We started this site because we love great looking and personalized vehicles, just like you! Considering that headlights play an integral part in any vehicles' appearance,  we too had questions about all the different brands and types of vehicle headlight bulbs available out there. Of course, when we first tried to find answers way-back-when on other sites and such, we found info that was either irrelevant or just plain untrue. So, consider this page a tribute to headlight bulbs (lame, we know :D ) and all the true and useful information about them. If we missed something, please let us know >>>

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Sylvania General Use- Clear glass lens results in usual yellow-tinted light

PIAA Super White- Lite violet coat on glass lens results in white light

PIAA Xtreme White- Lite blue coat on glass lens w/ XTRA results in ultra-white light

Nokya Arctic White- Intense blue coat on glass lens results in white light w/ blue tone

PIAA Super Plasma- Metallic coating reflects in headlight creating HID-like color effect

PIAA Plasma Ion Yellow- Plasma  yellow coat on glass lens results in vivid yellow light found mostly on higher-end European automobile models

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What classifies a bulb as yellow, white, purple, or blue?

What does "DOT Approved // Street-Legal" mean on bulb packages?

If the bulbs are not DOT approved, will I get in trouble for using them?

How long will Nokya, PIAA and Sylvania bulbs last in my vehicle?

How come Nokya bulbs shine blue/white and PIAA bulbs shine white?

Sure the looks rock, but how are blue and white bulbs better/safer than yellow?

What's the difference between Sylvania Cool Blue, Nokya Arctic White and PIAA?

You claim cars in the U.S. use yellow bulbs, but all I see is white, so what's up?

I see things like 55W=85W on the Nokya and PIAA pages; can you explain this?

Can any of the PIAA and Nokya brand bulbs affect my headlight system's wiring?

I've seen some other brands on other sites- why don't you carry them?

If you could use any bulb on your site (and we do), which would it be and why?

Xtended Answer Questions:

I want to install a new fog light set (like PIAA)- got any opinions on the idea?

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What classifies a bulb as yellow, white, purple, or blue?

Essentially, every bulb is based around your average yellow headlight bulb, which is practically any bulb you will find in the average auto super-store. These are bulbs that have perfectly clear glass lenses and when you power them on, they shine a bright yellow light. Just like fire glows red/yellow at low temperatures and blue/white at higher temperatures, bulbs act the same way. The more wattage a bulb uses, the brighter [and whiter] it will be. The average store-bought bulbs shine yellow light because they have low wattages with no "designer" brand technologies. That's where PIAA and Nokya come in; both of those brands have taken multiple steps to make their bulbs better, more powerful- and they do it by changing the lens color and wattage. Nokya and PIAA both have found a way to increase light output (i.e. wattage) without requiring the bulb to demand more power from your system, which is the first step in creating a white light. Next, PIAA applies special lite blue and violet coatings on their bulbs to result in their signature Super and Xtreme White light. Nokya goes with the same blue and violet coatings, but applies them in a deeper, more intense color, which still results in a bright white light, but with a cool lite blue or lite purple tone.

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What does "DOT Approved // Street-Legal" mean on bulb packages?

Automotive products sold in the U.S. "should" meet the Department of Transportation's approval to be street-legal in all 50 states. What this means is that if an item is not DOT approved, it may be legal for street use (as opposed to show use) in one state and not in another. While all of our bulbs from Sylvania are DOT approved, most PIAA Super White and Xtreme White bulbs are also DOT approved. Nokya, APC and some PIAA Super Plasma/Plasma GT lines may not be DOT approved in all states.

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If the bulbs are not DOT approved, will I get in trouble for using them?

Almost all Nokya, APC and PIAA bulbs resemble the look of "specialty" headlight systems found in some of today's newest vehicles. Although it's true they are not all DOT approved, you should not let this worry you (though we still have a liability statement). These non-DOT approved brands are among the most popular after-market specialty items and their use is only growing. We can honestly (really!) say that we have never [ever] heard of any legal issue arising from the use of these bulbs, which as we say, look just like most of the [Xenon and projector] lights you see being factory-installed on new luxury vehicles. The overall point here is why would anyone notice non-HID bulbs when the BMW next to you is lighting up the entire street w/HID?

