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Differences between European, American and English optics.

The front optics of European and American cars do not have any fundamental differences. With American headlights, it is also possible to pass European technical inspection.

In turn, English optics, including Japanese ones, for right-hand drive cars have a completely different direction of the light beam and are not allowed for permanent use in Europe; they cannot pass inspection. Such optics on European roads blind oncoming traffic. If a car from England temporarily enters Europe, a special lens is glued to the headlight glass, which cuts off the blinding stream of light. Stickers are sold at numerous petrol stations near England and in the country itself.

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In addition, in rare cases, for example, on the BMW (E39) 5th and (E46) 3rd series there is a hatch at the top of the xenon headlight, under which there is a light switch “flag”. In such headlights, when switching on an English car, the light beam from a “tick” turns into a straight line. And, if the headlight marking has both meanings, both for right-hand traffic and for left-hand traffic, it is possible to pass a technical inspection with it in Europe.

Many people wonder if you buy English headlights, whether they can be converted into European ones, because they are often cheaper. The question is precisely the economic feasibility of the alteration. Conventional halogen reflective optics cannot be converted. It is possible to convert xenon and halogen optics with lenses. To do this, it is necessary to remove the entire lens module and reshape the light-cutting curtain. But here you can encounter a large number of problems, such as:
- the lens module cannot always be removed from the back of the headlight through the cover to replace the lamps. In this case, it is necessary to disassemble the headlight and remove the glass, which can be glued to a disposable glass sealant. In this case, the housing is cut, and the glass, after assembly, is re-glued, as a result of which both the geometry of the headlight housing and the tightness may be disrupted.
- the corresponding factory markings remain on the headlights of cars with right-hand drive. It is applied both in the form of stickers in the most visible place, and in the form of burnt labels on the body or glass of the headlight. Therefore, even if the beam of English headlights meets European requirements and, during the technical inspection, they pay attention to the markings, such a car will not pass it.

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Currently, standard factory optics designed for the use of xenon lamps are produced only with lens modules in the headlights. Even 10 or more years ago, some manufacturers produced xenon headlights without lenses, for example, many Volvo car models, Mercedes W210 E-class, S-class W140 and so on. Factory lensless optics used special lamps with the R suffix at the end of the name. Such lamps had a “curtain” on the bulb that cut off light directed upward, which could blind oncoming drivers.

The light from such headlights was less effective than from lens optics. In addition, even with a slight appearance of dirt on the glass of lensless xenon headlights, they began to blind oncoming drivers, the headlights became two fiery “balls”. For the first time, xenon headlights appeared on the BMW 7 Series E32 in 1990. These were lens headlights.

The main difference between lens optics for xenon lamps and lens optics for halogen lamps is in the form of a curtain inside the headlights, installed between the reflector and the lens, cutting off part of the light that would blind oncoming drivers. The curtain is made in the shape of a “checkmark” in order to provide more illumination to the right edge of the road and the side of the road and less to the left, oncoming lane. In halogen lens optics, the “tick” for illuminating the right side has one bend. This is done so that road signs are illuminated on the right. Xenon lamps are twice as bright as halogen lamps, so the “swoosh” shape has a second bend in its shape to “cut” the beam so as not to blind oncoming drivers who may be moving towards them from the right, for example, on turns. Another one example: when driving along a road with more than two lanes, a car with xenon optics should not dazzle the driver moving ahead, who is to the right, through the left outside rear view mirror. The shape of the reflectors of xenon and halogen optics also has differences . 

Another distinctive detail of halogen lens optics is the presence of a “tongue” installed on the outside of the curtain. It is also made to illuminate road direction signs, especially those installed above the road. In xenon optics, there is no “tongue” as a blinding element.

The light beam and brightness from lens modules on the same vehicle model may vary slightly. This is due to the fact that on the assembly line, machines are often equipped, for example with German brands, with optics, either from Bosch or Hella manufacturers. The body material of the Bosch reflector is made of metal, and the Hella optics are made of plastic. The quality of the reflective surface in Bosch optics is somewhat worse and less durable than in Hella optics.

In addition, xenon headlights are always equipped with a headlight washer and automatic leveling at the factory. In turn, manual and automatic correctors have significant design differences. Motors that drive headlights in halogen optics with manual adjustment operate very slowly and are intended for short-term use. Adjustment is carried out from inside the car by turning the adjustment roller. When loading the rear of the machine, lowering the headlights is done manually “by eye”.
The automatic corrector is controlled by a complex system. Body position sensors relative to the road are installed diagonally on the moving parts of the rear and front suspension. Depending not only on the load of the rear axle, but also on the position of the car in relation to a flat surface, that is, the initially adjusted zero position, the computer adjusts the level of headlight lift. The automatic corrector is constantly in operation, not only when the car is loaded, but also on uneven roads. The motors of the headlight adjustment drives are designed for long-term operation and have a much faster response than in a system with a manual corrector. It is precisely because of such a complex design, which must be equipped with factory xenon headlights, that the cost of a car when ordered with the xenon option increases by 2-3 thousand Euros.

More recently, cars have appeared, these are Skoda Rapid, KIA Cerato, VW Beetle, Audi A1, Jeep Renegade, Mini Cooper S, with factory-installed xenon, but not equipped with auto-corrector and headlight washers. This became possible after the appearance on the market of xenon lamps D5S and D8S with reduced power. If the power of conventional xenon lamps is 35 Watts and the brightness is about 3200 Lumens, then the power of D5S/D8S lamps is 25 Watts and the brightness is 2000 Lumens. For comparison, the brightness of standard 55 Watt halogen lamps is 1500 Lumens. D5S lamps are manufactured by Philips and come with an ignition unit in one module, while D8S lamps from Osram with an ignition module are separated. Since the operating power of such lamps is artificially low, their declared service life is higher than that of standard xenon lamps. The light source - a bulb with xenon gas in D5S/D8S lamps, in relation to the base, is significantly lower than, for example, in D1S/D2S lamps - 18 mm versus 27 mm. This was done on purpose so that there would be no interchangeability with 35 Watt lamps, since due to the different geometry of the light source, correct focusing of light in the lens would not be possible. The shape of the headlight reflector where the D5S/D8S lamps are installed is also different.