Front Tube Bumper In A Collision? (1 Viewer)

[bicycleagent003]

I'm considering new bumper options and I'm curious what the consensus is on how well a tube front bumper like BIO or Metal Tech does in a traffic collision compared to the OEM unit. If you have any experience or pictures I'd love to see them.

The ARB is not my favorite bumper but if it protects much better than the tube bumpers I'd be willing to reconsider it. So I guess what I'm also interested in is how the tube and ARB bumpers compare with each other in terms of collision protection.

Thanks
Russell

 

[retrofive]

Very well. Pics are gone, but left an imprint of the MT bumper on the hood of the buick.

Another testament to the toughness of an 80 when mine met a Buick yesterday.

 

[bhicks]

I made a tube bumper for my 80 and it took huge abuse on the trail. Slammed down on it numerous times and it never budged. The ARB plate bumper I had on my old Jeep got smashed up pretty quick. I tossed it for a tube bumper as well. There is a reason why all the trophy trucks, nascar, indy, etc. all use tubing for their chasis. It's far superior in strength (lb. for lb.) then plate steel. A plate bumper will fold before a tube bumper 99% of the time. Sheet metal can become pretty strong when cold rolled over an arch and welded in key places but it's only strong because of the arch created from the cold roll. A tube is a perfect arch to start with so it's already reached max strength simply by it's design. Adding key welds and bends in key places with the correct support tubes at the correct angles just ads to that strength. If the tube bumper is tied into the frame properly it will always be stronger than a plate bumper. The proof is in every race car/truck on the planet.

 

[NLXTACY]

If you don't like the look of the tube bumper, which I do not, then you could always skin it with cold rolled steel.

I fortified my ARB and boxed it in and all around strengthened it. I'm much happier with it now than I was out of the box.

 

[Hornd]

I made a tube bumper for my 80 and it took huge abuse on the trail. Slammed down on it numerous times and it never budged. The ARB plate bumper I had on my old Jeep got smashed up pretty quick. I tossed it for a tube bumper as well. There is a reason why all the trophy trucks, nascar, indy, etc. all use tubing for their chasis. It's far superior in strength (lb. for lb.) then plate steel. A plate bumper will fold before a tube bumper 99% of the time. Sheet metal can become pretty strong when cold rolled over an arch and welded in key places but it's only strong because of the arch created from the cold roll. A tube is a perfect arch to start with so it's already reached max strength simply by it's design. Adding key welds and bends in key places with the correct support tubes at the correct angles just ads to that strength. If the tube bumper is tied into the frame properly it will always be stronger than a plate bumper. The proof is in every race car/truck on the planet.

A tube is stronger than an equal thickness piece of flat stock of same cross section.
A Channels is Also very strong due to 2 Legs
An I-beam is also very strong if you talk only cross sectional area.
An Angle is the least strong but still much stronger than a piece of flatstock

Cars today are made to absorb impacts (crumple) to protect occupants with D Pillars, Doors, and Foot wells as reinforced areas.
Its not the impact, but the sudden stop that causes most damage. This is concept behind air bags.

Here is a solid comparison of Old Vs New:

 

[msapers]

It will also depend on the material, diameter and thickness of the tube in question. Obviously, a bumper made of 2 inch exhaust tubing will be almost useless. Don't skimp on quality.

 

[bhicks]

It will also depend on the material, diameter and thickness of the tube in question. Obviously, a bumper made of 2 inch exhaust tubing will be almost useless. Don't skimp on quality.

Very true. I was just assuming the metal tech would use the standard 1.75"-2" .120 wall DOM tubing that most companies use. Even HREW will still be a significant improvement over a plate bumper.

 

[izzyandsue]

I haven't crashed yet, or no one has crashed into me, but I do like the MT short stinger bumper. Objects I have kissed along the trails have all moved, bumper intact. Light too. Never thought of putting a skin on it, not a bad idea....

 

[jvazquez53]

Use Heavy duty chromemoly. However, Im bias to the ARB, and I have Ironman too.

