JasonA Posted March 6, 2004 Report Share Posted March 6, 2004 I've been reading with interest BobD's and others' experiences with aftermarket lighting products, and an ancilliary suggestion is always to make sure your headlights were aimed. Mine always seemed to be down and to the right -- to an extreme. So I pulled it up to one of our closed garage doors and checked it out. At about 15 feet away, the top of the left light's beam was an inch or two lower than the right -- and they both weren't as high as I really wanted them to be. I really cranked on the left one, but the light beam never seemed to move all the way to the left. I understood the purpose and put it back to where it was...and then did a full turn of the screw in the left aim direction (forgot if it was CW or CCW). Also cranked it up about 2 inches (on the garage door). I turned the right side SLIGHTLY inward and up about an inch to level them off. Took a drive on a deserted road between two corn fields and the difference is remarkable! Before, I couldn't really see more than 30 or 50 yards in front of me, and a lot of my light was toward the right shoulder. Comparatively, the road is now awash with light, nice and even left to right, and much further in distance in front of me. I can see the (freshly) painted lines and reflectors a couple hundred yards in front of me! And I didn't get flashed once! Next on the list is the 9005-to-9006 conversion that I learned about from BobD. I also plan to buy and install the relay for the highbeams. I'm very interested in the HIR lights I've been seeing here and there. They look to be about $40/light, with GREATLY enhanced lighting, and about the same life expectancy of a standard halogen bulb. Jury's still out on this though...don't want to melt anything down. Has anyone here got HIR bulbs? Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill K Posted March 6, 2004 Report Share Posted March 6, 2004 If you have a volt meter try checking the voltage at the headlights. If its less than 13 volts or so you can benefit from a headlight harness. It will put a full 14 volts at the headlights and get the most out of the bulbs wattage. I didnt notice much difference in the STS but on the 97 Concours & our Mountaineer the harness made a noticiable difference. I got them at www.suvlights.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIMDTS Posted March 6, 2004 Report Share Posted March 6, 2004 Hi Jason Headlights can be a pain in the a-- to get rite(aiming) There is many bulbs & lights on the market. I'm happy with the lights on the deville but there is always room for improvement. I have found in the past that the most powerful lights and bulbs are either made for europe or japan. When I was in italy there was many places to get off road stuff very high powered. I have been thinking of dropping a set of these piaa on mine but they are out of stock from some places..A friend of mine put these bulbs on a eldo etc and they really work good. I drove his car last week on a dark country road and the lighting was impressive to say the least Not sure if he modified anything or not but I'll ask him about it. When I asked him all he mentioned they were the piaa 8k bulbs. Good Luck Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIMDTS Posted March 6, 2004 Report Share Posted March 6, 2004 Hi Jason Here is a mod I will do on mine when I get some time it gives you the basic's it is from the corvette forum but it will work on almost any gm with fog lights Cheers Jim Just cut and paste the link in your browser if it does not work it should just just buy clicking on the link http://www.corvetteforum.com/techtips/view...ID=52&TopicID=2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted March 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2004 The driver for this was renting that '04 Deville -- with properly aimed headlights. I thought, man, I gotta fix mine. A buddy of mine put some sort of PIAA lights in his '87 Cutlass (I think they were either 9003s or 9004s). They seemed to work really good. I think my next move is the 9006 conversion. Thanks for that link BillK. I'll check it out. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poobah Posted March 6, 2004 Report Share Posted March 6, 2004 I just upgraded to Silverstars (low beams only for starters). Seems like a big improvement but it'll take a few nights to properly assess them. I would like to tinker with the aim. What tool should I use? It looks like I need a female torx socket. I should look around Pep Boys, I've just never seen such a tool. Happiness is owning a Cadillac with no codes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted March 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2004 I used a 5/16" socket I think it was...put that on a nut driver and use like a screwdriver. I'm certain 5/16" was the size, but check yours for proper fit before rounding the star head on the adjuster. