Nudge bars - Decoration, or do they help prevent damage.

iana · Guru

Nudge bars - Decoration, or do they help prevent damage.

Warren-Pat_01 · Guru

Hi Ian,
The ARB chap here in Townsville said they would be removing 15kg from the car before they fitted their bar. As a Smart bar is around the 30kg mark, you'd only be adding another 15kg & they are cheaper than the flasher looking alloy bars.

I can vouch for a lightweight bar that is no longer available - the Aunger acrylic tube bar. We hit a roo one night between Kimba & Pt Augusta in our 1980 Subaru & were lucky to sustain minimal damage (mirror, some panel scratches, etc). I fitted an Aunger bar after & never saw any more roos - they certainly scared them away! We did a lot of night driving - going to Adelaide for weekends from Ceduna (800kms each way).

Baz421 · Guru

Cyclops wrote:
Hmm. 45 years of serious Vic Alps 4w driving has taught me a couple of things about bull bars. Aluminium bars are little better than nudge bars when you hit something solid. A roo hit at moderate speed will fold an alloy bar up like it is made of aluminium foil. They are usually unrepairable, you can see plenty of them at the scrap metal dealers.

Steel bars manufactured by a reputable maker are the only real protection. If you buy one from a reputable outlet they are fully compliant with the safety features of your vehicle. Mine even has headlight washers built into it, because the bar covers the washers on the vehicle which are mandatory for some bull dust reason with HID headlights. Mind you, if you hit an old man roo at speed you are going do some serious repairs even with these well made bars.

In my opinion no vehicle manufacturer provides a factory bar that is anywhere near as good as an ARB, TJM, Ironman etc, bar. I have bought second hand vehicles with factory bars that are immediately taken off and replaced with a good winch bar from one of the above.

You will see some home made monstrosities mounted on vehicles. These are more often than not grossly over weight and not compliant with the safety features of the original vehicle. Some look like the maker has converted a farm gate or even a cattle grid into a bull bar.

As far as nudge bars go, why are you wasting your money on this crap? Get your kids to make you one out of silver painted papier-mâché it will be cheaper entertain your kids and give you the same protection.

Pete

Sorry --- You can get alloy bull bars the same tensile strength as steel.... Need to compare apples with apples.

Cyclops · Veteran Member

Why are you sorry Baz?

I thought we were comparing bull bars with bull bars, not apples

Yes if you want to pay $1000 more you can get a top shelf alloy bar from TJM or ARB with the same tensile strength as a good steel bar. But really, for such a small saving in weight and the difficulty of repair in remote locations why bother. Even the sales guys I talk to (who actually drive 4wd in the bush) would never put an alloy on their vehicle. Most experienced drivers go steel for a reason.

Pete

-- Edited by Cyclops on Tuesday 18th of June 2019 09:06:00 AM

Baz421 · Guru

Cyclops wrote:
Why are you sorry Baz?

I thought we were comparing bull bars with bull bars, not apples
Yes if you want to pay $1000 more you can get a top shelf alloy bar from TJM or ARB with the same tensile strength as a good steel bar. But really, for such a small saving in weight and the difficulty of repair in remote locations why bother. Even the sales guys I talk to (who actually drive 4wd in the bush) would never put an alloy on their vehicle. Most experienced drivers go steel for a reason.

Pete

-- Edited by Cyclops on Tuesday 18th of June 2019 09:06:00 AM

Ha,,, now you write accurately no BS like original post

Mr Fuse · Veteran Member

Nudge bars might be alright in a very minor shopping centre car park bump but are otherwise quite useless. Have a look at how they are mounted - they simply fold back and frequently cause even more damage to the vehicle, as the bars apply the force in a more concentrated manner.

Greg 1 · Guru

Run a MMC steel winch bar on my Ranger. Given where I travel I wouldn't be without it. Although the most I have actually hit is two corellas just out of Wagga, one of which put a small dent in the side of the right front guard, I have had some very close shaves with some of the larger wildlife and its probably on the cards that I will collect one sooner or later. The bar I have is airbag compatible and also for parking sensors etc. I have had no issues with the weight and am running the standard Ford suspension.