I have a few questions regarding headlight aim during WoF: >Do the inspectors always realign the headlights? >Do they refer to the headlight drop printed/stamped on the headlights themselves? >Is it possible to have them align it at 0.8% (still legal in NZ) drop during WoF? >If I have the headlights' drop at 0.8%, will the inspector re-align them at 1.25% (printed/stamped on the headlight)?
Cheers in advance.
budgel,
Jul 26, 12:54pm
I dont think that inspectors are required to do any hands on work, maybe they would as a favour, but that is all.
northernfist,
Jul 26, 12:59pm
I see them sometimes screwdriving the headlights but I am not sure where they refer to with the standards.
I can have my lights aimed at 0.8% drop but I am not sure if the inspectors will revert it back to 1.25%.
franc123,
Jul 26, 1:31pm
1/ If its quick and easy to do so and they have the right tools at hand, yes. 2/ Yes, absolutely if it is printed there. 3/ No, it's not supposed to be below 1%. In practice though there is very little difference between 0.8 and 1.2 it may not be picked up on the beamsetter. 4/ As above, it would have to be picked up, if so it will have to be adjusted back to an acceptable level.
northernfist,
Jul 27, 6:34am
Thanks for the reply.
I just read the Vehicle Lighting 2004 rules and found that, yes, the minimum dip is at 1%. I will just get it aligned at that dip and place a sticker at the headlight that it's dipped at 1% to, at least, try to preserve the setting come WoF time.
I am asking because I have just upgraded my factory D2R HIDs and it's like I am bringing daytime in front of the vehicle at night, even brighter than newer LED headlamps. I would like to get some more metres with the more conservative drop.
pauldw,
Jul 27, 8:05am
With my last car it always came out of the testing station with the lights dropped too low. The 1st time it happened another orange place confirmed that it was wrong and corrected the setting for me. I found a suitable wall and marked that setting so I could get it back.
headcat,
Jul 27, 10:23am
Oh well. You will be able to see the poor bastard you've blinded as he hits you head on. What a hero.
martin11,
Jul 27, 10:29am
Thought that it was illegal to modify lights from what was in the vehicle originally !
yz490,
Jul 27, 10:33am
Have had mine adjusted at vtnz when he wheeled the thingy across in front to check them & decided one was out. Was a few years ago but was a good guy that knew where the clicker thing was . No problem
s_nz,
Jul 27, 4:52pm
Sounds like OP has upgraded stock Xenon bulbs to something like the Philips Xenon X-treme Vision gen2 D2R which advertises 50% more light.
My understanding is that if you stick with the bulb type and power rating as OEM, it is legal to to use the +150 bulbs. Such bulbs are common in auto-parts stores for halogen light's, but I didn't know HID ones were available.
The combination of exceptionally bright Xenon lights & higher than fixture recommend beam angle does seem to be pushing the limits of social acceptability.
That said, my (used) car came with it's Factory Xenon lights pointed way low compared to other cars I have driven. (worryingly so on the open road), so I adjusted them.
alowishes,
Jul 28, 3:50am
A shame some people didn’t set up their lights after they had put that sack of spuds in the boot or hooked the boat trailer up. So many of the vehicles that have blinding headlights have a sagging back end. and modern headlights with that sharp ‘cut off’ only have to be up by a few degrees to be dazzling to oncoming cars.
northernfist,
Jul 28, 10:34am
This is just a bulb upgrade. Halogens have their +100s and HIDs also do. Mine is only +50 and the difference is significant. Philips only has a +50 for my D2R. The D2S has the +150 which has up to 5595 lumens in the laboratory. There is no modification here, just a regular bulb change in the correct type. Cheers.
northernfist,
Jul 28, 10:36am
I didn't do any modification. It's just a bulb replacement. Mine came with factory HID D2Rs and I replaced them with newer D2Rs. My bulbs were much weaker after 15 years of use. HIDs rarely blow but they get weaker over time. Cheers.
northernfist,
Jul 28, 10:48am
Correct, mate. Philips have the XtremeVision Gen 2 +150% for HIDs. They are the best bang for the buck internationally. I only have the +50% D2R but its already good.
All factory HIDs also come with the leveling wheel. Come WoF time, I always set it to 0 so the inspector checks it at the lowest dip possible. I put the level at 3 with four passengers. I use 4 when I have an overweight passenger. 5 is used when towing or carrying heavier loads.
I do country driving on unsealed roads plenty of times and I need good lighting. I slapped my own wrist when I realised how much weaker my old bulbs were, already.
I was told to replace the HIDs every 6 years. They don't blow but they weaken over time. I have seen HID headlamps emitting extremely low outputs already, particularly those that were manufactured before 2007. Cheers.
northernfist,
Jul 28, 10:54am
I agree, mate. This is pretty common nowadays. The thing is, how can you explain the driver to manually level the headlamps properly when he/she doesn't even know when to turn on the lights at night? Phantom cars seem to be the trend nowadays. Usually they are the same drivers who do not level their headlights properly when they have load.
HIDs always come with leveling knobs for the driver to use. If they don't, the factory equips them with the auto-leveling feature. This is the same with LEDs. The factory German LEDs designed by Hella has much more flux in beam than any halogen lamp. Many cars German have auto-leveling LEDs. Most pickup trucks have the leveling feature but the drivers don't use them and that's why we get "glare kings" on our roads at the moment.
bigfatmat1,
Jul 28, 11:22am
some hids come with leveling wheel. All others are auto adjust. Which was the 2006 adr requirement iirc
northernfist,
Jul 28, 11:47am
Sorry. I wasn't able to edit my comment but I was supposed to put in "some" instead of "all."
I think the auto-leveling system is good enough to prevent the vehicle from blinding others. Some headlights are just more poorly designed. Some newer LED headlights in the market are just too poorly designed that they emit much less flux than halogens but they emit much more glare!
s_nz,
Jul 28, 11:56am
This only applies to older car's with halogen headlights, and people who don't understand (or care) enough to use the manual adjustment feature.
Also applies to Fog lights - Fog lights generally do not level, so if the rear of your car is sacked out they point upwards. Illegal to use in clear weather, but heaps of people seem to anyway. Police enforcement of vehicle lighting rules seems minimal.
Cars with HID/Xenon headlights all come with auto or manual leveling to compensate for a heavy load in the rear (my car does it automatically, by measuring the compression of the rear suspension).
s_nz,
Jul 28, 11:58am
Interesting. My Car is a 2006 model year, and I assume on it's original set of HID bulbs. Perhaps I should try out a new set.
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