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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.
