How to adjust headlight angle?

lux.sh · 11-04-2005, 05:37 AM

yeah. Do a turn, go for a drive and see if you like it. work your way up. thats the best way to do it.

JOYRIIDE1113 · 11-04-2005, 01:03 PM

measure the distance from the ground to the center of u're headlights, lets use 2 feet for "EXAMPLE".

position the car 25 feet away on a flat surface facing a wall (u can use u're feet to count the 25ft more or less).

position the beems so that the lights aim 2 feet from the bottom of the wall to the the cut off.

on the drivers side (NA owners) make sure the beam is 2 inches lower.

passenger side keep it at 2 feet.

side note: general rule of thumb is that the drivers side be 4 inches lower and the passenger side only be 2 inches lower, than the height of the ground to the headlight.

but since we drive with huge SUV'S, pickups, ect, that their light is naturally aimed higher, it wouldnt make a big difference to oncoming drivers, an will give u better visibilty.which is why im suggesting to keep the passenger side at the same height as the headlight and only lower the drivers side 2 inches.

hope i helped.

mind u, trying to do this with u're car only 2-3 feet away form a wall wont do much consiudering the beam would only move by millimeters and wont seem like a big change, but when done by a distance, a simple turn raises the lights drasticlaly

11-04-2005, 01:34 PM

is that a regular screw driver??

JOYRIIDE1113 · 11-04-2005, 01:42 PM

i used a star screw driver. a flathead would work also.

lux.sh · 11-04-2005, 08:31 PM

I used a regular flathead driver.

StevenT · 11-05-2005, 12:41 AM

This thread is scaring me a little.

I used to drive a Mazda Protege before my E90, and speaking for every person out there who drives (or used to drive in my case) a low-riding car that doesn't have auto-dimming mirrors, please please be careful how high you adjust your headlights.

From the perspective of a E90 driver, I love my xenon headlights.
However, I remember how much I hated xenon/HID headlights when I was driving my Protege. I would be blinded almost every time a car with xenons would pull up behind me or approach me from the opposite direction on a 2-lane road. I think a lot of people don't realize how bad the problem can be because so many people drive SUV's and trucks that obviously ride high. However, I can assure you that anyone that drives a small compact car that rides low to the ground is covering their eyes and cursing under their breath many times when a car with xenons drives by. Don't even get me started with SUV's/trucks with xenons. So please be conscious of the other guy when your adjusting your headlights.

Ok, there's my good deed for the day. I'll get off my pulpit now.

visor · 11-05-2005, 12:57 AM

StevenT,
Your concerns are understandable, that's why we recommend only about 1-2 turns at most.

And JOYRIIDE1113 above gave excellent instructions on how to aim the headlights properly.

We would all do well to follow them to avoid annoying oncoming drivers.

Re: SUV's with blinding xenons.
IMO, the worst offender is our own BMW's X5! Man, I really hate it when one of them is stopped behind me at night, or worse yet, coming towards me! I try to look away, but I end up looking at them in the process of trying not to look at them! Then, for the next 20-30 secs, I'm like seeing these green afterimages burned into my retina!

Is there a website somewhere where we can put our complaints to BMW about the X5's xenons?

puck724 · 11-05-2005, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StevenT

This thread is scaring me a little.

I used to drive a Mazda Protege before my E90, and speaking for every person out there who drives (or used to drive in my case) a low-riding car that doesn't have auto-dimming mirrors, please please be careful how high you adjust your headlights.

From the perspective of a E90 driver, I love my xenon headlights.
However, I remember how much I hated xenon/HID headlights when I was driving my Protege. I would be blinded almost every time a car with xenons would pull up behind me or approach me from the opposite direction on a 2-lane road. I think a lot of people don't realize how bad the problem can be because so many people drive SUV's and trucks that obviously ride high. However, I can assure you that anyone that drives a small compact car that rides low to the ground is covering their eyes and cursing under their breath many times when a car with xenons drives by. Don't even get me started with SUV's/trucks with xenons. So please be conscious of the other guy when your adjusting your headlights.

Ok, there's my good deed for the day. I'll get off my pulpit now.

good concerns...i was probably going to check mine out this weekend and if i raise them my friends and i were going to drive around a bit in my neighborhood to see if it is too blinding for other cars....ill drive behind him and then drive towards him, that kind of thing...

cannonspike22 · 11-05-2005, 01:27 AM

this thread is probably one of the most useful in my opinion. thanks e90post!!
btw, i did full 3 turns.

RedStripe · 11-05-2005, 06:17 PM

Can someone move this to the DIY section, or post a link to this somewhere in an official sticky. I'd hate for this to get lost.

