Headlights & car safety

ThankYouJack · Post by **ThankYouJack** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 7:53 pm

Have headlights improved a great amount in the last decade or so?

I never researched headlights when car shopping but I love the lights on my Outback. They're "projector beam low beam and multi-reflector high beam halogen", which I'm guessing is middle of the road(?) (although the fog lights are responsive when turning which is nice).

I was starting to think my night vision was going bad but now realize it was poor lights on my old car. I know there's a lot of threads about car safety on here and I think better headlights is worth significant $.

If someone wants to improve headlights on an old car, what would you recommend?

strafe · Post by **strafe** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 7:58 pm

yes, headlights have improved.

there are aftermarket projector kits for older cars but the quality is often poor.
if your headlights are oxidized (cloudy), polishing them with a plastic polish or headlight restoration kit might improve the situation, though the effect won't be profound.

ThankYouJack · Post by **ThankYouJack** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 8:10 pm

strafe wrote:yes, headlights have improved.

there are aftermarket projector kits for older cars but the quality is often poor.
if your headlights are oxidized (cloudy), polishing them with a plastic polish or headlight restoration kit might improve the situation, though the effect won't be profound.

Thanks for the recommendation. I have some plastic polish on hand so will give it a try to see if that helps

Toons · Post by **Toons** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 8:15 pm

The Halogen headlights on one of my vehicles cover a phenomenal amout of area when night driving.
Nothing I can recall comes close in auto headlights of years ago.

DrippingSprings · Post by **DrippingSprings** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 8:20 pm

The height of your car and therefore the headlights can play a huge role as I discovered when I traded in my mustang which had headlights low to the ground and poor visibility for night driving.

rokidtoo · Post by **rokidtoo** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 8:33 pm

I have automatic high beams on my 2014 Toyota Avalon. A windshield camera detects oncoming headlights and the tail lights of cars I'm following. Although they were an option on my prior 2006 Avalon, they just seemed gimmicky to me. However, now that I actually have them, I love them.

ThankYouJack · Post by **ThankYouJack** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 8:47 pm

rokidtoo wrote:I have automatic high beams on my 2014 Toyota Avalon. A windshield camera detects oncoming headlights and the tail lights of cars I'm following. Although they were an option on my prior 2006 Avalon, they just seemed gimmicky to me. However, now that I actually have them, I love them.

That's a really neat feature that I've never heard of. I also thought my responsive headlights were gimmicky until I saw them in action.

Ron · Post by **Ron** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 10:15 pm

ThankYouJack wrote:
rokidtoo wrote:I have automatic high beams on my 2014 Toyota Avalon. A windshield camera detects oncoming headlights and the tail lights of cars I'm following. Although they were an option on my prior 2006 Avalon, they just seemed gimmicky to me. However, now that I actually have them, I love them.
That's a really neat feature that I've never heard of. I also thought my responsive headlights were gimmicky until I saw them in action.

Actually, the system has been around since the middle of last century:

http://wikicadillac.org/tiki-index.php?page=Guide-Matic

I remember it since my father's '55 Caddy had it (and I was all of seven years old

)...

- Ron

badger42 · Post by **badger42** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 10:58 pm

Headlight lenses also take a lot of damage from years of ozone, UV, and road debris. If the lights seem dinner than they used to be, inspect the plastic! It's a much better deal than a deductible because you didn't see something!

southbay · Post by **southbay** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 12:24 am

strafe wrote:yes, headlights have improved.

there are aftermarket projector kits for older cars but the quality is often poor.
if your headlights are oxidized (cloudy), polishing them with a plastic polish or headlight restoration kit might improve the situation, though the effect won't be profound.

For temporary results, polish them with toothpaste and a wash cloth. The budget method, but it works.

Afty · Post by **Afty** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 1:28 am

Xenon headlights are much better than halogens.

Rodc · Post by **Rodc** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 5:37 am

Polishing out the lens covers can make a huge difference, just depends on how bad you have let them get. DAHIKT

If really bad wet sand with 400, 600, 1000, 2000 wet/dry paper. Much faster than polishing. Can finish up with polishing compound if you want.

Or next time your car is in the shop just ask them to do it. Not that expensive and saves you the time and going to get the materials.

