how to adjust headlights

[dreamym5]

could not find on user manual..

does anybody know... ???? i like mine adjusted "just a little."(wiggle)

[jandree22]

if you're talking level up/down, there should be one or two screws on the top of each headlight that needs tweaked.

[dreamym5]

Tada... power of *seraching*..(inout)

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/2746/20080322pm103512bp7.jpg

[dreamym5]

today. i adjusted mine bit lower since, compare to stock halogen.. HID produce least twice much light.. which resuts in some glare...

previous week, i had a chance to go back to stock halogen and compared halogen and HID side by side.. i noticed glare producing from HID side..

Although, glare is minial since Mz5 has projector but i like to stay on safe side..

[dreamym5]

Oh.. we don't have screw for inward/outward adjustment..(no)

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/7175/20080322pm103512bp7ot4.jpg

[jandree22]

Last night was the first time since I installed my Xenon's earlier this summer, that I had the 5 completely loaded down with adults and crap (I mean cargo :D) in the back, causing that nice low butt. Going down to Jersey in the daylight, didn't think twice... however I quickly realized on the way home, that I was gonna piss off a LOT of people on the Atlantic City Expressway. My HID's were shooting WAY high the entire way home, oops.

I got a trip into Ontario coming up Labor Day weekend, again loaded in the back, so I hopped online and found dreamy's writeup, thanks. (thumb)


Here's the important part all HID people should know (and undoubtedly some of you already do). You NEED to adjust your headlight aiming lower from the start. By measuring the height of the center of the projector vs the cutoff line on my 'screen', I was shocked to find the cutoff line was actually a pinch (< 1/4" higher) @ 10ft. Not a lot, but enough that A) at best the beam's staying the same, at worst it's rising a bit with distance... it should drop. B) ANY weight in the back is going to shoot that beam higher. I usually drive with my wife beside me, and son in the middle row, that's it... placing a pinch more weight towards the front, so theoretically dropping the beam a scoshe for me.

These numbers are kind of estimates... The cutoff line was showing as 28.5" from the factory @ 10ft away (for me anyway). Dropped it to 26" @ 10ft, drove it, and found it was too low... WAY below the glare threshold, but also only gave me minimal amount of light in front of the car. So I brought it back up to the 27" mark and it was a good compromise between lighting distance for me, and low cutoff line for oncoming cars (as determined by viewing the relationship between cutoff line vs. side mirrors on cars ahead of me). It's enough that I undoubtedly have some buffer for loading the car down in the future.

I obviously am rambling on here, just figured it wouldn't hurt to share my mistakes and lessons learned. If anyone was blinded by me last night, my apologies ;) (thanks again dreamym5!)

[ckuz13]

I often get drivers flashing their lights at me at night. I thought my high beams were on and then I thought it was the fog lights..should my headlights be adjusted? Are they too bright? does this happen to other mazda5 owners?