RedStripe · 11-08-2005, 02:30 AM

I just did mine late Sunday night. I was in my office building late, and I'd been meaning to get this done since I saw the post. Super Easy job, thanks to this post. I was so proud, I just used the BMW screwdriver (Philips end) that comes with the tool kit in the back and the mini flashlight that comes in the glove box.

Just to clarify, since the pictures don't really show, the adjusting screw is a Philips head, and the BMW screwdriver fits perfectly. Anyways, I lined my car up do project directly at an opposite wall 30 ft away or so to guage how it came from factory and where I wanted it, and I did one full counter-clockwise turn at first, but ended up doing another for two full turns, and it was perfect.

It makes a huge difference, you just feel more confident driving at night when you can see further ahead clearly.

11-08-2005, 08:54 AM

im going to blind everyone!! would work great on the highway. everyone out of the fastlane!!!

Jason · 11-10-2005, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedStripe

Can someone move this to the DIY section, or post a link to this somewhere in an official sticky. I'd hate for this to get lost.

Done. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1721

schwma · 11-11-2005, 05:03 PM

So I called the dealer service dept this morning to ask if adjusting the height of the driver's side headlamp was a simple task and if so, could I bring mine by or would I need an appointment.

Hold please..........

"This is Anthony. Do you have xenons?" Yes.

"Then you'll have to make an appointment. A technician needs to adjust them. It's not something that can be done routinely. It'll take the day, but we'll give you a loaner."

Then I come home, log on to E90post, and in under 10 minutes I have found this thread and performed the adjustment. This site is terrific! Although I'm a little concerned at "Anthony" over at BMW. How could he not know how simple it is? I know they deal with lots of cars, but before making the customer go through the inconvenience of bringing the car in and getting a loaner and having to go pick it up, one would think he'd be a little better informed. I'm thinking of going over and finding him and showing him how it's done. Eh, probably won't. He'd most likely think I'm an ass.

But I'm very happy to know that the headlamps can be adjusted so readily.

lux.sh · 11-11-2005, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schwma

"It'll take the day."

All of us are officially better than BMW technicians.

puck724 · 11-11-2005, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schwma

So I called the dealer service dept this morning to ask if adjusting the height of the driver's side headlamp was a simple task and if so, could I bring mine by or would I need an appointment.

Hold please..........

"This is Anthony. Do you have xenons?" Yes.

"Then you'll have to make an appointment. A technician needs to adjust them. It's not something that can be done routinely. It'll take the day, but we'll give you a loaner."

Then I come home, log on to E90post, and in under 10 minutes I have found this thread and performed the adjustment. This site is terrific! Although I'm a little concerned at "Anthony" over at BMW. How could he not know how simple it is? I know they deal with lots of cars, but before making the customer go through the inconvenience of bringing the car in and getting a loaner and having to go pick it up, one would think he'd be a little better informed. I'm thinking of going over and finding him and showing him how it's done. Eh, probably won't. He'd most likely think I'm an ass.

But I'm very happy to know that the headlamps can be adjusted so readily.

they might have to make sure the level is on par with regualtions...so if you blind someone and cause an accident and the cops find out your lights are too high for the car and you say "this is what the dealer set it as" they wont be liable for anything...

just a thought...

puck724 · 11-11-2005, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lux.sh

All of us are officially better than BMW technicians.

shibby!! :rocks:

lux.sh · 11-12-2005, 02:19 AM

well said puck. I can't see any other reason why it would take them a day.

cannonspike22 · 11-22-2005, 01:45 AM

initially i had 3 full turns up, and thought it was too high so i turned it back down 1 turn, and i am still gettin flashed (purposely) by avg of 2 drivers a day

well, at least i can see much better at night

arcrox · 11-22-2005, 01:55 AM

Come on man, share the road. Can you believe how intensely and utterly annoying it is be blinded in the night with xenons? I find 1.5 turns to be very adequate.

DEAN325i · 11-22-2005, 02:11 AM

did you guys find the xenons to be Bluer when u adjusted the beam higher?

Jongi · 11-22-2005, 02:15 AM

This thread is a godsend. I will have to do this.