 

[bicycleagent003]

Thanks for the replies. What do you guys mean by "skin it" with steel? Add plates on top of the tubes? I'm very familiar with skinning it, but I think that's something diff'rent.

 

[bhicks]

Thanks for the replies. What do you guys mean by "skin it" with steel? Add plates on top of the tubes? I'm very familiar with skinning it, but I think that's something diff'rent.

Yes. They are referring to adding plate over a tube bumper. Your adding weight without adding much structural strength. I'm not a fan of weight for aesthetics, but if you REALLY want the look of a plate bumper with the strength of a tube bumper then plating your tube bumper with 1/8" plate would be the way to go. I have not seen that done on an 80 but have seen a few Jeeps bumpers done like that.

 

[Hornd]

Very true. I was just assuming the metal tech would use the standard 1.75"-2" .120 wall DOM tubing that most companies use. Even HREW will still be a significant improvement over a plate bumper.

Hot Rolled Electro Welded Seam vs Drawn Over Mandrel?

 

[bhicks]

Hot Rolled Electro Welded Seam vs Drawn Over Mandrel?

What are we asking here?

 

[Hornd]

What are we asking here?

You used an Acronym of HREW and DOM.
What do those Acronyms stand for?

 

[MDarius]

Pictures of my wrecked 80 with stock bumper. It hit a concrete barrier on the front right corner somewhere between 40 and 60 mph. Sorry I can't be more specific. My son was driving alone so details are sketchy. No airbags deployed. I think either bumper would have saved my cruiser. But one that comes up high enough to protect the body = ARB.

https://goo.gl/photos/oG6XVgFw4J67vDpP9

What kind of collision are you worried about? A stinger bumper will drive another vehicle under yours, potentially causing more problems for the other driver. Most tube bumpers don't offer the protection higher up. My rig is totaled, steering is busted up somewhere. I'm buying a new cruiser rather than repairing this one. A $900 ARB (or maybe a tube bumper that covers the corners) would have saved me a lot of money, hassle, and time. BUT! I'm finally getting lockers!

*Edit: the frame is misaligned now. Even with an aftermarket bumper I think the frame would probably have sustained damage. *

 

[bhicks]

You used an Acronym of HREW and DOM.
What do those Acronyms stand for?

I must have missed something because you answered the question in your question.

 

[Hornd]

I must have missed something because you answered the question in your question.

Sorry I missed your "Yes"

Love your cup holder by the way!

 

[bicycleagent003]

I'm thinking about a collision with another vehicle. I'm thinking about a bumper that will keep me from having major damage to my vehicle in the event of a collision with another vehicle. I was thinking, too, that the MT and BIO tube bumpers don't seem to offer much protection on the top outside corners - the way the ARB does.

 

[MDarius]

Somebody on here several years back had an incident where he or his brother hit a parked crane while he was doing freeway speeds+ with an ARB bumper. He walked away but the cruiser was totaled. The bumper held up surprisingly well. There was a lot of discussion about dispersion of forces and such. The bottom line was that he walked away with the ARB. Nobody believed he would have with the stock bumper.

Hind sight is impossible with these things. The only thing to do is to have the Mythbusters (God bless their souls) or some other outfit with unlimited funds do a test with donor vehicles and compare the damage. Anecdotal evidence will never work because every wreck is different. Engineering specs won't work because every bumper is designed a little differently. Combine different engineering with different forces, get different results.

I think that in 80% of the accidents you will encounter an aftermarket bumper will serve better than stock. You have to figure out what circumstances you are most likely to encounter and design for that. For me with teen drivers, I want full armor, front to back. I'm not going to do it, but that's probably what I should do. Also, put reflective red and white tape on the truck and "STUDENT DRIVER" stickers everywhere.

 

[wpns4l]

I had a vehicle at a stop light reverse into my front bumper at about 5-7mph. His rear end was destroyed, my bumper not so much and definitely no damage to my vehicle.