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[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Should adjustment be made in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction?
The neanderthal knuckledraggers  at Duckworth Jaguar lowered the beam to satisfy the MOT criteria. The headlights now shine about 4 feet in front of the car making it dangerous to drive in the dark.

[Marks DTM Calib]

It does not give specifics in Topix, best to drive upto next to a wall at night, mark the beam pattern, reverse a number of meters, and set to 10mm below

[aaronjb]

It does not give specifics in Topix, best to drive upto next to a wall at night, mark the beam pattern, reverse a number of meters, and set to 10mm below

How I've always done it, too. The top of the light (these days) usually has the drop marked as a percentage, too.. so 1.5% drop means 1.5cm at 1m, and so on.

Of course, finding a level enough area to do it is usually the problem! I can just about do the Mini in the garage

[Marks DTM Calib]

I do know its 1% on JLR headlights 

[aaronjb]

I do know its 1% on JLR headlights 

  I think 1.5% is me thinking of the Mini headlights (BMW Mini, obviously, not BL with 7" Lucas units .. not that they're much of an improvement, light output wise!)

[TheBoy]

It does not give specifics in Topix, best to drive upto next to a wall at night, mark the beam pattern, reverse a number of meters, and set to 10mm below

Nah, not out in the country, where its customary to set the drivers side so its like full beam all the time.  And if its a pickup truck, fit a load of 150W spots that you can then use to blind anyone who dares flash...

[TheBoy]

Oh, and drive with fogs on all the time.

[Kevin Wood]

Oh, and drive with fogs on all the time.

.. and try to drive your L200 like it's a sports car everywhere. Which begs the question of why you didn't, in the first place, buy a f****** sports car.

.. and relax.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

I was stuck behind a pickup truck on my commute to work today which had its rear fog lights on in perfectly clear dry conditions and refused to exceed 21mph for miles on end. I was fantasising about shooting the driver in front of his inbred family.

[Sir Tigger KC]

I was stuck behind a pickup truck on my commute to work today which had its rear fog lights on in perfectly clear dry conditions and refused to exceed 21mph for miles on end. I was fantasising about shooting the driver in front of his inbred family.

Is that sort of thing a bit like eugenics? 

[Doctor Gollum]

Certainly a form of educational therapy...

[Varche]

I was stuck behind a pickup truck on my commute to work today which had its rear fog lights on in perfectly clear dry conditions and refused to exceed 21mph for miles on end. I was fantasising about shooting the driver in front of his inbred family.

Are you one of Dominics forecasting experts?

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

I had thought of applying,as Im certainly a weirdo. He seems an arrogant little nob though, so I might get fired in the first week for giving him a slap.

[Varche]

Should adjustment be made in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction?
The neanderthal knuckledraggers  at Duckworth Jaguar lowered the beam to satisfy the MOT criteria. The headlights now shine about 4 feet in front of the car making it dangerous to drive in the dark.

Go on then I will dare to ask the questions others dare not ask.

1.Are you a trained MOT tester?
2, Was there a quality issue with the factory settings, i.e. not set as per MDT settings?
3. When you have adjusted your lights up is there a vague possibility that you will then be one of those folk with blinding lights at nightime?
4. Do you do enough driving at night on unknown roads to need 100% lights?
5. Have you had your eyes tested?

[Doctor Gollum]

Some cars lights aren't fit for purpose. Vectra C facelift for example. Adjusted to pass the MoT, they don't actually illuminate the road ahead.

Much like the emissions on your Golf

[Marks DTM Calib]

Should adjustment be made in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction?
The neanderthal knuckledraggers  at Duckworth Jaguar lowered the beam to satisfy the MOT criteria. The headlights now shine about 4 feet in front of the car making it dangerous to drive in the dark.

Go on then I will dare to ask the questions others dare not ask.

1.Are you a trained MOT tester?
2, Was there a quality issue with the factory settings, i.e. not set as per MDT settings?
3. When you have adjusted your lights up is there a vague possibility that you will then be one of those folk with blinding lights at nightime?
4. Do you do enough driving at night on unknown roads to need 100% lights?
5. Have you had your eyes tested?

I can check exactly what it was set to in the factory......

......as for training, you must have forgotten what the garage techs are like here 

[Nick W]

Some cars lights aren't fit for purpose. Vectra C facelift for example. Adjusted to pass the MoT, they don't actually illuminate the road ahead.

the MOT requirement is that you don't dazzle oncoming traffic.
The machine that the tester uses highlights the beam pattern and the areas where it isn't allowed to fall. When he adjusts the lights(it's one of the few things he is allowed to adjust, so insist if he refuses) all he is doing is moving the beam out of the proscribed areas, which often results in lights that don't work well for the driver. It is perfectly possible to adjust them to both requirements, but that does take some fiddling around.


