Headlights and Other Car Stuff

I'm seriously considering switching headlight bulbs. And replacing wiper blades.


Why? Simple. Last night as I was driving home the rain started pouring. Bad. I don't know why but I was having difficulty seeing the road as I drove. I turned on my fog lamps for added visibility but the rain was just too strong. Plus the fact that fog lamps only illuminate a short distance in front of the car.


Now one factor I can "blame" for this slight lack of visibility was the fact that the wipers were "smearing" something on the windshield. Every time the blades would pass, the rain would be whisked away but there was this strange film on the windshield which diffused oncoming headlights, and also made the view slightly blurred. Not a good combination.


This got me thinking. Sure, I can replace the wiper blades and hope that next time it rains the visibility won't be as bad. But then again, I'd also like to increase my visibility at night.


No, I'm not planning on adding really bright lights that blind oncoming traffic. I don't even plan on switching to HID bulbs since the car a) doesn't have HID projectors (which are required in other countries to properly utilize HIDs) and b) I can't seem to find HID projector headlamps which fit into the car. Oh, and c) I don't have a budget for something that expensive.


However, after consulting with some good friends, and browsing the net, I came across a possible solution to my lighting woes.


PIAA make good quality bulbs. I just have to find out what bulbs the car uses so I can start saving for two sets of bulbs. One pair, the normal color bulb, will be used for my headlights.  The other pair, colored yellow, I will install on the fog lamps. But I just discovered a small problem. I can't seem to find normal colored bulbs in PIAA's website. All are either in white, bluish white, purplish white, or yellow colors.


So maybe I'll just get one pair in white for the headlights, and the other in yellow for the foglamps. Sounds like the best compromise. The big issue I have with the whitish colored bulbs is the fact that I might end up blinding oncoming traffic. That's something I've been experiencing lately and to be quite honest I dislike the experience of being blinded by an oncoming car. I find it rude and inconsiderate. I don't want to be a jerk like others who don't mind blinding oncoming traffic.


Hopefully this will help my future concerns of driving in very strong rains. Because once rainy season arrives, I'm pretty sure I'll be going up against a lot of those.


Out.