I have recently purchased a LHD XK8 in France which was last registered in England and has UK plates. I wish to register this car in France as I live there for the greater part of the year. I have been told that the headlight lenses are the same for left and right hand drive cars and that the alignment is done via the light unit itself. How can the lights be changed from RHD to LHD alignment?

Sorry if this is not a new thread as I have only just joined the forum.

Regards

 

All cars have the ability to aim headlights to the left and the right. However, I think the issue facing you will not be aiming the beam via adjustments, but rather the construction of headlight lense projector assembly.

US cars have projector lenses constructed so that they focus a higher beam pattern on the right side of the road allowing the light to shine on street signs and pedestrians on sidewalks. If LHD cars are the reverse of that, e.g., raising the beam on the left shoulder, then it would require a swap from LHD to RHD buckets... or at least the projector lense assys.

That being said, I do not know what the configuration of european focus patterns are; or if they are interchangable. However, you can easily determine the beam pattern or your leadlights. And if your headlights allow a beam pattern to shine up onto the right side of the road, then you are not going to make your on-coming British cousins happy with your French headlights.