With the continuous development of automotive technology and LED lamps, people’s demand for exterior lighting is slowly increasing. Automotive exterior lighting is no longer limited to illuminating the road, and the proportion of important elements in driving safety, vehicle appearance and personalization is also gradually increasing. In this article, we will discuss in detail how to choose the right best led lights for cars exterior, as well as the various benefits they bring to the vehicle, to help you create a safe and stylish exterior vehicle lighting.
What are exterior LED lamps?
Car LEDs exterior refers to car leds exterior installed on the outside of the car to provide lighting, increase vehicle visibility, improve aesthetics or decoration. There are many types of exterior LED lamps, from basic headlights and taillights to high-end atmosphere lights and light strips, which can meet the different needs of car owners.
6 common exterior LED lamps:
Headlights: It is the most important lighting headlight of a car. It helps us see the road ahead and ensure driving safety at night.
Tail Lights: Not only a red sign in the dark night, but also an all-weather “presence sensor”. When you step on the brake lightly, the high-brightness LED matrix will flicker rapidly like a heartbeat, using a strobe code to transmit a deceleration signal. The latest through-type light strip can even indicate the braking intensity by changing the luminous area.
Daytime Running Lights, DRL: Increase the visibility of the vehicle during the day and reduce the risk of traffic accidents during the day.
Fog Lights: When the front fog lights tear through the rain curtain and project an amber light blanket, the rear fog lights light up a ruby light that is more blazing than the tail lights in the thick fog, and the whole car is like equipped with an optical obstacle-breaking device. Some intelligent systems can even automatically adjust the angle of the light cone according to the amount of rain to avoid reflection of water mist.
Turn Signals: From retro mechanical flashes to cool water light effects, these jumping orange elves are evolving into interactive languages. The three polite strobes when changing lanes, the breathing guidance when roundabouts, and even the double flash resonance when dangerous, make the steel machine also have a civilized communication manner.
Ambient Lighting: It is mostly used to increase the visual effect inside the car, but there are also enthusiasts who need to add adjustable color and brightness ambient light strips on the outside of the car to enhance the personalization of the vehicle.
Advantages of exterior LED lighting
The important reason for choosing exterior vehicle lighting is that it can provide a huge improvement for car owners in terms of safety, appearance and practicality. Let’s take a look at the main advantages of automotive exterior lighting:
High recognition, improving driving safety
Driving safety is no small matter. The high recognition brought by LED lights is especially in the night with poor visibility and rainy and foggy weather. They are like glowing sentinels – the headlights project a clear beam like a full moon, which can not only illuminate the road conditions dozens of meters ahead, but also expose those obstacles lurking in the dark in advance, allowing drivers to obtain a night vision-like observation field of view.
The LED light group at the rear of the car is a mind reader for the driver behind you. When you tap the brake lightly, the eye-catching red light will instantly transmit the braking signal; when you turn on the turn signal, the flowing light strip is like a talking eye, making the intention of changing lanes clear and discernible. And the seemingly low-key daytime running light is actually a reflective vest in the shuttle traffic, especially at the entrance and exit of the tunnel or the backlit road section, which can effectively avoid the misjudgment caused by other drivers due to blind spots.
These intelligent light language systems work together, just like installing a 360° luminous warning strip on the vehicle, so that every trip has its own safety barrier. After all, in the ever-changing road environment, the more likely you are to be seen, the less likely you are to be in danger.
Upgrade of aesthetics and visual effects
In addition to safety, car leds exterior is also a good choice for car owners to decorate and beautify their vehicles. Whether it is adding LED ambient lights or personalizing the car body with LED light strips, LED lamps can provide unique visual effects for vehicles.
Today’s LED modification has long broken through the monotonous lighting function and evolved into a programmable light and shadow canvas. The RGB light strip with Bluetooth control can change color with the rhythm of music, the atmosphere light under the car can switch between ice blue and flame red according to the seasons, and even the colorful light beads in the wheel hub can play the star ring rotation special effect. At the spotlight party of modified car enthusiasts, these intelligent light effects are comparable to the “haute couture dresses” in the automotive industry, making each car a unique light and shadow sculpture.
