An Alternative to CIBIE/PIAA Driving Lamps
09 January 2001, 09:29 AM
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Since I live in a rural area I’ve been looking at swapping the fog lamps for driving lamps for sometime. The two main contenders seem to be:
CIBIE kit – 130w lamps with H2 bulbs at £199.75 (inc. VAT) from ScoobySport.
PIAA kit – 120w lamps with H3 bulbs at approx. £250 (inc. VAT) from Graham Goode et. Al. plus £20 for backing plates – making a total of approx. £270 (inc. VAT).
I came across an alternative kit recently (via this BBS) based on the HELLA Comet 500 range of lamps which consists of 100w lamps with H3 bulbs at 200 Irish Punt (plus VAT) plus P&P. Which meant that with an exchange rate of 0.8 IP to the UK £ the approx total is approx £200 (inc. VAT & P&P). As with the other kits previously mentioned it contains the instructions and parts required to complete the fitting process – I found the backing plates to be very substantial.
On the basis of the price and importantly that the HELLA kit used H3 bulbs (there have been many reports on this BBS of H2 bulbs failing regularly) I decided to give them a go and fitted them this weekend. Fitting time is comparable to the other kits and took me about 2.5hrs without any prior experience and I soldered all the joints. The difficult bit for me was aligning the lamps. I found Rob’s site very useful throughout the fitting process
CIBIE kit – 130w lamps with H2 bulbs at £199.75 (inc. VAT) from ScoobySport.
PIAA kit – 120w lamps with H3 bulbs at approx. £250 (inc. VAT) from Graham Goode et. Al. plus £20 for backing plates – making a total of approx. £270 (inc. VAT).
I came across an alternative kit recently (via this BBS) based on the HELLA Comet 500 range of lamps which consists of 100w lamps with H3 bulbs at 200 Irish Punt (plus VAT) plus P&P. Which meant that with an exchange rate of 0.8 IP to the UK £ the approx total is approx £200 (inc. VAT & P&P). As with the other kits previously mentioned it contains the instructions and parts required to complete the fitting process – I found the backing plates to be very substantial.
On the basis of the price and importantly that the HELLA kit used H3 bulbs (there have been many reports on this BBS of H2 bulbs failing regularly) I decided to give them a go and fitted them this weekend. Fitting time is comparable to the other kits and took me about 2.5hrs without any prior experience and I soldered all the joints. The difficult bit for me was aligning the lamps. I found Rob’s site very useful throughout the fitting process
09 January 2001, 10:11 AM
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Cheers Phil, thanks for the info. Will look into this, though the PIAAs tempt me most as I bought some brackets for them from GGR as I was buying my gauge pod.
Just need to find a good, cheap supplier of PIAA 80 Pro XT lamps - any ideas other than the site that Rob mentions?
By the way, remove the "." from the link above to make it work, ie <A HREF=http://www.btinternet.com/~robert.collingridge/cars/subaru/improve/lights.html>Follow this link!</A>
Just need to find a good, cheap supplier of PIAA 80 Pro XT lamps - any ideas other than the site that Rob mentions?
By the way, remove the "." from the link above to make it work, ie <A HREF=http://www.btinternet.com/~robert.collingridge/cars/subaru/improve/lights.html>Follow this link!</A>
09 January 2001, 04:20 PM
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I made my own from the Hella comet 500's. I bought the lights from Halfords (£50) and made my own brackets from 3mm thick aluminium. Cut to the correct length, drill 2 holes in the ends for the mounting screws, mount on the lights and fix to car. Easy. Took about 2.5 hours. Then rewired so they came on with main beam. Anpther hour or so. Total cost about £65.
09 January 2001, 09:15 PM
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Chiark - might be worth having a word with Dave T-S (he of the Muppet forum 
). I believe he supplied and fitted his own PIAA lamps (as opposed to buying a complete kit)
Chris
). I believe he supplied and fitted his own PIAA lamps (as opposed to buying a complete kit)Chris
09 January 2001, 09:35 PM
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Chiark - he of the Muppet but occasionally serious forums here.... 
Got my 80XT's from Graham Goode - haggled them down to £195 plus vat for the kit - but you can buy the lamps singly and make your own loom.
See
Got my 80XT's from Graham Goode - haggled them down to £195 plus vat for the kit - but you can buy the lamps singly and make your own loom.
See
09 January 2001, 09:52 PM
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Dave,
Cheers mate. I'll check all the suppliers as I really just want the lamps, not the "kit".
I must wander over to muppetdom more often - I've been avoiding it recently due to the amount of time it's possible to waste there
Ta,
Nick.
Normal service now resumes. Apologies for slightly hijacking the thread
Cheers mate. I'll check all the suppliers as I really just want the lamps, not the "kit".
I must wander over to muppetdom more often - I've been avoiding it recently due to the amount of time it's possible to waste there
Ta,
Nick.
Normal service now resumes. Apologies for slightly hijacking the thread
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13 February 2001, 12:56 AM
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Update.......
