Smaug's new headlights - Cibie CSR +50 Halogens

[nitroman]

Tigerdog, my CSR headlights already come with Osram 55W bulbs fitted. Did yours? If so did you just remove them & swap the +50% bulbs into their place?

Do you know anything about the quality of the bulbs which come installed?

Also, not that it makes any difference, but which wire (brown or yellow) did you attach to the positive circuit? My lamps came with no instructions. I know electricity just flows straight through, and the direction of e- flow through the bulb makes no nevermind, but I was just wondering if there were instructions which mention this.

[tigerdog]

Mine also came with garden-variety 55W Osrams. I pulled them out swapped in the Narva +50s, keeping the originals for spares. Since a headlamp is essentially resistive, I paid no attention to lamp polarity - I just stuck the spade leads into the old connectors in the appropriate spots. Shouldn't make a darned bit of difference which way they go in.

[nitroman]

The lighting is a huge improvement. You really appreciatte it on a street with absolutely no other light source. First you notice the brightness. It's like weilding a powerful torch (ahem, flashlight) VS an old torch you bought at the dollar store. Secondly you notice the breath of the light's projection, and that it even illuminates tall people walking on left-of-road sidewalks, well off the street.

Money well spent.

[tigerdog]

The light pattern is all down to clever lens etching. It was the reason I chose the EuroPal housings, since most others in that price range were plastic and clear lensed. These are all glass lenses with the box stamped with approval for German road use, the cut off is quite crisp, and the focus is better than the old sealed beam units.

Cheers,

Ian

Ian was kind enough to provide the following link: http://www.eurolamps.com/eurolamps/sealedbeams.htm to the lamps he used. I have no experience with them - just supplying the link if the Cibies are too dear for your budget. I also located a site selling genuine Hella at ridiculously cheap prices. Haven't tried it but if they're for real, this represents a real bargain. In either case, you need the 5 3/4" round low and/or high beams.

[Elanlover]

The light pattern is all down to clever lens etching. It was the reason I chose the EuroPal housings, since most others in that price range were plastic and clear lensed. These are all glass lenses with the box stamped with approval for German road use, the cut off is quite crisp, and the focus is better than the old sealed beam units.

Cheers,

Ian

Ian was kind enough to provide the following link: http://www.eurolamps.com/eurolamps/sealedbeams.htm to the lamps he used. I have no experience with them - just supplying the link if the Cibies are too dear for your budget. I also located a site selling genuine Hella at ridiculously cheap prices. Haven't tried it but if they're for real, this represents a real bargain. In either case, you need the 5 3/4" round low and/or high beams.

One thing to keep in mind is that the H4 and H1 do not fit the Elan "perfectly". The locating "nubs" that are on the light housngs are not the same meaning the retainer ring that holds the light housing in place from the back AND centers the light housing properly does not fit. What you need to do is cut or grind off these nubs and then "guess" what the correct position should be for the light housing (not that hard to do).

I mention this only because the shells I bought were reasonably cheap Chinese crap and the backs of the housings with the nubs are plastic making it easy to grind them off. If the Cibies are glass on the back it could be harder to do. Does anyone know what Ian did?

(you're right though.....great price on those shells)

[nitroman]

The light pattern is all down to clever lens etching. It was the reason I chose the EuroPal housings, since most others in that price range were plastic and clear lensed. These are all glass lenses with the box stamped with approval for German road use, the cut off is quite crisp, and the focus is better than the old sealed beam units.

Cheers,

Ian

Ian was kind enough to provide the following link: http://www.eurolamps.com/eurolamps/sealedbeams.htm to the lamps he used. I have no experience with them - just supplying the link if the Cibies are too dear for your budget. I also located a site selling genuine Hella at ridiculously cheap prices. Haven't tried it but if they're for real, this represents a real bargain. In either case, you need the 5 3/4" round low and/or high beams.

One thing to keep in mind is that the H4 and H1 do not fit the Elan "perfectly". The locating "nubs" that are on the light housngs are not the same meaning the retainer ring that holds the light housing in place from the back AND centers the light housing properly does not fit. What you need to do is cut or grind off these nubs and then "guess" what the correct position should be for the light housing (not that hard to do).

I mention this only because the shells I bought were reasonably cheap Chinese crap and the backs of the housings with the nubs are plastic making it easy to grind them off. If the Cibies are glass on the back it could be harder to do. Does anyone know what Ian did?

(you're right though.....great price on those shells)

The Cibie CSR headlight (H1, BTW) 'nibs' fit exactly without grinding or any modifications at all.

[Elanlover]

The Cibie CSR headlight (H1, BTW) 'nibs' fit exactly without grinding or any modifications at all.

That's good to know. What about the H4's? I can't remember which is low beam and which is high

[tigerdog]

The Cibie CSR headlight (H1, BTW) 'nibs' fit exactly without grinding or any modifications at all.

I'll second that - same experience exactly.

[nitroman]

The Cibie CSR headlight (H1, BTW) 'nibs' fit exactly without grinding or any modifications at all.

That's good to know. What about the H4's? I can't remember which is low beam and which is high

The CSRs use H1 bulbs for BOTH the high & low, although I only installed the lows. Tigerdog installed both.

[Elanlover]

The CSRs use H1 bulbs for BOTH the high & low, although I only installed the lows. Tigerdog installed both.

Well, I ordered the Cibie lights from the link that Doug posted above. So we'll see what's what when they get here. When I was referring to H4 and H1 I really mean the shells which are slightly different as the lenses direct the light differently so I was curious if the nubs were the same too. I'll be using the xenon's and ballasts I have installed now for low beam and the normal high beam bulbs that are also installed.

That'll teach me for buying cheap Chinese crap. Surprised they didn't poison me like the food.

[Elanlover]

They are Hella lights, not Cibie. The nubs do not line uop. While they are in the same place they are a different shape. And, they're metal, not plastic so cutting or shaping them will be difficult. This means the headlight fits in the retainign ring but does not fit tightly so the headlight's going to rattle around a bit. Very annoying for me and those I'm driving at. So, I'll be doing what I really didn't want to do. Modifying the stock retaining rings so they'll fit snug.

On the bright side they are way better than the cheap Chinese crap I got earlier. H1 for high beam and H4 for low beam into which my Xenon replacements will go.

[tigerdog]

Sorry the link I got from Ian didn't get you a plug-n-play replacement. Nothing wrong with Hella, but a bummer they don't work with the retaining ring. I guess I got really lucky with the CSRs.

[Elanlover]

Sorry the link I got from Ian didn't get you a plug-n-play replacement. Nothing wrong with Hella, but a bummer they don't work with the retaining ring. I guess I got really lucky with the CSRs.

Not your fault Doug and they are much better than the crap i put in last year. They are a very close fit and the nubs line up, they're just slightly different so the retaining rings aren't tight. I just need to do a little adjusting ahd all will be well