Halogen, Xenon, and LED Headlights Differences

How much brighter are LED headlights than xenon or halogen?

Joseph Lucas of electrical component manufacturing fame is often quoted as saying, “A gentleman does not motor about after dark.” That’s with regard to the fact that automobiles equipped with his company’s electrical components often had lighting failures. Whether he actually said as much is up for debate, but now we don’t have to worry about such things. Lighting on cars today is about as reliable as anything else, but your choice now (instead of the tongue-in-cheek off/flicker/dim settings on a Lucas switch) is whether you want traditional halogen lighting, Xenon, or new-fangled LEDs.

What’s the difference, anyway? Lighting is just lighting, and it doesn’t really matter, right? Well, next time you’re night driving your fancy new sports car in the forest somewhere secluded without street lights, you might change your tune.

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In the video above, we can see a marked difference between the three varieties of light. Our host, Nick Murray, starts out with his daily driver Volkswagen Golf with traditional halogens. Next Nick tests out the lumens emitted by his recently acquired 991.2 Carrera 4S with Xenon lights. The 991.2 also has an optional set of LED headlamps, which his friend’s car is spec’d with, making this the final of the three tests. A light meter is used to determine which of the three is brightest in both low beam and high beam configuration.

It’s phenomenal how much of a difference is made by the three different styles of lighting. We never knew just how bright an LED headlamp could be, but a 40% increase in lumens over the already intense Xenon is a big jump. A difference like that could be responsible for you seeing an errant deer a few precious feet earlier. That brighter headlight could save your car, an innocent deer, and your insurance premiums.

What do you think, is the huge price tag for LEDs worth it?