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How long will Nokya, PIAA and Sylvania bulbs last in my vehicle?

Though autothing.com only guarantees all bulb lines for 30 days, you can easily expect your bulbs to last around a year, but this "guesstimate" may be much higher or lower and here's why: autothing.com has no control over how long your bulbs are used or what kind of environment they are exposed to. If one driver only uses his/her bulbs during the nighttime, and another driver uses them during the daylight hours as well (we still can't explain how people rationalize using headlights in broad daylight, lol), obviously the latter driver will have bulbs that only last half as long. Now you can see what we mean about the big "unknown" factor when it comes to bulb lifespan.

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How come Nokya bulbs shine blue/white and PIAA bulbs shine white?

If you weren't impressed by autothing's really cheesy attempt at advertising, here's a follow-up lesson: "Step up! Go blue with Nokya!" and "Go Super White with PIAA!" Hey, we never said we were cool- just the autothings are! Anyways, PIAA bulbs shine white because they are lightly coated with either blue or violet and their light output is at a higher wattage, which inherently means the light will be white and not yellow. Meanwhile, Nokya bulbs have a slightly lower output wattage which when combined with a very intense blue (or purple) coating, creates a stunning bright white light with a lite blue tone (or purple, depending on the Nokya Arctic bulb type).

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Sure the looks rock, but how are blue and white bulbs better/safer than yellow?

Before we give our reasons, you should just ask Audi, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes and Porsche- they all have crossed over into the world of bright white lighting. Sure they use very expensive $2,000 HID (High Intensity Discharge) systems, but since you love the look and aren't about to invest two grand in your Chevy, Dodge, or whatever, Nokya and PIAA bulbs offer an equally great look at a really sweet price. The reason the luxury brands use white lighting is because come nighttime, you can see everything that you've been missing before. We know that sounds a bit corny, but we at autothing.com personally use Nokya Arctic White brand bulbs and "WOW!" On the highway, all the signs reflect beautifully and are so easy to read. On long dark stretches, those little reflective pads they're putting into roads lately reflect so far ahead, that you'll see exactly where the road is taking you. In city and suburban situations, these bulbs give a vibrant and crisp look to everything they shine upon. Sure yellow bulbs try to do the same, but yellow light is simply not as well reflected as white or blue/white light is by nighttime objects. Let us mention that even during the day, bulbs like the Nokya Arctics still manage to shine a blue/white light- really!

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What's the difference between Sylvania Cool Blue, Nokya Arctic White and PIAA?

Although the name implies a blue color, Sylvania Cool Blue bulbs are NOT blue; they simply shine white light at a lower wattage than the PIAA brand bulbs just like the Sylvania SilverStars. As for those PIAA bulbs, they shine a bright white light with increased output thanks to some nifty PIAA-exclusive technologies, such as XTRA and Super/Xtreme White. And finally, the Nokya Arctic White bulbs, which shine a bright white light with a lite blue tone (all thanks to an intense blue coating on the bulb).

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You claim cars in the U.S. use yellow bulbs, but all I see is white, so what's up?

Don't let your eyes fool you, because up until a few years ago, every car did in fact use the same yellow bulbs and no one probably even knew they were seeing yellow light, not white. Simply pay attention when you drive at night and look for headlights that catch your eye- they're probably white, blue or purple! Yeah, that's the only proof we have to validate our claim the average car still uses the average yellow bulb. Try this! Next time you are driving at night and have the ability to drive near a vehicle with white headlights, try to pull equally alongside and view that driver's perspective. This is one way you can see the color difference and how much better a road lit with white looks!

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I see things like 55W=85W on the Nokya and PIAA pages; can you explain this?

Both Nokya and PIAA bulbs use special technologies that allow their bulbs to take standard power from a headlight system and transform it into a high-output bulb in terms of lighting power, or wattage (W). When you see 55W=85W on our Nokya and PIAA pages, the 55W means the bulb can substitute any normal 55W bulb you could buy at your average auto super-store, and the 85W means that specific Nokya or PIAA bulb will shine with the light output of an 85W bulb (even though they require 55W just like any average bulb). It's this kind of technology that make these bulbs way better!

