G'day Goldie,
I fitted one to my 2017 Landcruiser, winch compatible version. It is aound 40kg, about half of steel and less than alloy by a bit. Their testing video's are impressive. NSW Ambulance and some NSW police both run these. Now owned by A R B but seem to run separatly. No vibration, I think only in black, slightly an aquired taste for looks. Pretty easy to keep clean, Armoural maybe. You shouldn't need suspension upgrade just for the bar. cheers Craig
Had 1 on last Nissan, came with the car, I live 6 hours west of Cairns on 160km of dirt roads. was sceptical at first but as normally happens in the bush I hit a big wallaroo, looked in mirror he was done in pulled up thinking the worst but not a thing wrong with it, also noticed that instead of a great bang it was softer ( I think it has a bit of give) after that hit quite a few sold car with the bar looking like new, it was the best part of the old girl. there was no makers name on the bar but think its the same, got a steel subframe underneath. if I was buying I would definately be looking at 1 I have no affiliation with this product at all but was highly impressed. I figure that in the time I owned it I would have wrecked 2/3 metal bars.
Had one on my first Patrol had a bloke ask me what is was like he gave me the funniest look when i reply "Don,t Know" but I didn,t hadn,t hit anything .In saying that I would not be without a bar if your in the counrty 3 of the 5 roos I,ve hit in lots of counrty ks have been broad daylight and most I,ve missed also day time .
yes bit of an acquired taste I guesss .. looks ok on some vehicles .. THANKS FOR THE INFO EVERYONE . one more question what would you say is a good price for an Arb commercial bar fitted ? SEEN PRICES GO FROM $1600 ,,,,, $2500 !!!!!
Pricing is same old same old, check what you are getting and the brand. Also country of origin. Make sure all lights are refitted and or upgraded. Winch compatible are more expensive. If thinking of winch do it at fitting time. You will also probably have a " bumper cut ", (they remove a fair chunk of plastic). Smart Bar is dearer than steel, but cheaper than alloy usually.
I fitted a Smart Bar to my Mitsubichi Challenger 3 months ago and am very happy with it. 34 kgs fitted. A steel bracket is bolted to the chassis and the bar is bolted to the bracket and it comes with provision for driving lights and UHF arial, mine is not winch compatible, didn't need one. The bar's appearance is not for everyone but they are light and practical. They are also pedestrian compatable, whatever that means. The front bumperbar will have to be substansially cut to fit the bar but no suspension upgrade is required. I found the cost of the bar was considerably cheaper than other bars (steel and aluminium), not including a suspension upgrade which is required for steel bars and some aluminium bars. All the best in your choice.
I for one would look at fitting one to my next car to save weight on the front suspension.
I saw a chap in a shopping centre car park recently - had one on his car - said adjusting the driving lights was a big problem & for that reason, I'd fit a LED bar where the adjustments are normally easier (up/down) - as I have on the Patrol.
In the early 80s we had a Subaru MY80 wagon. On a late night trip on a cold night from Ceduna to Adelaide, we saw a large number of roos in "Roo Alley" - between Kimba & Iron Knob. I slowed down & switched the driving lights off but we still scored one, a big one that luckily hopped down my side of the car. Luckily we had suffered only minor damage to the RHS fender & lost the external mirror.
After the car was repaired, I fitted an Aunger acrylic three tubed "bar" - it must have worked as we saw no more roos!
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Warren
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If you don't get it done today, there's always tomorrow!
Fitted one to my Hilux, just didnt have the available GVM for a steel one. In addition to its claimed advantages, it also seems to act as a deterrent because I havent hit anything yet!
Aunger acrylic 3 tubed bar. That brings back memories. They were popular when I lived in country South Aust. back in the 70's. They looked pretty flimsy, but whether they were effective I have no idea.
Regards EJP
Depends on why you are fitting a bullbar in the first place.
Is it just for looks, or do you want to have your vehicle still drivable after hitting a large roo.
For most of us it is so we are not left stranded waiting for a tow with an undrivable vehicle after we hit a largish animal.
Plastic bars look pretty and do have a lower damage rating for a pedestrian Vs a full steel or alloy bar, but unfortunately they just don't do what most of us require out of a bull bar, to be able to drive away after a large animal strike.
Will a steel bar be damaged by a large strike? Sure, but you would expect that from steel. What about alloy? Stronger and lighter than steel, so it is possible it may not be damaged. Plastic? They disintegrate with anything over wallaby size.
If weight is of concern to you, go for an alloy bar. An alloy bar on the Hilux/Fortuner actually reduces the vehicle weight by approx. 8kg. How, just watch what they have to cut off the front of your car. And the alloys don't rust from stone chips.
Disclaimer:
As per my Avatar, you can see I have a Fortuner (Hilux wagon) with the OEM alloy bar. I hit a large (2meter) grey head on at 100kph towing the van just out of Albany WA (near Porongurup NP) at 9am. Made a hell of a bang and bounced the car approx. 6" sideways. The roo then went half under the car and van and half out (I needed help pulling the roo off the road it was so heavy). I expected massive carnage to the front of the car but all it did was smash two pieces of plastic trim on the bullbar ($45 for a set of left and right side). Best 3 grand I ever spent!
I have one fitted to the Ranger and it looks good plus saves weight.
Was in another vehicle with one when a roo was hit at speed, killed the roo but did no damage to vehicle , bar was slightly misshapen but was fixed with heat I was told.
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I was tired yesterday and I'm tired today betcha I'm retired tomorrow. he he.
