driving lights

Submitted: Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 18:55

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Driving Lights

If you plan to do any night driving in the outback then a strong reliable light source is a must. Bad weather, night driving and the possibility of stray animals all demand the need for a clear view

Member - Keith C (NSW)

Hi all, hope your weekend was ok. I finally have to replace my Cibie Oscars, they have had 2 rebuilds since 1982 and can't be fixed again. Has anyone had any experience with Lightforce lance 170mm in the standard form, not hid,Any thoughts on other brands would be welcome too. Many thanks, Keith

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Reply By: olcoolone - Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 19:01

Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 19:01

First thing what type of driving are you using them for and secondly what 4x4 are they going to be used on and thirdly what are you going to mount them to bull bar, nudge bar bumper and the last question is how much do you want to spend.

AnswerID: 461425

Reply By: blue one - Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 19:45

Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 19:45

IPF series do the job, though the Rallye FF 1000 Series would be my preference.

Cheers

AnswerID: 461432

Reply By: Dave B ( BHQ NSW) - Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 20:17

Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 20:17

Why wouldn't you go with Cibie Oscars again, mine are still going strong since 1975.

cheers
Dave

'Wouldn't be dead for quids'

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AnswerID: 461435

Follow Up By: Member - Mark (Tamworth NSW) - Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 21:13

Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 21:13

Dave simply because there are now better lights.
I had Cibie Super Oscars for nearly 30 years til a roo took them out. They were fantastic, but a pair of Chinese 150-170mm HIDs I now have are better, I'm sure a good brand HID would be even better again.

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Follow Up By: AlbyNSW - Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 21:27

Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 21:27

Agree, I replaced my Cibie Oscars when damaged with a set of Narva 220 that I have since fitted an aftermarket HID kit to.
Heaps better than the Oscars even in halogen form, Cibie have fallen behind in the lighting stakes with a lot better alternatives available

FollowupID: 735109

Follow Up By: Robert K3 - Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 21:28

Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 21:28

Mark,

Is this what you have:

Chinese HID lights

Would be interested in what you think of them

Thanks

Rob

FollowupID: 735110

Follow Up By: Member - Mark (Tamworth NSW) - Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 21:44

Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 21:44

No not those, mine were recommended by a local auto electrician.
They have those silly plastic bars/grills across them, but as stated work really well.
I have a set of Super Oscars for sale if anyone wants to buy them, only a couple of years old + replacement lenses & bulbs.

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Follow Up By: Dave B ( BHQ NSW) - Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 22:13

Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 22:13

Fair enough Mark, I agree that the HID lights are far better.
I am happy with mine though as they have been over some really rough roads over the years and they have not broken any brackets or mountings at all.

Also I don't travel much at night, and if I do, I rarely travel over 80kph, there are just too many roos out here usually. So my Cibies are more than adequate for my situation. I have seen more than a few cars pass me and hit a roo further up the road. A bit less speed at night helps the chances of avoiding a roo.

I realise you need good lights to see the roos, and if you do a lot of night driving then real good lights are a worthwhile investment.

One of the golden rules if you have a roo come out in front of you is don't swerve, just brake as hard as necessary. If you are travelling at say, 100kph, you don't normally try and turn a corner at that speed otherwise you finish up cornering on your doorhandles, and maybe wait for an ambulance.
If you put $1000 worth of lights on the front, do you swerve to avoid the roo and save your lights, or do you brake hard and hope you stop before he is reshaping your lights?

cheers
Dave

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Follow Up By: Member - Christopher P (NSW) - Monday, Aug 01, 2011 at 07:12

Monday, Aug 01, 2011 at 07:12

mate totally agree with you there had a roo jump out of the bush at night and scare the living daylights out of me. i couldn't swerve so stayed on the straight and narrow, hard braking abs kicked in..

like you said slow and steady.

FollowupID: 735128

Reply By: Bushranger1 - Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 21:40

Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 21:40

G'day Keith,
After seeing some H.I.D lights on Friday night I am convinced they are the best.

My mate bought his vehicle fitted with new H.I.D. lights round for me to see on Friday night & I have to say they were awsome. Leaves all the other technology way behind.

