The Pros, Cons, and Everything In-Between of Using HID Headlights
Not too long ago, most car headlights on the road were the same, incandescent-based halogens that are most typically connected to automobiles. In recent years, however, a new lighting technology, High Intensity Discharge headlights (HIDs), became quite popular amongst car tuners and enthusiasts. While not every new technology becomes widespread across the industry, HIDs have jumped up into notoriety on the road, and more and more vehicles are coming with them equipped on sale. If you’re still torn between keeping the same old halogens or switching over to brand new HIDs, consider some of these pros and cons on HID headlights.
Pro: Raise your standards
Whereas halogen headlights can be energy wasters (much of the energy spent is given off as heat), HIDs are much more efficient sources of light. On top of that, HIDs can last ten times longer than halogens, while also producing light that is up to three times as bright. So if you’re really looking to make an upgrade on your car that has a dramatic impact both in terms of performance and efficiency, this is one that can work well for you.
Con: Don’t forget your tools
Unlike replacing old halogen bulbs with new ones when the old ones burn out, with HIDs you have to do some actual body work on the vehicle in order to install them. That’s because HIDs require different automotive components in order to function correctly with your car’s lighting system. Though this process isn’t overly complicated, the older your car is, the more difficult it will be to adapt your car over to the new lighting parts.
Toss-up: Take it easy
It’s hard to say which lighting type will end up costing you more time. While HIDs involve an installation process that make take an hour or two, once installed, they’ll hardly need you to touch them. But with halogens, while you’ll need to change out the bulbs more often, the actual process every time will only take a few minutes at most (though that doesn’t include the time you’ll spend going to pick up new bulbs). So this category’s clearly a toss-up, as one will save you time now, will the other will save you time later.
Pro: Choose a color
We had to end on a pro, mostly because HIDs are new technology and there are actually more pros to HID use than cons. Whereas halogen headlights had more of a ‘one look fits all’ approach, HIDs can be easily customized to match whatever color light you want. So whether you want purple, blue, or yellow headlights, you can get them with automotive HIDs.