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Can any of the PIAA and Nokya brand bulbs affect my headlight system's wiring?

Please read the FAQ immediately above also, which explains that as long as you choose the correct [stock] bulb wattage for your headlight system's wiring harness (where you plug in the replacement bulb), everything should be fine. For example, the PIAA Super White H3 bulb comes as a 55W=85W model and an 85W=130W model. Most vehicles can safely accept only the first model, 55W=85W. The latter model is a high-wattage style with an actual wattage rating of 85W, which means your headlight system must be already set-up to accept this increased wattage.

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I've seen some other brands on other sites- why don't you carry them?

You've probably seen names like Vestec, Altezza, and a number of other after-market brands for specialty headlight bulbs. However, this site is not about selling everything "just to sell." We actually try what we like first and if something sucks, we're not going to offer it to you. Don't take that the wrong way, because this site is where you rule- meaning it's your style and likes that count. Unfortunately, bulbs are one of those things that you don't really know how they look until they're all fired up in your very own car, truck, and SUV. That's why we take the trust you put in us very seriously (in a non-serious sort of way, lol) and test bulb brands before we offer them. After doing this on many different brands, we found that the distinctively different Nokya and PIAA bulb brands offer the best of all the bulb styles available today.

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If you could use any bulb on your site (and we do), which would it be and why?

Oh, too easy! Nokya Arctic White series bulbs are our favorites and we have received many responses from customers who were very surprised at how great these look, which we always appreciate (keep em' coming!) We do in fact use these on our own vehicles and if you appreciate our honest answer, it's because they're so darn affordable and so utterly beautiful at nighttime. We have not yet found a pair of bulbs that gives such a cool looking white light with a lite blue tone. Check em' out >>>

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I want to install a new fog light set (like PIAA)- got any opinions on the idea?

Although we don't [yet] offer them on the site, we've installed a few sets on our vehicles and we do love them, but if you go with a brand like PIAA, be prepared to PAY A LOT just for the set itself and MANY MORE THINGS in the future. We admit that we did not ask enough questions when we first got our example PIAA fog light set, the 1700 Series (it cost one of us here at autothing.com about $235 + $60 for professional installation). Did we love it at first?- oh yeah. Why drive the "cool" way with your headlights off and parking lights on when you can add a set of bright white fog lamps to look really menacing on the road, lol.

After a few months and a road-trip or two, the bulbs of the fog light assembly were getting cracked lenses! That's right ladies and gentlemen of all ages, it seems that even the smallest pebble traveling at 40-60mph can have an unfortunate effect on your fog light bulbs. Before we go on, remember that factory installed fog lights have bulbs hidden BEHIND a plastic or glass casing which protects them. PIAA, which is the best brand you can buy doesn't, and the bulbs still cracked, which just goes to warn you how often this will happen with a cheaper set from your local auto store.

But back to the cracking issue... The bulb lenses usually cracked just enough so that air and humidity entered them, rendering their great lighting abilities useless (fancy way of saying they burned out prematurely). Not only is getting them professionally replaced about $15 per bulb, but the bulbs themselves are really expensive (a fact nobody mentioned when we bought em', though we should have asked...) Whether you buy them online or at your local auto specialty store, the 1700 Series bulbs [for example] cost at least $40! So, you can imagine the annoyance and additional costs when one cracks every few months, lol...

So what do we recommend after our mediocre experience with just one of our PIAA fog light sets? BUY CHEAP!! Don't buy any premium-grade fog light system that costs over $50 and if you do, you better be prepared to spend in the future on individual bulbs and installation (not including unforeseen wiring repairs). Just go to your local auto chain-store and get a "cheapie" fog light system which should cost around $40 and the replacement bulbs should be easy to come by and affordable when you need them (make sure you check this first though). As mentioned earlier, even if the cheaper set cracks a bit more, you at least won't feel ripped-off after spending too much.

That concludes our extended fog light opinion and seriously, even if all that sounds like fog lights are a big pain (financially at least), they are one of the coolest ways to make your vehicle look great. They add to the "head-turn factor" of any vehicle and trust us, you will keep them on all the time! Any other questions? Let us know >>>