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My XKR is a 2005 model and as I and "Nigel," the car, and I have aged our night vision has significantly lessoned. With a prior issue I received excellent advice through the Jaguar Forum. Perhaps someone can give me a helpful possibility on this challenge. Is there a way to upgrade the headlights for better night vision? Your suggestions will be very much appreciated,
Thank you,
Gerald Clark
Because we have bullseye or projector units for the dip beam I feel these will always be poor. Mine have been changed for LED bulbs prior to my purchase but the previous owner found it necessary to wind the kerb side light down to illuminate the kerb, Clearly he could not see the kerb when other vehicle approached.
On other cars I have always fitted HID units . The lamp fitting is the same you just have a ballast unit which is fed with the 12v that would normally go to the bulb. Select the higher wattage of those available ,I think its about 50w but dont go too high on the colour temperature or they go very blue limiting to 5000 deg.
In UK its not legal to fit HID unless the units are auto leveling so you should have to take them out to get an MOT test which is a pain. The cheap Chinese kits seem to work fine but be careful ,,they must have a ballast unit in the kit not just the bulbs which will not work on 12v , Must say HID not just Xenon
Last edited by Pistnbroke; Oct 4, 2022 at 01:50 AM.
To improve my headlights I fitted brighter LED bulbs, but the biggest improvement was by cutting the deflectors down in the headlights so the beams project further up the road. Both changes combined make a huge difference and the car still passes its annual inspection.
Good luck with that in the UK. They will go further down the road if you just wind them up.
In UK at 25 ft from a wall the centre of the beam kink pattern must be dead ahead of the light and 4 inches down. If you modify the internal shield you will loose the kink. Cover one light whilst viewin the pattern.
American lights have a different dip pattern being more square cut off of light towards oncoming vehicles.
Its worth parking in front of your garage doors ,cover one light and see what you have .
Main beam has no pattern as there is no one to dazzle when its on ..it just has to be efficient .
Last edited by Pistnbroke; Oct 4, 2022 at 02:16 AM.
Good luck with that in the UK. They will go further down the road if you just wind them up.
In UK at 25 ft from a wall the centre of the beam kink pattern must be dead ahead of the light and 4 inches down. If you modify the internal shield you will loose the kink. Cover one light whilst viewin the pattern.
American lights have a different dip pattern being more square cut off of light towards oncoming vehicles.
Its worth parking in front of your garage doors ,cover one light and see what you have .
Main beam has no pattern as there is no one to dazzle when its on ..it just has to be efficient .
Obviously I tried adjusting the headlights, but even at the maximum range they still weren't very good. By cutting the deflector down you are uncovering more of the light, so it is brighter as well as travelling further. Its also not rocket science to keep the kink so you still have the dipped beam...
The Spanish ITV is stricter than the UK MOT, so if it passes in Spain, it will pass in the UK. Anyway, that was my experience modifying my headlights - it made a huge improvement - YMMV.
Could you do a sketch of how it was originally (just photograph the drawing to post it ) and how you cut it .
How much dismantling did you do to get the shield out ?
To get to the deflector you follow the same procedure as changing the dipped bulb, with access through the panel in the wheel arch. I took the wheel off to get better access as it is very tight with the 20" Detroits.
The deflector is held in place with two bolts - it's obvious when you get in there and see it for yourself.
I cut the deflector down following the original contour, making the new dipped part level with the original non dipped section - it's maybe 5mm removed. Again this will probably make sense with the deflector in your hand.
I had the luxury of having a spare deflector if it all went wrong. The annual inspection includes shining the headlights into a box where they check the alignment and dipped deflection - mine still looks like OEM, just higher. Obviously I can use the level adjuster on the dashboard to drop the beam lower if necessary.
You can see in the photo how much of the lens is obscured by the deflector and how much room for improvement there is.
Excellent ..top marks for that. ( note US lamps have a vertical cut off not angled )
I guess you are saying to cut it like my drawing ...dotted line but keep the start of the downward kink central to the lens. Yours is RHD so in UK so the high bit would be the other side.
I dont know how bodged in my LED units are or how simple to remove ( very big fans on the back) and its getting cold now to work but this looks great. Dotted New . Vertical dotted centre line of lens
Last edited by Pistnbroke; Oct 5, 2022 at 02:37 AM.
Yes, that drawing is pretty much where I cut, so that the highest level is now what was the lowest level before. My first attempt gave me exactly what I wanted, but I'm sure there is plenty of room for experimentation.
I have, possibly, the best headlights in an XKR. I replaced the Valeo low beam projector and the halogen high beam reflector with a Morimoto Mini HB LED high beam projector, and a Morimoto 4TL-R bixenon projector. This upgrade also involves a conversion to D2S bulbs.
They have recently released the Morimoto Micro D2S 5.0 bixenon projector which outperforms my current 4TL-R. I will be soon upgrading to that projector and posting a new guide. Also, it has more compact dimensions, it should fit our headlights without too much cutting. I have recently replaced my ballasts and added washers where the projectors bolt to the headlight to improve the aim. I will post this when I upgrade to the Micro D2S 5.0.
Also, I recommend the Philips Xtreme Vision bulbs.