11-04-2005, 05:37 AM	#45
lux.sh missing two turbos. 614 Rep 4,859 Posts Drives: fast around corners. Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Curves iTrader: (12) Garage List 2006 BMW E90 330i [7.00]	yeah. Do a turn, go for a drive and see if you like it. work your way up. thats the best way to do it. __________________ 06 AW E90 330i ZPP/ZSP/Step/Expired Warranty : Prior Design Front : ACS Rear : ACS Roof : BlackLines : Simota Intake : Carbon Fiber Interior Trim : : MTEC V3 : 24% Charcoal : V1 Hardwired : Solaris Invisibulbs/LED interior :
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11-04-2005, 01:03 PM	#46
JOYRIIDE1113 Pirate 123 Rep 1,395 Posts Drives: Detailing Shark Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Miami-Kendall iTrader: (1)	measure the distance from the ground to the center of u're headlights, lets use 2 feet for "EXAMPLE". position the car 25 feet away on a flat surface facing a wall (u can use u're feet to count the 25ft more or less). position the beems so that the lights aim 2 feet from the bottom of the wall to the the cut off. on the drivers side (NA owners) make sure the beam is 2 inches lower. passenger side keep it at 2 feet. side note: general rule of thumb is that the drivers side be 4 inches lower and the passenger side only be 2 inches lower, than the height of the ground to the headlight. but since we drive with huge SUV'S, pickups, ect, that their light is naturally aimed higher, it wouldnt make a big difference to oncoming drivers, an will give u better visibilty.which is why im suggesting to keep the passenger side at the same height as the headlight and only lower the drivers side 2 inches. hope i helped. mind u, trying to do this with u're car only 2-3 feet away form a wall wont do much consiudering the beam would only move by millimeters and wont seem like a big change, but when done by a distance, a simple turn raises the lights drasticlaly Last edited by JOYRIIDE1113; 11-04-2005 at 01:26 PM..
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11-04-2005, 01:34 PM	#47
BEAMER06 Guest 0 Rep n/a Posts Drives:	is that a regular screw driver??
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11-04-2005, 01:42 PM	#48
JOYRIIDE1113 Pirate 123 Rep 1,395 Posts Drives: Detailing Shark Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Miami-Kendall iTrader: (1)	i used a star screw driver. a flathead would work also.
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11-04-2005, 08:31 PM	#49
lux.sh missing two turbos. 614 Rep 4,859 Posts Drives: fast around corners. Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Curves iTrader: (12) Garage List 2006 BMW E90 330i [7.00]	I used a regular flathead driver. __________________ 06 AW E90 330i ZPP/ZSP/Step/Expired Warranty : Prior Design Front : ACS Rear : ACS Roof : BlackLines : Simota Intake : Carbon Fiber Interior Trim : : MTEC V3 : 24% Charcoal : V1 Hardwired : Solaris Invisibulbs/LED interior :
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11-05-2005, 12:41 AM	#50
StevenT Enlisted Member 0 Rep 39 Posts Drives: E90 330xi Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: MI iTrader: (0)	This thread is scaring me a little. I used to drive a Mazda Protege before my E90, and speaking for every person out there who drives (or used to drive in my case) a low-riding car that doesn't have auto-dimming mirrors, please please be careful how high you adjust your headlights. From the perspective of a E90 driver, I love my xenon headlights. However, I remember how much I hated xenon/HID headlights when I was driving my Protege. I would be blinded almost every time a car with xenons would pull up behind me or approach me from the opposite direction on a 2-lane road. I think a lot of people don't realize how bad the problem can be because so many people drive SUV's and trucks that obviously ride high. However, I can assure you that anyone that drives a small compact car that rides low to the ground is covering their eyes and cursing under their breath many times when a car with xenons drives by. Don't even get me started with SUV's/trucks with xenons. So please be conscious of the other guy when your adjusting your headlights. Ok, there's my good deed for the day. I'll get off my pulpit now.
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11-05-2005, 12:57 AM	#51
visor BMW, can I have some LSD please? 91 Rep 1,591 Posts Drives: 2017 F30 340i xDrive Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Vancouver, Canada iTrader: (0)	StevenT, Your concerns are understandable, that's why we recommend only about 1-2 turns at most. And JOYRIIDE1113 above gave excellent instructions on how to aim the headlights properly. We would all do well to follow them to avoid annoying oncoming drivers. Re: SUV's with blinding xenons. IMO, the worst offender is our own BMW's X5! Man, I really hate it when one of them is stopped behind me at night, or worse yet, coming towards me! I try to look away, but I end up looking at them in the process of trying not to look at them! Then, for the next 20-30 secs, I'm like seeing these green afterimages burned into my retina! Is there a website somewhere where we can put our complaints to BMW about the X5's xenons? __________________ 2006 330i \| TiAg \| Black \| Al \| 6MT \| Sports Package \| Logic 7 retired 2008 335i \| AW \| Black \| Al \| 6MT \| Sports Package \| Logic 7 retired 2013 328xi \| Red \| Gray \| Al \| 8AT \| Sports Line \| Premium \| Executive \| Heat Pkg retired 2017 340i xDrive \| Estoril \| Black \| Al \| 8AT \| M Package
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11-05-2005, 01:27 AM	#53
