9 tips for determining headlight intensity

Quite often we can hear phrases like this: "my headlights are not bright enough." Although in fact, dozens of different factors can affect the efficiency of lighting equipment in a car (from the compatibility of light bulbs and electronics to settings and operating conditions), motorists tend to blame the power of light. But it is quite difficult to determine it - even experts are in no hurry to draw conclusions without a truck with laboratory equipment. 

We've rounded up nine tips from the experts to help you get a better idea of ​​how your headlights are performing:

1. The intensity of light should not be confused with its color. Oddly enough, this is a fairly common misconception. Whiter or bluer does not necessarily mean brighter. It just looks like that.

2. Halogen, xenon or LEDs are all just light sources. Crucial to their range is the fine adjustment of the headlights. You can turn to experts to help you get the best out of your headlights.

3. You should not pass judgment on the headlights just by standing in front of the car and looking at their light. The only thing you will see is whether they burn or not. And nothing more.

4. Turn on the low beam and look at the end of the illuminated path at the front of the vehicle. If it is in the middle and to the left (or right in the case of a right-hand drive car) 25 meters in front of the car, then the headlights are correctly adjusted. But this does not mean that the light only reaches there and no more. Depending on the technology, the full spectrum will be between 60 and 90 meters.

5. The illuminated path will continue further down the right side of the road and onto the sidewalk. This is called low beam asymmetry and is quite normal. And here, too, the headlights illuminate much further than the visible section of the road.

6. Can you see the signs at a distance of 50 to 150 meters? If you can, then the headlights reach them. Obviously, the light is not as bright as ten meters in front of the car, but it serves its purpose.

7. Another common misconception is that bright light is needed only in the next 5 meters in front of the car, no further. With this position, everything that suddenly appears on the road while you are driving will fall under the wheels. You just won't have time to react.

8. You cannot see the light. This is how the human eye works. You can only see what it illuminates. It may be a bit of fog in the air, but otherwise it will be the road, signs, pavement, other vehicles, etc. Keep this in mind.

9. Without a leveling lamp, it's almost impossible to make any serious headlight comparison. Even good branded lamps have small tolerances. And these small differences have a huge impact on the light at the critical points of 50 or 75 meters.