Bull bar

**frantic** · 23rd January 2023, 09:26 AM

Originally Posted by one_iota

I once passed a Mahindra that had been labelled with the green Land Rover oval but it read "Curry Rover".

Anyway for the record here is a photo of a Bull Bar with a Mahindra bolted to it:

and here is a new Defender (mine) with a bull bar bolted to it:

I'd have to say I'm impressed with both the design (it suits the Defender) and its engineering.

IMHO, the JLR nudge bar looks like a plumber ,DUI, with a pvc pipe supply and a heat gun designed it, and is next to useless in preventing being immobilized by a roo, wombat or deer in an offset impact. Particularly compared to their previous defender factory bullbars, which where either ARB or TJM rebadged items.
A few comments on here about "insurance will fix it" make me laugh, as your now stopped, either in an outer country area or a very long way away from anyone. On top of that, a bullbar will at most be $3-4000 to replace, intercoolers, panels, etc will be 4-5X that amount and have your car off the road for week/s or forever, as JLR have shown even they cant figure out the wiring on certain defenders. Imagine you've got a person injured or ill, and you want to get to the nearest town/doc, 2hrs plus drive away, and your now unable to drive as the left or right intercooler is cracked open and a deer is stuck in it and the radiator.
ARB can and have made good bullbars for mono vehicles, ((prev models grand cherokee for example), and probably will for this, but the side intercoolers need protection as their height and the ease of the surrounding plastics fracturing into them will stop the car and need to be protected.
The other ones like "I've never hit anything" or "don't drive at dusk/dawn", are just plain funny. Most people dont have accidents, yet we have $10,000plus worth of safety/ accident aids on cars. Some of us work and need to go there/home at dusk/dawn, nice if you can choose not to work or your hours, but most of us cannot.
I've hit a deer coming home from work at dawn, doing 80kph, its lying in a dip in the road, jumps up and starts to run, impacts right side of my 02 defender (landrover bullbar). Paint was scratched, deer was dead, i drove home and 50c worth of black spray-paint and it was fine. With the nudge bar above on this new defender car, it would have been stopped and off the road for weeks, if not RIP.

**one_iota** · 23rd January 2023, 10:03 AM

Originally Posted by frantic

IMHO,.....

A lot of passion there!

Fortunately, you along with others here are not being forced to have either the car or the bullbar. It sounds like neither is an appropriate answer to your driving needs whereas it is for mine. My old Defender with its ARB bullbar no longer suits my needs.

While we are getting opinions on this thread about the suitability of the LR bar nowhere have I seen or heard of any direct experience with this bar in an animal strike incident nor have I come across a qualified engineer's opinion. So all we can do is speculate and in my case hope that if I do have an animal strike it won't be catastrophic. edit: It will be much better than no bar!

As for aesthetics ugliness is in the eye of the beholder.

**trout1105** · 24th January 2023, 10:56 AM

When fitting a bull bar to ANY vehicle it is important to fit one that will actually do the job.
It is pointless fitting an inadequate bar to ANY 4WD.

**Tombie** · 24th January 2023, 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by trout1105

When fitting a bull bar to ANY vehicle it is important to fit one that will actually do the job.
It is pointless fitting an inadequate bar to ANY 4WD.

Depends on scope of ‘adequate’

Protect cooling system enough to limp home?
Protect lighting?
Protect panels?

Against what? Flora or Fauna? Foxes, Euros, Reds, Cows?

At what speeds?

And how much damage are you willing to take through the vehicles frame? I’ve seen plenty of bars take a hit but the frame of the vehicle has bent.

It really is a needs basis…

**jon3950** · 24th January 2023, 12:39 PM

And maintain the crash pulse within acceptable limits. No point in protecting the vehicle if the impact kills the occupants.

**one_iota** · 24th January 2023, 02:44 PM

The Defender bar is described by JLR as a "Protection Bar" without mentioning the species against which it protects....not a Bull bar, a Roo bar, a Wombat bar, or a Camel bar.

**trout1105** · 24th January 2023, 02:56 PM

Originally Posted by Tombie

Depends on scope of ‘adequate’

Protect cooling system enough to limp home?
Protect lighting?
Protect panels?

Against what? Flora or Fauna? Foxes, Euros, Reds, Cows?

At what speeds?

And how much damage are you willing to take through the vehicles frame? I’ve seen plenty of bars take a hit but the frame of the vehicle has bent.

It really is a needs basis…

Arround here it is roos, emu's, sheep and cattle.
Not too many bars out there that will stop a cow from ruining your day But I have hit plenty of roos, emu's and sheep at varying speeds up to 100kph without any damage to the 4WD, ARB does the job nicely

One of those flimsy nudge/protection bars would see my 4WD in the wreckers if I was silly enough to fit one.

**one_iota** · 24th January 2023, 06:30 PM

Originally Posted by trout1105

....One of those flimsy nudge/protection bars would see my 4WD in the wreckers if I was silly enough to fit one.

As far as I'm aware they don't make them for 79 series Land Cruisers only the new Defender so you are safe there. You won't be able to make that mistake.

**trout1105** · 24th January 2023, 11:44 PM

Originally Posted by one_iota

As far as I'm aware they don't make them for 79 series Land Cruisers only the new Defender so you are safe there. You won't be able to make that mistake.

I fitted an ARB bar to my D2a and hit Many critters with it without doing ANY damage whatsoever to the car.
The 79 series and the wifes triton both are fitted with ARB bars, So no I didn't make any mistakes there

**one_iota** · 25th January 2023, 03:05 PM

A couple of other considerations:

Further to Tombies previous post the decision about which bar or any bar also depends on risk exposure. Trout1105 is much more likely to encounter wildlife than me given where I live and the places I drive to and from. If I lived in Geraldton the answer to the question "which bull bar should I have" would most likely be the same as his. In 15 years of having the ARB on my old Defender only once have I hit a roo and the Defender mainly did country driving in daylight.

The weight of the bar needs to be included in the vehicle's payload (GVW-unladen weight). The L663 110 5 seater payload allowed is 815 kg. A full steel ARB-style bull bar can weigh over 80kg. The new Defender protection bar weighs 65kg. So there is a 15kg advantage in carrying capacity. That's 15 litres of water or nearly 20 litres of fuel. So it's a trade-off.

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