Z4M Xenon headlights in Europe - Need adjusting or are they Flat Beam Technology?

[nickw6666]

Hi all,

I've tried researching this on this forum as well as on the web and haven't been able to find a definitive answer.

I know that there is a switch/lever behind the headlamps accessible via the cover in the front wheel arch which can adjust the Xenons as I understand for driving on right hand side of road in Europe to avoid 'dazzling' oncoming drivers.

However, my main question is, do they need to be adjusted as when I look at the beam throw, it looks as though it's a smooth arc of light projected without a kick-up on the left for RHD cars illuminating the left hand side hedgerow etc.

I have to admit when I've taken my car abroad previously I've not adjusted, and have had no issue being flashed except for 1x driver which I'm not sure was actually flashing me in respect of headlamps.

So do they need adjusting? What's the experience of others when taking the Z4M abroad?

Thanks,
Nick

[pvr]

Nope, never done that with the Z. Driven probably 75 times with them in Europe and never been flashed

[mmm-five]

I've been to the continent many (probably 5 times a year) times since I got the Z4M in 2008, and have only ever been flashed once (well multiple times over the course of about an hour on the same journey), which was a week after I'd had the bumper & light off for a headlight bracket repair.

Carried out a quick adjustment once I'd got to the hotel (and had some light to work by) and never been flashed since.

Although I do carry a couple of sets of stick-on beam diverters in case I ever get stopped and have an arsey officer demanding I fit them.

[JulesW]

I bought and imported my UK Z4M roadster to France in 2019. I had planned to change the headlights for LHD units, but in fact by using the internal adjustment lever to "move" the beam to a neutral position the car passed its Controle Technique (MOT equivalent) so I didn't bother. However the performance of the lights is dire, with very defined blacked out areas in the beam pattern, so not great for mountain roads at night (I'm in the Alpes). It's a summer car only so low priority so I lived with it

The other consequence of opening up the back of the lights to access the lever was that after 13 years the seals on the back plates must have been a bit crusty. I have had condensation problems ever since which have eventually discoloured the lenses internally. So my advice is don't open the light units unless you have to. Apparently a bit of Vaseline on the seals helps keep moisture out when refitting the back plates if you do. I've recently taken a punt buying some Spyder replacement lights from the US which are Halogen, but with a plug in and play adaptor for Xenon equipped cars. Fingers crossed that's the solution and it all works. Might be a bit of a spec downgrade, but hopefully better than the set up I have a the moment. Car booked in for the middle of June to have them fitted, so we'll see. Replacement OEM units are now 1000GBP per side

[zmaster007]

Our headlights have a lever to put the beam pattern from -------\_______ to a straight line. It is located on the side of the projector unit, accessible from the rear. Check here for info: viewtopic.php?t=104600. There is a picture of two projectors side by side, the one on the right is OEM. On the right side of it there is a silver lever next to the bowl of the projector.

[nickw6666]

Thanks all for the feedback and very interesting.
As our cars are generally 15 years old I don't like the sound of opening up the back of the light to get to the lever and then the seals on the backplate being compromised causing condensation issues. I'm also travelling through the Alps for quite a big part of the journey so want good spread of light.
Most of my journeying will not be in the dark so I think I'm going to leave it as standard if others experience is that they don't get flashed in Europe with standard set-up.
At least I know the procedure if I have to get it done if I'm flashed a lot etc.
My experience has been same in that I've not been flashed on a few trips into Europe although much of that driving has been on motorway with central barrier helping a bit probably in blocking some light and also travelling in summertime mainly the days are long so no need to put the lights on much during the trip.
I'm going with a friend in an M240i who can adjust LED's from iDrive so will follow him in Alps at night if we have to use full lights.

[Sajk]

That lever is there but I had it in the blocking position on my RHD passenger side by accident and I agree the lighting is really crap with it in place. To be honest the lights on our cars are pretty dim compared to modern led based headlights. I often get dazzled by them on low beam just because of the z4 ride hight. If you don't need to pass a test then....

[teeps]

I lived in Germany for a couple of years with my 3.0 E86 (same xenon headlights as the M), where unfortunately the simple headlight leveller wouldn’t pass their TUV (MOT equiv), meaning I had to replace both headlight units with LHD equivalents. They weren’t so difficult to source at the time, but I’d expect more tricky these days. Swapping the units was a full front-bumper-off job which was a bit of a pain but do-able with the right tools. I kept the RHD lights in storage until I moved back to the UK, then sold the LHD units on ebay.de once I was done with them.

[insider]

Speaking of xenons, my passenger side xenon occassionally doesn't light up and I get yellow bulb light in the cluster.
I assume it's time to replace both front bulbs - do we have any recommendations which to pick and what type?

[mmm-five]

Speaking of xenons, my passenger side xenon occassionally doesn't light up and I get yellow bulb light in the cluster.
I assume it's time to replace both front bulbs - do we have any recommendations which to pick and what type?

When it does light up, is it duller (more purple) than the other side?

If it is, then yes replace them both at the same time...and if you have the capability, I'd remove the headlights from the car and polish the glass protector lens when you swap the buls, as you get a build up of residue on them which reduces light output.

If not, it could be the igniter or ballast rather than the bulb.

If you do take the headlight off, you will have to get the aim alignment done.

I use Osram Zenarc Night Breaker Laser D2S (about £95 for a pair), but you can get the standard output Osram D2S for £27 each. There are lots of fakes about, so ensure you get them from a reputable source.