Long gone are the days when a blue light in the rearview indicated to a driver the presence of a police cruiser. A combination of improved driver visibility and less power requirements have increased the number of blue headlights drivers see on the road today. Once only used for luxury vehicles, a variety of different types of replacement headlight options have made blue lights a possibility for more drivers.
The first type of blue headlight is a halogen H11 bulb. While halogen has long been used in traditional white bulbs, the blue headlights are using a different manufacturing technology known as High Intensity Discharge or HID. The first application of HID was sodium and mercury vapor lights used as stadium and street lights in outdoor applications. The reason the bulbs have grown in popularity are their substantially increased efficiency compared to standard fluorescent bulbs. The main change needed when implementing the mercury/sodium vapor lighting technology to a headlight application was to reduce the long warm-up time usually required. A combination of a special controller and the incorporation of different types of gas have helped make the headlights more affordable and common. However, due to the complexity of designing and installing HID bulbs prices are still expensive and generally start around $2000 for the initial changeover in a vehicle.
A second option for blue headlights is Xenon bulbs. For most retailers, Xenon based products are the most popular bulb. The Xenon gas is mixed with argon to provide a more cost efficient option and has a very fast response to an electrical current. Installation on Xenon bulbs is generally plug and play and costs begin around $20 per pair.
When buying blue lights, it is important to ensure you do not accidentally purchase fake or painted replacement bulbs. Any type of paint on a bulb is very dangerous and causes a fire hazard; the true blue lights are not blue in paint but due to the energies being consumed to produce the light. The elements (either halogen or xenon) provide a complex light spectrum that is mostly white with a bluish tint. However, as the energies burn faster than traditional light sources, the HID bulbs will commonly have a shorter life and must be replaced more often. Also legal blue headlight options are able to be “tuned” to ensure the focal point of the light is directed into the driver’s lane and not oncoming traffic. Illegal or painted bulbs are not able to be focused and have been degraded by the dying process; consequently instead of improving visibility, the fake lights will reduce the driver’s ability to see and possibly cause the driver to incur a ticket.
For most car owners changing to blue lights will require an aftermarket conversion of some kind. However, some high-end car manufacturers are offering this as a standard option on some cars and trucks. Weather standard for your vehicle or purchased as a safety or aesthetic enhancement, using blue bulbs in your headlight array is sure to improve your safety and cause your vehicle to stand out.