Bull bar

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Originally Posted by Summiitt

unfortunately we hit around 10-15 animals a week..

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Wow.

I was contemplating my current bull bar (ARB issue plough, on my 12yo 110) ... and wether I'll bother with same if/when the new 110 arrives. It's main purpose seems to be holding onto the license plate, adding weight/ drag, and making further accessories more difficult to fit. I've never hit an animal (touch-wood). Yes, a city car, but many trips.

Furthermore, my experiences from carelessly driving into stationary inanimate objects have told me that, rather than damage the bodywork, a direct hit on body protection transfers straight to the chassis... which then sucks the bodywork in with it anyway.

Looking at the LR item for the new Def, I have doubts about it's ability to stop animal body parts from doing significant damage to lights and bodywork behind the bar, given the size of it's openings.

Anyway, these are my thoughts, though i'm reading the experience of others with interest

Sam

ARB have incorporated crush cans into the design of their bars for nearly 20 years now So if you are traveling at a reasonable speed the chassis won't suffer. on impact [thumbsupbig]

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Originally Posted by trout1105

ARB have incorporated crush cans into the design of their bars for nearly 20 years now So if you are traveling at a reasonable speed the chassis won't suffer. on impact [thumbsupbig]

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The new defender has a monocoque chassis as opposed to a ladder frame horse and buggy chassis so Im not sure what the engineering challenges are there. I'm sure ARB will be on the case....there's a whole USA market to sell to unlike the previous Defender.

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Originally Posted by one_iota

The new defender has a monocoque chassis as opposed to a ladder frame horse and buggy chassis so Im not sure what the engineering challenges are there. I'm sure ARB will be on the case....there's a whole USA market to sell to unlike the previous Defender.

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ECB are usually the first to supply a bar for a new model,but i dont believe they have one for Defender.
They made the only ugly looking alloy light duty bar for the D5.

I asked ARB 14 months ago,and they said there was nothing in the pipeline.Things may have changed.

You have hit the nail on the head,there are probably huge engineering challenges.

On another note Long Ranger have an aftermarket fuel tank for D5,so hopefully one may appear for Defender.

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Originally Posted by trout1105

ARB have incorporated crush cans into the design of their bars for nearly 20 years now

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If mine has these, it's not obvious where. What's the benefit of "crush cans"? Genuine question.

A cow is hit - and what? Bull bar crushes a little, and ... ? The car is unscathed? BB goes in the bin? Or is fixed?

Sounds far-fetched - my bull bar looks more robust than the chassis if you ask me, and the sort of impact required for it to crush, i'd think we'd be several stages passed the point of worrying about which bits it would be preferable for the insurance company to have to fix.

I've no doubt that having a bull bar installed reduces the severity of damage from an impact (and keen to hear more from Summiitt and his experience here), but for those of us not hitting 10-15 roos a week, it's not so easy to justify. Also worth adding that it (my current bull bar) is also about 5mm clear of the front body panels, so i'm up for some front impact damage regardless.

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Originally Posted by Samblers

If mine has these, it's not obvious where. What's the benefit of "crush cans"? Genuine question.

A cow is hit - and what? Bull bar crushes a little... but? The car is unscathed? BB goes in the bin? Or is fixed?

Sounds far-fetched - my bull bar looks more robust than the chassis if you ask me, and the sort of impact required for it to crush, i'd think we'd be several stages passed the point of worrying about which bits it would be preferable for the insurance company to have to fix.

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Crush cans are designed to crumple on impact which will lessen the inertia on the chassis during an animal strike/collision Google them.
IF the collision destroys the bullbar and leaves the car fit to travel then it is a small price to pay on a $100,000 plus 4WD.
IF you are unlucky enough to hit a bullock or a decent roo with an ARB bar YES you would have to replace it But like I have said it is much cheaper to replace the bar than the car.
A collision with the genuine JLR bar offering would not only destroy the bar But it would also leave the vehicle inoperative.

AFIK the monocoque construction of the new defender is designed like most modern vehicles to protect the occupants in the event of a collision (within reasonable parameters)...crumple zones, airbag activation etc.

The one I drive now would fail.

So the bull bar should be seen as a sacrificial item...just enough to keep you mobile after hitting a small roo at a moderate speed such that it doesn't occupy the front seats with you as a consequence of the coming together.

The other way to reduce the impact of animal strike is to avoid driving at dusk.[tonguewink]

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Originally Posted by trout1105

That thing from rhino is pretty much useless, Waiting for the ARB version with hopefully more "meat" on the bar is probably a better option [thumbsupbig]l

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The Rhino bar protects the lower front of the vehicle a lot better than the JLR one would. Which is why I have chosen it. YMMV.

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Originally Posted by scarry

<snip>

On another note Long Ranger have an aftermarket fuel tank for D5,so hopefully one may appear for Defender.

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They now have one for the new Defender. Browns Davis also make one - but petrol only.

Seems reasonable... i.e. that bullbar is there to protect the cars' vulnerable bits from incidental nudges and small animal strikes, and then as sacrificial protection in case of larger/ high energy strikes, where car doesn't necessarily escape significant damage, but the occupants (hopefully) do.

Thankful mine has never been used for it's intended purpose

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Originally Posted by Samblers

Thankful mine has never been used for it's intended purpose

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I had to race SWMBO to hospital not long ago,as she cut her hand very badly.
Happened to be at dusk.
Hospital 40 km away,Dirranbandi.Probably saw over 100 Roos,and hit a big one very hard.
The ARB bar is what saved us.Without it,the hit would have been a showstopper.
I didn’t even see it,until it was too late,but she screamed and luckily I hit the anchors,which reduced the impact.

So you never know when you might need one,particularly if travelling in rural areas.
I have since hit another two smaller ones during the day.

On the subject of crush cans,the D2 came with crush cans,which are replaced when a Bar is fitted by the Bar manufacturer.