New Headlight Mod

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by WI65gmc

i got them from a place called www.prostreetlighting.com but the down fall is that i had to modify the light the the trim ring and the part that holds the bucket with the adjusting screws they were suppose to be for a 64 impala but theyre all the same size i have to wait to afjust them till after i finish my paint job and mount the grill does anyone have tips for adjusting the lights?

how fast were your lights burning out? and did you have and trouble with cops with the halos?

As far as aiming goes, you need to make sure that the lights have a proper "cut off" on low beams. The horizontal cut-off line is what you use to aim the lights. If your lights don't produce this type of low beam pattern, they aren't properly controlling the light output and could be emitting excessive glare for oncoming traffic. You've upgraded your harness and are using HID bulbs that are many times brighter than halogens, so you have to be responsible for the extra light coming out. Also, any blue lights are more than likely illegal (they are in my state); you may want to change to clear bulbs/halos.


Here's a shot of low beams with a sharp cut off pattern. The horizontal line is what you use to aim the lights. The line will rise towards the passenger side; some rise at an angle and keep going up, and some level off again as shown in this pic. Either way, the point where the horizontal line begins to rise at an angle is the center point of your low beam pattern when aiming the lights. I doubt you'll have a sharp cut off with HID bulbs though. I've had friends with drop-in HID's in halogen housings get pulled over for excessive glare, so those may be a problem too. HID's can't be switched on and off quickly, and take a moment to warm up so you probably won't have functioning high beams without a few seconds of darkness when switching beam patterns. If you have four H4 headlight housings, you won't have a noticeable difference in beam pattern between high and low beams with HID bulbs; they'll just be "on". The dual filaments in H4 bulbs is what create the high and low beam pattern in the same housing; HID bulbs lose this feature since they're only "on".




If you do have a cut-off on low beams, here's a pic of how to adjust the headlights. You'll need a flat driveway or parking lot with a wall to shine the low beams on 25 feet away. On low beams, the cut off point on the wall should measure 3 inches lower than the height of the center of your headlights. Three inches isn't much, and is why you need a completely flat surface to aim your lights.