Bright Headlights

[Norm Peterson]

Make sure that random lowering of the headlight aim is not costing you too much of the forward illumination that you are entitled to have.

If your driveway is pretty flat, pull up close to the garage door and turn the headlights on. Note how high up the door the two beam cutoffs are. Painter's tape will work if you need a more fixed refernce.

Slowly back the car away from the door. As long as the beam cutoffs drop very slowly as you back away, your aim is functionally good. Even if they stay put at your reference points, it's unlikely that very many oncoming drivers will be bothered. Only if the cutoffs rise as you back up are your beams aimed badly enough that aim is the only problem.

FWIW, there are slight benefits to aiming the passenger side light just a little higher than the driver side light. You may even be able to "get away with" having the passenger side headlight aim being just a tiny bit "up" without attracting complaints.


Norm