Thread: bull bars

hi
AFAIK ARB only make steel bars, with good reason. Unless the design is like that of a "prime mover's" bar alloy is not really up to the task of protection from animal strikes and the like. probably fine for city driving. My money is on the steel. I would think that over time the stock coils would sag but saying that i was suprised just how much the stock bumper weighed. I think i only gained about 15kg with the TJM

cheers

Had an ECB bar on the first D2 i had.Didnt like it much,the design made the front recovery point unuseable
After it got bent i replaced it with anTJM alloy.
The next D2 i fitted with a steel TJM bar,as they had stopped making the alloy model for the D2.
I find the TJM bar OK
My brother has a ARB on his D1,& i recon it is better than the TJM.If i was gonna get a bar for a D2 i would go ARB.
You wont need to beef up the front suspension,unless you fit a winch.
just reread your post,if the Sahara bar is the one with a solid type bumper & a nudge bar thing on it,i dont like them as i dont recon it protects the vehicle as much as a full bar.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Originally Posted by johnb44

im thinking of getting a bull bar and have read a number of posts here
i like the look of the arb sahara bar , tjm only do a steel bar for my model
2004 classic disco and im not sure about ecb i had a arb bar on my land cruiser and was very happy with it as it paid for itself a few times with the amount of animals and 1 car i hit with no damage
do the discos suffer from the extra weight of the steel bar requiring beefed up front suspension ? [ reading jaybees post ] is alloy up to the task which is what id prefer now as i live in hervey bay and salt air is an issue i will be doing a few trips to fraser island and the rare trip south to vic to visit relos/ family etc as i said the sahara bar is my favorite your opinions are what i would welcome thanks

HI John,

A couple of things to note. My suspension on the front I believe was sagging anyway, particularly on the drivers side, it has that traditional slight LR lean to the front right.
Secondly I have just put on bar and winch so an uneducated guess, double the weight of a bar in itself.

My suggestion would be evaluate yours on it's own merits. If you are just going a bar factor in the possibility of new springs as a worse case senerio. You may find based on the age and what ever K's you have done you will be fine. Also to remember you don't necessarily have to have a lift, you may just put heavier springs in, only if required.

Cheers
JB

Arb Sahara bar is my preference. Looks great, good protection (as I found out today when my wife told me she ran into a falcon ute, good damage to the ute, small amount of paint off the bar). If you go for this bar make sure you try to screw them down a bit in price. They have room to move and I would think in this economic climate they would do so more easily. Good luck.

Matt.

I put on a arb bull bar on my 2002 disco about 9 months ago and have noticed that the front as dropped a bit. I have no winch on yet but know if I fit one I will have to the front spring and shockes.

Couple of points. Yes it will drop perhaps as much as 2cm. Replacement springs to allow for this are not expensive.
The standard ARB bar increases your approach angle at the front wheel, the way they are cut, but decreases approach angle significantly in the middle as the bar sticks out a lot further than a standard bumper. So going straight at an obstruction your front will dig in unless you take it on the oblique and get your wheel up onto it.
I have had rust where the rubber bumpers are mounted. Is a bit of a fiddle getting to the nuts that hold the rubbers on but once off it is easy to grind back and paint a black bar. No other rust spots and have done a fair amount of beach work.
I have a white disco and have always felt a black bull bar looks the goods on a white disco.

When I bought my D2 it had an ARB steel bar and standard suspension. The front end would bottom out over speed humps! No such problems since getting an OME 2" lift.

Stephen.

not to get into personal preferences and tastes but i think that the TJM bar has a better approach angle than the ARBs.
I think that the sahara bar looks cool - provided you dont use the stubby lever too often as it offers limited protection (my mate 'touched' a tree the other week as the front wheel came back to earth on a tight tricky section. He was glad he had the extra hoops and not a sahara )