The Wizard · Post by **The Wizard** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 6:24 am

Afty wrote:Xenon headlights are much better than halogens.

My new F-150 will have LED headlights.
They seem rather good standing still, but I'll know more after I take delivery...

Jack FFR1846 · Post by **Jack FFR1846** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 7:01 am

For decades, I have added 2 relays in order to sense that the high beams are on, then turn on the low beams and rhe fog lights. Cheap, low tech solution.

N1CKV · Post by **N1CKV** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 7:49 am

Vehicles used to have glass lenses which were much more durable than the plastic used today. HID lighting provides phenomenal definition and clarity, however it's rare that a retrofit will focus correctly without the use of projectors (read:$$$).

Jack FFR1846 wrote:For decades, I have added 2 relays in order to sense that the high beams are on, then turn on the low beams and rhe fog lights. Cheap, low tech solution.

be careful, in some states (if not all) having more than 4 forward facing white lights on at the same time is illegal. I doubt you will get ticketed unless you failed to dim.

LowER · Post by **LowER** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 8:03 am

Look for LED replacement BULBS, not the whole assembly. They are amazing. Not sure about the legality though.

lthenderson · Post by **lthenderson** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 8:09 am

About three years ago, my then 15 year old car had headlights that made me think I was losing my night vision. I bought one of those polishing kits and it did diddly squat to improve it. So I looked online and found a set of aftermarket headlights that they make for the tuner crowd since my civic falls into their likes. I installed them myself pretty easily and it makes a huge difference in how far I can see at night. As a bonus, it has light rings in it which makes me look "cool" driving around town... in my now 18 year old civic full of dents and a faded monochrome black paint scheme!

gd · Post by gd » Tue Oct 06, 2015 8:32 am

Can't tell you what types of headlights they are, but I often wonder why people coming at me on a narrow, curvy 2-land road think they're safer by blinding oncoming traffic with bright aftermarket (not high beams) headlights.

Ron · Post by **Ron** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 9:00 am

Afty wrote:Xenon headlights are much better than halogens.

I would agree. The '15 I purchased (HID standard) throws out a beam that is superior to any other headlight I've had over the years.

The problem is that they may be a problem to other drivers approaching since they are much brighter (IOW, I'm part of the problem

).

BTW, I had problems for years with other cars approaching, regardless of the type of headlight. I thought they had their high beams on, but when I would "flash" them, they would respond with the actual high beams (and I could hardly see the road). It actually turned out that I was starting to get cataracts and this was a classic symptom of the problem. A few years later (after two cataract surgery's), the problem was resolved.

It's a bit*ch getting old

...

- Ron

strafe · Post by **strafe** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 12:14 pm

gd wrote:Can't tell you what types of headlights they are, but I often wonder why people coming at me on a narrow, curvy 2-land road think they're safer by blinding oncoming traffic with bright aftermarket (not high beams) headlights.

Sounds like the lights weren't properly aimed.
The projector lenses can be much brighter than the old reflectors because they have a sharp cutoff (lower on the driver side) that keeps the light beam low and out of the field of view of oncoming traffic.

RCL · Post by **RCL** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 12:19 pm

My 8 year old Acura has Xenons. I thought those were the best lights available (and they were)
My 2014 car has Led lights, and they are even better than the Xenons!!

Childay · Post by **Childay** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 12:25 pm

The short answer is yes. The xenon HID lights are much better than the halogens which are also much better than old incandescent lights. LED is also becoming more popular.

cherijoh · Post by **cherijoh** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 12:39 pm

gd wrote:Can't tell you what types of headlights they are, but I often wonder why people coming at me on a narrow, curvy 2-land road think they're safer by blinding oncoming traffic with bright aftermarket (not high beams) headlights.

Do you drive a sedan or an SUV? I'm in a sedan and any oncoming SUV blinds me!

Rupert · Post by **Rupert** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 12:46 pm

gd wrote:Can't tell you what types of headlights they are, but I often wonder why people coming at me on a narrow, curvy 2-land road think they're safer by blinding oncoming traffic with bright aftermarket (not high beams) headlights.

They're probably Xenons. I have an Acura with Xenons and people sometimes flash their highbeams at me thinking I have my highbeams on when I don't. They're just really really bright headlights. And they're OEM, not aftermarket.