cannonspike22 Second Lieutenant 10 Rep 275 Posts Drives: 06 325i Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Claremont, CA iTrader: (1)	this thread is probably one of the most useful in my opinion. thanks e90post!! btw, i did full 3 turns. __________________ 06 325i \| Black Sapph \| Leatherette \| Alum \| Steptronic \| ZSP \| Xenon Adapt. \|
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11-05-2005, 06:17 PM	#54
RedStripe Captain 100 Rep 649 Posts Drives: 2006 BMW 325i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Texas iTrader: (1) Garage List 2006 BMW 325i [0.00]	Can someone move this to the DIY section, or post a link to this somewhere in an official sticky. I'd hate for this to get lost.
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11-08-2005, 02:30 AM	#55
RedStripe Captain 100 Rep 649 Posts Drives: 2006 BMW 325i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Texas iTrader: (1) Garage List 2006 BMW 325i [0.00]	I just did mine late Sunday night. I was in my office building late, and I'd been meaning to get this done since I saw the post. Super Easy job, thanks to this post. I was so proud, I just used the BMW screwdriver (Philips end) that comes with the tool kit in the back and the mini flashlight that comes in the glove box. Just to clarify, since the pictures don't really show, the adjusting screw is a Philips head, and the BMW screwdriver fits perfectly. Anyways, I lined my car up do project directly at an opposite wall 30 ft away or so to guage how it came from factory and where I wanted it, and I did one full counter-clockwise turn at first, but ended up doing another for two full turns, and it was perfect. It makes a huge difference, you just feel more confident driving at night when you can see further ahead clearly.
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11-08-2005, 08:54 AM	#56
DTDREW Guest 0 Rep n/a Posts Drives:	im going to blind everyone!! would work great on the highway. everyone out of the fastlane!!!
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11-11-2005, 05:03 PM	#58
schwma My first bimmer...but definitely not my last! 4 Rep 58 Posts Drives: 2006 E90 330i Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Studio City, California iTrader: (0)	So I called the dealer service dept this morning to ask if adjusting the height of the driver's side headlamp was a simple task and if so, could I bring mine by or would I need an appointment. Hold please.......... "This is Anthony. Do you have xenons?" Yes. "Then you'll have to make an appointment. A technician needs to adjust them. It's not something that can be done routinely. It'll take the day, but we'll give you a loaner." Then I come home, log on to E90post, and in under 10 minutes I have found this thread and performed the adjustment. This site is terrific! Although I'm a little concerned at "Anthony" over at BMW. How could he not know how simple it is? I know they deal with lots of cars, but before making the customer go through the inconvenience of bringing the car in and getting a loaner and having to go pick it up, one would think he'd be a little better informed. I'm thinking of going over and finding him and showing him how it's done. Eh, probably won't. He'd most likely think I'm an ass. But I'm very happy to know that the headlamps can be adjusted so readily. __________________ 2006 330i Steptronic Sport, Premium Titanium Silver, Black Leather & Walnut.
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11-12-2005, 02:19 AM	#62
lux.sh missing two turbos. 614 Rep 4,859 Posts Drives: fast around corners. Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Curves iTrader: (12) Garage List 2006 BMW E90 330i [7.00]	well said puck. I can't see any other reason why it would take them a day. __________________ 06 AW E90 330i ZPP/ZSP/Step/Expired Warranty : Prior Design Front : ACS Rear : ACS Roof : BlackLines : Simota Intake : Carbon Fiber Interior Trim : : MTEC V3 : 24% Charcoal : V1 Hardwired : Solaris Invisibulbs/LED interior :
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11-22-2005, 01:45 AM	#63
cannonspike22 Second Lieutenant 10 Rep 275 Posts Drives: 06 325i Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Claremont, CA iTrader: (1)	initially i had 3 full turns up, and thought it was too high so i turned it back down 1 turn, and i am still gettin flashed (purposely) by avg of 2 drivers a day well, at least i can see much better at night __________________ 06 325i \| Black Sapph \| Leatherette \| Alum \| Steptronic \| ZSP \| Xenon Adapt. \|
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11-22-2005, 01:55 AM	#64
arcrox E90post addict 29 Rep 495 Posts Drives: 2024 G20 M340i Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Scottsdale, AZ iTrader: (0) Garage List 2006 325i [0.00]	Come on man, share the road. Can you believe how intensely and utterly annoying it is be blinded in the night with xenons? I find 1.5 turns to be very adequate.
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11-22-2005, 02:11 AM	#65
DEAN325i LTBMW 110 Rep 1,068 Posts Drives: 2008 AW e92 M3 Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Ladera Ranch, CA iTrader: (3) Garage List 2006 E90 325i [0.00]	did you guys find the xenons to be Bluer when u adjusted the beam higher? __________________ tuned by LTBMW
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11-22-2005, 02:15 AM	#66
Jongi Private First Class 6 Rep 109 Posts Drives: 320i w/Exclusive Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa iTrader: (0)	This thread is a godsend. I will have to do this.
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