Depo Headlight Fitment/Aiming Problems
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From: Traverse City, MI
Depo Headlight Fitment/Aiming Problems Hi all,
Bought a car recently that already had Depo whistlered headlights installed. They fit poorly and were aimed such that I couldn't see the road at night (too low). I tried aiming them but am having trouble getting them where I need them, plus the fit just looks flat out wonky. Admittedly this is my first time aiming headlights, but it doesn't seem like it should be this difficult. Anyone else have any issues with fitment or aim on these headlights?
Here are some pics for reference after I attempted to aim them. The top of the blue tape is even with the approximate centerline of the headlights from the ground, and the lower edge is 2" below that which is where the low beams supposedly should be aimed at. The inside edge of the vertical tape is the distance from the centerline of the car to the approximate centerline of the low (outer) and high (inner) beams on the headlight housing. Also I have included some before and afters of the fitment of the headlight versus the body of the car. The light shots are before aiming and dark shots after.
Low Beams:
High Beams:
The high beams are very obviously aimed to the left a bit and possibly too high which is no good, but when looking at the low beam pattern the center of the light concentration seems to be centered properly despite more "bleed" of the pattern to the left which is again, no good. The fitment of the lights seems to suggest the same.
Thoughts?
Bought a car recently that already had Depo whistlered headlights installed. They fit poorly and were aimed such that I couldn't see the road at night (too low). I tried aiming them but am having trouble getting them where I need them, plus the fit just looks flat out wonky. Admittedly this is my first time aiming headlights, but it doesn't seem like it should be this difficult. Anyone else have any issues with fitment or aim on these headlights?
Here are some pics for reference after I attempted to aim them. The top of the blue tape is even with the approximate centerline of the headlights from the ground, and the lower edge is 2" below that which is where the low beams supposedly should be aimed at. The inside edge of the vertical tape is the distance from the centerline of the car to the approximate centerline of the low (outer) and high (inner) beams on the headlight housing. Also I have included some before and afters of the fitment of the headlight versus the body of the car. The light shots are before aiming and dark shots after.
Low Beams:
High Beams:
The high beams are very obviously aimed to the left a bit and possibly too high which is no good, but when looking at the low beam pattern the center of the light concentration seems to be centered properly despite more "bleed" of the pattern to the left which is again, no good. The fitment of the lights seems to suggest the same.
Thoughts?
It looks like they didn't get mounted properly to the brackets. That will cause all sorts of alignment issues if care isn't taken to slide both lower tabs into the slots all the way.
Copy & Paste Moderator
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 9,764
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From: Eastern MA
I think he means the grey ramps on the floor.... standing on end pushed together, bottom-to-bottom.
Plus, that is an open garage door and not a window.
And they are grey, not white.
The 94 proof rum in my glass isn't strong enough for me to quite see what he saw though.
Plus, that is an open garage door and not a window.
And they are grey, not white.
The 94 proof rum in my glass isn't strong enough for me to quite see what he saw though.
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Launching!
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 286
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From: Louisiana
I was also having issues with them. I had the headlights on my 99 z28 but purchased them from 6le and they fit perfect. I bought them directly from depo this time around and had trouble getting them in and adjusted. I rarely drive the car at night anyway so I wasn't too concerned but I'll tinker with them more when I get a chance. Still pretty tho!
I too installed a set of these just a few days ago and had fitment trouble. I have a pretty decent sized gap between the seal around the headlight and the bumper. Are they supposed to be as snug as the OEM ones?
Copy & Paste Moderator
Joined: Apr 2002
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From: Eastern MA
Some people have said to use the frame/bracket from the stock headlight on the new aftrermarket headlight. Others found that adding a spacer to one of the mounting studs also fixed the gap. There were a few threads on this a few years ago.
Copy & Paste Moderator
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From: Eastern MA
Thread Starter
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From: Traverse City, MI
Thanks! I'll look into that. Seems ridiculous that you'd need to do that for an OEM replacement for something as important as lighting, but such is life I guess.
Joined: Aug 2007
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From: Turnin' Wrenches Infractions: 005
With my aftermarket lights, the aim between lows and highs was too great. Meaning if the lows were aimed, the brights were too high (in the trees), and if the brights were aimed, the lows were pointing too low. Obviously this is fixed due to housing design. I swapped them back with a set of new OEM lights.
On The Tree
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 192
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From: Glen Rock, PA
I rarely come here but since I just replaced mine I'll post my $0.02. I'm having the same issue. Install was okay on the divers side but the other had to be adjusted first to even get it into the hole. Once in it was off by a mile. I played around with it and got it close but am certainly not happy with the brights. I get dims set up and the brights are in the trees, as someone mentioned earlier. Even a wrench dummy could install/replace these correctly so I’m not sure what’s wrong here. I figure I’ll live with it but it’s certainly not acceptable. Light intensity is crap also as compared to stock. I’m not unhappy with the cost and appearance but maybe I got what I paid for.