High Beam to low beam

[quan325i]

Why can't we just re-aim the high beams lower and have them on as the same time with the low beams?

QN

[JasonC]

Why?

[hendrixvodu]

Why can't we just re-aim the high beams lower and have them on as the same time with the low beams?

QN

i have mine like that....i just put my middles on a separate switch.... the old W123 benzers did that they were "fogs"

[DaveSmed]

Negative. The high beams are a free-form style lamp, and thus don't really have an "aim" so to speak. You pretty much play with the adjusters until the light is straight ahead and it throws light out in all directions. Thats why it lights up road signs so well, even though its not aimed to the side of the road.

Mind if I ask why you would want to do this? E30s have tons of lighting options, and if you desire something different, there's probably something that fits the bill.

[hendrixvodu]

Negative. The high beams are a free-form style lamp, and thus don't really have an "aim" so to speak. You pretty much play with the adjusters until the light is straight ahead and it throws light out in all directions. Thats why it lights up road signs so well, even though its not aimed to the side of the road.

Mind if I ask why you would want to do this? E30s have tons of lighting options, and if you desire something different, there's probably something that fits the bill.

negative.....i assume you have late model projectors.....not very easy to aim...i have the older metal buckets...pretty easy....plus i have the lights from the W123...and they throw out a straight pattern....

[DaveSmed]

negative.....i assume you have late model projectors.....not very easy to aim...i have the older metal buckets...pretty easy....plus i have the lights from the W123...and they throw out a straight pattern....

The projectors are as easy to aim as anything else, two adjusters for an x axis adjustment, and a y axis adjustment. Being able to move the light bucket around does not equal being able to aim the light. You can only really aim the hot spot, the light still goes everywhere including in other drivers eyes.

Quit calling the old Bosch FOG LIGHTS you pulled out of that W123 high beams. Just because you took your high beams out and put them there doesn't make them high beams.

[hendrixvodu]

[quote=hendrixvodu;994357]i have mine like that....i just put my middles on a separate switch.... the old W123 benzers did that they were "fogs"


perhaps you didnt see that ... made it a bit easier for you to see ;)

and i dont know what the hell you are talking about "keep calling them high beams" i didnt even put the word HIGH BEAM in anything i said, maybe you are confused

i will post pix of the beam patter...that is indeed a straight line lower then my fog light beam...that obviously does not go in peoples eyes.

[DaveSmed]

Ok, lets start this over. Your lights most likely aren't the same as the OP's in question. That's what I was getting at. I know that they are what you have, and in fact they should be used with the lows anyway.

Interestingly, there a odd spot for fogs, but MB put them there, so I guess it works ok. Fog lights usually belong below the bumper.

As far as the beam pattern, thats the most important part of what i'm getting at (I do have a point, I swear! ;) ) OP's car has a different beam pattern than your car does with the lighting he likely has on his car. If memory serves, '90 should be the old crappy sealed beams. Probably why he is asking about keeping the inner beam on with the lows, as sealed beams suck.

To the OP, should insufficient lighting be your primary concern, which is understandable if you have the lighting system in question (sealed beam that is) There are MUCH MUCH better lighting options out there that will likely satisfy your need for better illumination while ensuring you don't blind oncoming traffic. A favorite for non-HID use is the H4/H1 setup, or if you want to stay OEM, the H1/H1 setup from European spec cars pre-ellipsoids. Ellipsoids are also a good option, though quality of a pair of used lights is difficult to tell from pictures, specifically pertaining to the reflective backing in the ellipsoid housing. Ellipsoids are also the best choice for converting to HIDs.

[hendrixvodu]

good point on the sealed beams, but he may have elip because its a 325is....but i took sealed into consideration, thats why i mentioned what they were off, but the fact that yes indeed the regular beam would throw a strange beam patter is correct, i used to have a set of elip headlights and i did the same to the 9006 highs but i was able to point them in a manner that they were not that bad to traffic....it was just not a great pattern,

and the reason i called the elips crappy to aim is because i hate the plastic adjusters they had, they break no matter what you do, thats why i like the older buckets that i have they are a bit easier.

[DaveSmed]

I always get screwed up with the '90 cars. I know '91 has sealed, I think '90 does too. It coincides with airbags. Airbag cars do not have ellipsoids or pop-out rear windows. I think "88 and '89 were the only US ellipsoid years.

Those plastic adjusters are awful. Worst part is they aren't limited to E30s either, I encounter them at work where surprise, surprise, they break letting the headlight flop around. Stupid Bosch headlights. (though ellipsoids in a square housing look kinda cool)

[hendrixvodu]

yea its weird .... buddy's 318is is sealed for some reason...odd

but yea wouldnt you think they would make them out of something like metal ....heh well now that would make sense ha ha!

[silversleeper]

i wanna see a quad ellipsoid setup... and the light output.

[DaveSmed]

In an E30, you wouldn't have any high beam then.

If you really wanna see one though, go look at a late model Mercury Cougar, Mazda6, etc. Bunch of cars have high and low beams with ellipsoids.

[jw 325ic]

ive thought about doing all ellips' when i saw it on an e46 m3 gtr. i think it would be somethin cool to experiment with on my future track rat. but ill probably end up doing h1/h4

[gearheadE30]

H1/H4 works great for me. I still don't see why it isn't possible to use HIDs with them. The cutoff with normal bulbs seems just as sharp as my friend's elips. The only explanation I could see would be that the other light is so diffused that it doesn't show up on the road, but it is still enough to blind people. I would think that elips would be the same way, though. After all, escalades, navigators, and a variety of acuras were produced with HIDs in non-elipsoid lights, granted thay were designed that way.

As for the light switchover, all of the '90 and '91 cars (and most later verts) in the U.S. had sealed beams, regardless of airbags. This includes 325is's and 318is's. This is to the best of my knowledge; elips might still have been put on some early-production '90 cars.