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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > Mechanical Maintenance: Break-in / Oil & Fluids / Servicing / Warranty > How to adjust headlight angle?



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      11-22-2005, 06:53 AM   #67
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This is very useful information. But I echo what others have said about doing this very conservatively. Just remember how you feel when you are blinded by xenons. You don't want to be driving around at night causing agony wherever you go.
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      12-01-2005, 11:15 AM   #68
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One day, these over-raised xenons is going to cause an accident, and we can all blame those who had no respect for others by setting the xenons into "blind the others, I don't care" mode.
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      12-01-2005, 11:21 AM   #69
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i think 1 turn is just perfect. at first i did 1.5 turns and i though i was going to blind someone.
Interesting idea i though of. someone shoudl turn it down about 5 turns and drive with the high beams on all the time. i wonder how that would work..... problaby it would be very bad for the lights though, thats my idea.
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      12-01-2005, 03:40 PM   #70
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Just FYI, I raised the xenons by 1 full turn and they still point lower than the A4s xenons (factory setting) for example. I'd guess that 2 full turns were still safe without blinding the oncoming traffic.

Here's a pic showing the difference between the A4 (standard susp) and the E90 (sport susp + raised 1 full turn) xenons.
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      12-01-2005, 04:37 PM   #71
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[QUOTE=puck724]
Quote:
Originally Posted by visor


and the lexus discussions
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      12-01-2005, 06:02 PM   #72
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Wow there's more to auto-leveling, didn't know you could manually adjust from the engine bay. to E90Fleet!
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      12-01-2005, 06:13 PM   #73
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hornet
Just FYI, I raised the xenons by 1 full turn and they still point lower than the A4s xenons (factory setting) for example. I'd guess that 2 full turns were still safe without blinding the oncoming traffic.

Here's a pic showing the difference between the A4 (standard susp) and the E90 (sport susp + raised 1 full turn) xenons.

the a4 body stance is higher than ours. the rule is to measure the height of u're headlights and then aim them 25 feet away from a flat surface to a wall and lower 2-4 inches lower than the headlights height.

if u see a big f350 headlight height, u'll notice its almost twice as tall as our e90's headlight. imagine if u would expect their light to aim by a specific height, like u were showing example of above with the bmw and audi, the fords f350 light output would be horrible and be aiming straight down.

joy
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      12-01-2005, 06:19 PM   #74
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mds82
someone shoudl turn it down about 5 turns and drive with the high beams on all the time. i wonder how that would work..... problaby it would be very bad for the lights though, thats my idea.
Please don't. Because the high beams do not have a cut-off at the top like the low beams.

Using the high beams are not "bad for the lights". The same bulb is on, only the shutter has been removed allowing more light to travel higher unblocked.

Joyriide1113, good points and good rule.
We should use that rule to adjust the lights properly.
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      12-01-2005, 11:08 PM   #75
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I took mine up 2 turns, drove for about half a mile, and turned back a turn, and then another half.

I guess mine were adjusted pretty good, or you some of you just dont care about blinding people...
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      12-03-2005, 06:31 AM   #76
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Gratzie Mille, now I can raise my lights a tad bit higher
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      12-19-2005, 02:51 AM   #77
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Adjusted my lights right after I picked it up thanks to the thread!
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      12-19-2005, 08:59 AM   #78
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bzzbenz
also... do you have to have a bmw screwdriver??
No, not necessariy but what happened to your bmw tools?!
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      12-19-2005, 09:07 AM   #79
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I did 1 full turn, then I think is too high and did turn it 1/4 turn down.
Perfect.
So, my light is pefect at 3/4 turn.
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      02-11-2006, 12:49 PM   #80
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Great Post but please be courteous to other drivers so DO NOT exceed more than 1 full turn

I post more pics for the blind
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      02-11-2006, 08:43 PM   #81
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I just adjusted my headlights upward but have no idea if it blinds oncoming drivers now. I probably gave it about 2 turns.

After the adjustment, I tried parking my e90 on my street with the lights on and then driving by with my other car. It didn't blind me at all, but it also didn't feel very realistic.

Any other good ways to test this?
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      02-11-2006, 11:00 PM   #82
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its snowing out in the northeast now, go outside on a road at night and turn the lights on. If the lights are shining much higher then the car then its blinding others. Mine are set so that they are just even with the height of the car, aka the light coming out of the headlights is level with the ground - this way it goes as far as it can withough going too high and blinding others


Dont think its been posted - You can also adjust LEFT ad Right. there ia another screw under this rubber plug
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Last edited by mds82; 09-25-2009 at 11:34 AM..
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      02-11-2006, 11:14 PM   #83
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petesamprs,
this is a good rule of thumb for aiming your headlights.
As posted several posts up:

Quote:
Originally Posted by JOYRIIDE1113
the rule is to measure the height of your headlights and then aim them 25 feet away on a flat surface to a wall and lower 2-4 inches lower than the headlights height.
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      02-12-2006, 01:59 AM   #84
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Quote:
Originally Posted by petesamprs
I just adjusted my headlights upward but have no idea if it blinds oncoming drivers now. I probably gave it about 2 turns.

After the adjustment, I tried parking my e90 on my street with the lights on and then driving by with my other car. It didn't blind me at all, but it also didn't feel very realistic.

Any other good ways to test this?

do test runs in your neighborhood with a friend. thats what i did. i drove behind him at differant distances and then drove towards him. there was a place by my house that had some good curves too so we tried it out there. it was all good.
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      04-07-2006, 07:58 PM   #85
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Hey guys, great thread, but was wondering, IF for some reason, we wanted, or needed to get them back to factory setting, HOW would one go about this?
Any options?

PS I too adjusted mine, and def notice a BIG difference. Great Job!
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      04-25-2006, 08:10 PM   #86
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Ok... just adjusted mine. Took it up 3/4 of a turn. OH MY GOODNESS... Huge difference in the lighting on the car. I even had it up 1 to start, and it was a little high for low beams...

I can see at night now

I suggest everyone with factory xenons to try this adjustment. Make sure you do so cautiously so that you do not blind oncoming drivers though...

Best lighting 'mod' done so far
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      04-25-2006, 08:37 PM   #87
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EVO_S4
how many turn did you do , i did full 360degree turn

WTF don't you people just turn your headlights on against a wall... THEN adjust them..?

That way you can ge the right hight and not be asking "how many turns" ..?

I pulled my car up to a school wall the to dial it in and checked it by making sure the beams never went above the grill of another car 30' away. I ended up actually lowering it a tad.
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      04-25-2006, 08:47 PM   #88
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Garrett
WTF don't you people just turn your headlights on against a wall... THEN adjust them..?

That way you can ge the right hight and not be asking "how many turns" ..?

I pulled my car up to a school wall the to dial it in and checked it by making sure the beams never went above the grill of another car 30' away. I ended up actually lowering it a tad.

Calm down buddy... Its best as a trial and error process. Do one turn, and take it from there. You do need to drive out and about town instead of just at a wall. As you make the adjustments, you need to make sure you are not blinding people as you go up and down hills too, not just statically sitting at a wall...

I went for a quick drive on my way back home tonight, made one adjustment, and now its perfect
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