Cibies vs IPF Headlamp

[dieselenthusiast]

It's looking nice....long arm or drop brackets on the front?

Front Brackets - They really aren't needed on a 4" lift, but I was hoping to keep the front-end near OE specifications for smooth highway driving. It‘s my daily driver as well as my work vehicle that I use out on the property. I haul brush and firewood with it.

 

[dieselenthusiast]

I finally got around to placing my order. Woo Hoo!
Cibie replaceable-bulb headlamp units with built-in parking lamp
Part # 82438
$75.95/ea

Custom Harness
Part # HARN-RIK2
$139

Light Bulbs, Osram 70/65w
Part # 64205
$22/ea

Side Marker Bulbs
Part # WX6W
$4.24/ea

 

[Redsnake]

I have another post of a very similar topic... Cibie's vs IPF's.

I just purchased some IPF housings to replace the Autopal E-Codes in my '01. I will say the quality of the glass, build, etc are all levels above the Autopal E-codes.... however, the light pattern and horizontal cut-off is better on the Autopal's. I am now looking to get some Cibie E-codes and just be done w/it... hopefully.

All the pics and reviews I've seen show the Cibie to be the best, and I should have just ordered those first go around and saved the $80 spent on the IPFs. Now I'm looking for a set of Cibies (Daniel Stern is currently on backorder) for his. Just have to see what I can find and w/the upgraded wiring harness in my '01, high watt quality H4 bulbs... I should be good to go.

I'll likely try and sell the IPFs used for an obvious loss... but that'd be better then having them sit in their boxes in my garage for the next several years.

 

[Starboard M]

x2 I went with some of the vinyl type. Stone guard or xpel makes them. You don't even know they are there. Just order the ones without the holes for the US aiming nipples.

Do you have a part number for these "shields"? I cant find any on the Xpel website that will work on the XJ lights.

I have another post of a very similar topic... Cibie's vs IPF's.

I just purchased some IPF housings to replace the Autopal E-Codes in my '01. I will say the quality of the glass, build, etc are all levels above the Autopal E-codes.... however, the light pattern and horizontal cut-off is better on the Autopal's. I am now looking to get some Cibie E-codes and just be done w/it... hopefully.

All the pics and reviews I've seen show the Cibie to be the best, and I should have just ordered those first go around and saved the $80 spent on the IPFs. Now I'm looking for a set of Cibies (Daniel Stern is currently on backorder) for his. Just have to see what I can find and w/the upgraded wiring harness in my '01, high watt quality H4 bulbs... I should be good to go.

I'll likely try and sell the IPFs used for an obvious loss... but that'd be better then having them sit in their boxes in my garage for the next several years.

Please let us know how the Cibies are compared to the IPFs. Everyone says they are better, but you might be one of the few to do both.

Side by side pics....? :wave: Please? And also let us know where you find the Cibies in stock, and how much they are.

 

[Talyn]

Do you have a part number for these "shields"? I cant find any on the Xpel website that will work on the XJ lights.

https://www.xpel.com/products/universalhl.asp Second one down w/o alignment pins.

There is also http://www.stongard.com which I have on the ZJ ece lights.

 

[N8N_99xj]

rather than ordering the harness from DS I personally knowing what I know now would order from Susquehenna Motorsports... I believe if you order one from DS you will just get a SM H4 harness with a markup. I have one and it fits in an XJ like it was made for it, I will be reworking the battery end of it though. I'm using a Hella four relay block so I can have one individual relay for each filament, and fusing each relay individually using a multi-fuse block. I have an eight fuse block from Jon Kelley and I think I will use that. That way if I add aux lights I can just add another relay block. Still doing other work so I don't have pics or anything yet. I am keeping a list of the products that I use and will be posting it once it's installed, operational, and I'm happy with it if anyone wants to duplicate my Massive Overkill headlight setup.

I am using the Cibie lights and they look good so far (haven't driven with them yet.) I liked the round ones on my old 944 so I don't expect to be disappointed.

 

[Redsnake]

rather than ordering the harness from DS I personally knowing what I know now would order from Susquehenna Motorsports... I believe if you order one from DS you will just get a SM H4 harness with a markup. I have one and it fits in an XJ like it was made for it, I will be reworking the battery end of it though. I'm using a Hella four relay block so I can have one individual relay for each filament, and fusing each relay individually using a multi-fuse block. I have an eight fuse block from Jon Kelley and I think I will use that. That way if I add aux lights I can just add another relay block. Still doing other work so I don't have pics or anything yet. I am keeping a list of the products that I use and will be posting it once it's installed, operational, and I'm happy with it if anyone wants to duplicate my Massive Overkill headlight setup.