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted March 6, 2004 Report Share Posted March 6, 2004 Hi Jason Here is a mod I will do on mine when I get some time it gives you the basic's it is from the corvette forum but it will work on almost any gm with fog lights Cheers Jim Just cut and paste the link in your browser if it does not work it should just just buy clicking on the link http://www.corvetteforum.com/techtips/view...ID=52&TopicID=2 On my 1998 STS, the 885 fog lamp bulb swap did not require a larger fuse. The stock DRL/FOG fuse is 15 amp and my calculator says the total current for DRL and 885's is less than 12 amps. Noticeable difference with 885's in the fogs. Advance carries Sylvania 885's ($9.00). Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIMDTS Posted March 7, 2004 Report Share Posted March 7, 2004 Hu JimD Thanks for the tip While I was grocery shopping with the wife today I checked out the bulbs at a local meijers 6.99 ea. + tax Jim Did you have to change the rubber boot from the 880's to the 885's When I get some time I'll pop them in the fogs with the 880's in them now don't do much other than throw a little extra light to the sides Cheapest hedlight mod I have done under 14 + tax.. Thanks Jim At other auto parts they were $8.99ea. So I'm very happy with the price and a cheap mod + I an getting a $4ea. dollar rebate. You can't beat that with a stick.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIMDTS Posted March 7, 2004 Report Share Posted March 7, 2004 oops double post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted March 7, 2004 Report Share Posted March 7, 2004 Hard to beat a deal like that!! Well done and good catch! I did not change/swap the gaskets; the new bulbs took just a little extra effort to rotate and lock, but that can be expected with a 'new' (thicker) rubber gasket. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIMDTS Posted March 7, 2004 Report Share Posted March 7, 2004 Hi JimD Thanks for the info! Maybe I'll get them in, in the AM.It should not take very long to do.. i never looked under the front bumper/valance area but I'll figure it out. Thanks Again Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exedman Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 Hi... I was wondering if there's a chart or table of some kind that identifies at what angle each headlight is supposed to be aimed, such as in the service manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 So don't you think that the lights were aimed down and to the right for a reason? I've held off on replying to this post just to see where it might go. As far as I'm concerned you have created an unsafe situation by "re-aiming" your headlights! They are purposely aimed away from oncoming traffic in the low beam position, and you NEVER say whether the lights were on low or high beam when you "re-aimed" them. When the beams are changed to high, the lenses are designed to move the light more toward the center of the road, but on low beam they are aimed to the right to avoid blinding oncoming drivers.....get it? Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 A quick easy way to tell if they are aimed too high is take notice of the car ahead of you. Are you lighting up the headliner above his windshield or his dash (very annoying). You shouldn't see your light beam any higher than the bottom of his rear window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted March 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 So don't you think that the lights were aimed down and to the right for a reason? Re-read my original post Johnny. I noticed that my lights were down and to the right TO AN EXTREME (read: I don't think they were set right). I made quite sure (and mentioned a few times in my post) that I was careful not to set the lights so that they'd be a danger to oncoming drivers. I verified this by driving many two lanes that night and no one flashed their lights at me. I even got in my truck and had my wife drive past me in the neighborhood in the Seville so I could see for myself. Of course the headlights are designed not to blind oncoming drivers. Fixing headlight aim doesn't mean you're blinding oncoming drivers -- it just means you've corrected it back to what it should be. I'm plenty comfortable with the safety of other drivers because I've seen it for myself. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted March 11, 2004 Report Share Posted March 11, 2004 Well, it sounds like you were careful enough alright. I don't mean to be critical, but as you can tell from some of my past posts, this is one of my "pet peaves". I don't want to encourage others, who may not be as careful as you, to go out and do something stupid. They may end up paying the ultimate price. or maybe causing someone else to. Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted March 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2004 I think the emphasis on the headlight issue is returning them to stock (fixing them), rather than modifying the aim to suit your desires. After I drove the new Deville, and even when compared to my Nissan truck, I realized that something wasn't right with my Cadillac's lights. They're now back to what I hope is as close to stock as it gets. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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