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High beams great, low beams s*ck


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  • 2 weeks later...

Sure, you have a lot of options. Upgraded halogens, HID's, LED lights as well. Each have their advantages and drawbacks, and of course, personal preference.

I thought a lot about this topic, and went with upgraded Halogens - PIAA 15211 H11 Xtreme White Plus High Performance Halogen Bulbs.

They are brighter, but not tremendously so. HID's or LED's will probably provide more light.

I have a Cargo van, and have always felt the low beams are adjusted too low. But, an ah-hah moment hit me and I realized they are probably that way because the vehicle was unloaded - a loaded vehicle would lower the rear, and raise the front, and hence the low beams would shine further. Soon, I'll upgrade H9 high beams as well with the same PIAA bulbs.

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I also have a cargo van, so the low-beams were insanely low since they seem to be aimed for max-cargo-load. I had upgraded to either 2500K or 3000K (I don't recall now) HID low-beams and the illuminated distance was roughly the same as the stock bulbs, but at least it was quite a bit brighter in that stock area. I ended up parking my van about 20ft from my garage and re-aiming the headlights higher since it's pretty rare for me to have more than a couple hundred pounds of cargo in back (not counting myself in driver seat), let alone maxing out the 1200lb cargo capacity which the low-beams were aimed for. I found the aiming procedure online, I think it was park 20ft from a wall, on level ground for vehicle & wall, then measure the center of the headlights and aim the beam like 6" lower @ 20ft. But don't quote me on that, Google it to make sure... haha. I did keep the driver-side headlight a few inches lower than the passenger-side headlight and haven't been 'flashed' for the HID's, but 2500K/3000K is yellow (great in fog) not hyper-white or another crazy bright color. 

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12 hours ago, DonShockley said:

Bright yellow adjuster right on top. One of the best designs for ease of adjustment I've come across. And the knob takes hex keys or has screwdriver slots in the bottom of the hex recess. Here's a photo of it on my 2015 TC

 

20170712_014328.jpg

Sweet! I'd seen that and wondered what for. Sure didn't occur it was headlamp adjuster. :)

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3 hours ago, Boomerweps said:

Did you mean the EU market? Just checked my 2017, the adjusters are there.

No, he means US market. Over in the EU, TC vans have a button by the headlight switch for power adjustment of beam height. Here's what their switch looks like, but MRTN would have to tell us how it works. I think you push that middle button and it pops out so you can turn it between 0 & 4? 

 

s-l1600.jpg

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Thanks for the clarification. Thought you meant the knob Don pictured.

US DOT has regulations on high beam aiming, I'm sure the US never had that interior adjuster knob. Looks like you have an extra push button under the fog light switch. Driving lights? Or courtesy main lights that just glow for in town driving like the U.K. uses?

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