AWR-Fix E70 headlight aim

[andrewwynn]

E70 '12 with shit factory alignment as at least 90% of cars come for some reason they aim the lights down like the 1950s where the output was a cone even when they are projector beam!

(Think about this: 9 years of previous owner driving 75000 miles with less than 25% of the headlight area illuminated)

Anyhow fixing the moronic beams to reach more than 80'

So today I figured out where the hell the adjustment screws are and fixed them.



First you need a very long 6mm hex screwdriver.


Right side is here notice how little of the handle is showing. It's way inisde.



Left side is here.

It took 4-5 complete turns to get them to level.

I used a green laser level to strike a line from the middle of the headlight and out front along some garages in our alley to use as reference.

Once close then I drove to a parking lot with a white garage with siding so I have a horizontal reference to tweak them to match.

I'm still maybe 1/4° low so I'll do another adjustment but they are 1000% better I no longer can see the cutout shade on the ground 80' in front of the car f'king idiots that aimed them!

I realized the best way to reality check your headlight aim;

Drive down a dimly lit two way street. The parked car licence plates should light up as far as the light can reach. If the lights are aimed down too much you'll see maybe 1/2 block or less.

The cut out shade should not be visible other than when you hit a big dip in the road.

The other reality check is that both left and right headlight should cast a perfectly horizontal beam on a brick wall on the driver's side; block one light at a time with a sheet of cardboard or a helpers backside.

The passenger side beam should climb at about 2° to light up road signs.

If you don't notice that YOUR car is providing 80% of the light illuminating the road signs your headlights are aimed too low.

(A recent study of new cars gave the average of all tested cars C-). They are in general all horrible with most not illuminating 1/3 to 1/2 of what they should.

It's a simple fix to double or triple the area lit by your headlights greatly increasing your nighttime safety.