I have to say I was a little disappointed in the beam pattern on my 04 G35x Sedan.

So last Thursday, I took it in for it's first oil change and mentioned the lights so they "adjusted" them. I did a road trip to VA this weekend and the drivers side was OK but the passenger side light was pointing in the trees on the right side of the road.

So, today I stopped back by the dealer and they "fixed" the lights. Now they point straight at the freakin' ground!!! The low beam pattern stops about 50 feet in front of hte car.

So, how do I adjust the headlights myself? Without breaking anything, of course.





On-On
S&S

 

You have stumbled on one of the very few incongruous design ineptitudes in this car. The first major issue you are facing is that the reflectors for the main headlight beams and the fog beams (the brights) are molded as a single piece and cannot be adjusted separately. What that means is that the fogs cannot be adjusted high enough to illuiminate the road in the distance without having the main headlight beams way too high and blinding on-comming drivers as a result.

There are two adjusters for each side. On the driver's side, it is necessary to remove the stock air box to access the lower adjustment. To further complicate matters, our illumined bigger brother in Washington has required that the elevation adjustment be sealed to keep ignorant fingers (or wrenches) from the works.

If you remove the air box and look around on the back side of the light assembly, you will find a rubber cap about 1/4 in. in diameter covering the adjustment bolt head. Usually, this can be removed by hand by just twisting it off. Save it to reinstall after adjustments because the dealers (at least mine) are very touchy about not having any "unauthorized" person adjust the lights.

This bolt head is either 8 or 10 mm, I forget which. After adjusting, replace the rubber cap.

The other adjuster is sort of above the lights and consists of a pair of white plastic gears with an access opening for a phillips screwdriver. The problem gets complicated here because this adjustment is not a simple left and right, but rather a diagonal. So just about the time you think you have the vertical set where you want it, the diagonal movement will change that too.

The solution seems to be by starting with the top adjustment and making sure your left/right pattern is acceptable first, then adjust the vertical. In my experience, this was no easy task because of the diffuse beam pattern. And the halogen fog beams were so pathetic, that I replaced them with HID's from xenondepot in Canada. Good luck!

 

Here's the aiming chart.

<font color=blue>04 Silverstone G35, 5AT, Prem, Aero
ES100 225/45-18 front 245/40-18 rear
Painted calipers, side marker signals
Clr corners, Brake Fluid cover
Borla TD, Z-tube, Eibach, 35%Tints</font color=blue>


284805-HL Aim.jpg

 

Great! I found the white gear thingy's last weekend. The dealer had the passenger light so far to the right I had to pull off at a rest area and do SOMETHING because the people in the right lane would slow down then shine their highbeams in my mirror.

Couldn't see the vertical nuts in the dark but I just looked and think I found them. I'll try to adjust them tonight at work. I'm real picky about my lights since I work nights.

Thanks!!!



On-On
S&S

 

Boy, you sure know your lights!!! I read in a car magazine and it complained about the very sharp cutoff of the headlights of the G.

2004 G35X

 

OK, I found the p/s vertical adjustment OK and gave it a couple tweaks (small steps!). Will check it out on the way home tonight and see if, well, if I can SEE!

D/s vertical nut still had the cap on it so I couldn't get to it tonight, maybe this weekend. Obviously, the dealer didn't adjust that one!



On-On
S&S

 

UPDATE! New info.

OK, I was trying to adjust the headlights last night and just couldn't get it right. Finally made a breakthrough.

The lower 8mm nut adjusts the entire assembly (ie the halogen fog/highbeams) diagonally, lower inside to higher outside.

The upper white gear looking thingy's then adjust the HID pattern diagonally inside the assembly.

This is starting to get on my nerves!!! I got it pretty close I think, but they were WAY outside.

p.s. I still haven't removed the cover from the d/s lower nut, I'm almost afraid to F with it.



On-On
S&S

 

Well, after trying it again, I am VERY sorry to say, no soap. I can't say anything about anyone else's car, but on my car at least, it doesn't work that way. The headlight reflector does give every appearance of being separate from the fog reflector, but mine only move together in the same direction simultaneously.

After reading your post I was eager to try it out because after HOURS of trying, I am still not satisfied with the beam patterns. Those who drive only in metro areas and on interstates may never notice, but get into a dark, rural area (especially in deer country) and the "brights" turn out to be "dims."

In any event, here is how mine work. Both adjusters on both light work the same way. Counterclockwise moves the lights up and clockwise moves them down. To be more precise, they do move diagonally to further confuse the issue. When I adjust the brights to the elevation I want them and then try to adjust the headlights separately using the white plastic upper adjuster, the upper adjuster moves both fogs and headlights down again so I am back where I started.

No matter what I do, in order to keep the headlights out of other driver's eyes, the "fogs" point too low and do not shine down the road nearly far enough. (And those faux chrome tubular enclosures for the fogs reflect a lot of light from the headlights up into the air and do a wonderful job of illuminating things such as rain droplets and snowflakes.) Their light is essentially wasted. I'm at my wits end on this one. There seems to be no solution other than auxilliary driving lights. But the problem there is, where do you put them. The slots in the OEM grills are too narrow for all but a very few lights.

 

I finally got mine close enough for my standards (which are pretty high).

Drivers side is back close to the stock setting, maybe just a smidgen higher.

The p/s HID is just a touch higher than it was when I bought it, now I can see the deer jumping out in front of me. The HID pattern cuts off about 125 feet in front of the car.

The p/s side high beam is almost too high, it still shines straight down my lane, just a little high. I can live with this.


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S&S