One of your motorcycle or car headlight bulbs just stopped working, so you need to get a replacement. Instead of just getting the first headlight bulb off the shelf at your local garage or part shop, it’s an opportunity to consider the types of headlight bulbs that are now available to you.

Standard or OEM Headlight Bulbs
Usually the cheapest option, these basic bulbs are direct replacement for the ones originally fitted by the manufacturer. While brand name bulbs are usually of good quality, avoid the very cheapest ones, as the lower price may affect both brightness and life.

Long Life Headlight Bulbs
These are designed for vehicles that tend to leave their headlights on all the time, and are especially useful for cars which use the headlights for daytime running lights, or that do very high mileages. Heavier filaments increase the lifespan of the bulb, and increase resistance to vibration. However, these bulbs to not provide any additional light, and can be a bit yellow, especially as they age. Long life bulbs cost a little more than the standard equivalent, but generally are cheaper in the long run due to their lifespan.

Upgraded Headlight Bulbs
Boasting increased light output of up to 100% than standard halogen headlight bulbs, these are a direct replacement that are fully road legal in the UK. Careful adjusting of the filament metals, gas and pressure allow these bulbs to produce more light for the same power requirements. The light is often a little whiter, and helps to highlight roadside objects such as signs and cats eyes. The only disadvantage to these bulbs is the cost: they can be significantly more expensive, but only have a similar life.

Styling Headlight Bulbs
Styling bulbs are for those that want to make their car look more distinctive by subtly altering the colour of light produced. While UK law stipulates headlights must produce white light, you can get away with small changes. The most popular effect is a slight blue tint, similar to HID lights, although other types are available. Note that a light that is more blue than white is NOT road legal, and is likely to get you pulled over! Styling bulbs, however, produce no more light than standard headlight bulbs, and in some cases the colour coatings can reduce the visible light output, so they are not recommended if you do a lot of driving on dark roads. Costs are only slightly higher that standard, and the lifespan is the same.

Other options
There are other options for changing your headlights. Upgrading them with a HID Kit gives up to three times as much light as standard bulbs, but these are not a direct replacement. For a HID conversion, you need to add a ballast unit to supply the necessary voltage. Some new cars are now coming with LED headlights. However, as the moment there is no easy upgrade from halogen to LED, as the whole headlight unit needs to be replaced. There are some LED bulbs in headlight bulb sizes, but these are intended for show use only – the actual light output is quite low.

I hope this article helps you the next time you consider just buying the first bulbs that come to hand, and remember that Autobulbs Direct has a complete range of headlight bulbs, tail and brake bulbs, indicator bulbs and interior bulbs available from stock.

Overview Room-to-room noise reduction is rated in terms of sound transmission class (STC). The acoustical performance of common 16″ OC wood stud walls is typically STC 30 to 34, and 24″ OC wood stud walls is STC 36 to 39. This is considered poor, as conversation can be easily heard. An old method to improve wall isolation since the 70′s is a product called mass loaded vinyl. It is sold under a number a brand names, such as AcoustiBlok, SoundBarrier and others.

Acoustics and Vinyl Noise can be attenuated with additional mass and many companies make vinyl sheets weighing about one pound per square foot. For this type of acoustical treatment, the mass of the materials is the dominant factor. However a wall already weighs 4 to 5 pounds per square foot before mass loaded vinyl is added, so the extra pound added by a single layer of vinyl is only a small amount of added mass.

Vinyl sellers display transmission loss data of bare sheets showing an STC of 26 or more. However presenting bare product performance is not related to the performance in an actual wall. The acoustic ratings of individual materials cannot be added to existing walls. For example, a single sheet of 5/8 inch thick gypsum board by itself has an STC of 28 — 2 points higher than that of one pound vinyl. But you cannot add that 28 to a wall of 30 and get 58. In fact, an extra layer of gypsum adds only 2-3 STC points to any wall.

Adding mass to a wall follows mass-law which states that a doubling of wall mass adds about 5 to 6dB of isolation. That is, a doubling of mass of the entire structure!

When considering any product for soundproofing it is imperative to look for independent lab tests on full scale 8′ x 12′ walls performed to a current ASTM test method (ASTM E90 and E413). Remember individual STC values do not add up.

Sound Transmission in Walls In a single stud assembly, the major path of sound transmission is directly through the studs rather than the air in the cavity. The addition of a vinyl layer does little to change this since the outer gypsum will be nailed or screwed directly through the vinyl into the stud. For significant improvements, one must change this path fundamentally, or introduce specific damping into the structure.

Actual Performance There is one test from an independent lab showing a branded mass loaded vinyl at over STC50 on a 24OC wood stud wall. Unfortunately that test was conducted on a single wall section (4′ x 8′) rather than the required 8′ x 12′ wall, thus rendering the test invalid as it does not meet the requirements of ASTM E90. Three other full scale tests have now been published which show MLV on one side of a 24OC wood stud wall at STC 43 to STC 45. This is an improvement of about 15% less noise as heard by humans.