Cheers
Stu

AnswerID: 461444

Reply By: Muntoo - Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 22:05

Sunday, Jul 31, 2011 at 22:05

Hi Keith,

Firstly mate, just to avoid confusion the 170mm Lightforce are the 170 Striker, the 140mm are the 140 Lance. The 140s are pointless. Few things to consider when purchasing lights, price, quality, style and difficulty to mount/adjust. Price- Varies from $80 to $2500 for top of the line HID and/or LED lightbars. Quality- Again varies from poor to never last for years, like your Cibie have. Style- Halogen, HID, LED, Spot, Spread, Fog, Wide Beam Mounting system, they all vary but the easiest and best would have to be the Hella 4000 system. Simple and very effective.

There are so much lights out there, really need to work out what style of driving you do, if you need spots, or prefer a wide beam. Or a combination of both. First thing to work out though is how much you would like to spend, and then narrow it down from there.

I have been around offroad lights for a long time, and used all of them in many different set ups. There are heaps of different ways to achieve what you are after.

AnswerID: 461447

Reply By: gbc - Monday, Aug 01, 2011 at 05:40

Monday, Aug 01, 2011 at 05:40

I bought Night Stalker 170's on the strength of a 4wd magazine comparison test. For the money they do the business.
I do a bit of hunting etc on tracks. A mate bought HID's and they are too bright to see past - going around corners gets a bit hairy. Road signs requires turning them off as the reflection is a killer.

AnswerID: 461454

Reply By: Member - Keith C (NSW) - Monday, Aug 01, 2011 at 08:39

Monday, Aug 01, 2011 at 08:39

G,day fella's. Thanks for all your input on the driving lights,I have driven with hid lights and find there is too much reflection off the new style road signs for my liking. I also found it difficult to pick-up oncoming headlights from a distance.
Sometimes there is no choice about driving in the outback at night, things don't always go as planned,and a good pair of lights helps a lot. 170 mm is as big as I can go otherwise they'll take up too much air flow in front of the grille on the cruiser.
Thanks again, Keith

AnswerID: 461463

Reply By: CSeaJay - Monday, Aug 01, 2011 at 11:49

Monday, Aug 01, 2011 at 11:49

Keith

I recon many lights are very good nowadays. (as confirmed by several posts)
What I would look for is how long the mounting will last over corrugations, etc.
Some are better than others...

CJ

AnswerID: 461485

Reply By: Bob Y. - Qld - Monday, Aug 01, 2011 at 14:56

Monday, Aug 01, 2011 at 14:56

Keith,

For a good quality light, you can't go past a pair of Hella 4000's, and fit a set of HID inserts into them. That way you get a $1,000+ light for less than $600.

While HID are good, agree with others that reflections off large road signs require one to dip the lights, or at best turn off the driving lights. But where the HID's are good is for these clowns that reckon they don't need ANY lights whatsoever, until it's almost pitch dark. They soon provide you some light once the HID gets them.

Have driven a few road trains with LED light bars, and while they are good too, they don't IMHO, get a lot of light well down the road.

I have an old pair of Bosch "Bull Lights", with 35w HID inserts, and while they 1960's technology, they are so bright, you can see what's happening next week!!!!! Ha, ha.

Light preferences are like Fridges & tyres, Keith, in the end, you have to go with what suits you, not someone else.

Bob.

Seen it all, Done it all.
Can't remember most of it.

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Reply By: Member - Bill B1 (NSW) - Monday, Aug 01, 2011 at 17:19

Monday, Aug 01, 2011 at 17:19

I need a set of lights that won't break their mountings when shaken on the bullbar.
I have Hella 170, old type with 100w bulbs but they are not much use sitting in the toolbox with the mountings and backing plate cracked.

I haven't seen any steel body lights either. Are they not made any more?

Bill

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Follow Up By: Member - Andrew L (QLD) - Monday, Aug 01, 2011 at 20:12

Monday, Aug 01, 2011 at 20:12

If you want to stop your lights from wobblimg, cracking and breaking, be fair dinkum and fix them fast at the bottom with the manufacturers mount, and at the top with your own.

The other variable is your mount area, bumper bar, bullbar, alloy or steel.

FollowupID: 735221

Follow Up By: Member - Mark (Tamworth NSW) - Monday, Aug 01, 2011 at 21:32

Monday, Aug 01, 2011 at 21:32

Bill
Cibie Super Oscars (and I presume Oscars) are still made from (all) steel. Design hasn't changed in over 30 years simply because they work.
See above replies, mine at a couple of others lasted > 25 years mounted to vehicles.

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