I am using the Cibie lights and they look good so far (haven't driven with them yet.) I liked the round ones on my old 944 so I don't expect to be disappointed.

Thanks for the info. I did not use DS's harness... but that's a different matter. I'd like to know where you got your Cibie lights if you don't mind. DS is currently out of stock so I'm 'on the list' but who knows how long that will take to get a pair of them.

 

[DrMoab]

I've been running Ciebe housings for at least 8 years. I can't compare them to IPF's because I've never run those but I know I would buy another pair of these.

I'm also in an inspection state and in 8 years have never been bothered.

As far as "unsafe lighting".
As a guy who drives for a living and usually works at night, if you are knowingly running lights that blind other people you are a real douche. I see this with rice rockets all the time and it takes a lot of restraint not to put these guys in the ditch. It IS a problem and it IS dangerous. I've had some close calls on two lane roads where I've lost my night vision for a few seconds after the car has already gone by. The same goes for idiots who can't seem to aim lights. One headlight out of adjustment is just as much of a problem as illegal blinding lights are.

 

[N8N_99xj]

Thanks for the info. I did not use DS's harness... but that's a different matter. I'd like to know where you got your Cibie lights if you don't mind. DS is currently out of stock so I'm 'on the list' but who knows how long that will take to get a pair of them.

I did get them from DS, I must have got one of his last pairs... only got them a couple weeks ago.

 

[N8N_99xj]

I've been running Ciebe housings for at least 8 years. I can't compare them to IPF's because I've never run those but I know I would buy another pair of these.

I'm also in an inspection state and in 8 years have never been bothered.

As far as "unsafe lighting".
As a guy who drives for a living and usually works at night, if you are knowingly running lights that blind other people you are a real douche. I see this with rice rockets all the time and it takes a lot of restraint not to put these guys in the ditch. It IS a problem and it IS dangerous. I've had some close calls on two lane roads where I've lost my night vision for a few seconds after the car has already gone by. The same goes for idiots who can't seem to aim lights. One headlight out of adjustment is just as much of a problem as illegal blinding lights are.

I agree 100% with your post, however, I'd say that stock Ford truck headlights are more blinding than properly aimed Cibies even with relays and overwatt bulbs. But I'm assuming since you say you are running Cibies that you know that...

I do need to aim my lights. Apparently they're pointing skyward... then again my rear springs seem to be arched the wrong way, that may have something to do with it (I guess 13 years and 80K miles is too much even for stock HD springs) :/ Aiming is definitely on the agenda for this evening... (and at some point, I probably need to decide what to do about the suspension... to lift or not to lift, that is the question!)

 

[DrMoab]

Agreed about ford headlights. They reflect the arrogance of their drivers

 

[N8N_99xj]

Agreed about ford headlights. They reflect the arrogance of their drivers

Hey, I have a Ford pickup... not really by choice though. I needed a pickup and had next to no budget, so even though my preferences for pickups break down roughly as follows:

1) Studebaker
2) Jeep
3) Dodge
4) Chevy
5) anything but a Ford
6) Ford

the only truck I could find that was within my budget and not beat to crap and/or rusty as heck was a Ford. And yes the headlights really annoyed me. I knew they were rude and yet at the same time they really didn't light up the road very well. I'll be selling it as soon as I get the Jeep squared away, and then all will be right with my driveway again

 

[N8N_99xj]

I can see! I can see! Made it back to the office (only place I know with a flat surface and a wall suitable for aiming headlights that I won't look like a weirdo using) before it got completely dark, coworker helped me aim 'em, aaaaahhhh... much better. I fudged a little on the vertical aim; I think I'm supposed to use 3" drop at 25'; I actually aimed them at about 1.5-2" for a little better throw. They were previously aimed about 3" up at 25', that was not good. Now I can drive in traffic after dark without everyone thinking my high beams are on! Coworker said headlights were not offensive on low beam driving straight at me which is good, he's got a little Focus (company car) and I'm running 65/70W bulbs (for some reason I thought they were 70/80s but I just looked at the box for the spare bulb that I got.) They definitely are waaaaay brighter than the sealed beams that I had before, I hate to say it but the quality of sealed beams has gone down over the years I think; the stock non-halogen ones on my '62 Studebaker were better than this (long story; I actually fairly recently had a "time capsule" car that was driven for only about 25K miles and then parked, so it still had original 1960s vintage headlights, and they actually were quite good compared to more modern parts store stuff.)