For those with the halogens instead of HIDs, this retrofit is still viable, but will require the purchase of a ballast and a harness. Everything you need is available at the retrofit source.
Please read through my original thread on the subject:
Other designs also listed ...they have a relay inside which moves the shield for the dip/main. One bulb doing both jobs Unfortunately this is LHD but the shield could be modified or just use as main beam.
Other designs also listed ...they have a relay inside which moves the shield for the dip/main. One bulb doing both jobs Unfortunately this is LHD but the shield could be modified or just use as main beam.
That is not at all what I am using and will likely have inferior light output compared to what I have.
Here you can choose whatever shroud you want for the high beam projector, that one uses a 3 inch lens. The low-beam forces you tu use a 2 inch lens, which is why the Micro D2S 5.0 is the best option. https://www.theretrofitsource.com/projector-kits/projector-shrouds
With this set-up you will have the best possible light output for an XK8.
This is significantly more expensive than the cheap amazon projector, but the performance is vastly superior.
Last edited by giandanielxk8; Oct 5, 2022 at 10:32 AM.
Took a different approach as i have a terrible time at night. Obtained a set of Spectra 479 total blue blocking lenses. Upgraded to the brightest legal halogen bulbs (both beams) and made sure that adjustment was exactly as required. There was not a need to adjust when i checked them. Using these glasses has been like night and day, pardon the humor, resulting in superior night vision. Instead of participating in the arms race, the glare of the oncoming lights, street illumination and other pollution turns dark orange, and the shadow problem disappears. Went with yellow for the fogs as i truly drive where there is fog and with these eye lenses they work great.
Just my 2 cents (American currency ), went from being nearly blind and useless at night to actually enjoying it. Can look right into oncoming traffic and see a pedestrian all in black crossing in front of them.
Took a different approach as i have a terrible time at night. Obtained a set of Spectra 479 total blue blocking lenses. Upgraded to the brightest legal halogen bulbs (both beams) and made sure that adjustment was exactly as required. There was not a need to adjust when i checked them. Using these glasses has been like night and day, pardon the humor, resulting in superior night vision. Instead of participating in the arms race, the glare of the oncoming lights, street illumination and other pollution turns dark orange, and the shadow problem disappears. Went with yellow for the fogs as i truly drive where there is fog and with these eye lenses they work great.
Just my 2 cents (American currency ), went from being nearly blind and useless at night to actually enjoying it. Can look right into oncoming traffic and see a pedestrian all in black crossing in front of them.
Interesting, I think this is a good idea even if you do upgrade your headlights because this will protect your eyesight.
Interesting, I think this is a good idea even if you do upgrade your headlights because this will protect your eyesight.
Yep, it does protect it, however my situation was one of being effectively blind and in pain.
Forgot to mention as many of us are getting older that Riboflavin Deficiency has been identified as a major cause of nighttime light sensitivity and overall blindness in the dark hours. People can get this from absorption issues due to genetics, age, undiagnosed Celiac disease or alcohol consumption. Get tested, one never knows, and it is not often considered by physicians.
Yep, it does protect it, however my situation was one of being effectively blind and in pain.
Forgot to mention as many of us are getting older that Riboflavin Deficiency has been identified as a major cause of nighttime light sensitivity and overall blindness in the dark hours. People can get this from absorption issues due to genetics, age, undiagnosed Celiac disease or alcohol consumption. Get tested, one never knows, and it is not often considered by physicians.
If you have Riboflavin deficiency, you can surely make up for it by taking B complex vitamins supplements or changing your diet?
If you have Riboflavin deficiency, you can surely make up for it by taking B complex vitamins supplements or changing your diet?
Yes absolutely, and it does make a major difference. Wanted to bring up the matter to help others. Sometimes treating a symptom or situation neglects the cause.
I shall stick with modifying the original low beam units possibly with HID.
The problem is that a US car is worth 10x that of the equivalent car in the UK so spending large sums is not the name of the game in the UK as you would not get your money back. Rust is your enemy and having to replace an engine means the car is scrapped.
I shall stick with modifying the original low beam units possibly with HID.
The problem is that a US car is worth 10x that of the equivalent car in the UK so spending large sums is not the name of the game in the UK as you would not get your money back. Rust is your enemy and having to replace an engine means the car is scrapped.
Modifying the original halogen (if this is what you have) low beam projector to accept an HID bulb will result in poor performance. The low beam halogen projector does not have the proper optics for an HID bulb. Your best bet here is to swap out the projector for an HID projector such as the one I mentioned in the previous post. Also, installing an HID bulb in a car without HIDs will also require you to install a ballast and a fused wiring harness. If your car already has HIDs, then feel free to modify your stock projectors. I wouldn't expect much improvement from them. I've been there and done that.
I am talking of modifying the original internal beam deflector as our Spanish friend has done with good results ...this increases the aperture of the bulb and lets more light through from the bulb.
I already have LED and the wiring for HID is no problem having done it on multiple prior cars.
Headlight Improvement Possibilities
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), went from being nearly blind and useless at night to actually enjoying it. Can look right into oncoming traffic and see a pedestrian all in black crossing in front of them.