PowDay · Post by **PowDay** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 1:09 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WvK5WC4ns0

Check out what BMW is doing with laser headlights

ThankYouJack · Post by **ThankYouJack** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 7:34 pm

lthenderson wrote:About three years ago, my then 15 year old car had headlights that made me think I was losing my night vision. I bought one of those polishing kits and it did diddly squat to improve it. So I looked online and found a set of aftermarket headlights that they make for the tuner crowd since my civic falls into their likes. I installed them myself pretty easily and it makes a huge difference in how far I can see at night. As a bonus, it has light rings in it which makes me look "cool" driving around town... in my now 18 year old civic full of dents and a faded monochrome black paint scheme!

Wow, the car that made me think I was losing my night vision too was a 2006 Honda Civic. I saw the ophthalmologist this year and she said my eyes are in great shape and I have 20/15 vision. I tried the plastic polish today but it didn't help me either. Seems like I can get headlight replacements for about $100 / pair. Do you remember which lenses you bought? Was the install pretty simple?

Seems like if anyone has an older Honda Civic this could be something to look out for.

RustyShackleford · Post by **RustyShackleford** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 11:38 pm

ThankYouJack wrote:... I love the lights on my Outback.

I have an Outback (2006). One thing I hate is "daytime running lights". They are something that someone thought would somehow improve safety, that actually are dangerous. The reason: you can think yoru headlights are turned on, but they are not; as a result, your tailights are not turned on at all - pretty dangerous at night.

Fortunately some folks at legacygt.com realized this and figured out how to disable the DRLs. On my car it's as simple as unplugging a little connector under the dashboard - YMMV. Best thing I ever did to the car, besides removing the little electronic chime module - my car never makes noises at me anymore - if I'm too stupid to buckle my seatbelt, too bad.

lthenderson · Post by **lthenderson** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 7:54 am

ThankYouJack wrote:
lthenderson wrote:About three years ago, my then 15 year old car had headlights that made me think I was losing my night vision. I bought one of those polishing kits and it did diddly squat to improve it. So I looked online and found a set of aftermarket headlights that they make for the tuner crowd since my civic falls into their likes. I installed them myself pretty easily and it makes a huge difference in how far I can see at night. As a bonus, it has light rings in it which makes me look "cool" driving around town... in my now 18 year old civic full of dents and a faded monochrome black paint scheme!
Wow, the car that made me think I was losing my night vision too was a 2006 Honda Civic. I saw the ophthalmologist this year and she said my eyes are in great shape and I have 20/15 vision. I tried the plastic polish today but it didn't help me either. Seems like I can get headlight replacements for about $100 / pair. Do you remember which lenses you bought? Was the install pretty simple?

Seems like if anyone has an older Honda Civic this could be something to look out for.

It took me a bit to find them but the nice thing about Amazon, your order history is forever. I bought Spyder Auto Honda Civic Halogen Projector Headlights. I think back then I paid around $100 a pair though they are currently listed for $145. I'll paste a link below.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W4 ... ge_o08_s00

The install was really simple. Just a couple bolts to remove and a couple bolts to install. The trickiest part was finding the wire I should hook the ring lights too so that they just didn't come on with the headlights which had absolutely no effect. I ended up wiring them into the running lights that come on with the first click of the staulk. As far as I can tell, since the aren't bright enough to run except during daylight or early dusk hours, they are for decoration only. I also get about three or four tuner folks asking to buy my car per year.

takeshi · Post by **takeshi** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 12:36 pm

ThankYouJack wrote:Have headlights improved a great amount in the last decade or so?

All of our current vehicles have HID projectors which produce much better light (very even & clearly illuminated with a sharp cutoff to avoid blinding oncoming drivers) than our previous vehicles that were not equipped with them.

ThankYouJack wrote:If someone wants to improve headlights on an old car, what would you recommend?

Depends on what the old car is equipped with and what shape it is in. A restore kit might be sufficient. New bulbs may be in order. Even newer HID's put out less light as the bulbs age. In some cases entirely new headlight assemblies and whatever related parts are required (e.g. ballasts) may be the way to go.

gd wrote:Can't tell you what types of headlights they are, but I often wonder why people coming at me on a narrow, curvy 2-land road think they're safer by blinding oncoming traffic with bright aftermarket (not high beams) headlights.

