Topic: aiming of headlights help
in Forum: C3 Q&A with Dave McLellan
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does anyone have any insight on aiming headlights i remember when they use to make you drive your car into the bay for an inspection and they had a machinie on a track an the floor that rolled in front of the headlights and to me it looked like another headlight that they pointed in front of your headlight and i guess they aimed your headlight from the reading they got off your headlight i dont think they or i have not found anyone with one of those machines around any more i have ran across a few people that know what i am talking about but since the state doest not make headlight aiming a part of you inspection any more those machine have all gone away there must be a way to aim your headlights so that when you are driving down the road one is not pointing at the ground and the other at 1 oclock i have had to point my motorcycle light before and i remember there was a formula like get on level ground and a flat wall and back up say 20 feet and you headlight should be at 3 feet of the ground or something like that i dont remember the exact way or height of the light i am just for example it it is just kinda frustrating when you are driving and people are allway flashing there highs at you any one with any help would be greatly thankful and ps i dont know if this is the right place to ask a question i am new to the site thanks Brent Rogers
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Lifetime MemberBrent,
You are on the right track with the flat wall. Most States have a regulation on aiming the lights. Like you said it is usually so many inches off the road at a prescribed distance. A simple way to do it is take a second car, that has the lights aimed correctly, and park it 20 feet from a flat wall. Using masking tape, mark the wall where the beams are hitting. I make an X with the tape. Also mark the pavement right under the headlights, where the car is parked. When done, move that car and park the Vette where the headlights are close to where the other car was parked. Turn on the lights and adjust the beams to the same height as the tape on the wall. The lateral aiming may be off a little if the spread on the test car headlights is way different than the Vette. But you can get very close to perfect using this method.
Scott
You can also see how they look afterwards by finding a long stretch of road that you can stop on and just see how the lights shine down the road, they should angle down and to the right slightly to avoid shining into the eyes of oncoming drivers. Check the high beams also. And fine tune if needed.
Dave
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Dave's '82 
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Oak Creek, WI - USA
Joined: 5/21/2008
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Vette(s): 1981 Great White Shark. Red Interior, 350/190 hp. PS, PB (SS), A/C CC, T-Tops. Served three years in Active Duty Army, then Retired Air Force after 34 years! Badger State Vettes Car Club. 175,000 Original miles!! Now own a 1998 C-5!
Hi Brent. Again the info about aiming your headlights is in the shop manual.
Dan
Got to love bad aim..I am in one of those states that requires one of those headlight aimers..we have one but no one uses it..I aimed mine on the car by going to the township building down the road with a really big white wall..could aim all 4 much easier..of course it was dark and the cops didn't seem to mind.
.I tried the garage door thing but they really didn't like that..
My first parade at Carlisle 2010
in Forum: C3 Q&A with Dave McLellan
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