It is something that I find pointless, dazzling to the car in front on unlit roads and I've now done something about it on my car. Even with normal bulbs with correctly set headlights (cut off 0.5-2% below horizontal and beam centre 0-2% to the left of dead ahead) it can be a problem. A 15 degree kick up puts light pointing above the horizontal with the potential to dazzle. With the intensity of HIDs this is even more relevant. The N/S lamp makes sense because it lights the margins and kerbs but the O/S lights the back window of the car in front!

As an aside I saw a news report with a police range rover illuminating the side of a truck and the beams were absolutely flat, no kick up at all so I checked the MOT rules and as long the kick up isn't to the right or missing as a result of headlamp damage or failure it is not a MOT failure.

Since fitting HIDs I am acutely aware of not wanting to dazzle, (although I've never been flashed), so I moved the bezel inside the O/S headlamp to remove the kick up. A little excessive/obsessive maybe but I'm happier with it now

I have been running flat beams all the time except MOT for over 10 years, on account of going abroad often enough

Mind you, there are disadvantages, though most fixable.

First of all, you need to set flat beams higher than you would Z-beams, closer to edge of MOT spec at -0.5 deg, otherwise you will find roadside quite dark. For retrofit HIDs that also means being a bit more conscious about setting headlight range correctly when the car is loaded. I have put a resistor in parallel to levelling thumbwheel to allow more precise headlamp aiming, the 0-1-2-3 level settings on my car effectively cover the 0-1-2 on a standard car so adjustment is finer.

Secondly, flat beam does chop off more light (and projectors waste light in the first place), so doing it on factory halogens makes for poor road lighting. With 35W HIDs in it's OK, with higher power HIDs it's a non issue.

I've posted about this before. When I part moved the adjusters in an attempt to flatten the beam a bit it made the beam a strange shape. I know it's nice to have a little kick but I find it excessive when say I'm slowly overtaking someone on the motorway and the kick shines through their back window.

:angel: flat as a .... flat thing!

You won't see many signs with a flat beam though.

I always thought it was partly I illuminate road signs but mainly to help spot pedestrians that might be trying to cross or for some other reason walk/fall/jump into te road.....

I always thought it was partly I illuminate road signs but mainly to help spot pedestrians that might be trying to cross or for some other reason walk/fall/jump into te road.....

I've left the N/S lamp with the kick up for that reason and just flattened the O/S

Road signs are reflective enough to see them above the beam, and before anyone says "glare because of HID retrofit", it is similar with halogen projectors, I used both. Notice how unlit overhead signs are perfectly readable, despite neither kick nor the flat beam hitting them.

Re pedestrians entering the road, I really like how when I drive in the UK, all pedestrians, foxes and deer line up on the left, and then, when I cross the Channel, their deer friends line up on the right so that they can be illuminated correctly by headlamps of prevailing cars

More seriously though, you can have unwanted objects present in/entering the road from either side, so the kick covers only 50% of the problem and offers false sense of security.

In my opinion best road lighting without dazzling is achieved with flat beam set at -0.5deg at UK speeds, and around -0.3deg at autobahn speeds. The trouble is you then need to be careful with headlight level setting, it will already need changing between tank full and half empty.

Edited 13 February, 201313 yr by dieselV6

I've left the N/S lamp with the kick up for that reason and just flattened the O/S

I couldn't do that, they'd have to be the same, must be an OCD thing.

Wouldn't they look weird to on coming cars?

Re pedestrians entering the road, I lreally ike how when I drive in the UK, all pedestrians, foxes and deer line up on the left, and then when I cross the Channel their deer friends line up on the right so that they can be illuminated correctly

More seriously though, you can have unwanted objects present in/entering the road from either side, so the kick covers only 50% of the problem and offers false sense of security.

obviously you can have peds walking out either side - but you're more likely to get them 'suddenly' doing so on the side you're driving on. Factor in left turns and peds waiting to cross, or think of it that both sides should be that height but the other side is 'shielded' to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic.

I couldn't do that, they'd have to be the same, must be an OCD thing.

Wouldn't they look weird to on coming cars?

No obvious external difference in appearance and if anything it satisfies my sense of OCD in that it no longer has an extra triangle of light sticking up in the beam overlap

I have 35W 4300k HIDs on my pre-FL and have been thinking of flattening the beams for the same reason. It would be good to see some before and after pics.

Finally got a pic!