They're improperly aimed as stated above and/or improperly designed.

ThankYouJack · Post by **ThankYouJack** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 2:20 pm

RustyShackleford wrote:
ThankYouJack wrote:... I love the lights on my Outback.
I have an Outback (2006). One thing I hate is "daytime running lights". They are something that someone thought would somehow improve safety, that actually are dangerous. The reason: you can think yoru headlights are turned on, but they are not; as a result, your tailights are not turned on at all - pretty dangerous at night.

Fortunately some folks at legacygt.com realized this and figured out how to disable the DRLs. On my car it's as simple as unplugging a little connector under the dashboard - YMMV. Best thing I ever did to the car, besides removing the little electronic chime module - my car never makes noises at me anymore - if I'm too stupid to buckle my seatbelt, too bad.

I just stick the headlights in auto. Don't even need to think about anything unless you want high-beams or fog lights on. https://www.joomag.com/magazine/subaru- ... 9?page=192

Does the 2006 not have auto? If not, it could be another thing that has improved with regards to lights.

ThankYouJack · Post by **ThankYouJack** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 2:21 pm

lthenderson wrote:
ThankYouJack wrote:
lthenderson wrote:About three years ago, my then 15 year old car had headlights that made me think I was losing my night vision. I bought one of those polishing kits and it did diddly squat to improve it. So I looked online and found a set of aftermarket headlights that they make for the tuner crowd since my civic falls into their likes. I installed them myself pretty easily and it makes a huge difference in how far I can see at night. As a bonus, it has light rings in it which makes me look "cool" driving around town... in my now 18 year old civic full of dents and a faded monochrome black paint scheme!
Wow, the car that made me think I was losing my night vision too was a 2006 Honda Civic. I saw the ophthalmologist this year and she said my eyes are in great shape and I have 20/15 vision. I tried the plastic polish today but it didn't help me either. Seems like I can get headlight replacements for about $100 / pair. Do you remember which lenses you bought? Was the install pretty simple?

Seems like if anyone has an older Honda Civic this could be something to look out for.
It took me a bit to find them but the nice thing about Amazon, your order history is forever. I bought Spyder Auto Honda Civic Halogen Projector Headlights. I think back then I paid around $100 a pair though they are currently listed for $145. I'll paste a link below.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W4 ... ge_o08_s00

The install was really simple. Just a couple bolts to remove and a couple bolts to install. The trickiest part was finding the wire I should hook the ring lights too so that they just didn't come on with the headlights which had absolutely no effect. I ended up wiring them into the running lights that come on with the first click of the staulk. As far as I can tell, since the aren't bright enough to run except during daylight or early dusk hours, they are for decoration only. I also get about three or four tuner folks asking to buy my car per year.

Thanks, I appreciate it. Looks like those don't match up with the 06 but I'll look for something similar.

lthenderson · Post by **lthenderson** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 2:32 pm

ThankYouJack wrote:Thanks, I appreciate it. Looks like those don't match up with the 06 but I'll look for something similar.

Here's a set for an '06 Civic EX. However, it appears that not all trim levels have the same lights.

http://www.amazon.com/Spyder-Auto-Halog ... +headlight

Khanmots · Post by **Khanmots** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 5:10 pm

strafe wrote:yes, headlights have improved.

there are aftermarket projector kits for older cars but the quality is often poor.
if your headlights are oxidized (cloudy), polishing them with a plastic polish or headlight restoration kit might improve the situation, though the effect won't be profound.

Can be a huge improvement depending on how bad your housings are. I had a friend who could barely see the road at night due to housings that were so yellowed that almost no light got through (they'd just kind of glow rather than cast a beam). I refused to ride with him at night.

Personally, mine were nowhere near as bad but I still noticed a large improvement when I resurfaced mine.

All that said, it needs to be noted that the hazing is mostly the UV-protective coat failing. The sandpaper/polish is for taking it off, then polishing out the scratches you put in the good plastic behind it. Which is one reason you want to use a headlight restoration kit rather than just sand/polish with what you have on hand. Not because of anything special in the sanding or polishing that those kits have, but that they'll have (at least the good ones that you want...) a clear-coat UV protection to apply as the last step. Without it you'll be reworking your headlights every couple of months. With it... well, it's been 4 years and I'm just now thinking I might want to hit mine again (and I'm in Texas, so my car has had a lot of sun).

kaneohe · Post by **kaneohe** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 12:41 pm

Khanmots wrote:
strafe wrote:yes, headlights have improved.

