[quote name='Zee007' date='May 30 2003, 10:25 PM'][quote name='Risky3301' date='May 28 2003, 11:08 PM'] You asked for the Facts. The facts or Law on Lighting is detailed below,
You need to read up European Whole Vehicle Type Approval to directive 70/156/EEC including 98/14/EC and ECE regulations.
Lighting Installations
76/756/EEC/-87/28/EC
ECE R48 - .01
Just a brief summary.
The above reg detail How, what you need to do as Motor manufacture to be able to sell and use a motor vehicle in the UK and main land Europe, there are some exemptions but not for likes of Toyota or Lexus or any other large volume main stream manufacturer.
All headlights must be 'E' mark this shows that the component has been tested and approved completely separate from the vehicle. Most Headlight produced outside of EU will not be 'E' Mark, the regs also detail how the lights should be adjusted using 3 different types of controls from inside the vehicle
Dial, switch
Slide left to right, Horizontal, switch
Slide up and down Vertical, switch
They is no mention of manual controls outside the vehicle.
If these headlight's meet all of the above then they are legal to use on UK roads
If not then they are not legal to use on UK roads.
Remember you can do what ever you like to you car, don't forget when the worst happens Mr Insurance Company is always looking for a 'Get out Jail Free Card'[/quote]
Great stuff mate - nice to see some factual information.
For those who are interested in the information below, I have searched the internet and found the pages discussed here:
[url="http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=en&numdoc=31976L0756&model=guichett"]European Lighting Directive[/url]
I have not challenged the marking on the headlamps at all. As I stated oin my earlier post, this is one thing that may cause these lights to fail (although, imports get through, and I have not checked my lamps close enough to see if they are 'E' marked).
Regarding light adjustment, all I found was:
[i]4.2.5. Geometric visibility
>PIC FILE= "T9000958"> Within this field, almost the whole of the light-emitting surface of the lamp must be visible.
The presence of panels or other items of equipment near the light must not give rise to secondary effects causing discomfort to other road users.
4.2.6. Alignment 4.2.6.1. The vertical inclination of the dipped beam shall be measured under static conditions and all the loading conditions defined in Appendix 1. In the "unladen vehicle" state with one person in the driving seat, the initial vertical downwards inclination shall be between 1 and 1 75 %. It must then remain between 0 75 and 2 75 % without manual adjustment.
[b]The initial adjustment for each type of vehicle must be expressly laid down by the manufacturer and must be indicated on a plate on each vehicle. [/b]
4.2.6.2. The preceding condition may be satisfied by means of a device acting on the relative position of the headlamp and the vehicle. In the case of this device failing the beam must not return to a position less inclined downwards than its position at the time of failure of the device. 4.2.6.2.1. The device mentioned in 4.2.6.2 must be automatic.
[b]4.2.6.2.2. Devices which are adjusted manually, either continuously or through a series of positions, shall nevertheless be permitted, provided that they have a stop position where the lamps can be put back to the initial alignment defined in [/b]4.2.6.1 by means of the usual adjusting screws. These manually adjustable devices must be operable from the driving seat. Continuously adjustable devices must have reference marks indicating the main loading conditions.
The number of positions on adjustable devices operating with a series of positions must be such as to ensure compliance, starting from an initial downwards inclination of between 1 and 1 75 %, with the range of values between 0 75 and 2 75 % for the loading conditions defined in Appendix 1. For these devices, the loading conditions shall be clearly marked near the control of the device. [/i]
I have highlighted two sections which to me say manual adjustment is allowed (I have read the whole directive). Unless you can help me out, I think the black chrome lights are legal (from a beam and adjustment stand point).
Zee[/quote]
Zee, What I have quoted came from a 'Jesus' in the world of 'European Whole Vehicle Type Approval'
The adjustment you quote is the standard headlight adjustment; this is totally different from the adjustment from inside the car. The only way a car manufacturer can avoid fitting the auto leveling adjustment is by having fully automatic rear suspension adjustment, i.e. to keep the vehicle at a predetermine position regards of weight in the rear of the vehicle.
Don't quote me on this, I am sure that all imports must have a 'European Whole Vehicle Type Approval' certificate before they can driven on UK roads, this means certain mods need to carried out i.e. Headlights, Speedo changes etc before the certificate can be issue.
E Marking. Again a legal requirement that said. I would a bet week’s wages that if you went into 10 different MOT stations not one would fail a vehicle for lights not being E Marked.
I personally like the Black Chrome Headlights but I have couple issues with them apart from the legal side.
Are they made in the good old US of A if yes then quality would be an issue as the they have much lower expectations on quality.
I would only buy Genuine Toyota parts from the USA and only interior parts. Slightly

I will admit to ordering 2 such parts for my soon to be delivered IS200 sport.
If they are a genuine Toyota/Lexus Part why aren’t there offered here in UK, E marking in not that expensive (small tooling change for E-marking), passing the test could be the issue. The 'LUX' value could be so low that they would never pass the component testing that's required for Europe and the UK. This could why they don't have the auto leveling feature so that they cannot be used in the UK etc.