davewilliamson Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Hi, I have recently moved to Spain, and decided to take my Z with me (a 53 plate) Having previously had an Audi TT, I assumed (I know, it's the mother of all f**k ups), that on looking behind the lights there would be a little slider (or similar) to convert from LHD to RHD setting.... On arriving in Spain I popped the lid, and guess what ~ Wrong!!! :-( Due to the enclosed nature of the lights, I drove from Bilbao down to Murcia thinking I'd sort this when I got here!!! So after scouring the web (and not finding a definitive answer), I jacked-up the car, removed the wheel, and the plastic cover to gain access to the back of the lights - Nothing!!!! I found the topic showing the geared wheels to adjust the lights, but (unless I'm doing something wrong) neither the side or bottom geared wheel appears to move the lights left & right (only up & down). Although I can't understand why there are 2 per light, both of which appear to control the height? I am now assuming, although I hope somebody can give me definitive answer to the contrary, that it is impossible to do this? I further assume that placing a sticky beam deflector over XENON lights wouldn't be effective (particularly for long term use)? So am I faced with buying a new pair of lights? These appear to be VERY expensive (particularly as the car is now over 5 years old!) I found a place in the states on ebay, that sell an after-market version for <£200 including shipping, but am worried about the quality, as well as having to remove the front bumper to fit them!! Any advice would be gratefully received (Except that I shouldn't make assumptions, I've already had that one from the wife!) Please help Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanS16 Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 I wouldn't have thought they'd be adjustable L/R but I'm sure you could sell the lights on (on here) and have enough to buy some LHD lights from the States Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Hi Dave and welcome to the forum. There is a certain irony in your situation as we struggle to get RHD light at a good price in the UK for conversion. I wouldnt worry too much about the US light, we but a lot of bits from there. First suggeston, get some of those cheap shades in the meantime. Have a word with Adam from Z1Auto who is a US trader on this forum. Alternatively, and I will check, I thought we had an american owner moving over here with his car in the near future, he may do you a swap. Paul T from Dream Customs, also a trader on here may also be able to help. Changing the headlight isnt that bad, there is a guide on here. Lastly, where in Spain are you, I am over there from time to time but the pot holes scare the hell out of me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewilliamson Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 Hi Ian / Martin, The ones I've found in the states are on ebay - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/03-Nissan-350Z-Fa ... m153.l1262) - Have you any knowledge of these people? The thing is, I may want to take the car back to England, so wouldn't want to part with my originals *IF* there is NO adjustment facility. I've moved up in to the mountains behind Murcia, luckily the road to our place is all tarmac (bar the last 30 yds - Which is gravel) The roads in general aren't 'that' bad, but I'll be taking some of the B roads a bit slower than I did in the UK ;-) I'd have preferred to buy a RHD car over here in truth, but a 5 yr old 350z in the UK is worth about £8k, and over here about 15k€ ?!? (Second hand cars really hold their value here & and with the exchange rate....) Can you (or anyone) explain why there are 2x cogs for height adjustment, I felt sure one of them must have been L/R. I must say, I think its a pretty poor show (and dumb move) by nissan to have 2 different types without an easy way to change, particularly with European cars. Thanks again Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 I will post this as its taken me 20 minutes to find it http://www.350z-uk.com/forum/viewtopic ... =stationed Believe me, as Nissan charge over 1k for light the US option would have been great if it worked. I will point Paul in the direction of this thread to see if he can help. Murcia is great I envy you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P15UL T Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 hi there, without having the lights infront of me to double check im pretty sure that one cog moves it side ways and the other up and down, i will check for you tomorrow once i can get to the garage, i have bought lights from the states before and have never noticed them to be any different to the uk spec apart from the auto height adjustment is not an option. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 was certainly handy on the TT being able to swap the lights from RHD to LHD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Hi Mate. I bought a US-spec headlight for my UK zed, and it was angled to the right at first. The top cog on the lights is for height adjustment, and the bottom cog is for left to right. It takes a lot of turning to get it to adjust - park up about 6 feet from a wall and get adjusting - you'll see it moving gradually! