Sorry chaps, I know this isn’t MX-5 related, but I was hoping somebody on this forum could help me out with this little problem on my wife’s 2016 Mazda 3. I’ve tried surfing the dear old internet, but I cannot seem to hit on the right info.
The question / problem is, does the 2016 version of the Mazda 3 need headlight deflectors for continental driving ? I can’t find any on-line, or in my local Halfords (apparently they are not even listed !). A friend told me that late-model Mazdas, normally have dip-neutral headlights, and that no deflectors are required for driving in Europe, because the UK ones do not actually dip to the left - just down, but I cannot find any corroboration for this.
Most modern cars have “dip neutral” beams ,or automatically adjust via sensors in the windscreen.Depending on what headlights are fitted.A lot of new cars have smart lights. Best to just take the adjustment down on the level switch.I think beam deflectors went out with the Cortina. Can’t remember the last time I saw a car fitted with them.
went out with the Cortina you say, I beg to differ, recently came across this car, parked in a back street of a small town in Italy. Possibly the most pointless application of beam deflectors ever. And apologies if the owner sees this. Hope you were enjoying your road trip, we were…
My 2016 Mazda3 has the HID projector lamps, just the one per side, and the dip is merely a shutter blade that blocks part of the main-beam light. It has a flat top dip, but with a slight kink or step. It does not have the autodip (thank goodness).
It is auto levelling (a pain because it always seems to be a bit too high), but when I asked the dealer to set it down a couple of degrees they refused saying it must be at a precise setting. The physical adjustment for aiming the beam is actually very simple, and the auto levelling knows nothing about where the headlamp assembly is pointing. Hmmm too tempting…
EDIT.
Memory has just kicked in about ND and Mazda 3 Headlight adjustments, here is some info and a relevant pic posted almost exactly a year ago
