matt.bowey

So how easy is it to fit the Cibie driving lamps on a MY00? Do i need to declare these to my insurance? And are they worth it???

matt.bowey

Cheers for that!!!

I have just received my H4 GE +60's, so I will see how these perform before I spend some cash!

Matt.

Postman Pat

I bought bog standard Cibie Oscar +'s for £85 and fitted them. A bit fiddly as you have to make brackets and cut the bumper slightly. Won't appeal to everyone but you can't tell the bumper modification has been done unless you take the light out. Fantastic lights and I only use 55 watt bulbs. Night driving is fun again!

Stephen Read

If you are talking about the Scoobysport supplied kit then yes, they are relatively straight forward to fit if you refer to the instruction sheet provided.

To be honest, I didn't even think about declaring them to my ins. co.

I fitted mine 'on the street' in about an hour and a half but that was only because my hands were blumin' freezing as it was minus something at the time.

With 130watt bulbs they are pretty impressive but you realise that as they are mounted quite low, you see a lot of shadows out in front of you when the road is less than flat. (I guess that is why rally bods go for a bonnet-pod).

As widely reported on here, with far in excess of 1,000 kits in use, they must be good! but a few people end up with infuriating problems such as serial / multiple blowing bulbs (multiple causes, see threads by john mcfarlane and others).

The screw that holds the lamp units together appears to be made out of 'unobtanium'* a very rare brass alloy which can disintegrate when you try to take them apart to replace blown bulbs. Also, there was evidence of corrosion of the 'hamerite' painted rear casing of my units after only 1.5 years on the car which was unwelcome.

In my view they are a tasty 'competition-spec' part and are not made to the same standard as the rest of the OEM parts you will find on your baby. Therefore, by comparision it is easy to gripe about them - IF they start giving you problems.

Are they worth it?

Plus points are that they can make for some memorable night time drives.

Minus points include that sometimes they are too dammned bright (reflections of road signs can dazzle you!) and the contrast from Full Beam + 130W Cibies to regular Dipped Beam can be disconcerting.

I would not say that they were particulary cheap, given the quality of the materials used, but they are significantly cheaper than the alternative PIAA official Scooby dealer option (which I have never seen in the flesh so can't tell you if they are better made or not).

I would say that you should go for Philips Vision+ headlamp bulbs as your first lighting mod (if you haven't done this yet, do it!) <£20 and a noticeable improvement. Available from www.powerbulbs.com who advertise on here and have an excellent mail order service so support them!

Regards,
Stephen

* (has anyone mangaged to get a spare set from Scoobysport or anywhere else!, if so please advise)

[Edited by Stephen Read - 1/9/2002 6:01:16 PM]

[Edited by Stephen Read - 1/9/2002 6:02:03 PM]