Miata Mailing List: June 1999, Message #94

sponsored by

In a message dated 6/2/99 11:45:37 AM Central Daylight Time, 
miata@bigpond.com writes:

  
 Peter,

<Snip>
 
 Cibie are probably still
 the best lens designers.
 
 
 Jeff Gehrig
 MX5 CLUB of NSW #169 Australia

  
 
 Will, same here.  Had Cibies in my old Scirocco and
 GTI and loved them.  It was real close decision on the
 Hellas vs. Cibies vs. BSP Low Proifile about a month
 ago.  What was even more difficult was that they guy
 who bought my 91 Red works for Hella here in Atlanta
 and really knows his stuff on lighting.
 
 Anyhoo, I decided to stick with the Cibies.  I too
 also had some nice comments on the light pattern and
 such. While still using the standard Philips H4 bulb,
 the lenses really thow out some nice coverage at
 night.
 

 
  >>
I agree.  I bought a set of the Cibie "Z beams" when they first came out.  It 
was amazing how they kept all the light going out to the left down low, so as 
not to blind an oncoming driver, and then  as the light came around to the 
center of the car, it began to rise, until by the time you looked a little to 
the right, the light was much higher, allowing you to see a long way down the 
road.  When you shined them on a flat surface, they did sort of look like a 
backward Z, low to the left and rising to the right.

Used them for years and never did blow a bulb, but the chrome plated 
reflectors did start rusting after they were a few years old.

You know, if you think about it, foreign made lamps almost never burn out.  
Buy a GM or Ford product, drive it ten years, and likely you'll have changed 
nearly every bulb in the car.  Not at all unusual in a Japanese car to go ten 
years or more without changing even one.

Similar thing with rubber products.  Put Anco or Trico wiper blades on your 
car, and they rot off every year.  I bought wiper refills at the Nissan 
(Datsun) dealer for years, and then same thing with Toyota, and always got 3 
or even 4 years out of them before they wouldn't keep the window clean.  I 
have an old Japanese made Bridgestone tire which came on a '74 RX-4 hanging 
on a swing set in my back yard (been there over 20 years) and it still to 
this day won't leave black rubber marks on your shorts if you sit on it.  
Something different about the rubber products over there too.

Don Miller
Biloxi MS
Red '94 R