[Rich]

Was wondering if there is any way to adjust the headlights up a little on a 2004 350Z. I drive mostly at dark hours (early morning/late night) and feel like the dim beam setting is too low. Only about 3 car lengths in front of car. The high beam is better, but you can overdrive the headlights beam. I have driven with the high beams on in an area of divided highway,and oncoming traffic didnt seem to mind, but it didnt feel right to me. Where I drive is rural and we see a lot of deer and coyotes out along side the roadway at night. I asked the service manager at the dealership about it, and he said that I just needed to get accustomed to the lights on the 350 Z, as they were different from what I was used to. I've looked at the light assembly from under the hood, and dont see any adjustment. Is it just me or does anyone else have this problem. On another note, when I got my initial oil change at the dealership, they left the cap off of the radiator overflow tank, so my confidence in the dealership and his advise is rather low now. I was thinking about adding driving lights in the grill. Know of any aftermarket parts that might work in this area? Thanks for your advise....this is a great forum.

 

[JTS2005]

hey rich, have you checked the service manual, its in there how to adjust it, if you need a copy i can provide you with one. what yr do you have?

 

[nismokid]

To adjust your lights, pop the hood and look straight down at the headlight towards the rear side of the headlight. You'll see a small opening that goes straight down and you'll see a small gear with teeth on it. You'll need about an 8" phillips screw driver to reach it. Once you do, turn it clockwise to the height you want.

The picture I'm posting shows the small gear, but from the view with the wheel well liner removed. The straight yellow line is the path the screw driver has to take from above to reach it.

 

[JTS2005]

nice post nismokid!!
thx

 

[jinxxycat]

Great tip there!!!

 

[dave079]

You may want to have your headlights on while doing this against a garage or some kind of wall and mark the area where the top of your beam is to make sure both sides are even.

 

[hypersprite]

To find the hole from the top see pic

The way I set mine that seems to work well and does not seem to dazzle oncoming traffic. With the car on a level surface 8' from a flat wall.

The hot spot ended up at 25/26" and the cutoff at 28/29" directly in front of each light, like in this pic

The cutoff still seems a little abrupt when the road levels out at the bottom of a hill and even worse if it goes back to an incline.

Chris

 

[DiRN]

You think it's too dim? Get into a car without HIDs at night, and then tell me the Z is too dim. Haha. I can't stand driving my Si at night because the headlights suck compared to the Z

 

[hypersprite]

Based on lighting alone, my 72 Mini Cooper with 7" round Sylvania Silver Star headlights are far better to drive at night, especially in the hills. I can't put my finger on it, the Z it is white but not very strong. The Zs high beams on the other hand are brighter than the sun, I am sure you can see them from space.

Chris

 

[Rich]

Thanks for the info. I went to Sears and bought a new screw driver set with the 8" phillips...Cheaper to by the set in the long run than just one screw driver. Got in the parking garage at work and used the 8' from the wall idea. Passenger side was down lower than driver side, and both were low. Raised both up and presto chango.... I was moved from darkness into light. Thanks for your help.

 

[DiRN]

Glad to hear you got it all taken care of

 

[Ringo7]

Great post!! Thanks!

nismokid, (if you're still around here...), thanks for the great post! New 08 350z owner and LOVING IT!

The drivers side headlight was pointing a lot lower than the passenger side. Was going to take it to Nissan because all I could find were posts & videos on how to remove the headlight, not how to adjust it.

Came across your post, immediately got up and headed for the garage with an 8" screwdriver... Took about 30 seconds to adjust the headlight! Perfect now. Awesome!! :biggrin: