[Alex Oberkovych]

I have a Mazda 3 GT MT and the headlamps are super weak at night. Even with the highbeams they are incredibly weak and i sometimes have trouble seeing further distances at night. Also the left beam seems to be lower than the right? Anybody else experiencing this?

 

[Arakon]

Left beam being lower is common, it's to decrease the chance to blind oncoming traffic.

 

[gregersonke]

Change out the bulbs, it'll make a difference. Personally, this is part of what I love about the HID lights. They simply just rock.

 

[Alex Oberkovych]

Left beam being lower is common, it's to decrease the chance to blind oncoming traffic.

so youre saying this is from the factory the left headlight is lower?

 

[Arakon]

so youre saying this is from the factory the left headlight is lower?

That's my guess. On any car I ever owned, with xenon, LED and halogen lights, left is always lower (unless you drive in a country where the left lane is used instead of right, then right light should be lower).

 

[jfong]

I find our factory xenon is weak as well, especially when driving side by side with other car, their headlight washed out ours. Changing bulbs sometimes doesn't help. The only way to remedy it is to replace the projector inside, but that is much more complicated than simply changing the bulb.

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[BMWWW]

I find our factory xenon is weak as well, especially when driving side by side with other car, their headlight washed out ours. Changing bulbs sometimes doesn't help. The only way to remedy it is to replace the projector inside, but that is much more complicated than simply changing the bulb.

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While a full retrofit of replacing the factory projector with another better performing one for HID/Xenon bulbs would be the best...

Cheaper alternatives (if you already have the factory HID projectors:
- look up an aiming guide (there's probably a few feet of distance you can gain before blinding the oncoming traffic)
- replacement bulb: bulbs lose their intensity as they get old--and they also colorshift closer to pink/purple as they are about to die
- replacement bulbs (don't go LED) that are produced to run at 50/55w instead of 35w, and use an uprated ballast

I have no issues recommending anything from theretrofitsource's website.

 

[jfong]

While a full retrofit of replacing the factory projector with another better performing one for HID/Xenon bulbs would be the best...

Cheaper alternatives (if you already have the factory HID projectors:
- look up an aiming guide (there's probably a few feet of distance you can gain before blinding the oncoming traffic)
- replacement bulb: bulbs lose their intensity as they get old--and they also colorshift closer to pink/purple as they are about to die
- replacement bulbs (don't go LED) that are produced to run at 50/55w instead of 35w, and use an uprated ballast

I have no issues recommending anything from theretrofitsource's website.

It has been aimed as high as it gets, the higher up it goes it will lose the foreground intensity.

I just recently changed the bulbs from the retrofit source, so it doesn't help either. Not going to spend a lot for special bulbs since the advantage is negligible.

I won't go with higher wattage ballast simply just because I believe it is not good for the bulbs and the housing (extra heat etc)

Won't go LED because the housing is not made for LED.

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[BMWWW]

It has been aimed as high as it gets, the higher up it goes it will lose the foreground intensity.

I just recently changed the bulbs from the retrofit source, so it doesn't help either. Not going to spend a lot for special bulbs since the advantage is negligible.

I won't go with higher wattage ballast simply just because I believe it is not good for the bulbs and the housing (extra heat etc)

Won't go LED because the housing is not made for LED.

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New bulbs, check. What temperature bulbs did you go with? 4300/4500k temp rating hopefully?--those are the best for driver usability.
"Aimed as high as they will go."
>> That does not necessarily mean that it is aimed properly. If you didn't, gotta follow the guide on HIDP:
https://www.hidplanet.com/forums/fo...ty/how-to-diy/11152-how-to-aim-hid-headlights

Is your windshield clean? Is the plastic lens from the headlight housing cloudy or relatively clear? Your eyes been checked recently?
My wife's halogen projectors on a 2016 sedan work a-okay. I assume the factory HID's are better. My wife is basically blind without her glasses and she has zero problems driving at night with her glasses.. something does not add up.

 

[jfong]

Well I didn't say that I can't see anything. All I'm saying is that the foreground lighting is less bright and whiter vs other cars that I can see. So when we are side by side on the road, my lights on the ground is being washed away by the car next to me.
It has nothing to do with cleanliness, aiming, etc. It is just comparing stock bi xenon from mazda vs stock xenon headlight from other car and it seems to be on the bottom end of the line.
I retrofitted my own projectors in my previous car, so I'm no stranger to the ins and out that makes a good projector throwing the light in front of us.

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[Siceci]

Mazda headlights seem weak. They also seem aimed very low. I aimed mine a couple degrees higher and found dimming the intetior lights helped as well. This is the first car I had with the screen stuck on the dash and dimming it really helped with letting my pupils dilate for night driving.

 

[BMWWW]

Mazda headlights seem weak. They also seem aimed very low. I aimed mine a couple degrees higher and found dimming the intetior lights helped as well. This is the first car I had with the screen stuck on the dash and dimming it really helped with letting my pupils dilate for night driving.

Wonderful, then we're on the same page and understanding that our sub 30k (budget-ish) OEM projectors will FOR SURE be outclassed by the:
- s2000 projectors
- LED anything from Acura
- Most german cars
- just about all HID's from Lexus

Basically not many OEM projectors will be worse than the Mazda OEM. Not sure if there is an option to swap over a set of clear lenses like the first gen Mazda 3 (from TRS!).

Have you seen the TRS foglight projectors? I think that would be a cheapo fix. Aim the lowbeams further ahead/wider for distance, and cover the foreground disappearance with projector fogs.

 

[jfong]

Wonderful, then we're on the same page and understanding that our sub 30k (budget-ish) OEM projectors will FOR SURE be outclassed by the:
- s2000 projectors
- LED anything from Acura
- Most german cars
- just about all HID's from Lexus

Basically not many OEM projectors will be worse than the Mazda OEM. Not sure if there is an option to swap over a set of clear lenses like the first gen Mazda 3 (from TRS!).

Have you seen the TRS foglight projectors? I think that would be a cheapo fix. Aim the lowbeams further ahead/wider for distance, and cover the foreground disappearance with projector fogs.

I have that TRS(Morimoto) LED projector that replaces the OEM, it does help a bit but not much.

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[BMWWW]

I have that TRS(Morimoto) LED projector that replaces the OEM, it does help a bit but not much.

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LED projector to replace lo beam projector, or the fogs?
Any chance you have a review/pics for the curious?

 

[jfong]

Sorry.. it is the fogs. I don't have the picture from driver view, will do it later

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[jfong]

First pic fogs off, 2nd fogs on

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[Siceci]

Wonderful, then we're on the same page and understanding that our sub 30k (budget-ish) OEM projectors will FOR SURE be outclassed by the:
- s2000 projectors
- LED anything from Acura
- Most german cars
- just about all HID's from Lexus

Basically not many OEM projectors will be worse than the Mazda OEM. Not sure if there is an option to swap over a set of clear lenses like the first gen Mazda 3 (from TRS!).

Have you seen the TRS foglight projectors? I think that would be a cheapo fix. Aim the lowbeams further ahead/wider for distance, and cover the foreground disappearance with projector fogs.

Yes but I wish the halogen was better. Civic has better IMO. Also i was spoiled with my Subaru HID. Didn't realize how much a difference it made until I didn't have it.

At the end of the day i can still see at night.

 

[BearlyHere]

Had 2014 sGT and now 2017 GT, mine have always been excellent.

 

[Siceci]

First pic fogs off, 2nd fogs onhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181102/e9e13982ffd0698668519295ddd1051f.jpg[MG][IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181102/1c056213c2d82323942b6d8ca014bb80.jpg[IMG]

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk[/quote]
Try checking if they are aimed correctly. Not sure Mazda exact procedure but past cars I had have you park about 20 feet from a wall and the cut off should be at a certain height. I do this in a movie theatre parking lot by my house. Just bring a measure tape, takes a few minutes. See pic below is where I do it.
[QUOTE="BearlyHere, post: 2419149, member: 53993"]Had 2014 sGT and now 2017 GT, mine have always been excellent.[/quote]
Compared to what? I don't think the OP is saying she can't see, just that the Mazda HID is disappointing compared to other brands/vehicles.

 

[jfong]

I'm pretty sure that they are aimed correctly, if not it will bother me especially when shining the lights on the wall. It happened with my DIY HID so I can kind of eyeball it and it kept bugging me if it wasn't correct.

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