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P15UL T Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 yup , as chris said, i checked today and one for up and down and the other for left and right, i does take a good lot of turns of the screw driver to make a difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewilliamson Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 Thanks for the reply's. So do I take it that the UK Z's have these cogs, where the JAP/American imports don't? I only ask out of general interest, as others have said they have paid £££ (Lots) to swap the lights, and this would appear to be unnecessary if these cogs exist on all Z's???? I'll have a go later, and post back what results/success I have. Does anybody have information/link on how to set the lights to euro specs, or should I try to find a friendly ITV (MOT) center who'll let me use their alignment checker whilst I twiddle the cogs? Paul/Chris, have you any advice on getting access to the bottom cog? The only way I can see that this would be possible, would be to remove the wheels & arch cover, but to do this, the car isn't going to be at a true level when I set this up (it may not be an issue because of the auto leveling) and I imagine it is going to be difficult to get it spot-on? Do either of you know how many degrees the auto-level will compensate for, as If it is jacked up beyond the auto-leveler limits, this is going to further compound the problem ~ saying which, I suppose I can always lower it back once the wheels are off! Why the hell Nissan makes this so difficult is beyond me?!? :-( Thanks again to everybody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAP350Z Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I have a pair of european lights from my Zed. If you could look into shipping, I would be happy to sell them for a small cost. If you happen to be in London or Hampshire soon you could collect them. Or if are going to be visited by someone, and they are happy to carry them, they could pick them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Thanks for the reply's. So do I take it that the UK Z's have these cogs, where the JAP/American imports don't? I only ask out of general interest, as others have said they have paid £££ (Lots) to swap the lights, and this would appear to be unnecessary if these cogs exist on all Z's???? I'll have a go later, and post back what results/success I have. Does anybody have information/link on how to set the lights to euro specs, or should I try to find a friendly ITV (MOT) center who'll let me use their alignment checker whilst I twiddle the cogs? Paul/Chris, have you any advice on getting access to the bottom cog? The only way I can see that this would be possible, would be to remove the wheels & arch cover, but to do this, the car isn't going to be at a true level when I set this up (it may not be an issue because of the auto leveling) and I imagine it is going to be difficult to get it spot-on? Do either of you know how many degrees the auto-level will compensate for, as If it is jacked up beyond the auto-leveler limits, this is going to further compound the problem ~ saying which, I suppose I can always lower it back once the wheels are off! Why the hell Nissan makes this so difficult is beyond me?!? :-( Thanks again to everybody Hi Dave, You can access both of the cogs with just the bonnet open. You need a long thin screwdriver and a torch to reach the bottom cog and see what you're doing - like an 8 inch screwdriver or something. I think there is a certain size posidrive which will fit it, but i did mine with a flat head. It takes about 5 minutes of rotating to get it to move very far, so dont give up on it! As far as i know, all lights have the adjustment cogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleR Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Major revive here, but does anyone know if this is the same for the 06 facelift lights? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Should be, yes. However, unless you're going for a long time (months), I'd just use the little stickers. I did with mine when I went to LM24 a few times, much easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleR Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Not because I'm going anywhere, Ekona, I want to upgrade my early 04's. I have 1 passenger side and the drivers side are like hens teeth. Alex unfortunately only sells in pairs so it might be an option to source one from the states which is much much cheaper, £250 for brand new plus customs and vat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 OIC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_89 Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 I am glad that I have found this. Do the US spec headlights come with this gearing to adjust the headlights to drive in the UK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 (edited) Actually, I'm interested aswell, I remember adjusting the height on my UK Zed with a long screwdriver, never looked into the sideways action Anybody got an image of the exploded view and where the cogs are located? Edited June 22, 2014 by BulletMagnet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_89 Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 I have pulled this directly from the workshop manual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 oh cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_89 Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 I have had a little look to check if I can see these gear points. They are easy enough to locate and adjust. If you look at the headlight they have clearances between all directions of the xenon lamp unit, which suggests that they can be adjusted in all directions to change the light pattern. Please correct if this is not the case!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 half tempted to buy a long reach screwdriver and snapping the handle off and sticking it on a drill , lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Did some more reading, and the main thing isn't whether it's pointing left or right, the shroud that makes the beam pattern is the key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_89 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 That's interesting. I wonder if you can just purchase new shrouds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 I kinda did some reading about how somebody registered their UK RX-8 in Germany http://bridgetogantry.com/2/index.php/projectrx81/projectrx8/420-how-i-put-my-uk-track-car-on-to-german-plates This is where i learnt about the beam pattern shroud on projector headlights, so no matter how far left or right you adjust the throw it doesn't change the beam pattern 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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