There are quite a few differences between the traditional halogen headlights and the new xenon headlights, and it is causing quite a controversy as well, with some people loving them- normally the drivers of cars that are equipped with them, and some people hating them- usually other drivers on the road. It is important to understand the disparities between the two, so you can make a better decision concerning headlights for your own vehicle.



One of the most noticeable distinctions between these headlights is the level of illumination that is provided. The new headlights give a substantially larger amount of illumination than the halogen headlights do, especially around the sides of the headlight. Another dissimilarity that you can see is the fact that the light created by the new xenon headlights is at the blue end of the light spectrum, giving a bluish white appearance. Although some manufacturers now make yellow, purple, green and in some cases red xenon headlights. While halogen headlights emit a light that is at the red end of the light spectrum, giving it a yellowish white appearance. Xenon headlights also provide a sharp line between dark and light areas on dark roadways, while halogen headlights have a natural fade area along the roadway.

The newest headlights have an increase in night visibility over traditional headlights, because of the efficiency and color standard of the light that is emitted by xenon lights. However, it is not possible to simply replace halogen headlights with xenon headlights. The entire system for xenon headlights is completely different than the system for halogen headlights, because a majority of the components are different. The xenon headlights provide twice the light of the halogen headlight, while using half of the power of halogen as well. This leaves extra power available for other uses in the vehicle, as well as using less fuel, making xenon headlights more fuel efficient.

Another major difference is the fact that the light from xenon headlights is a lot more similar to natural daylight than the light from halogen headlights. They also last a lot longer. With xenon, headlights are good for the life of your car, which means you should never have to replace headlights again with the xenon headlight system. In addition, a big discrepancy between these two headlights is the cost factor. Xenon headlights can be a bit more expensive, but the prices have been coming down recently. These headlights are usually standard only on expensive models of luxury and sports cars, like Mercedes Benz and Porsche.

Whether the new xenon headlights are the perfect headlights for you or not will be a personal decision. All of the factors and diversities between the traditional halogen headlights and the new xenon headlight system should be considered before you decide. There are a lot of differences in the quality, illumination, lifetime, complete system set up, and cost between the two headlight systems, and understanding these differences will help you make the best decision for you concerning your vehicle headlights.