Infiniti I35 Side Marker Lights
Side marker lights are important for signaling when your car is moving or providing illumination. There are different Infiniti I35 side marker lights that vary in color and other characteristics. If you are looking to replace these lights, here is some information that could help with your purchase.
What are OEM side marker lights for the Infiniti I35?OEM is an abbreviation. It stands for "original equipment manufacturer." With many car parts, including lighting, the auto manufacturer does not do all the work. They contract out manufacturing of many components to companies called OEMs. The OEMs make as many lights as Infiniti needs for new I35s. Then they keep making the side marker lights to sell directly to the public for replacements. If you see a light listed as OEM, it means it came from the original manufacturer and is therefore identical to the light that the I35 had when it was new. All other lights are called aftermarket. An aftermarket light might have properties like a nonstandard color or a different tint to provide some variety. Each model and year of vehicle has its own set of OEM companies, because designs change from year to year. What was made for one model year may not fit another.
What lens colors are available for the Infiniti I35?There are three basic colors: clear, amber, and red. Within those colors an individual lens cover can be thicker or thinner with varied possible textures. This affects how dark or bright the color is and how far the glow extends into darkness or fog. Some kinds of lighting are mandated by law to have a certain color. For example, brake and reverse lights must be red. Note that it is the lens and not the bulb that has color.
How does color temperature affect Infiniti’s side marker lights?Color temperature is a way of measuring the color of the light coming out of a bare bulb or a bulb with a clear covering. These give off white light, but there are many different kinds of white. A low color temperature implies a yellowish white, like a traditional halogen bulb. A medium temperature indicates a clean white light like a modern LED bulb. Some bulbs have higher color temperatures, and in those cases the beam from the bulb is blue-white. A covering for the bulb mitigates this effect, especially if the covering has a color of its own that tints the light. Color temperature is not related to actual heat and bulbs with higher color temperature are not hotter if you touch them: it is only a way to categorize shades of white.