Light bulbs

[JimT]

Interesting question. So, I turned to Google and Wikipedia for some help.

As to the different types of lights, it largely depends what is available for your vehicle, usually aftermarket.

LED lights are still fairly new, use a little less power then other types, are in between HID and Halogen for brightness and don't naturally produce heat to melt snow or evaporate water (Some have secondary ways to providing heat, such as redirecting heat from the heatsink). Didn't see any mention of whether they would work in existing lights or would need a retrofit.

HID bulbs are the brightest, but naturally produce a white almost blue-ish looking light that many drivers complain creates too much glare. They run on AC therefore require some kind of ballast to convert the DC to AC. That means you can't just switch from a halogen bulb to an HID bulb without some kind of retrofit.

Halogen bulbs are about half the brightness of HID and use a little more power. They are also the cheapest and most readily available.

There are some other types, but they probably don't apply to what's available for our trucks.

So, how bright can you legally go? Well, somewhere in FMVSS No. 108 it states the maximum brightness for vehicle lighting, however my brain shut off part way in to reading that. Additional google searching revealed the federal limit as between 20,000 to 75,000 candela. Then many states have their own limits of headlight brightness, such as New York which limits it to 32 candle power (less then a home light bulb). And in case you're confused, a "candela" is a "modern" unit of measurement that roughly equates to the outdated unit of "candle power".

As for differences in actual bulbs, that I don't know. I've only used 2 different brands so far in my tractor (GE and Philips) and I don't have a clear winner. One of my headlights is always dimmer then the other so I'll probably look into replacing the lens/assembly (about $400) eventually.

Hope this was at least marginally helpful. I know I learned something researching it. I'd also love to hear other's thoughts and experiences, especially with different brands of bulbs and different types of lights, such as aftermarket HID or LED.