Stinger Headlight High Beams

[DCBStingerGT]

Yesterday I was driving home in my Stinger, I got an old beat up Ford Falcon behind me, almost tailgating, suddenly the driver swerves to the right lane narrowly missing my rear end right hand side corner of my bumper, passes me on the right lane, then dramatically swerves in front of me to approach a red light, so i flick the high beams on him, and i can't believe how strong they are, i flick them on and off about five times, completely lights him up, he must have thought i was Police, as he started to pull over.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Lol. Actually, the only thing about the Stinger that I will never get comfortable with is the drastic difference between regular and high beam. Regular illuminates the road out not far enough: then you have this band of darkness right at the edge of where you want to see, when going any decent amount of highway speed. It's not that the LEDs are insufficient; far from it; but they are not angled up high enough. To see far enough to not fear objects suddenly appearing inside your lights, you have to switch to high beam. And then, boy howdy! does the countryside light up! Not enough of a good thing, replaced by too much of a good thing for most situations.

 

[itguy61]

I raised mine up a bit and it made all the difference.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I raised mine up a bit and it made all the difference.

How?

 

[itguy61]

There is post in the do it yourself forum that shows how to adjust them. They were aimed too low.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Thanks!
How To Adjust Headlight Beam Height
"Just three bolts and a hose clamp"?! I'm getting cold sweats already.

 

[itguy61]

It is easy. the main thing is to get a ratcheted 12mm wrench, makes it much easier.

 

[MerlintheMad]

It is easy. the main thing is to get a ratcheted 12mm wrench, makes it much easier.

Or go with the 12" Philips screwdriver first, which is evidently the intention of the design. (Bars and boxes [and hoses??] off, hell no, unless I have to.)

 

[itguy61]

Some people do that, some seem to have trouble and remove air boxes. Either way it works.

 

[LaserJet]

It is very easy with a #2 philips screwdriver. No need to remove anything.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I did the screwdriver thing: What did you do to your Kia Stinger today?

 

[itguy61]

did it go okay?

 

[MerlintheMad]

did it go okay?

Without a hitch. Turns the position really slow. Must be a really finely pitched worm gear in there.

Waiting for total darkness to head over to the Mountain View Corridor again and test the difference. I was on it last week and the black band ahead of the low beams was just awful; almost like I was seeing it for the first time. That was when I resolved that something needed to be done. Fifteen months later! Heh!?

An odd thing occurred as I was setting my car up for the adjustment. I could swear that my headlights slightly raised and lowered themselves as I backed up and sneaked forward. I tried it three times to be sure. But I'm only 99% sure. GT1 does not have bending lights. I haven't heard of any other feature that moves the headlights for any reason. Hmm ...

 

[itguy61]

Hope you enjoy the improvement as much as I have Merlin. Made a big difference. I have no idea why Kia aims them so low. The NHSA crash rating was based on our headlights in the cars without the dynamic headlights. They rated ours as fair, I would guess due the low own since other than dynamic bending they are the same .

Just curious, what number screw drive you got?

 

[MerlintheMad]

Just curious, what number screw drive you got?

Number 2, 8" long. You don't need the 12" long driver. It's at O'Reilly's.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I just got back. I might leave them where they are. I was very gratified to see the reflective road signs being lit up blocks ahead. Too high? Maybe not. The near signs are really lit up, the ones further out much less so but still visible; whereas before they would have been concealed in the "black band" above the headlight pools. Nobody flashed their high beams at me. So I'm probably good. If I feel comfortable pulling the pools in a bit closer, then I'll drop them a tad.

(Go to Kill Tally for the rest of the story. )

 

[Manaz]

An odd thing occurred as I was setting my car up for the adjustment. I could swear that my headlights slightly raised and lowered themselves as I backed up and sneaked forward. I tried it three times to be sure. But I'm only 99% sure. GT1 does not have bending lights. I haven't heard of any other feature that moves the headlights for any reason. Hmm ...

In Australia, even without bending lights, any car with HID headlights must have an auto-levelling capability (also requires headlight washers, another issue), and I'm pretty sure it's not a capability that's just developed for the local market, it'd be something on many cars globally. Could this have been what you were seeing, as the nose of the car pitched up and down?

 

[MerlintheMad]

In Australia, even without bending lights, any car with HID headlights must have an auto-levelling capability (also requires headlight washers, another issue), and I'm pretty sure it's not a capability that's just developed for the local market, it'd be something on many cars globally. Could this have been what you were seeing, as the nose of the car pitched up and down?

Leveling headlights? That's what it looked like they were doing alright. Very slight but unmistakable. As I rolled forward and stopped completely, the headlights dipped or rose slightly, maybe c. an inch on the wall (I can't remember for sure which direction they moved, I'd have to go look again).

 

[itguy61]

Any idea how many inches you raised them?

 

[MerlintheMad]

Any idea how many inches you raised them?

Yes. At c. six feet back, c. two inches raised.