I purchased a set of new aftermarket headlights from europartsdirect.com for my '92 245 this summer. They look great on the car, but the light quality just seems poor to me. I've made several attempts to aim them higher, lower, and in between, but I just can't seem to get what I would consider to be optimal light from them.

Additionally, the beams/light don't hit the ground until about 10 feet out - it's like there's a blank space before the light starts vs. the typical wash of light I'm used to. Is this typical of the 240? When I've tried to adjust them downward to fill in this dead space, I just end up with a short, wide throw (which is essentially useless). I've considered having the dealership aim them for me - perhaps there's a sweet spot I'm not finding?

With these concerns in mind, I have a few questions:
1) What should the 240 beam pattern look like (how far out should the light be hitting the ground - should there be a 10' "blank" space)?
2) Should the light quality be as good from these as the oem Volvo headlights (given that construction and fittment appears to be the same)?
3) Is there anything I can do to improve the light quality (besides replacing bulbs - I'm running PIAA Extreme Whites)?

Admittedly, this is my first 240, and I don't know anyone else who has one, so I have nothing to compare the light quality to at this point. If they look the way they should, then I'll just learn to live with them, but if there's something I can do to improve them, please let me know! Thanks!!!
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Black '92 245, 111K miles, powder-coated gunmetal Virgos - a work in progress!

I'm afraid that you've discovered the one shortcoming of the '86-93 240 as they were sold in this country -- not Volvo's fault, really, but mandated by our stupid federal government (which has since changed their minds regarding later model cars).

There is nothing you can do by aiming those awful lights that you just bought (you should have saved your money):
Aim them down, and they light more of the pavement (little use to enabling you to see things ahead of you, though, as headlights should). No one drives by looking down at the pavement -- people drive by looking ahead, but that's not where the headlights illuminate.
Aim them up, instead, and you'll find that your high beams, when you want to use them, are shining up to the sky to illuminate UFOs.
It's all in the optics, as these lights are just not directing the light where it should be.

In contrast, Euroheadlights do the job right -- on low beam, they light up the road ahead of you, and more so to the right (where deer and other wildlife, or pedestrian, might wait before jumping out in front of you), but without blinding oncoming drivers because of their low beams' sharp cutoff. In high beam, they illuminate the roadway far ahead. And they can do that without excessive wattage bulbs! It's all in their superiod optics (rear reflector and front lens).

BTW, going for higher wattage bulbs is no solution: (1) it just puts more photons in the same wrong places that the original bulbs did; and (2) the additional current degrades (by heat) your car's wiring (insulation) and switches, for a shorter life expectancy [though correctable with relays]. You're just left with the same problem.

The benefits of Euroheadlights used to be easy to obtain -- just swap out the standard sealed beams for a set of Cibie substitutes! Nowadays, without sealed beams, you have two choices: either buy expensive Euroheadlights from someone who can get them from Europe, or rip out your lights and fabricate some way to mount "sealed beam" headlights (which you will replace with Cibies, of course), either dual 7in round or quad 5.25in rounds. The former (buying Euroheadlights) is more expensive, but really easy in terms of time and work, as well as very good looking; the latter (fabricating mounts for sealed beams)can be very cheap, but not easy, and the appearance depends on your ingenuity -- it can be nice, or really ugly (I've seen examples of both on this list).

I'm afraid that these are your only options. You should, by the way, do an archive search to find out all the thousands (probably) of messages on this list devoted to this one frustration. It's probably one of the three most numerous topics on this list, besides synthetic lubricants and passing emissions tests.
Sorry.

Thanks to all for the frank commentary - that's what I was afraid of. Three final questions: 1) what's the best place to obtain the eurolights and how much should one expect to pay? 2) is there a really good diy out there on swapping out the single 'plasticrap' squares for cibie dual rounds (and where's the cheapest place to buy the dual rounds)? 3) finally, is the IPD relay system worth the $/time investment for short term gains?

