Headlight height adjustment

I found a link online detailing it, but now I can't find it. I know you have to remove panels under the hood, but I haven't done it yet (but need to bad!).

 

I would have the dealer do the adjustment
there are guidelines for a correct adjustment......legal one's from the factory

 

Has anyone adjusted their headlights themselves? I asked my dealer to slightly adjust them upward as I felt it was too low and not giving good coverage. Now I'm blinding everyone. Its way too high.

 

Since no one responded I guess no one has ever tried it. I have and it is pretty simple once you remove the top 4 screws on the cover over the headlights. There is a white hex socket above the light assembly. If you turn it clockwise it will lower your low beam, counter clockwise will raise. Adjust with caution as not to blind other drivers.

 

Thanks. Mine are entirely too low. I'm happy to adjust myself.

 

I have this same very issue since I purchased my 458 last week and it's my first Ferrari and love it but can't drive at night due to this problem.

Thanks will try it out.

 

Thanks for the info! That worked like a champ. My headlights are pointed higher and I can see the road ahead now!!!

 

for me 180° counter clockwise

 

Four screws? I count a lot more than that. Are we talking about removing the black panel adjacent the headlight unit?

 

It is 4 screws, plus another 12 I think lol. I just did mine. Remove the entire black plastic panels (2). The white hex needs turned counter clockwise. My car is lowered an inch, so I raised my light all the way up till it stopped, which wasn't much...problem solved. Takes you 30min with a friend a bottle of Nickel and Nickel.

 

Yes, a lot of little screws just to get at the adjuster!

 

Just adjusted mine. All you need to do is remove 6 of the screws on top of the cover beside the headlight. Once you do that, you can get access to the white hex adjuster to raise or lower the headlight that is just under the flap. I adjusted the left headlight just a little lower than the right to make it easier for oncoming traffic. My car was lowered and needed to adjust for the height difference. I will know tonight if I adjusted enough.

 

PLEASE post photo's to prevent Questions

 

Just adjusted my headlights thanks to this thread! Thank you.

 

Thank you all for help in adjusting the headlights. Now to find the small black replacement screws, mine had rust on them.

 

It’s amazing how many are not adjusted when delivered. Mine were aimed about 3 meters in front of the car! They were so low as to render the car undrivable at night.

For the screw, McMaster.com
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Thanks for the heads up on sourcing the screws!

Cheers


“I see a line of Supercars and they’re all painted red… Visions of Maranello’s Prancing Horses dance in my head”

 

I adjusted mine on the 458. You will need 3 different screwdriver tips, a phillips #2, a Torx 25 and a 3mm hex drive. There are 9 screws on the panels overlying each light, 2 phillips at the top and lateral lip that are sheet metal screws, 4- 3mm hex drive button heads lower front and 3 Torx 25 screws under the trunk gasket. lift the panel up slightly and you will see a white nylon 3/8 in hex socket. That is the adjusting screw. There is no lateral adjustment, only up and down. You dont need to remove the large torx 30 screw. The panel flexes enough to get the hex drive socket in and turn it by hand to adjust.
I measured the height of the light hotspot directly next to the light at about 22 1/2 in. I was 39 inches away from a wall in the garage and I calculated using right triangle calculator to give me a horizontal throw of about 150-200 feet You need a drop angle of 89.284 or 0.72 degree drop from horizontal. (angle beta)The second calculation shows that if I dropped the hotspot on the wall at 39 in by 1/2 in it gave me the same angle beta which is the angle of drop to achieve the desired aim point.You can plug in your numbers for height etc. This was calculated to give me a throw of 150-180 feet which is about the max of the lights. It did take some fine tuning after driving it at night to settle on a setting that I liked but this got me in the range that I was looking for.

Leave the cover plates loose and drive it at night to check the settings and adjust further if needed. This worked for me and the high beams light up the signs etc, and low beams don't so this was great for me. Hope it helps


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Like all of you my 458 Spider had WAY too low adjusted headlights. After removing the 1000 screws holding the panels on I adjusted them up (maybe 2 full turns) and went for a drive and it seemed way better. I hadn't thought about blinding oncoming cars so I'll check this tonight with a buddy or wife in an oncoming car.

But does anyone know what the other two white round adjustment screws do on the outboard lower edge of the headlight assembly. The workshop manual references them as adjustment screws as well. They didn't obviously change anything when I turned them 1/2 turn like the top ones do. I assume the adjustment is inboard/outboard but they don't seem to move????
Thanks
Frank
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