making headlights that you can see by

[BEN MC7]

Cody--

Changing out the sealed beams for an HID plug in model will save you the time and pain trying to get Halogens to do something the HID's do with ease.  And they do it with much less power from your system.  I installed them on mine several years ago and they can best be described as dazzling.  You won't need your high beams, the white light is easier on the eyes late at night and the beam is a nice blanket of light.

[robertglines1]

Cody, first of all I'm sorry about the bad link on conversion sealed beam..Mine came from.....WWW.truckcustomizers.com/mfg/pilot.html        try this link..product 7.2 by 5.2    RAHLA131.5A....You will notice a different lens design....If you have any trouble (pm me)

[robertglines1]

to get to your size come up on conversion kits....then press buy ....below will have view other headlights...your's will be there just have to work to find..

[rv_safetyman]

Per the other thread, here is a more direct link:  http://www.truckcustomizers.com/products/pilot-sealed-beam-headlamp-conversion-kits.html

As I questioned there, they are pretty inexpensive compared to Cibies  Wonder how good the optics are?

Jim

[Tim Strommen]

As I questioned there, they are pretty inexpensive compared to Cibies  Wonder how good the optics are?

As with anything, you get what you pay for.  The Pilots are what we call "free form reflectors", they use the reflector to direct all of the light that hits it to the correct position down-road.  This is different from a 'diffracting optics" setup like the Cibies - which use a reflector to direct the light from the filament to the right spot on the front lens and at the right angle, from which the lens on the front does to final tuning of the light direction/distribution.

The Cibies have ground-glass lenses on a metal reflector which is 13-step plated for smoothness, the Pilots are plastic lenses on plastic Vacuum-metalized reflectors - for full disclosure, yes I am biased towards the Cibies, but in fairness I purchased/tried the Hella and Pilot fixtures before the Cibies and found my self always looking for something better (which has stopped now that I have the Cibies...).

Also, remember that they are made in Europe where we don't have a favorable exchange-rate (like we do with China/Mexico) so they cost about $20-$30 more than they did two years ago just because of that...

-Tim

[Iceni John]

Just one request, please:

If you want to use HID lights (often mis-described as "Xenon"), PLEASE do not use the cheap-and-cheerless HID "retrofit kits" from Chaiwan that fit inside your existing halogen reflectors.   Yes, they put a lot of light on the road (and everywhere else) compared with non-HID systems, but that light is so badly controlled that it dazzles every approaching driver.   The reason is very simple  -  an HID's actual light source is almost a single point, compared to a several-millimeters long incandescent filament, so the reflector and/or lens is designed very differently to precisely focus the light.   HID capsules, whether D2R or D2S, must be in the appropriate light unit to prevent illegal and anti-social levels of dazzle.

To maximize an HID's effectiveness one should use a projector system along with an auto-leveler  -  my car's lights self-level every time I start the engine, to adjust for how the car is loaded and even how much fuel is in the tank.   This absolutely prevents dazzle and ensures that no photon is wasted!   Anything less than such a system is wasting the full potential of HIDs.   Also, don't be fooled into using high-Kelvin HIDs  -  4200K puts out more usable light than the blue 6000K or higher lights, and will scatter less in fog or rain.

Do it right, or keep with E-Code halogens (which are pretty darn good if correctly set up, especially for the speeds we should be driving a 30,000 lb vehicle at night).

John, not impressed by feral photons

[cody]

OK, I've digested the information and burped so what I'm thinking is that you get what you pay for like anywhere else and that cibie has a direct replacement for my large square system where there is one light on each side of the bus, ( a 2 light system with the high and low beam contained within the same sealed beam) and that cibie will plug directly into the socket that I have now and will light up the road like a champ and be legal here in michigan if properly aimed, (how am I doing so far?). The cibie has a metal reflector and a ground glass lense, that should never yellow like a plastic one is prone to do.  Correct any wrong information I put here please lol.

[PCC]

I have run Cibie for years, and one thing my rep taught me was to put a bead of silicone around where the bulb goes in, and any other grommetted access (depends on your light unit) opening, to ensure that moisture does not get in, ever. Moisture does cause corrosion even in a well made and top-of-the-line headlamp.

They have always been my best choice for visibility out front.

[cody]

What I have are sealed beam bulbs, I'm hoping to get direct replacement sealed beam bulbs from cibie, so there shouldn't be any moisture access points.

[bevans6]

Cody, what we've been discussing are NOT sealed beams.  As far as I know, all of the H1 or H4 halogen type lights such as those from Cibie are non-sealed beam, where you choose and install a separate halogen bulb into the Cibie housing and lens arrangement.  they do come with pretty decent rubber covers for the back and in a bus application, water won't be a problem.  Sealing them up with caulk would probably increase the water resistance, but would make changing bulbs out more problematic.

When you order the Cibie's, you may need to order bulb's separately.  I notice that the Daniel Stern site has several options for bulbs.  If you order them elsewhere they may come as a kit with bulbs included.

brian

[Tim Strommen]

Cody,

    bevans6 is correct, the Cibie's/Pilot's are not sealed beams, they are bulb replaceable (and at $95 each for the 200mm/6"x8" fixtures, that eases the pain of changing bulbs - which are about $10 each).  Yes, Daniel Stern should have bulbs, or you can call Gunther Hansele at Talbot & Co (Aardvark International - five 6 two - 6 Nine 9 -eight 8 eight 7) to order the fixtures and I know he has the bulbs (I just picked up a replacement fixture last week from them).  Both Daniel and Gunther are great people to deal with, it makes it easy to recommend buying Cibie from either of them (I'm in the Talbot & Co camp though ).

All of the rest of your distillation of the info we presented is correct.

-Tim

[cody]

K gotcha, the housings have to be bought separate but once you have them, your all set, then you get the replacement bulbs and just install them like the ones on my jeep.

[JohnEd]

Cody,

The suggestion to use "SILICONE" around ANY gasket/sealing surface is a superb one.  It is not a suggestion to use silicone cement or "caulk" but rather the SILICONE GREASER.  That will not complicate your bulb replacement down the road and will prevent the "O" rings from tearing or folding/rolling.  Great advice.  And put some silicone on the plug....squirt it up into the socket full before pushing the socket on the back of the lamp connection.  You are only using to much of the stuff if it is getting in your shoes.

I bought a 1/8 pint(much much cheaper)of silicone grease years ago and I grease every blessed 12V connection I make, including crimp on, and I think I have at least a 2 lifetimes supply.  YMMV

John

[cody]

John, sounds like not only a good idea but kinda kinky on the side too lol, I never knew I was involved with such a set of perverts here lol, now i know why I like you guys so much, it's a learning experience for someone as shy and innocent at I am.

[Just Dallas]

Removed