How do I align my headlights?
Rennlist
Lifetime Member
Lifetime Member
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 3,651
Likes: 8
From: Chino hills, CA
I tried various methods and found the best way was to have someone else drive another car (any brand) equipped with factory HID side by side on the freeway at night. You can really get a good comparison with the beam pattern and the distance and then pull over to make the adjustments.
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 246
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From: Napa weekdays,Fort Bragg other days
i have factory litronics and since i stripped the gears on the OEM housing on the passenger side, do take the advice and adjust very carefully, i did the dark road adjustment as its rural where i live after rough adj on garage door.
my two cents. ds
my two cents. ds
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Joined: May 2001
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I've now had two failures within 1 year from the Vertex HID kits. The most recent one is either the bulb or ballast. I'm still troubleshooting. I bought this kit new from Vertex less than six months ago and hope they honor their stated 1 year warranty.
This HID thing is getting old. I doubt I have more than 3 hours total on the new bulbs and ballast since I rarely use my lights. However, this past weekend I was driving to an AX and the new CA law requires driving with your lights on when it's raining. I turn them on and only one is working.
This HID thing is getting old. I doubt I have more than 3 hours total on the new bulbs and ballast since I rarely use my lights. However, this past weekend I was driving to an AX and the new CA law requires driving with your lights on when it's raining. I turn them on and only one is working.
Weathergirl
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Joined: Oct 2002
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From: SE PA
First, I'm sure they will work with you on replacement of failed parts after such a short time.
Second, why not scrap the whole thing and get one of the new low profile kits for less than $150? If you haven't been following the recent threads, there are now kits with ballasts/igniters/wiring small enough to fit neatly inside the headlight housing. No brackets and ballasts in the trunk and completely reversible in about 5 min with no tools if one fails.
Second, why not scrap the whole thing and get one of the new low profile kits for less than $150? If you haven't been following the recent threads, there are now kits with ballasts/igniters/wiring small enough to fit neatly inside the headlight housing. No brackets and ballasts in the trunk and completely reversible in about 5 min with no tools if one fails.
Addict
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From: Princeton
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 327
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From: Laguna Niguel, CA
Thats too bad.. I got mine 2 years ago from another source and have had no issues whatsoever.. Thinking about having a spare set just in case I have a failure on a road trip - but have not bought them. Your expereince with Vertex makes me want to stay away from this specific kit. Guess I'll look into one of the new kits RallyJon mentions.
BTW - If you get a real foggy nite, thats the perfect time to do the headlight adjustment. You can easily see each beams exact path through the fog. I fine tuned my adjustment like this in a quiet residential neghborhood where I could pull over make an adjustment, drive, adjust, etc. till optimized.
BTW - If you get a real foggy nite, thats the perfect time to do the headlight adjustment. You can easily see each beams exact path through the fog. I fine tuned my adjustment like this in a quiet residential neghborhood where I could pull over make an adjustment, drive, adjust, etc. till optimized.
Drifting
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 3,074
Likes: 205
From: Paris
993 specific: Porsche recommends the 10 x 10 for the 993
park your car on a flat surface with a wall facing you. The distance between the car and
the wall should be 10 meters (32.8080 feet)
Now measure the height from the floor to the center of your headlight inner small lense.
Now go to the wall and mark the wall with the height of the headlights small lens minus (10 centimeters)
or 3.937 inches.
Now to adjust the drivers headlight, raise or lower the horizontal line drawn by the light to the mark on the wall.
For left and right adjust, you could clearly see a checkmark style beam on the wall to the right. This checkmark should be centered to the center of the car. ie the beams should look like this:
left and right beam pattern on wall
-----------------------/-----------------------/
________________/________________/
..(steering wheel)
Now the right beam should lye on the left one (straight line) with the swoosh equidistant.
Then you could adjust the fog lights. Those should fill the dark area BELOW the headlights beam.
You would be able to see clearly where the bottom of the headlight beam stops, so raise the fog light beam
to exactly fill the gap.
ps: I have litronics ROW, so application may differ to other countries
For 993's with electrical adjustable headlights, remember to place switch on zero Before
adjusting,
regards
park your car on a flat surface with a wall facing you. The distance between the car and
the wall should be 10 meters (32.8080 feet)
Now measure the height from the floor to the center of your headlight inner small lense.
Now go to the wall and mark the wall with the height of the headlights small lens minus (10 centimeters)
or 3.937 inches.
Now to adjust the drivers headlight, raise or lower the horizontal line drawn by the light to the mark on the wall.
For left and right adjust, you could clearly see a checkmark style beam on the wall to the right. This checkmark should be centered to the center of the car. ie the beams should look like this:
left and right beam pattern on wall
-----------------------/-----------------------/
________________/________________/
..(steering wheel)
Now the right beam should lye on the left one (straight line) with the swoosh equidistant.
Then you could adjust the fog lights. Those should fill the dark area BELOW the headlights beam.
You would be able to see clearly where the bottom of the headlight beam stops, so raise the fog light beam
to exactly fill the gap.
ps: I have litronics ROW, so application may differ to other countries
For 993's with electrical adjustable headlights, remember to place switch on zero Before
adjusting,
regards
