Choosing the Right Upgrade Xenon Bulbs for Your Car

Upgrade headlight bulbs are available in in a wide selection of types from well known xenon bulbs manufacturers like Osram, Ring or Philips all the way through to the "Own Brand" products you often see for sale on sites like Ebay.

Whilst all of the upgrade xenon bulbs are designed to improve the total light ouput from your headlights, the degree to which they do this varies considerably with different manufacturers, and so some bulbs will be more brighter than others.

For drivers looking for a bluish hue of light from their car lights there is also a range of blue xenon bulbs which utilise blue tinted glass to give your car the desired effect at night.

Can I Upgrade All of My Car Lights to Xenon Bulbs?

Xenon bulbs are completely road legal and can be fitted without the need to make any modifications.  In addition, xenon car bulbs are available in all of the most popular bulb applications, so you can use them to replace all your headlight bulbs, including dipped and beam beam lights, and you can upgrade your fog lights as well to complete the xenon look.

Ideally you should upgrade your dipped beam car bulbs first, as they are the lights you use the most often at night and is where you will experience the most benefit of improved light performance.  Once the dipped beam has been upgraded your can then improved your main beam and fog lights as and when you need to.

It is also recommended that you upgrade your sidelight bulb at the same time, because the crisp and intense light from the xenon bulbs will make your sidelight bulbs appear to produce a dull yellow light by comparison.

If You Want the Brightest Headlight Bulbs

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If you are after the brightest xenon bulbs possible, that are street legal so you are able to use them on public roads without fear of invalidating your insurance then currently the two best upgrade xenon bulbs are the Osram Nightbreaker and the Philips Extreme Power Bulbs.

These two bulbs consistently top the lists in recent upgrade headlight bulbs tests, and provide the best way to improve the light output from your headlight beam.  Trying to choose between the two is very difficult as their performance is almost identical, however when you factor in the fact that the Osram Nightbreaker is a slightly less expensive to buy its the one that is the most popular.

Whilst both the Philips Extreme Power and Osram Nightbreaker bulbs are designed for pure light performance, both have a very small section of blue tint on the glass bulb.  The effect of this blue filter is to make the light that these car bulbs emit appear whiter and it also help white road markings and signs reflect back to the driver more clearly.

If You Want a "Blue Xenon Look" From Your Headlights

Unlike the Osram Nightbreaker xenon bulbs which only have a partial section of the blue tint, the xenon auto bulbs which are sold as blue xenon bulbs will have a blue tint throughout the glass section.

It is important to remember that when you place any kind of filter on a bulb it does limit the maximum amount of light it will emit, and so fully tinted bulbs will never be as bright as bulbs like the Philips Extreme Power. In addition there are also strict rules on the level of blue tint allowed on a bulb, because if the tint was too dark it would emit hardly any light.

Therefore despite different manufacturers claiming that there headlight bulbs are the bluest available, you will actually find that they all emit roughly the same level of blue.  Popluar blue xenon bulbs includes the Philips Blue Vision range and the Osram Cool Blue series, both of which also include a selection of blue sidelight bulbs so you can achieve the "look" you are looking for for all of your main car bulbs.