E-Code headlight upgrade

[Toby]

Just talked to Jack i think it was at Susquehanna he said that the only difference between cibies and the hellas is the cutoff line, he described it as a clock, the hellas start it 9:00 and go to the center and then turn towards 2:00 and continue on and the cibies continue in the same as hellas until its across from about 2:30 and then goes horizontal. But Hellas do it at half the cost! 

Well, Jack is trying to sell you his inferior crap, now isn't he. If you hold a Hella and Cibie E code light in your hand at the same time, you would never believe the Hellas are "just as good". The Hella lens is yellow tinged the Cibie is CRYSTAL clear. The reflector on a Hella is kind of muddy greyish, the Cibie is bright silver. If you do not have the money, Hellas are better than sealed beams, but not nearly as good as Cibies.

[camboscams]

Yea i hear that from him and read stuff saying on the internet that there's not much difference and then i see this comparing Cibies and Hellas  http://dastern.torque.net/Photometry/isocomparo.html
I guess i have to decide what i'm willing to pay

[Toby]

I think you need to look at the diagrams again. The Z beam Cibies are a DOT light and not an E code so they don't count. If you look at the last 2 diagrams The ECE (E code?) Hella 7" round has a Luminous Flux (total light output) of 463. The ECE Cibie 7" round has Luminous Flux of 695. That is 1/3 greater light output with the same bulb at the same voltage. Only you can decide how important your life is. I have been saved several times in my life by great lights that let me see stuff that I would have run headlong into with Hellas.

[R.O.R-2.0]

I think you need to look at the diagrams again. The Z beam Cibies are a DOT light and not an E code so they don't count. If you look at the last 2 diagrams The ECE (E code?) Hella 7" round has a Luminous Flux (total light output) of 463. The ECE Cibie 7" round has Luminous Flux of 695. That is 1/3 greater light output with the same bulb at the same voltage. Only you can decide how important your life is. I have been saved several times in my life by great lights that let me see stuff that I would have run headlong into with Hellas.

all i did, were fix my adjusters on my aero lights, throw good bulbs at them, and relay them..

im happy now 

i was considering HIDs or some other options before this.

AERO lights are bright as hell with good bulbs and voltage..

[Pat Dolan]

First of all, for the sake of EVERYONE in the car hobby, do NOT do an HID conversion of any non-HID light.  This kind of irresponsible behaviour is what draws unwanted attention from LEOs to us - and in this case for good reason.  The NHTSA is investigating now.

Between Cibié and Hella, the debate rages on.  Compared with anything else, they are light years better (please forgive the lighting pun), but if you are trying to get all that you can from incandescents, then Cibié lights should get then near-$100.00 nod.  Definitely add a set of relays to get the voltage to the best it can be (and don't forget to actually measure it - some regulators are very different from others and rob the system of EMF).

Personally, I prefer 80/100s with CLEAR globe.  Incandescents of any kind - even halogen filled - emit longer wavelength than full spectrum (i.e. red shift).  The nonsense of blue tint "correcting" them is pure fallacy.  You can not add colour, you can only subtract by filtering, and blue tinting filters out some red to give the APPEARANCE of white - but now you have a spectrum missing some red and some blue.  You can not see at night what you do not reflect back, so if you don't send those wavelengths out, you don't get that part of the image back.

Before you feel too bad about spending $300 for lights, bulbs and relays, and remembering that in the USA, those extremely good H4s are actually not legal (but nobody will likely ever call you on that if you don't do anything stupid - such as convert to HID or not aim carefully), consider that the next step in getting fully DOT legal and full spectrum white 5 x 7 headlamps are LEDs - that will set you back over a grand a pair.  But, GEEZ, are they sweet.

[wolf_walker]

Being a cheapass, I bought a set of Indian made Autopal 200mm's for my Caddy and relay'd them, ran them with the included bulbs and some Osram 80/100's.  For the $50 or so I had in them, with the upgraded bulbs and the relays i had laying around, it was well worth it.  I can't speak to Hella/Cibie, but the horizontal cutoff is excellent, not blinding drivers and not blinding you from road signs.  I wish there was a little more side spill of sorts, but it's still a world or three better than the sealed beams.
They reach out there pretty good on high as well.  e-bay money well spent if you are on a serious budget.  A large part of the reason I went cheap is the frequency with which I get a rock that cracks my sealed beams, I can't count how many times.  Roger Brown I think has some grills over his to protect them.  New adjusters were nice to add too.

[8v-of-fury]

Being a cheapass, I bought a set of Indian made Autopal 200mm's for my Caddy and relay'd them, ran them with the included bulbs and some Osram 80/100's. I wish there was a little more side spill of sorts, but it's still a world or three better than the sealed beams.

Amen, these are my 90/100w Autopal E-code lows. They have a perfect horizontal cutoff, with some good side splash.

[rabbitman]

Being a cheapass, I bought a set of Indian made Autopal 200mm's for my Caddy and relay'd them, ran them with the included bulbs and some Osram 80/100's.  For the $50 or so I had in them, with the upgraded bulbs and the relays i had laying around, it was well worth it.  I can't speak to Hella/Cibie, but the horizontal cutoff is excellent, not blinding drivers and not blinding you from road signs.  I wish there was a little more side spill of sorts, but it's still a world or three better than the sealed beams.
They reach out there pretty good on high as well.  e-bay money well spent if you are on a serious budget.  A large part of the reason I went cheap is the frequency with which I get a rock that cracks my sealed beams, I can't count how many times.  Roger Brown I think has some grills over his to protect them.  New adjusters were nice to add too.

I have about the same setup and they are totally worth the money.

[camboscams]

I had never heard of autopals before but for 25ish dollars that seems like a no brainer. Especially after several good comments. anything should be better then the stock setup.  I'm looking at this setup here,
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/330397528585?item=330397528585&pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item4ced3a3209&autorefresh=true#ht_2924wt_1185

I would probably ditch the bulbs that come with them or use them till they blow and get some Osram hypers 85/80w
 

[8v-of-fury]

That is the exact seller I bought mine through. His name is Rishii Gupta, and he is one of the best ebay sellers I have ever dealt with. I had a bulb peal off the inner reflective coating because it developed moisture and then my best guess is boiled it off from the 100w bulb.. but he replaced it no questions and on his dime. I was 100% satisfied.

I went with the ~$6 upgrade to the 90/100W Ultra Blues, I have had them in there for just over a year now. Relay'd and all that good stuff so they are seeing the full ~13v of the alternator... And they are still super bright. Run em till they blow and then put whatever bulbs you want in there

HOWEVER! I would suggest against the "crystal" look, they look like they belong on a HaunDuhh. lol. But there is scientific reason not to run them lol. From what I have seen the stepped looking reflector, doesn't do well in the aid of getting the light out there like a flat smooth surface does. Plus aren't the crystal ones a "DOT" standard? meaning the lenses will have the sithty diffusers?