Archive for December, 2010
Changing Your Headlight Bulbs: A Guide To The Most Commonly Asked Car Bulb Questions
If you are looking to buy replace or even upgrade your headlight bulbs there seems to be an immense amount of advice available. Typically the amount of information that is passed down through word of mouth can be confusing and so listed below are some of these most commonly asked questions and answers.
Should I buy and replace headlight bulbs in pairs?
Yes. This makes good common sense advice for two reasons. Firstly if one of your headlight bulbs has blown it is very likely that the other one will go fairly soon so if you have taken the effort of changing one bulb you might as well change the other whilst your at it and then you will not have to repeat the process for a considerable time.
The other reason for changing headlight bulbs in pairs is because as a bulb gets towards the end of its life its light performance is not at its optimum level and so installing one brand new headlight bulb whilst leaving the other old bulb in place will cause a light imbalance meaning you are not getting the best light performance from your headlight bulbs.
Can I touch the glass when changing the headlight bulbs?
No. No matter how clean your hands are when you touch the glass you will leave a residue of some of your skins natural oils. When the headlight bulb is illuminated this oil creates a hot spot on the glass and can lead to the bulb failing much earlier than expected.
Top car bulb manufacturers now use toughened quartz glass in their bulbs and so this hotspot issue is not such a factor as it used to be. However it is still good practice to wear latex gloves when handling headlight bulbs to ensure you get the best service life from them.
My car has plastic headlight lenses does it matter which headlight bulbs I buy?
Yes. If you install headlight bulbs that do not have special UV filtered glass it will very quickly discolour and eventually damage the plastic lenses. Therefore if you do have plastic lenses on your vehicle make sure the headlight bulbs you buy have special UV cut glass this will normally be labelled clearly on the packaging.
If I want brighter headlights on the road can I fit high wattage headlight bulbs?
No. Whilst high wattage headlight bulbs can be over twice as bright as standard bulbs they are not legal on public roads. This is because the incredible bright light they produce can easily temporarily blind on coming drivers.
If you are looking to improve your headlights you should install upgrade headlight xenon bulbs these are identical to your existing bulbs but are filled with xenon gas and so emit up to 90 more light and best of all they are completely road legal.
Is the owner’s manual the best way to find out what headlight bulbs are fitted to my vehicles?
Yes and No. Normally the owner’s manual will give you accurate information about which type of bulbs you have fitted to your vehicle and their location. However during a production run vehicle manufacturers do sometimes change the specification design or parts supplier and so the subsequent bulbs used may differ from the original manual.
Therefore the best way to find out which type of headlight bulbs have been fitted to your vehicle is to remove them and check it visually. Normally the bulb type is printed on the bulbs base.
Buying and replacing your headlight bulbs should normally be a straightforward job however as is the case with most technical items being armed with the right information will help you make the decision easier. Fitting the right headlight bulbs correctly will not only save you money in the long run but also make night driving safer and less stressful.
About the writer: Jo Alexander is an online freelance journalist and keen windsurfer. Jo lives by the sea in Essex.
Cars! Cant Live With Them Sell! Cant Live Without Them Buy!!
Cars! Can’t live with them Sell! can’t live without them Buy!! But it can be great fun looking and searching for a new or used car. It can also be frustrating if you can not get the deal you are after.
Whether you are looking to buy or sell a car if you live in the U.K. make sure you make a quick detour to BuyYourCar.co.uk This is one of the most comprehensive automotive sites to be found on the internet: onestop shopping at it’s very best!
If you are looking to sell your car why not use the power of the internet? In under five minutes and for less than 10 you’ll be able to set up your own listing with photo and advertise it instantly to thousands of people.
Not sure how to word your ad? Not sure how to price your car for sale? Look at the menu on the left hand side and follow the very helpful Selling Advice listed there.
Need a car? Not exactly sure what type of automobile you’d like? Need to know how it compares to other vehicles in the same class? Click on the Car Reviews tab and get the information you need as to which car is best for your needs.
Don’t want to spend a lot of money? Look into the Used Cars section and you will be amazed at what is available. There is an enormous selection of used cars offered at the best prices by both private sellers and used car dealerships.
Need financing? The Car Loans tab provides easy access to obtaining a loan quote designed to fit your needs in three easy steps.
Whether you are looking to purchase a new car or used car BuyYourCar makes it so simple even your Great Aunt Gertie could find her dream car here! If it’s listed as one of the new car best discounts she might actually save enough to take an extra holiday!
If you don’t want to purchase a car outright you might want to look into car leasing and contract hire as an option?. Each new vehicle comes with a full U.K. warranty and the low lease rates might surprise you Great Aunt Gertie won’t be surprised: she already knows how great the discounted prices are here!. Perhaps you can afford to drive that new dream car of your own!
How do they do this? By working with Franchised Dealers and Car Brokers all across the U.K. BuyYourCar is able to get the low discounts necessary to offer the very best new car prices you will find on the internet.
Alright thenyou’ve made your choice and now have the car you wanted. Only one thing left to do: now you need to get insurance so that you can actually drive away in your vehicle. Wait what is that over to the right of the site? Incredible! There is even a section set up on BuyYourCar so you can get a car insurance quote.
BuyYourCar goes above and beyond in taking that extra step in providing you with what other sites often fail to: outstanding customer service by anticipating everything their customers might need.
About the writer: Dan Phillips is an expert in online automotive sales leasing and site reviews. For additional car buying information go to http://www.buyyourcar.co.uk
Car Parts: Too Important To Overlook
One of the vehicles that is liked world over are cars. Hugely popular they are supremely useful as well. No wonder then that people from very early on have been smitten by this gorgeous machine. Every new arrival causes a flutter amongst people who just want to own the new version at any cost. It would not be wrong to say that it is this fascination of people that has led to so many variations being added into this glorious machine. However it is ironic that people don’t pay enough attention to car accessories or car parts. Components on whom hinge the success of any car. It is because of this negligence that many a cars don’t perform to their optimum level. Indeed the role of car parts in the smooth functioning of a car simply cannot be ruled out.
A few examples would explain the point pretty nicely. Take the case of car mats. Its utility cannot be doubted but it gets almost no attention from the paying public. It protects the car from dust and water and also provides cushion to the feet. If a poor quality mat is used instead then the purpose with which mats are bought would either be defeated or to a great extent compromised. Similar is the case with silencer. It is essential that good quality silencers are used or else the noise that the car would produce would be unbearable. One must understand that by compromising on essential car parts people might save on little bit of money but they would be compromising big time on the functioning of their car.
Another car accessory that does not get as much attention as it should are spare parts. Those different nuts and bolts that one gets from dealers at the time of purchasing the car. These are vitally important as well for there are times when a particular nut has to be used and one does not have that with him. Important work in such cases come to a halt.
Above mentioned points just emphasize the importance of car parts and the need of taking it seriously. If a little bit of care is taken in this department than the performance of cars would enhance greatly.
About the writer: Garry Kelkar is an expert writer having perfection in automobile industry and presently writing on car accessories topics like car horns car fog lights car heaters car audio and so forth.