I think a 7" round headlamp with a good quality H4 bulb still compares well to more complicated modern lamps.

[Marks DTM Calib]

I think a 7" round headlamp with a good quality H4 bulb still compares well to more complicated modern lamps.

Blimey, not aligned with you there!

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Some cars lights aren't fit for purpose. Vectra C facelift for example. Adjusted to pass the MoT, they don't actually illuminate the road ahead.

the MOT requirement is that you don't dazzle oncoming traffic.
The machine that the tester uses highlights the beam pattern and the areas where it isn't allowed to fall. When he adjusts the lights(it's one of the few things he is allowed to adjust, so insist if he refuses) all he is doing is moving the beam out of the proscribed areas, which often results in lights that don't work well for the driver. It is perfectly possible to adjust them to both requirements, but that does take some fiddling around.


I think a 7" round headlamp with a good quality H4 bulb still compares well to more complicated modern lamps.

Two informative statements here.

Every year the MOT guy makes sure I don't dazzle other drivers by setting the headlight beams so low they are dangerous. I have 20/10 vision but I still need some light to see with.

So, every year following the MOT,  I spend precious time trying to get the lights raised so they light up the road ahead rather than right in front of the car.

The way I set them not once have I been flashed ( no not that sort of flashed ) by other drivers. I just wish the MOT testers would f*ucking leave well alone.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Should adjustment be made in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction?
The neanderthal knuckledraggers  at Duckworth Jaguar lowered the beam to satisfy the MOT criteria. The headlights now shine about 4 feet in front of the car making it dangerous to drive in the dark.

Go on then I will dare to ask the questions others dare not ask.

1.Are you a trained MOT tester?
2, Was there a quality issue with the factory settings, i.e. not set as per MDT settings?
3. When you have adjusted your lights up is there a vague possibility that you will then be one of those folk with blinding lights at nightime?
4. Do you do enough driving at night on unknown roads to need 100% lights?
5. Have you had your eyes tested?

I refer the honourable gentleman to reply 18.

[Kevin Wood]

I had thought of applying,as Im certainly a weirdo. He seems an arrogant little nob though, so I might get fired in the first week for giving him a slap.

You reckon you'd make it to the front of the queue that soon?

[Varche]

OK, interesting answers.

Next question. My Golf7 has bi xenons and Lord Opti would describe the aim as set too low. I joined a Golf forum ( not a patch on OOF) and the view was the lights were poor by design as a backlash against xenons . Plus they weren’t adjustable except by a dealer.

So asking a knowledgeable forum. Can my Golf7 lights be adjusted and is it dealer only?

[ronnyd]

Some cars lights aren't fit for purpose. Vectra C facelift for example. Adjusted to pass the MoT, they don't actually illuminate the road ahead.

Much like the emissions on your Golf

You're not wrong there Doc. The dipped beam on mine are cack. Heads are good though.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Some cars lights aren't fit for purpose. Vectra C facelift for example. Adjusted to pass the MoT, they don't actually illuminate the road ahead.

Much like the emissions on your Golf

You're not wrong there Doc. The dipped beam on mine are cack. Heads are good though.

Yep....utter shite on the mighty Signum.

[STEMO]

You should all take into account the fact that you are getting on in years and your eyesight isn't what it used to be. I can see perfectly with the standard lights on my astra.

[ronnyd]

You should all take into account the fact that you are getting on in years and your eyesight isn't what it used to be. I can see perfectly with the standard lights on my astra.

You may have a valid point there young man.

[TheBoy]

Remember that all bulbs degrade from the moment they are first used. And I mean all, be it halogen, HID or LED.

So if your bulbs are a few years old, seem pretty bright to look at, seem "ok-ish" on the road with no other traffic, but absolutely useless when there is oncoming traffic, you might want to consider new bulbs.  Unless you own a newer Jag XJ, in which case its easier to replace the car.

[Marks DTM Calib]

OK, interesting answers.

Next question. My Golf7 has bi xenons and Lord Opti would describe the aim as set too low. I joined a Golf forum ( not a patch on OOF) and the view was the lights were poor by design as a backlash against xenons . Plus they weren’t adjustable except by a dealer.

So asking a knowledgeable forum. Can my Golf7 lights be adjusted and is it dealer only?

Just look for the manual adjusters, bound to be some