D22 Steel Bullbars

[ShortyNavros]

Hey guys,

I want to upgrade from an alloy bar to a steel bar (will buy used when I find one for a good price), for better protection from road strikes as I do a lot of night rural driving and also fro the eventual winch upgrade.

My drama is, the mounting for the standard steel d22 bar look very average (are they made of 3 mm steel), compared to the alloy bar mounts which are made of like 8mm steel.

Do other brands of steel bar like ARB TJM etc have more sturdy mounting options, the Nissan steel bar just doesn't look like its mounted well enough and the mounts look like they would easily break if a road strike did eventuate. Seeing pics of wrecking cars with bullbar strikes like the ones below dont inspire me with confidence.

 

[d22dave]

I cant comment on other brand bars as I have a nissan steel bullbar. But I do agree with you about the difference between the alloy bar mounts and the steel bar mounts. When I changed from the alloy to the steel I wondered wether the steel bar mounts would stand up to a whack

 

[Iceman]

Just got to remember the the bar is mounted directly to the chassis. Any solid impact will either set off the bags or bend the front section of chassis. Neither are too hard to repair but insurance wont even look at doing it. Once it is strong enough to take some tough abuse but not so strong that any hit will bend the chassis. I would think they do a lot of research into it to get the bars adr approved.

 

[d22dave]

I hear what your saying. Just seems strange that the alloy bar has stronger mounts

 

[ShortyNavros]

Then there really doesn't seem like much point upgrading to a steel bullbar? I mean if you get a road strike/any other impact on or offroad I would rather have the alloy bar crumple and take the bulk of the impact rather than the steel bar busting its mounts and then smashing into the front end.

The only benefit of a steel bar I can see is for the winch mount, however I could always just get a plate to run between the alloy bar steel mounts which are far sturdy enough to hold a winch.

 

[ShortyNavros]

I have also heard of the steel bar mounts cracking after long periods of driving over corrugations, this also doesnt give me much faith in the strength of the mounts. What would be ideal is mounting a steel bar to the alloy mounts, probably would be shitloads of work and wouldnt be adr approved though which sucks.

 

[Bad Juju]

Its called an engineered fail point.
Strong bar, weak mounts
Weak bar. strong mounts

Something has to be designed to give.

You could look at a brushbar for a little bit of added support for the steel bar.

When its all said and done the chassis is only 2.2-2.5mm thick

 

[ShortyNavros]

Yep exactly what I thought JuJu, sorta defeats the purpose of upgrading to a steel bar for more protection. The scrub bars with side steps would definitely bolster it better though I agree.

 

[Gonzo]

Guys I can vouch for the factory steel bar ! I nailed a Roo at 120kmph on the way to the muster It shifted the bar 50mm but I was with some help from Nathan loosen and realign it with no damage to speak of except smashed grille and headlight bracket .

 

[d22dave]

I've only hit 3 wallabies since putting the steel bullbar on, around here they are about 4 foot tall. 2 of them I hit straight on at between 60 and 80 kph. Put them straight under the bar and spat them out the back, the bash plate that bolts up to the bar is a little out of whack but that's it. The other wallabie I hit with the wing of the bar and put him under the front wheel, same again between about 60 and 80, no other apparent damage to the bar or mounts

 

[75 GRC]

Its called an engineered fail point. Strong bar, weak mounts Weak bar. strong mounts Something has to be designed to give. You could look at a brushbar for a little bit of added support for the steel bar. When its all said and done the chassis is only 2.2-2.5mm thick

Good comment their 'Bad'

Cheers Geoff Go the V-6's