Driving lights value for money

Hi Des,

There was a review in Aust.4x4 mag recently and the Narva's got a great rap. Even against the IPF 900's etc. I can't remember the model but they are the 160mm dia round and come in either pencil or spread beam or they sell a pack with one of each and also in cludes clear lens protectors. In the mag they quoted a rrp of $190 but shop around. I got mine for $130....they're really good value.
Leroy

Des,Ah yes so many choices in brands and models. My only comment is related to mounting and wiring. I would strongly suggest that you install some form of stablisers on the top of the lights. I have had too many occasions when lens fall out and the lights vibrate themselves to bits. You can purchase some brackets that I have never been able to make work or you can rig something up yourself. Have a look at what I did for our current vehicle in terms of brackets and wiring in the Vehicle Setup - Lights feature.Good luck David

Hi Des,
I have a 99 Hilux and have first hand experience with IPF, Cibie super Oscars and Narva on the vehicle. I have owned them all with the same wiring, relays and switches etc and can give you the following advice about all 3 when hooked up with dual batteries, Pirana heavy duty relay and 6 mm wiring all over:

Cibie Super Oscars 130 watts 1 pencil and one Spread beam. These lights are by far the best performer. I got more than 1 km further range than the factory specs with the pencil beam and 5oo metres further than factory specs with spread beam. At $130 per light not cheap but they shine the brightest and perform almost twice as good as the IPF's. The only negative with these lights is that they dont fit below the top bar on many bullbars. With an extension to the mount you can fix this easily. or put them on a canopy or roll bar. Parts for these are no probs.

IPF's are by far the most expensive and I feel are not a very good performer regardless of what ARB tell you. They are the most expensive of them all and I have upgraded them for the following reasons. 1 They have developed rust under the chrome in the body of the light and the chrome itself (even though I live in the high country in Vic). 2 The globes have blown continuously after minor use on dirt roads. On the positive side they are rectangular and fit easily into most bullbars and parts are no probs. I personally would never use them again. I had originally had them mounted with ARB heavy wiring and relay kit that was sold with the lights. All were ARB fitted with 130 watt globes and I was a little dissapointed with the end result. They seem to be putting a huge effort into marketing a product that has some far superior competitors.

On the Narvas well if you are looking for a value for money product that performs as well as the IPF's go for a set of these. I spent a total of $100 on a pair sealed up in plastic with a bit of wiring. I got a pencil and a spread and a couple of plastic clear covers as well. These lights have been moved to my wifes car and I reckon that they are the best value performer on the market by far. I dont work in the car industry and have no gain from reccommending them to you. These lights are about 1/4 of the cost of IPF's and work the same. I am not joking they have to be the best value for money on the market.

Cheers

Andy

Des,

I'd agree with David, get good quality ones. Cheap ones aren't worth the time and effort to fit. Over the years I've had Marchal, Narva, Bosch, Lightforce and Hella. Currently run 2 Hella 4000 Pencil beams on an 80 series, about $200 ea., but they throw plenty of light, have a diecast body, huge mounting base, and easy adjust, allen key aligning system. Negligible movement even with no stabiliser.
Also have a Hilux D/C, with Hella 1000, 1 pencil, 1 driving beam, and was really impressed with their performance, on a recent early morning drive between Mt Isa and Boulia. These lights have a plastic body, so would benefit by a stabiliser bar(Davids). Get a set of clear covers, keep 'em clean and they'll work well.
Well Des, you can see I'm biased toward Hellas, but it depends on where you live too. On the coast, where the blacktop is well marked, and distances aren't so great, a smaller set of 100 watters might suffice, but out this way, where nearest town is over 200 clicks away, I go for a bit more size. Oh yeah, and plenty of 6mm cable when you're setting it up.
If you've got a few extra dollars, go for the new HID lights, big dollars, bigger performance. Catch you later....Bob.

Here's an Old wives tale again.
I bought a set of square PIAA ( are they still on the market?) spotties in 1986. Paid something like $260 for the pair then. These lights spread the beam more than a pencil beam. Good for spotting animals on the side of the road. They have survived till today on a Suzuki, Landrover, 2 Toyotas and a Nissan. The relay has never failed, the 6mm wiring has never failed and their base has never failed due to its ingeneous hold mechanism. Have blown a few globes over the years. The lights have survived one major bullock cleanup at 100kph, a number of roos and the odd submerged sudden stop in the long grass. The old saying " If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys" applies in this case. Buy a good set of spotties and enjoy your moneys' worth. Cheers, Willie

I've just bought a set of Lightforce 170's. I am very impressed. Definently worth considering.

Agree with the comment, you get what you pay for.

As for the Narva lights coming out on top in a test. Hhhmm, got to get you thinking when these lights are supposedly the best. Wonder if it had anything to do with the Mag giving some away as prizes.

The one thing I would suggest, regardless of the lights purchased is get a wiring loom. It makes a BIG difference even to cheap lights.

I had Narva's on the Patrol, but they couldn't cope with the horrid roads and corrogated tracks up north were I live. I've now got Cibie Oscars and am more than happy. Still looking like new after 18 months.

Other brands that I've seen used sucessfully up here are Lightforce, KC Hilites and Hella.

Most of the cheap brands rust away and/or break on the rough roads.

des - i've got ipf's 900's spots and they are one thier 3rd car (6yrs) and this time arb changed the 130w to some yu bute 65w superman globes and changed the patrol original lights to 80/110 and they are the best - as to looks i've got the round ones (i like the look) and no sign of rust - never wobbled free - always mounted to arb steel bars with lock nuts - never done a globe - been on every bad track in australia - always covered with clear covers - i think they're the best

des i know i'm late repling but my tip is more to do with setup .i run light force this time round and am pleased with them .now to setup using pencil beams is the better option as you can train the left light over the range of the hi beam to the right side of the road and the right light to the left what this does is give a concentrated pool in the middle ofthe road and a leading beam in the corners as well the over flow beam is in the road verges for eyes.davids tip on support for the top of the light is essential regardless of the brand and finally there are those who work on the five finger discount way of getting their lights so mine are permantly setup on some 25mm sqare and 2 wing nuts and springs washers see's them back inside the vechicle hope this gives you some ideas johnsy