 

[Alaskan89XJ]

Greets.., since driving mostly at night for the past few months with the CIBIES housing, and the OSRAM 65/70w bulbs I only have one gripe. It comes with a qualification however, lol. Number one: The OSRAM is listed on the package, Item 64205.., as a BILUX H4 Off-Road bulb. Seems to me that OFF-ROAD is not DD on the street, therefore I guess one should figure not to expect longevity. Anyway, since the OSRAM/CIBIE's are a major improvement over OEM bulbs, (illuminating suicidal moose, etc.), it is by far the safest, brightest headlights over any other DD vehicle I've driven with OEM headlights over the past 32 years. The RUB: The OSRAM bulbs seem short lived. I have timed the hours, and on average they last only 120 hours of use before blinking out. (I have the harness upgrade too). I am on my third set since the installation I performed in the fall. (My headlights are always on for safety, day, or night). So, 120hrs. is a bit problematic, lol, changing them out on the snow, in the dark with a LED flashlight held between the teeth, lol, and ofcourse the temps down to minus degree f. temps, and in blowing snow lowering the wind chill factor, etc. Freak'in little screws, blah, blah. So, I drive 2 hours per day getting 60 days out of one set. Again, I'm on my third set.., as of last week. Hmmm... $$$ ... and in preparations, I have an extra OSRAM set ready to go when needed.

How many useful hours with the NARVA bulb's has anyone gotten? I will probably get some to find out 'fer myself anyways...eace:

 

[Talyn]

My 100/90w Narvas last a lot longer than that. I just put a pair of 70/65w Osrams in the ZJ.. hope they last better than that. http://www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=1404

 

[DrMoab]

My Narvas are 8 years old 100/90W bulbs like yours

 

[N8N_99xj]

I just installed the same Osram 65/70s... I hope those experiences are not typical! This is the first time I've used "overwattage" bulbs... prior to this I was using the same pair of 55/60W bulbs in two different cars... that were used when I got them... I also have a pair of 90/100s but am not sure if using them might not draw too much attention. (they actually came with the light kit for my Porsche 944, but I tried the 55/60s first and was actually happy with them in that car and figured in the interest of not drawing too much attention to myself I'd leave well enough alone. They're still in that car which is now with its new owner, so I had to buy new bulbs for the Cherokee.)

Higher wattage bulbs will have shorter lifespans than standard wattage ones, but a couple months seems excessively short when I've got several years' worth of use out of the standard wattage ones and as far as I know they're still good. Contributing factors might be excessive vibration, high system voltage, or oil from handling prior to installation that was not cleaned off with alcohol... other than that maybe they're just not that good? *shrug* I tried to look, but Osram does not seem to publish estimated life hours for their bulbs.

 

[dieselenthusiast]

According to Daniel Stern, "The Osram 70/65w bulb does have a relatively short lifespan. Unfortunately, there's no free lunch: higher luminance and light flux = shorter lifespan. The Narva100/90w bulb has somewhat longer lifespan because it is not driven as hard (not really a technical term but a useful
analogy).

Best DS"

 

[dieselenthusiast]

Here’s my dialogue with Daniel Stern:

ME: “Does the Narva 100/90w produce as much luminance as the Osram 70/65w?”


DANIEL: “The Narva 100/90w produces more light flux (lumens) with somewhat lower filament luminance. Overall performance in the beam is more or less equivalent.”


ME: “Street Legal in NM?”

DANIEL: “Yep, as long as the lamps are aimed correctly per http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html and used correctly (no high beams in traffic).”

ME: “Sweet! In your opinion, should I go with the Narva 100/90w over the Osram 70/65w? Let me rephrase that: If this was your jeep, what would you do?”

DANIEL: “I think I'd lean towards the Narva 100/90.”

 

[Talyn]

I don't see how it is street legal. The bulb and the housing do not meet DOT standards. The highest wattage bulb allowed by DOT standards is 60/55. The housing does not have DOT imprinted on it either. I'm not saying you should conforming to DOT standards which are obsolete and just plain crap.