required.

Lamp classification

Depending on the purpose, the special design of the bulb, as well as the filaments, spirals and base, all head lighting lamps are divided into certain types in accordance with the requirements for UNECE car lighting devices. The most common bulb types are the internationally approved H4 double filament bulb and the H7 single filament bulb found in vehicles older than 20 years. Both options are used in the conventional two-headlight CR type lighting system adopted in Europe. The best lamps with H4 and H7 sockets are produced by well-known companies such as Hella, Philips, Osram, IPF, IL Trade and MTF-Light.

Auto lamps H4

H4 bulbs, thanks to two filaments, are used for both low beam and high beam. Due to the fact that modern manufacturers offer many modifications, it is necessary to know the characteristics of the H4 bulb which best suits your optics system. In general, all lamps of this type have a standard power of 60-65 W, the mode of operation for high or low beam is regulated by the automatic selection of the appropriate electrode. After the release of the law on the mandatory use of dipped-beam headlights in the daytime, H4 lamps with an increased service life appeared in stores. Now you can use such a lamp around the clock without damaging the car. On the modern spare parts market in 2018, there are several categories of H4 automotive lamps:

• Regular lamps that are installed on the car at the factory;
• Lamps with increased luminous flux;
• Versatile lamps that provide visual comfort. Such lamps can replace fog lights;
• Lamps of increased power, which are used in combination with additional electronic equipment that protects the generator and electrical wiring of the car from overload.

Auto lamps H7

A relatively new version of the automotive lamp - with a base H7, which has a light flux of increased brightness, enhanced by the inclusion of halogen vapors of bromine and iodine. The filament of such a lamp is made of special high-strength tungsten alloys. Before putting a similar lamp in your car headlight, consult which H7 lamps are better. A detailed review of most h7 halogen lamps shows that they all have a guaranteed long service life. Distinctive features of lamps from various manufacturers are power and spectrum, which can vary from warm to cold light.

If you are planning to make a long journey by car, be sure to take care of installing a high-quality H7 high beam lamp. Thanks to the special design of the lamp, equipped with a protective ring, the light of your headlights will not blind drivers of oncoming traffic. When choosing a durable and safe headlight bulb, be sure to pay attention to the reputation of the manufacturer and the country of origin of the product. Only a lamp produced according to specific specifications can provide optimum driving safety.

If you experience difficulties with the selection or replacement of the dipped and main beam lamps you need, contact the specialists of the technical centers of FAVORIT MOTORS Group of Companies. An authorized dealer of well-known car brands always has original lamps in stock. Experienced craftsmen will tell you how to make the right choice and, if necessary, promptly replace the lamps in the lighting fixtures of your car.