Projector Vs Reflector Headlights

Most car owners do not have a choice what type of headlight units their vehicle has.

There are always ways to modify or change your headlights but before considering any modifications, read through the differences between projector and reflector headlights.

Here you will see the pro’s and con’s of both headlight units designed to help you understand what your headlights do.

Quick Navigation

– What Are Projector Headlights
– What Do Projector Headlights Look Like
– Benefits Of Projector Headlights
– What Are Reflector Headlights
– What Do Reflector Headlights Look Like
– Benefits Of Reflector Headlights
– TL/DR The Conclusion

The concept of projector headlights have been around since 1911 and although the idea is over 100 years old, the design was never commercially introduced until the early 1980’s.

Projector headlights use an ellipsoidal lens with the purpose of projecting a clean cut beam pattern that minimises the risk of obscuring the vision of oncoming traffic.

What Do Projector Headlights Look Like?

At first glance, projector headlights are really easy to spot.

When looking at your headlights head on you will see a fishbowl lens that is positioned in front of the headlight bulb.

Benefits Of Projector Headlights

Many drivers prefer having a vehicle with projector headlights as they are considered visually appealing and have a few benefits over reflector headlights.

• More focused beam pattern
• Will not blind other road users
• No dark spots
• Significantly brighter in a focused spot than reflector headlights

Reflector headlights are another type of headlight unit that your vehicle may be manufactured with.

They are generally smaller than projector headlights in depth and are cheaper to produce.

What Do Reflector Headlights Look Like?

Reflector headlights are quite recognisable due to their dome interior.

The optics to distribute the light in the desired pattern are designed into the reflector and can often be completely bespoke to your vehicle make or model.

Benefits Of Reflector Headlights

As opposed to projector headlights, reflectors can’t really compare very well in terms of both style and performance. The main benefits for having reflector headlights would be that they are cheaper to produce and aren’t as deep as projector headlights.

Unfortunately you can’t really choose what type of headlights your vehicle has. There are ways to alter this by retro fitting headlights to your vehicle but keep in mind that this can often cause errors.

It Doesn’t Matter What Type Of Headlight Unit You Have

After nearly 20 years in the automotive industry, ABD has always came to the same conclusion. No headlight unit is truly better as they both have their pro’s and con’s.

You Still Get The Same Amount Of Light Output

Projector vs reflector headlights has always been a big discussion between car owners but at the end of the day, you still get the same amount of light output from both methods.

Both types of headlight units are simply different methods of directing light so let’s use an example.

For arguments sake, we’re going to say both vehicles and environments are exactly the same. The only difference will be the headlight units.

If we put a brand new pair of H7 Night Breaker Lasers in our dipped beam and turn on our lights, we would still get the same amount of light output and brightness. As you can see from the example below, the only difference would be the width of the beam pattern.

The Best Outcome

For the best results, it shouldn’t matter what type of headlight units you have but instead you should keep on top of their maintenance.

Car cleaning products are essential and making sure you have the best car bulbs possible will always be better than trying to compensate between reflector and projector headlights.

If you’re unsure on the best bulbs for your vehicle then try our simple car bulb guide.

Author: ABD.co.uk