Defender Bullbars - Pros & Cons

[davidgate]

I've been hesitant to fit a front bar to the MY11 Puma.

Pros
Frontal protection
Somewhere to mount accessories

Cons
Destroys the Defender look!
Additional weight on front suspension - any mods required?


The one bar I was considering was the Frontrunner bar from SA through Opposite Lock - from appearances point of view this was the most compatible. However, no longer available off the shelf. Three month wait to build one on special order.

For me a prerequisite for travelling western Queensland was a front bar - however, if you're carefull about when you travel (avoid dusk/dawn) is this absolutely necessary? I'd be interested to hear opinions.

Thanks

Dave G

[KarlB]

I asked myself the same question when I got my 2010 Def90. In the end I opted for the OEM polyamide A-bar in combination with an OEM winch and winch bumper. No need for beefed up suspension. Provides some frontal protection particularly for the vital radiator. Also much kinder to pedestrians. I replaced the top (plastic) brackets of the A-bar with stainless ones from Mantec and they are more then adequate for mounting aerials and the like. I have also fitted driving lights hanging them from the same brackets.

Cheers
KarlB

[SuperchargedSport]

Ive hit several kangaroos with bull bars and without...

I hit one a few years ago with a 3inch aluminium nudge bar dead in the centre on a discovery ($1200 nudge bar) absolutely destroyed the front end of the car at 90km/h....

As i run a parts business, ive bought all sorts of wrecks, full aluminium bars just crumple and smash into the front and the factory wrap around bars although look nice do absolutely nothing, literally you could push them gently into a pole and watch them flex and hit the front of the car, now imagine that with a 6ft roo at 100km/h....

Its probably hard to understand if you havent hit something yet, think about it like this prime mover trucks get flipped over when they hit cows on the road... and a defender is alot smaller than a truck

[superquag]

Ive hit several kangaroos with bull bars and without...

How about steel 'roo and bull-bars, - How do they compare with alloy?

My own experience around town is that they're invaluable in shopping car parks... The Mazda's alloy bar has been hit several times, and I reckon its more than paid for itself on each one.

On the other hand, they can be a pain when you need to hang over the engine room, a familiar pastime for Land Rover owners....

[ugu80]

Have a look at this, the ARB winch bumper.

Winch bumper | Products | ARB 4x4 Accessories

Then there is this.

http://www.fnb4wd.com.au/index.php?r...&product_id=71


Just a bit out of the ordinary and a bit lighter than the norm.

[SuperchargedSport]

How about steel 'roo and bull-bars, - How do they compare with alloy?

My own experience around town is that they're invaluable in shopping car parks... The Mazda's alloy bar has been hit several times, and I reckon its more than paid for itself on each one.

On the other hand, they can be a pain when you need to hang over the engine room, a familiar pastime for Land Rover owners....

In shopping centre car parks we all need armoured cars... haha... rubber door strips and aluminium bars are great for around town. and tow bars.

I have had several discoverys come in with full front aluminium bars, if it has been in a front accident the bar is always stuffed. I had one recently a TJM on a discovery 1 that the whole left hand side had snapped and driven up into the passenger side of the car writting it off. In all fareness he had hit a tree. I havent had one steel one come through that i couldnt sell, even selling them damaged customers take them and have them straightened. Because there never that damaged.

I guess it depends on where you live, i recently was living outside perth and it was regular to come across emus and kangaroos during daylight hours.

I had a customer buy a really nice aluminium front bar last year, it was really nice, this nicest ive seen on a d1, colour coded had led lights in it. A month after having it he hit a kangaroo on his way to the eastern states, and the whole passenger side just was as if it wasnt on the car protecting it, the car was barely driveable, and the cost to strip it and put on a whole new inner wing, front support bonnet lights etc would be worth more than the car... there nice and light but they simply dont stand up to hitting a kangaroo.

[JDNSW]

Just a couple of thoughts.

I hit about one roo per year on average, and that is being very careful and very familiar with them. Having a steel bar the only damage has been one that hit me just behind the back wheel, while I was travelling at about 10km/hr letting his mates cross in front. And it was full daylight.

A couple of years ago I was talking to a local panel beater - he tells me that 75% of his business is roo strikes - almost none of them on vehicles with steel bars.

I would be very cautious about long term use of a vehicle anywhere inland without a good bar.

John

[strangy]

........,Also much kinder to pedestrians. .......

Cheers
KarlB

Planning on hitting a few Karl?

[The Cone of Silence]

DG,

I think you're right in that if you're careful where and when you drive, you can minimise the chances of hitting something...but if you do have to drive somewhere after dusk, hitting something is going to be a whole lot worse for you, your passengers, your car and your wallet.

I have the OL bar on my '08 110 and I actually like the look so that's less of an issue for me.

I've used mine an awful lot in pushing trees when turning around in narrow tracks, breaking up thick branches for firewood (pushing against them when they're wedged between two tree trunks), sitting on and having a coffee, mounting the UHF aerial, protecting the lights, giving me a great visual guide for parking....and they provide a home for a couple of adventurous arachnids.

I hope I never hit anything with it, but should the animal in question and I be unfortunate enough to collide, I'm happy that I'm giving myself the best chance of survival...even if it's at the animal's expense.

Bobby

[Loubrey]

I've also got the Front Runner from OL fitted to my car.

I'm currently in the Pilbara and setting off to Perth usually has a pre-dawn start where the 140mm spotties fitted to the bar comes in very handy.

In the past 15 months I've had daytime strikes with 2 of the local species of Kangaroo (only around 1.2m high), both went under the car after the hit and the steering guard defected them low enough to not do any damage up front.

More significant though was a hard plastic/rubber wheel chock that fell of the back of a road train. It hit the asphalt and came bouncing at me allowing me no reaction time. It hit me just below the left headlight and thankfully the bulbar managed to take the blow. It did take some powder coat off, but no other damage. Picking it up afterwards and feeling the weight I think it might have torn the wing off if it went into the bodywork/headlight area.

IMO if you travel anywhere outside the big cities in Australia (ie 95% of Defenders), frontal protection of various degrees is a must.