mick_foley

Hey 05-06 ES owners with xenon headlights, I need a little assistance. I tried to search but found nothing. I'm trying to adjust the headlights. Before I was under the impression that you have to turn the side screw and top screw (not necessarily at the same time) the same number of times for vertical adjustment .

I've been getting the headlights to move up and down with just the topmost screw. The side screw doesn't seem to do anything no matter how many times I turn it after turning the topmost screw. My problem now is horizontal alignment (noticeably slanted beam) and I think the side screw has something to do with it. Just not sure what.

I looked on the top of the headlight and saw something that read along the lines of turning both screws at the side time to adjust vertical alignment but as I mentioned it moved for me with just moving one screw. I hope I didn't confuse.

I guess my main questions are: How do you really adjust these things specifically the horizontal alignment?

I'm at work now so I'm just getting a jump before I get home later today. Thanks.

And yes I searched and no I don't have an owner's manual since my car is actually an '04.

JSM1284

The beam slant is not adjustable. You will need to play with bending the mounting points, like the inner most mount behind the grille. You will need to bed the metal mount to make the beam level.

mick_foley

well that sucks.... what is up with the side screw? What does it do?

The bumper has to come off again, eh if I want a more level beam. I can live with the slant cause it isn't THAT bad but I'd rather not.

PS, I took pictures for you JSM but there was a lot of sun so I don't think they came out too good overall. I'll have to take some more when the sun is lower in the sky.

JSM1284

The side screw should adjust side to side position. It should move the cut-off either to the right or left.

mick_foley

OK, makes sense now.

tuan92129

These headlights came with auto leveling, I don't think bending the mounting points would solve the problem.

mick_foley

The auto leveling does not affect horizontal alignment. It just keeps the headlights at a consistent level (non-blinding to other drivers) depending on which incline you are on and what you set the vertical alignment at by using the screws on the back of the headlight.

I find that there is a large number of people on this forum that are confused by what auto-leveling actually does. Thanks for trying to help though.

mick_foley

And I'm not going to bend it really. What I will do is play around with the placement of the headlights in the mounting points when I get the opportunity.

tuan92129

Well, horizontal alignment is like _____/----- , so i assumed you wanted to adjust that

mick_foley

yeah, that's ideally how I want my beam to look but that still has nothing to do with auto-leveling

Right now the beam is like you have above but a little slanted. The slant is the issue. I want the cutoff more parallel with the ground.

gulffishin

Let's see some pics! I have an 03 and have been wanting to do this for a while now!

mick_foley

You ask and you shall receive. I have pictures in the sunlight but with the black finish (which I did myself), pictures in direct sunlight don't really do too well. The best shots of the car are in the shade and when the sun is going down. My color choice was satin black.






The slight rainbow effect was not caused by the camera. It's actually how the headlight looks when the light hits the lens at certain angles. I thought it was cool. I like the headlights much better now due to the more aggressive look and match with my exterior. The HID performance is definitely better than the reflectors. But please do not get me wrong. The reflectors are NOT a bad substitute.

gulffishin

Dude! That looks really good! You did a good job blacking them out.

mick_foley

Thanks man.

JSM1284

Looks like i'm opening up mine soon.