Cost Considerations One pound per square foot vinyl sells for $1.50 to $2.00 per square foot at many online stores plus shipping (add about $1 per pound for UPS). So the delivered material cost averages $2.50 to $3.00 per square foot.

Vinyl installation is labor intensive. The vinyl needs to be unrolled, cut by hand around obstacles, attached with fasteners and carefully taped along every seam prior to the installation of the drywall layer. If one is not doing the work themselves, subcontractors charge $1.00 to $2.10 per square foot for installation.

Thus, in reasonable sized projects, one can expect an increase in wall costs of $3.50 to $5.10 per square foot. Consider a base of about $4.00/sqft if it is new construction for the studs, gypsum, and standard labor, and this results in a wall that averages $8/sqft. This will result in an STC 43 wall assembly with 24″ OC studs.

Comparison Soundproof drywall, such as QuietRock, creates a damped structure and thus behaves differently than MLV. Lab tests on soundproof drywall show STC’s of 50 or better when used on one side of a 24OC wood stud wall. And this material replaces one side of drywall, saving money and time.

Low cost soundproof drywall today runs about $1.20/sqft (and is available at local dealers). Labor is about $0.60/sqft. Thus total wall costs can be under $5.30 per square foot depending on performance required. No special training or labor is required, since it installs just like drywall. The resulting performance is a 50% noise reduction (versus 15% for vinyl), the overall cost is 30% lower.

Resilient Channel is another technique which has been used since the 1960′s. This requires hanging metal channels on the studs and then hanging drywall on the channels. The drywall must be isolated on all sides since touching the floor, walls or ceiling could acoustically “short out” the floating wall and reduce the performance.

If done right, with a double drywall on the RC side, and no shorts, it is reasonable to achieve an STC 48. The cost of this wall is under $6.00/sqft including labor. While the performance is less than soundproof drywall and the difficulty is higher, it is a mature method which was popular before the advent of soundproof drywall. So it may be worth still considering as an option.

Conclusion Mass Loaded Vinyl has been sold for many years to help with sound isolation between rooms. They can provide limited increased STC values by adding additional mass and impedance changes to the wall. However, the effort, cost and detail required to use these materials needs to be compared to other more established and tested methods including soundproof drywall and resilient channels.

When talking about Costa Del Mar sunglasses a regular question we get is: “What is the difference between the 400 and the 580?” So here it is: Costa offers two lens quality available. The Costa 400 eliminates glare at the 400 nanometer mark. This allows for clearer vision and reduces strain on eyes.

The Costa 580 is the premium lens collection. This lens eliminates glare at the 580 nanometer mark. Specifically, it significantly reduces the amount of yellow light that penetrates the lens; yellow light is the hardest light for the eye to process. This nearly completely eliminates glare, allowing enhanced color saturation and definition. The 580 price has been adjusted significantly so now it wont be a huge difference in price to get the 580 instead since you will be getting better quality for your buck.

Another thing is regardless which less type you choose the fact is that sunglasses Del Mar in general are world renowned by their performance and durability. Overall you cant go wrong with Costa, so choose which ever one feeds your needs and budget.

Sunglasses Del Mar LightWave is the lightest sunglass lens available today. 20% lighter and 22% thinner than the average polarized sun lens on the market today. Every Casta Del Mar sunglasses comes with a Lifetime Warranty on manufacturers defect and workmanship. Be sure to check out their latest frames including the Casta Del Mar Caballito and the Maya, with many color frame and lens combinations plus remember to choose your preferred lens material and type.

It is no news for designers, editors, and those who claim to have authority over fashion to take inspiration from street style. These are people going through their everyday lives who happen to have a distinctive personal style to catch the eye of the fashion world.

In the recently concluded fashion weeks in Paris and New York, some fashion goers were caught fighting the harsh weather in what seems to be Nordic inspired coats and sweaters. While the winter season is soon coming to an end, it was obvious at the fashion show that Nordic inspired clothing is beginning to have an impact also during the warmer months of the year.

One girl who got particular attention was dressed in Nordic inspired prints on her shapeless coat. Another girl was spotted outside the tents donning a printed coat opened down to her knee with tights and a striped blouse in the same color palette.

You may think how easy it is for them to pull off such contrasting prints and get away with it looking very chic. But it is not that hard if you have the creativity and confidence. Its just really a matter of mixing and matching and finding what works for you.

To up the style factor of a Nordic sweater, you may simply layer it with another outerwear but lighter like a solid bolero or anything cropped on the waist and the arms. Wear with skinny jeans tucked in sleek boots and viola your street style ready to be snapped shot!