.................................
if your headlights are oxidized (cloudy), polishing them with a plastic polish or headlight restoration kit might improve the situation, though the effect won't be profound.
Can be a huge improvement depending on how bad your housings are. I had a friend who could barely see the road at night due to housings that were so yellowed that almost no light got through (they'd just kind of glow rather than cast a beam). I refused to ride with him at night.

Personally, mine were nowhere near as bad but I still noticed a large improvement when I resurfaced mine.

All that said, it needs to be noted that the hazing is mostly the UV-protective coat failing. The sandpaper/polish is for taking it off, then polishing out the scratches you put in the good plastic behind it. Which is one reason you want to use a headlight restoration kit rather than just sand/polish with what you have on hand. Not because of anything special in the sanding or polishing that those kits have, but that they'll have (at least the good ones that you want...) a clear-coat UV protection to apply as the last step. Without it you'll be reworking your headlights every couple of months. With it... well, it's been 4 years and I'm just now thinking I might want to hit mine again (and I'm in Texas, so my car has had a lot of sun).

Just used the Sylvania headlight restoration kit (supposedly recommended by Popular Mechanics). Seems to work well for now. The question in my mind is the durability of the coating. What lifetime have folks experienced? Supposedly there is a lifetime warranty if you register . Has anyone attempted to collect on the warranty. I know some faucet manufacturers offer lifetime warranties and Price Pfister at least seems to be pretty good about honoring repeated claims tho intermittently (once) requesting a shipping fee.

William4u · Post by **William4u** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 1:19 pm

My Sams Club will do this for about $30. I do my own lights, but it is essential to spray with UV protecting clear coat (any car UV clear coat works) at the end or it will be just as bad within a year or even a month. Waxing the clear coat makes it even more UV resistant.

Once you grind off the outer layer of the headlight, there is no UV protection. UV makes the plastic turn white from clear. If you are usually garaged, the UV will take longer to do the damage.

On another forum that I hang out at, someone mentioned that they had their dull plastic headlights restored at Sam's Club. The cost was $30, and it took about 90 minutes. The kicker is they have UV activated clear coat, a UV light, and offer a 5 year warranty.

I called my local club and they confirmed everything. I've tried the 3M kit myself, and it did make my lights better. But without a clear coat, they were back to dull in about a month.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ub ... n_Availabl

kaneohe · Post by **kaneohe** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 3:46 pm

Consumer Reports review of headlight restoration kits:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/head ... -guide.htm

RustyShackleford · Post by **RustyShackleford** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 6:32 pm

Does the 2006 not have auto? If not, it could be another thing that has improved with regards to lights.

No. But the headlights cannot burn if the car is off, so it's sort of the same thing. Just leave the headlights on all the time, if you don't mind having the headlights on during the daytime.

Personally, I don't like all this automatic crap. Like automatic versus standard transmission, it decouples the driver somewhat from the act of driving, which I think is a bad thing. But hey, it gives you more attention to focus on texting. Just an old fogey, I guess ...

ThankYouJack · Post by **ThankYouJack** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 8:54 pm

kaneohe wrote:Consumer Reports review of headlight restoration kits:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/head ... -guide.htm

Very cool, thanks. I'm going to give one of those a shot. Granted the car isn't driven much at night but will probably be the best $15 I'll ever spend on car safety.

RustyShackleford wrote:
Does the 2006 not have auto? If not, it could be another thing that has improved with regards to lights.
No. But the headlights cannot burn if the car is off, so it's sort of the same thing. Just leave the headlights on all the time, if you don't mind having the headlights on during the daytime.

Personally, I don't like all this automatic crap. Like automatic versus standard transmission, it decouples the driver somewhat from the act of driving, which I think is a bad thing. But hey, it gives you more attention to focus on texting. Just an old fogey, I guess ...

