2014 mazda 3 with OEM bi xenon hids

[mauric3]

Hey guys.. i have a 2014 mazda 3 GT fully loaded hatchback with the AFS system and looking at mazda's canada site specification for the mazda 3.. it says Adaptive front lighting system with automatic headlight leveling. Does this mean the projectors adjust automatically? Is there a way to raise the projectors with the automatic headlight leveling system?

I love the afs system I'm just wondering for people who have the oem hids in their 3.. Do you find the alignment seems to be pretty low and should be raised up a bit so we could actually see further down the road especially on the hwy? I just kinda noticed that the distance isn't far enough especially on a hwy that is very dark... When driving on the same hwy with our minivan with oem hids , the distance is way farther and i guess i can see further down the road better as well when comparing it with the output on our 2014 mazda 3 with oem hids. So i'm just wondering if anyone of you guys here with oem hids feels like the headlights are aimed a bit low?

Also, i noticed that when i park in front of our garage.. same distance for both of our cars. The cutoff on our minivan seems to be 2 inches higher than the cutoff of our 2014 mazda 3.. Is this normal since the van sits higher than the 3?

 

[CXVille]

The aim for headlights is based on angle down from the headlight. So yes, the minivan should hit the garage higher. HIDs with a very sharp cutoff, like the ones Mazda uses, create visibility issues because they throw so little excess light. Street signs don't reflect well because there is no stray light from the headlights. And the aiming being low that you reference is the same thing. Park the Mazda HID next to another car with conventional lights, and you will see a big difference. The Mazda lights up the area it hits, but the rest is pretty much dark. Older lighting systems "leak" light out into other areas that doesn't blind drivers because of the low levels.

 

[Suddueth13]

Actually the Koito projectors used by Mazda still use a fresnal lens so the cutoff is softened and not razor sharp like a clear lens would be. They also utilize "squirrel finders" which are rectangular cutouts in the cutoff shield that bleed a small amount of light upward to illuminate signs. You can re-aim the AFS lights but make sure the light goes no higher than a 1" drop against a wall from 25' away at headlight center.

 

[CXVille]

The lights on our CX-5 GT apparently doesn't have any squirrel finders. Maybe they are different than the ones on the 3. I don't have the xenons on my 3 i Touring Pulling up to street signs in the CX-5 they are pitch dark. Far enough away - like 100 feet or more and the cutoff angle on the right side gets high enough, but as you approach them, no way. And from my viewpoint, the cutoff is razor sharp. Much, much sharper than the european BMW/Hella lights I have in my E36 M3. The M3 lights are standard halogen with glass lenses, and the bleed some light. The CX-5 doesn't bleed any.

 

[Suddueth13]

Razor sharp cutoff here: http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?54687-S2K-retro-in-11-Mazda-3
Fresnal lenses: http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/sho...-Factory-Projector-HID-Cutoff-Video-and-Shots
I haven't had the Koito bixenons out at night to see how they illuminate upwards. Have any pictures of the output against a wall at about 25'? And squirrel finders hit signs further out, not when you're right up on them.

 

[lowincash]

I had tsx projectors retrofitted on my previous car and I loved the razor sharp cutoff. I now have fuzzy yellow cutoff One day I'll have enough courage to open up the headlights and swap in some clear lenses but I'm afraid to open these headlights up since they have auto leveling and afs motors and stuff =/

Oh yeah, squirrel finders are only on halogen projectors, not the xenon equipped cars. From the factory these lights are aimed kinda low so I raised mine about two inches. Light shines farther yet still hit right on car's bumpers from afar.