Driving lights can serve as a supplement for lighting and help you avoid any surprises hidden from view.

Driving lights come in two varieties: Xenon HID lights and driving lights. The main difference between them is how they create their light. Xenon lights can offer better efficiency when it comes to luminance, and xenon headlights are easily recognisable with their colour temperature, the light produced, and excellent beam distance. HID stands for High-Intensity Discharge. Hid headlights use xenon gas contained within a sealed bulb made of quartz glass containing electrodes that supply power to the lamp when activated by an electrical charge passed through it. The gas within the bulb gets ionized by that energy, producing light. LED technology stands for Light Emitting Diode. Led headlights to use arrays of individual diodes, semiconductors that emit photons of light when electrical current is passed through them. The LED headlight is more efficient than HID (halogen light) because they put out far more lumens per watt of power consumed, work better as driving light, generate light and light patterns, and spread beams in natural daylight.

Average cost to install HID driving lights and LED driving lights

HID Driving Lights (Halogen driving lights): In some cases, you can upgrade your existing vehicle headlights with a higher wattage bulb. However, for those that want more from their lighting system than just brighter headlights, this is not the ideal option, and the installation will require the services of a qualified mechanic or car electrician. If you decide to go down this route and replace your factory fitted HID light bulb (halogen bulbs) with higher wattage ones, it could cost around $150 - $300 per headlight depending if its a standard halogen bulb or a good quality hid bulbs, depending on the make and car model. There is a particular warm up time for halogen bulbs and free form reflectors which are energy efficient and provide excellent energy efficiency to spread beam and see the road ahead of you with a great light source without using a conversion kit or an arc tube, and arc discharge with electrical input. Another alternative is to purchase brand new Xenon HIDs or halogen globes(around $300) that plug into your stock standard headlight fittings (around $100) and do not require any other modifications to your car. In addition, halogen gas can reduce the amount of evaporation in the filament. LED Driving Lights: This option will give you the best value for money out of the two types of driving lights - LED vs. HID. For around $150 - $300, you can purchase an entire kit, including all wiring and hardware needed to mount driving lights onto your vehicle, as well as using existing headlight fittings that already fit into your headlights. Then there's no need to worry about installation or electrician's bills as this is something you can easily install yourself (no experience required) in around an hour.

Which is better, HID or LED driving lights?

Xenon HIDs offer significantly better light output than any regular halogen bulb. They also work more efficiently, so you can use less wattage to get the same amount of light as a standard halogen. However, we do not recommend this type of lighting upgrade because it requires some thorough electrical handiwork and may not be cost-effective if your car is not already fitted with HIDs.

Both HID and LED lights are precisely what they are shown in lab testing and high voltage environments. Night driving is better with HID as it gets a lower current draw and provides a complete range of light which is many times brighter with longer life. LED's are often used as fog lights as well.

On newer cars that are factory fitted with HIDs, there is no option but to replace the entire headlight assembly if you want an upgrade; however, on older or cheaper cars (and those without existing Xenon HIDs), all you need to do is change out the bulb. These are far more cost-effective, and all you have to do is screw them into place without any other modifications needed.

Pros of LED driving lights

  • Produce light which is similar to daylight = increased visibility at night

  • Much brighter than standard halogen headlights = much-improved visibility

  • Very long lifespan (30,000+ hours) = little to no maintenance required

  • Low power consumption = very economical

Cons of LED driving lights

Cost is higher than regular halogen headlights. However, if you opt for the entire kit, which includes some wiring and hardware, as well as your new driving lights themselves, you will receive great value for money. Some assembly and handiwork are required (no experience necessary). If you opt for the entire kit, which includes some wiring and hardware, as well as your new, LED driving lights themselves, this is very straightforward and can be done within an hour or so.

Comparison between HID vs. LED driving lights: Which is better?

In terms of cost-effectiveness, LED driving lights are a much better solution than upgrading to Xenon HIDs since LEDs are more affordable. They also require no modifications to your car whatsoever, unlike Xenon HIDs that may require pretty thorough electrical work. LED driving lights also offer far better value for money than HIDs in the form of an entire kit. LED lighting is much brighter than standard halogen, too, so it can improve your visibility at night. Other technologies are being used to improve lights at many points and low speeds. You can either choose hid or led according to your needs. However, suppose you already have factory-fitted Xenon HIDs. In that case, there's no other option but to upgrade by replacing your headlight assembly, which will cost around $300 - $400 per headlight depending on the make and model of your car. And again, this may not be cost-effective since it doesn't offer any other benefits apart from being slightly brighter. LED Driving Lights are a great choice because they require minimal handiwork or installation works, meaning they are cost-effective and effortless to install yourself. Xenon HIDs produce almost 3 times as much light as a regular halogen bulb does. However, this may not necessarily be a good thing because it's so bright that you cannot see anything other than exactly what is in front of you - which will likely include oncoming traffic.

Are LED lights better for driving?

LED lights are much brighter than standard headlights and also use less power. These two factors alone mean that LED driving lights can be a significant upgrade to your car's lighting and may improve your visibility on the road at night. However, you should always make sure that they point in the right direction for your car because if beams are misaligned, this will blind oncoming drivers and cause eye fatigue, which is far more dangerous than not seeing anything at all. LED's are commonly used as daytime running lights.

What other headlights can I get?

There are two main types of headlights: halogen and Xenon HIDs. Halogen is the more common kind, and they use standard light bulbs which burn a filament to create light. This has been around for decades, so it's not very bright, but the benefit is that the lights are less expensive since there are no complex parts involved.

Xenon HIDs are much point brighter than regular halogen headlights because they use electricity to stimulate xenon gas inside a tube filled with inert gas. The xenon gas emits ultraviolet light, which reacts with the other chemicals in the line to produce intense white light. As a result, xenon HIDs have some profound benefits over standard halogens - for example, they last longer (up to 3 times as long), produce more light (3 times as much), and use less power (30% to 50% less).

However, Xenon HIDs are relatively expensive because each bulb contains a complex electronic ballast system. This means that you can only buy the entire headlight assembly if you wish to upgrade your headlights which will cost around $300 - $400 per headlight depending on the make and model of your car. The Victorian State Government has a handy guide to fog lights and additional headlights, but check if any laws apply to your state.