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge on this subject!
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Black '92 245, 109K miles, powder-coated gunmetal Virgos - a work in progress!

First, the IPD relay helps protect your car's wiring and lessens voltage drop, so that the bulbs will receive higher current and glow brighter. They do not, on their own, really help (IMHO, and despite what others may write) because they don't deal with the basic shortcomings of the lousy optical design of the headlights. The only useful improvement is from the accidental "spillover" simply because of a greater flow of photons.
On the other hand, if you put higher than normal (55/60W) H4 bulbs in the Euroheadlights (see below), relays will contribute to better illumination. However, Euroheadlights with even standard wattage is so much better, you may not feel the need for higher wattage, and the relays, once you have the Euroheadlights.

That said, let's talk about obtaining Euroheadlights. You can go cheap (and that's only relative, because they're still expensive) or expensive (and that's more so). Two sources that I know about (others can add other names):
1) This guy's name is Bram Smits, bram@fangorn.xs4all.nl, and his website is
http://www.buvic.com/car/forsale/lights/index.html
He sells the cheaper "Scantech" quality headlights. I bought a pair (for one of my '93's, from him); he's trustworthy, and ships fast.
2) This guy's name is Soren Johansen, soren.hee@mail.dk, and his website is
http://www.sitecenter.dk/classicvolvoshop/h4euroheadlights/
He sells the more expensive genuine Volvo-brand, Cibie-made, OEM european headlights, and I'm planning to order a set from him for my other '93 240 when I've finished paying off christmas shopping (I didn't like the lack of quality of the more affordable Scantech-made headlights).

And in addition, there have been some posts about fabricating the installation of "sealed" beams (meant to substitute with Cibies) -- you can find them on the archives -- none are easy, and as I reported before; some look very good (close to OEM), and some look ugly. But they are all a vast improvement, functionally speaking.

The E-codes truly make a world of difference!! As previous posters pointed out, not only can you see in front of you but you can really see the right side of the road too. I scored a brandnew kit including chrome trim and turn signals from a seller on eBay from The Netherlands. I had missed an auction but emailed him and we conducted a deal "offline." I paid around $330 US including shipping from across the pond. They took a month to arrive but well worth the wait. I'm running PIAA 8000K bulbs...extremely bright white/bluish tint. I'd say check eBay, The Turbobricks.com For Sale section, and Jpstyling.com. Dan Stern Lighting also has write ups, and light selections. Numerous board users have swapped out to the dual rounds and they look damn good! KeplerNiko wrote up a great step by step conversion recently...the search option will yield a plethera of information. I wouldn't waste your money on the IPD harness unless you're stepping up to E-codes. I'm running the harness as it draws power directly from the battery and notice a lot less voltage drop.

Best,
Adam
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'92 244GL silver-metallic, 152k, Enem V15 cam, Bilstein HDs, IPD sways, upper+lower and Cherry-Turbo strut braces, 240 OEM rear wing, 15' Dracos, SS lines, E-codes w/side repeaters, Euro cowl covers paint-matched, Magnaflow 2.5' SS exhaust, Unitek header

Convert to 7" round lights. Even round sealed beams will give
better light than the plasticrap stock lights. You'll even have
space to add a nice set of driving lights inboard of the headlights
to augment the high beams, should you so desire.


-b.

What you have discovered is just one of the deficiencies with the plastic headlights. That's why several of us here has done headlight swaps on the '86+ models.

-- Kane
--
Blossom II -'91 745Ti/M46 ... Bubbles -'74 144GL/BW35 ... Buttercup -'86 245GL/AW70
The Wayback Machine -'64 P220/M40 ... The ParaBox -'90 745GL/AW70

hi there, the 86-93 240 lights are known to be poor at best. you can run a relay system from the battery for less voltage drop. it is said here to help. you can make one or www.ipdusa.com sells the harness. good luck