American Research: headlight quality and safety of all manufacturers

If you buy a new car, you expect the headlights to be of good quality and they provide you with a good light beam, so you'll see enough in the dark to drive from A to B as safely as possible. Unfortunately, in most cases this is not the case according to a study of an American research institute.

In this study, various tests are done with headlights of a number of well-known car manufacturers. And it seems that only a handful of manufacturers have reserved an extra budget for optimizing headlights.

Headlight quality: which manufacturers score well and which ones don't

According to the test results there is only 1 car manufacturer that markets a car with seriously good headlights.

Watch the research on video: watch the headlight research on YouTube.

More light from your headlight?

How can you get more and better light from your "bad quality" headlight? Here are more options. A widely used solution is a stronger halogen lamp, giving you a progression of about 20%.

But if you really want to get more light, you better get a xenon kit or led kit. This brings you 300% more light from your headlights.

Easy to install

To install a xenon or led kit you do not need to be a first class installer. If you can replace the standard light, you are also capable of replacing it by a xenon or led kit. You do not have to make any drastic adjustments to the headlight. In almost all cases, it's completely plug-and-play.

Installation of a LED Kit

See how it works: watch the LED kit installation video on YouTube.

What determines the quality of a headlight

A headlight is more than a lamp. How much useful light ends up on the road depends on a few parts working together.

The light source

Most cars are still delivered with halogen lamps. A halogen lamp gives a yellowish light and relatively little light output. Xenon and LED give a whiter and stronger light. That is why the lamp is the easiest part to upgrade.

The reflector or lens

The housing determines where the light goes. In a reflector headlight, a mirrored surface behind the lamp shapes the beam. In a lens (projector) headlight, a lens projects the light onto the road with a sharp light/dark cutoff. In both cases, the position of the light source is crucial: if it sits in a different spot than the original filament, the light image changes.

The aim

Even a good headlight performs poorly when it is aimed too low or too high. Too low and you see less of the road; too high and you blind oncoming traffic. Always check the aim after changing lamps.

Which upgrade gives you the most light?

• Stronger halogen lamp: the simplest step, giving about 20% more light as mentioned above. The colour stays yellowish.
• Xenon kit: xenon lamps with ballasts. The H7 Xenonkit, Hilox Evolution II Black gives 4 times more light than halogen according to the product information, and is available in 4300K, 5500K and 6500K. Xenon needs a short warm-up time before it reaches full strength.
• LED kit: directly at full strength. The H7 XTR Black LED kit, Hilox Evolution gives 3600 lumen per lamp, 3.5 times more light than halogen, at 5700K according to the product information. Its LED chips last up to 50,000 hours.

Not sure which one suits your car? Read our LED purchasing guide or the research into LED low beam kits.

After installing a xenon or LED kit, have the light beam checked and make sure your car still meets the APK requirements. If in doubt, ask the RDW or your inspector. The Hilox product information states that these kits have no ECE approval and are intended for circuit and private terrain use only.