This visual revolution has even changed the way people interact with cars: a touch of the phone can make the welcome light project a customized pattern on the ground, and voice commands can wake up the flowing turn signal to dance the light ballet. From the neon gradient of cyberpunk to the minimalist glacial cold light of Nordic, LED exterior lights make cars truly an extension of the owner’s personality – after all, in this era of highlighting individuality, even car lights have to speak trendy code.
High energy efficiency and long service life
Compared with traditional halogen and xenon lamps, LED lamps are more energy efficient and can save a lot of electricity while providing brighter lighting. LED exterior lamps also usually last much longer than other types of bulbs, reducing the frequency of bulb replacement for car owners.
LED lamps have a much longer lifespan than halogen and xenon lamps, reducing the hassle and cost of frequent bulb replacement.
Energy saving effect: LED lamps can consume less energy at the same brightness, saving battery and energy expenses for car owners.
How to choose the right LED exterior lamps for your car model?
It is not easy to choose the best led lights for cars exterior that suits your car model. Car owners need to consider multiple factors, such as lamp type, lighting effect, and personal needs of car owners. Here are some selection suggestions:
Original style vs modified style
Original style: If you prefer the original design of the vehicle, choosing original style LED lights is the best choice. Original style exterior LED lamps can perfectly blend with the overall appearance of the vehicle, maintaining a low-key and simple design.
Modified style: If you pursue uniqueness and personalization, you can choose customized LED lamps, such as cool LED light strips, atmosphere lights, etc. This will not only enhance the beauty of the vehicle, but also show personality.
Choice of light color temperature
Car owners can choose the appropriate light color temperature according to the color of their vehicle and personal preferences:
5500K~6500K cold white light is suitable for most modern models, which can improve brightness and provide clear lighting effects.
3000K~4000K warm yellow light is suitable for retro-style models, which can make the vehicle look more warm and comfortable.
Choice of brightness and lumen number
Brightness and lumen number are one of the most important factors when choosing exterior LED lamps. The higher the lumen number, the brighter the lamp. For headlights and fog lights, choosing high-lumen LED lamps can provide a longer lighting distance.
Complete exterior LED lighting upgrade roadmap
If you are ready to start upgrading your vehicle’s exterior lighting, here is a step-by-step exterior lighting upgrade roadmap:
Start with basic lamp upgrades
Upgrade headlights and taillights: First, you can consider upgrading your existing headlights and taillights to LED headlights and LED taillights to improve driving safety and aesthetics.
Upgrade fog lights and daytime running lights: increase brightness and improve driving safety in low-visibility environments.
Add light bars and ambient lights
LED light bars can be added to different parts of the car body to increase visual effects.
Ambient lights can add a sense of modernity and technology, especially RGB light bars, which can be changed according to the owner’s mood and style.
Waterproof grade and durability selection
Choose lamps with IP67 waterproof grade to ensure the stability and durability of the exterior LED lamps in rain, snow and other environments.
How to keep the exterior LED lamps clean and bright?
In order to keep the car leds exterior at the best brightness and effect, regular cleaning and maintenance are very important.
Cleaning and inspection
Clean the lampshade regularly to avoid dust accumulation affecting the light effect.
Check the waterproof seal of the lamp to ensure that no moisture enters.
Protect the transparent cover
Use a protective agent to prevent the transparent cover from being scratched and atomized, keep the lamp clear and transparent, and ensure the best lighting effect.
Rimthin exterior LED lamps recommendation
If you are looking for the best led lights for cars exterior, Rimthin offers some excellent value for money quality exterior LED lamps.
Rimthin LED headlights: provide excellent long-range illumination, improve night driving safety.
Rimthin LED fog lights: suitable for haze or rainy days, help penetrate the fog and improve vision.
