Recently I just re-aligned my headlights according to factory specs. I checked my manuel and it basically said to align "bubble" in the middle accordingly. I did so and do my dismay, I now find my visual field not as bright as it was before. The output of the light is aimed closer to the ground then it was before so the area is not as well lit up as it was before. Because my car is lowered and it is kind of slanted (back higher then front), that might be the cause of it. So now do I readjust it or keep it to factory specs? I have silverstar bulbs and dont want to blind ppl.


Cliff notes: Lowered cars on factory spec headlights settings. Keep it or re-adjust it. What specs are everyone elses cars at?


Any imputs are greatly appreciated

 

Anyone?

 

I've had to readjust my headlights after doing an Bosch HID headlight swap (refer to http://skafia.com/itr/hid/ for reference).

My GSR was lowered approximately 2 inches and I used the Helm's manual as a reference point for where the cutoff and spread should be. You need to compensate from the OEM vehicle height minus your vehicles lowered height. I'd suggest checking your cutoff against a white wall, maybe a garage door or white sheet hung from a rope/wire perhaps. Use a ruler/tape measure to mark off the cutoff height and adjust as needed. Make final adjustments by driving any vehicle of OEM height and approach your stationary vehicle with lights on at various distances, taking note of any excessive glare. Avoid adjusting your headlights at too high of an angle. 2 or 3 degrees in adjustment has a significant effect in terms of glare 50-100 feet away from the front of your vehicle and may become a potential safety hazzard. So, be prudent.

I apologize for not providing the specs, but my Helm's manual isn't accessible to me at the moment. If memory serves me correctly, measurements should be made with the vehicle ~25 feet from the wall.

May be someone else can chime in on the exact specs?

 

i was curious about this too....so you're sayin it should be measure 25 ft away from the wall if you remember correctly? how high up on the wall should the light measure? niegther one of my cars are stock hieght, so if someone could figure out how high up on the wall, thatd be cool!

 

i never thought about this i just lowered my car, back higher then the front a lil..lol

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sabotage7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i was curious about this too....so you're sayin it should be measure 25 ft away from the wall if you remember correctly? how high up on the wall should the light measure? niegther one of my cars are stock hieght, so if someone could figure out how high up on the wall, thatd be cool! </TD></TR></TABLE>

Height on the wall is 2 inches lower than the height of the headlights at 20 feet. If you lowered your car unevenly, then you'll certianly need to adjust. If you dropped it evenly all the way around (Eibach springs for example), then you're probably fine. The lower your headlights are, the closer your lights will shine, and yes, the less road you will light up. Thats why SUVs get away with blinding everyone, their lights are aimed the same way, so that at 20', they're point down 2", which is still too high.

 

just adjust them to your likings..

 

so, TunerN00b.....my car is lowered pretty evenly w/my setup....my headlights are 22inches off the ground measured from the middle...if i underestood you correctly, then the proper adjustment would be 20 inches, 20 feet away from a wall?.....is this in general the legal specs, like if i get pulled over and it was adjusted like that id be okay?

 

Don't even try to go by the bubble level. That only works if the car is on a perfectly level surface, and if the car is not stock height it probably won't work anyway.

I like to go by what I saw on S2KI.com, and that is to aim the cutoff to 2.1" below the height of the center of your headlights, when the front of the car is ~25' away from a wall.

They also describe a method for using a laser to align your headlights, which means it doesn't matter if the ground the car is on is level or even or not. Basically what you do is set up a laser to shine towards the wall exactly parallel to the height of the front and rear wheels (shine the laser alongside the car, measure the ground-to-laser height at the rear wheel, then at the front wheel, and adjust until you get those 2 measurements equal). Then you find the distance from the ground to the laser (at the front wheel), the vertical distance from the laser to the headlight, transfer those measurements to the wall, go down 2.1" and aim the lower side of each headlight's cutoff to that point. That will make the upper side of each cutoff (the right side of the step pattern) a little higher so as to light up the side of the road better.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sabotage7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so, TunerN00b.....my car is lowered pretty evenly w/my setup....my headlights are 22inches off the ground measured from the middle...if i underestood you correctly, then the proper adjustment would be 20 inches, 20 feet away from a wall?.....is this in general the legal specs, like if i get pulled over and it was adjusted like that id be okay?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Er, it is 25 feet from the wall, not 20, just looked it up. 20 feet will aim them a little closer. Essentially yes though, that is more or less close enough to the legal aiming. It might be 2.1 inches, like someone else suggested, but I really doubt you'll ever get pulled over for headlights. The projector headlights are so good compared to reflector type in terms of glare and cutoff, that unless you're running blue/purple bulbs or literally have them aimed upwards, you should never get in trouble for them.

Personally, I'd go a little higher than 2 inches at 25 feet, especially on a lowered car, more like 1.25 to 1.5 inches, but I don't really care what legal is. The shops I've seen do it use 2" at 25 feet, on an essentially flat shop floor.

Just make sure if you're running aftermarket fog/driving lamps that you have them aimed correctly. I don't know how many imports I see running around with their's hunting owls.