You should go test drive a new one that's loaded. I bet you'll quickly like a lot of the auto crap -- I sure do, especially adaptive cruise control, auto braking, pin code access, gps, big touch screen, adaptive lights, x-mode, bluetooth, seat memory, climate control, backup camera, lane departure, heated seats, keyless access, push start, auto light gate, cross traffic alert. It sure does make it a nice, safe car to drive. My other car is 20 years older and doesn't have any of that auto-crap -- the radio barely works on the thing. It is much more fun to drive, but for me there's a big difference between fun to drive and nice to drive with cars. Fun = manual transmission sports car....Nice = luxury, safe, ease of use

Similar to driving drunk, if people are going to text while driving, they'll do it regardless of what car they're in.

kaneohe · Post by **kaneohe** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 9:59 pm

ThankYouJack wrote:
kaneohe wrote:Consumer Reports review of headlight restoration kits:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/head ... -guide.htm

Very cool, thanks. I'm going to give one of those a shot. Granted the car isn't driven much at night but will probably be the best $15 I'll ever spend on car safety.

You may also want to look up the Sylvania product on amazon.com and check out the reviews. Sylvania has a lifetime warranty.....whatever that means...........if you register after you buy the product. The CR Review rated the Sylvania product very highly. Most of the reviews on Amazon suggest that the practical lifetime might not be as good as CR's for whatever reason. If you have a Sam's Club near you, somewhere I read that some of them will do the headlight restoration for $30 w/ a 5 yr warranty. If you compare buying the product only for $20 vs having them do the whole job for $30, that sounds interesting to me........unfortunately no Sam's Club in the neighborhood.

RustyShackleford · Post by **RustyShackleford** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 10:29 pm

ThankYouJack wrote:You should go test drive a new one that's loaded.

Ok, but I'm going to try to get 1/4 million miles out of this one first. Already in the sextuple digits ...

c078342 · Post by **c078342** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 4:24 pm

Once again, the Feds are interfering with advanced European technology that provide better lighting.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture ... ight-tech/

If they would just get out of the way ...

Khanmots · Post by **Khanmots** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 1:49 pm

kaneohe wrote:Just used the Sylvania headlight restoration kit (supposedly recommended by Popular Mechanics). Seems to work well for now. The question in my mind is the durability of the coating. What lifetime have folks experienced? Supposedly there is a lifetime warranty if you register . Has anyone attempted to collect on the warranty. I know some faucet manufacturers offer lifetime warranties and Price Pfister at least seems to be pretty good about honoring repeated claims tho intermittently (once) requesting a shipping fee.

That's the one that I used.

My car was about 6 years old when I resurfaced my headlight with the Sylvania kit. I probably should have resurfaced a bit sooner. But I didn't let it go nearly as far as so many I see in the parking lots...

I didn't notice any real degradation for the first couple years. Somewhere between 2-3 years or so I started seeing some, and now I'm at about year 4 and while I don't think it's as bad as I let the factory coating get I'm thinking I want to resurface again.

So based on what I'm seeing, I'd say that their coating lasts somewhere around 75% as well as the factory one.

The kit cost me $20 or something, I didn't bother to keep any paperwork associated with it nor bothered trying to file for the warranty. For me the big "cost" is in the labor. Last time I did it all with elbow grease and it's a lot of sanding! I may see if I can borrow a random orbital sander this time though...

kaneohe · Post by **kaneohe** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:04 pm

Khanmots wrote:
kaneohe wrote:Just used the Sylvania headlight restoration kit (supposedly recommended by Popular Mechanics). Seems to work well for now. The question in my mind is the durability of the coating. What lifetime have folks experienced? Supposedly there is a lifetime warranty if you register . Has anyone attempted to collect on the warranty. I know some faucet manufacturers offer lifetime warranties and Price Pfister at least seems to be pretty good about honoring repeated claims tho intermittently (once) requesting a shipping fee.
That's the one that I used.

My car was about 6 years old when I resurfaced my headlight with the Sylvania kit. I probably should have resurfaced a bit sooner. But I didn't let it go nearly as far as so many I see in the parking lots...

I didn't notice any real degradation for the first couple years. Somewhere between 2-3 years or so I started seeing some, and now I'm at about year 4 and while I don't think it's as bad as I let the factory coating get I'm thinking I want to resurface again.

So based on what I'm seeing, I'd say that their coating lasts somewhere around 75% as well as the factory one.

