Cibie vs. Hella E-Codes

I've posted this a few places, might as well go here as well. Copypasta'd here now.

The other night I did a back to back test comparing the Hella and Cibie E-code 7" round headlights. I've had the Hellas on for 6 months, but when I was able to find the Cibies for only a few more dollars than what I paid for the Hellas, I had to swoop. I used the 60Hi/55Lo that came with the Hellas in both reflectors. I have also added relays for both low and high beam.

To compare the two, I first went down the tightest, twistiest, hilliest, darkest road I know in the immediate Blacksburg, VA area, down and back with the Hellas installed. I used high beams on straight sections when possible, and low beams in corners to see how far I could see through them. I then went to a well lit parking lot less than a mile away, removed the Hellas, swapped the same Hella bulbs to the Cibies, and reinstalled. The Cibies horizontal cutoff was much higher, so I did a quick aiming of the lights and did the same loop.

The difference was incredible. The Cibies put a lot more light out to the sides on low beam. I was able to drive the loop much faster and more comfortably because I could see so much better through the corners. The high beams were also better, putting less light up into the trees. This seems to agree with a lot of what I have read comparing the two. I spotted a rabbit at corner exit on one of the tightest turns, and I feel he would have been a lot harder to see with the Hellas.

If you drive mostly on straight roads or in the city, the difference probably won't be as impressive. But if you do any night driving on twisty roads, I wholeheartedly recommend the Cibies over the Hellas. In fact, given that the Cibies are only $4 more per set (plus a set of bulbs you need to purchase) on Amazon right now, I wouldn't recommend the Hellas to anyone who doesn't buy them used. I bought the Hellas because at the time I could only find the Cibies through boutique sellers who wanted twice the price of the Hellas. If I had been able to compare them like this before purchasing, I would have gladly paid that boutique price. The difference between Cibie and Hella was more dramatic than Hella and the sealed beams. They're that good.

If you want a set, search for Cibie 082440. These things will be incredible with the 100/80W bulbs I also ordered.

Pictures? Here are two Isocandela graphs created by Daniel Stern, as well as a discussion link where Mr. Stern discusses them. I found the images elsewhere as the original discussion links do not work. If you want pictures of the backside of a reflector, I don't know what to tell you. They're shiny and you'll rarely see them again.

Cibies
https://i.imgur.com/x8buQIZ.jpg

Hellas
https://i.imgur.com/NVW1q57.jpg

Discussion
http://classicbroncos.com/forums/sho...37&postcount=1

great info, thanks for sharing

good info, I have a couple sets of Cibie Fog lights for my after market bumpers, they make quality parts!

Thanks for sharing.. fantastic write up. One question, it seems the stock harness can handle the 55/60 bulbs (?) but on Amazon the bulbs they show "as purchased with" as these: http://www.amazon.com/HELLA-HLA-H831...48JYTRS28R4FD8 but elsewhere you noted you just need 9003's. Are these the right ones?

http://www.amazon.com/HELLA-9003-HB2...=Hella+h4+9003