The observation that HELLA lamps could be supplied at a lower cost (thanks MarkF) was very interesting for myself and Paul (my supplier). It appears that Paul was also being supplied at a higher rate. Anyway Paul and I agreed a revised price.
The lamps are great and I know that if they are cracked I can replace both lamps for about the price of one PIAA lens (£40).
For those who want to buy a kit rather than the individual components I can still recommend Paul who has revised his kit price to 150 Irish Punts (about £120 GBP).
Phil
The observation that HELLA lamps could be supplied at a lower cost (thanks MarkF) was very interesting for myself and Paul (my supplier). It appears that Paul was also being supplied at a higher rate. Anyway Paul and I agreed a revised price.
The lamps are great and I know that if they are cracked I can replace both lamps for about the price of one PIAA lens (£40).
For those who want to buy a kit rather than the individual components I can still recommend Paul who has revised his kit price to 150 Irish Punts (about £120 GBP).
Phil
15 February 2001, 09:48 PM
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Phil,
I see from the Hella website that there is now a Comet 200 XENON!!. It appears to be a little smaller than the Comet 500 but from the "light tunnel" on the website it produces plenty of light! Has your Irish mate Phil tried these yet? Has anybody else?
Regards,
Francis K
I see from the Hella website that there is now a Comet 200 XENON!!. It appears to be a little smaller than the Comet 500 but from the "light tunnel" on the website it produces plenty of light! Has your Irish mate Phil tried these yet? Has anybody else?
Regards,
Francis K
16 February 2001, 01:31 AM
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Yeah, had a look at them. By all accounts they are very bright. They are indeed smaller and therefore wouldn't look stock. I think the ones we use look very well and original.
Paul.
Paul.
16 February 2001, 08:17 AM
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I've been checking all different kinds of Driving Lamps to fit MY 95 WRX, I've looked at the Hella Comet 500.
I've also been looking at the Hella Rallye 1000FF, anyone know if these fit o.k. ?
195mm high, 176mm wide & 120 deep(Rallye 1000FF)
150mm high, 146mm wide & 77 deep (Comet 500)
Neil
I've also been looking at the Hella Rallye 1000FF, anyone know if these fit o.k. ?
195mm high, 176mm wide & 120 deep(Rallye 1000FF)
150mm high, 146mm wide & 77 deep (Comet 500)
Neil
16 February 2001, 03:27 PM
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Sorry no experience of the COMET 200 Xenon.
I can say that the COMET 500 are a similar size to the original foglamp and that anything much different probably won't fit too easily.
Phil
I can say that the COMET 500 are a similar size to the original foglamp and that anything much different probably won't fit too easily.
Phil
in the standard fog lamp location.
27 February 2001, 10:07 AM
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I'm toying with the idea of getting some Hella HID gas discharge lights to replace the front fogs as I know someone who can get them cheep(er). I'm looking at the smaller diameter ones and I was thinking of using a surround similar the the P1 driving light housing, but not sure if this will be the right size.
Does anyone have the web address for the Hella range of lights? I tried
27 February 2001, 10:02 PM
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Nimbus.....
What surround are you intending to use for the smaller lights? I'm currently sizing up some Comet 200 Xenons from Mac's Power, but as they are smaller, my girlfriend thinks they will look a bit silly
Brightness levels look good on the 200s. So far Mac's Power has provided me with some useful info on the Comet 500s (thanks mate
) and is currently getting me some info on the 200 Xenons.
Does anyone know if there is a way to make your own housing like the P1s? Or am I living in a DIY fantasy land?
(Edited cos my english was pants)
[This message has been edited by Hanslow (edited 27 February 2001).]
What surround are you intending to use for the smaller lights? I'm currently sizing up some Comet 200 Xenons from Mac's Power, but as they are smaller, my girlfriend thinks they will look a bit silly
Brightness levels look good on the 200s. So far Mac's Power has provided me with some useful info on the Comet 500s (thanks mate
) and is currently getting me some info on the 200 Xenons.Does anyone know if there is a way to make your own housing like the P1s? Or am I living in a DIY fantasy land?
(Edited cos my english was pants
)[This message has been edited by Hanslow (edited 27 February 2001).]
28 February 2001, 12:24 AM
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Hanslow,
I'm not sure which lights they will be yet. It depends on what my source can get for me. I though they might be the DE Xenon, which are smaller, so that put it in my head to look at using a P1 style plate to house them in (no idea where I would get them from. ..). To be honest, this is just wishful thinking at the moment. It may not come to anything for a while, so I'm just looking around at ideas.... If/when I can get my hands on the lights, I'll be in a better position to see what's needed to make then fit.
The
I'm not sure which lights they will be yet. It depends on what my source can get for me. I though they might be the DE Xenon, which are smaller, so that put it in my head to look at using a P1 style plate to house them in (no idea where I would get them from. ..). To be honest, this is just wishful thinking at the moment. It may not come to anything for a while, so I'm just looking around at ideas.... If/when I can get my hands on the lights, I'll be in a better position to see what's needed to make then fit.
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