The kit cost me $20 or something, I didn't bother to keep any paperwork associated with it nor bothered trying to file for the warranty. For me the big "cost" is in the labor. Last time I did it all with elbow grease and it's a lot of sanding! I may see if I can borrow a random orbital sander this time though...

K......appreciate the feedback. Guess I'll keep thinking positively. Some(most?) of the Amazon feedback was not as positive.....will mentally write it
off as technique not as thorough/careful as ours

. .....still.......crossing fingers.

Khanmots · Post by **Khanmots** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 3:20 pm

kaneohe wrote:K......appreciate the feedback. Guess I'll keep thinking positively. Some(most?) of the Amazon feedback was not as positive.....will mentally write it
off as technique not as thorough/careful as ours . .....still.......crossing fingers.

Personally I remind myself that replacing the headlight assemblies would cost me $450-500 for the parts, and a few hours of my labor. Resurfacing every now and then doesn't save me the labor... but does save me 95% of the cost! Even if I was only getting 1-2 years outta a resurfacing it'd still be well worth it.

Bob B · Post by **Bob B** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 4:45 pm

My 2014 Corolla has LED headlamps and I like them very much. Bright and a wide field of view. Once in a while somebody coming towards me on a dark two lane road will blink their highs at me, so the LED's may be a little too bright to them. Of course, they will likely be more costly to replace than the old fashioned bulbs.

I have used this to clean oxidized lenses and it works great - Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit (about $21). Available at just about any auto supply store.

Epsilon Delta · Post by **Epsilon Delta** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 4:56 pm

Bob B wrote:Of course, they will likely be more costly to replace than the old fashioned bulbs.

LEDs should have a life span of well over 10,000 hours.
You'll probably never have to replace them, bar a crash or a shopping cart.

wander · Post by **wander** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 5:14 pm

I think some car headlights are too bright and I feel like a lot of drivers using main beam but they are actually Xenon headlights. I could be wrong or my eyes are aging.

Ricola · Post by **Ricola** » Tue Oct 13, 2015 12:32 pm

Couple of comments:

1. I have a 23 yr old Volvo and purchased some heavy plastic lens covers that snap over the existing headlights. They have been on for about 14 yrs and the headlights are still perfectly clear. Wish they sold these for newer cars, believe the ones I have came from Australia.

2. Brighter lights are not necessarily the best idea. Brighter lights help you see only what is in the range of the lights, but hurt peripheral and vision beyond the headlight range. The brighter lights will cause the eye iris or lens to close and not let as much light in. The military trains to use very little light so that the iris will open wider to pick up more light and improve peripheral and longer range object. You can try this some time while driving at night on a highway by reducing the amount of headlights by turning off the fogs lights, which are not necessary for normal driving anyway, that is unless you have really bad headlights. Your eye's lens will gradually open more and you will be able to see more in every directions and especially longer distance outside the range of you headlights.

randomguy · Post by **randomguy** » Tue Oct 13, 2015 2:28 pm

c078342 wrote:Once again, the Feds are interfering with advanced European technology that provide better lighting.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture ... ight-tech/

If they would just get out of the way ...

The counterpoint would be if there are any flaws in that system, you are driving around with your high beams on. Personally I am not going to lose too much sleep if they take a couple of years to make sure they test it and get it right. Granted we are rapidly coming up on the couple of year mark:)

It should be pointed out that adaptive headlights (the ones that move with the steering wheel) have been shown to reduce accidents by 10%. Not a ton of cars have them (they tend to be a 1k+ option depending on how they get bundled).

c078342 · Post by **c078342** » Wed Jun 28, 2017 4:03 pm

randomguy wrote:
c078342 wrote:Once again, the Feds are interfering with advanced European technology that provide better lighting.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture ... ight-tech/

If they would just get out of the way ...
The counterpoint would be if there are any flaws in that system, you are driving around with your high beams on. Personally I am not going to lose too much sleep if they take a couple of years to make sure they test it and get it right. Granted we are rapidly coming up on the couple of year mark:)

It should be pointed out that adaptive headlights (the ones that move with the steering wheel) have been shown to reduce accidents by 10%. Not a ton of cars have them (they tend to be a 1k+ option depending on how they get bundled).

Not sure how you are equating "flaws" with high beams, but ... Do you really think the moribund Feds are more knowledgeable about lighting than auto manufacturers? I have a bridge for sale that you might be interested in.