I did. He was talking about having slots in the skid plate that allow them to slide back in a catastrophic crash as part of the crumpling design built in to modern vehicles to absorb the impact. he also pointed out that they significantly beefed up the front end with an oval tube winch mount as well, which kind of works against the air bag scenario you laid out. Not saying anyone is wrong, but thats what I got out of it. One of my reasons to get an ARB combo bumper is that it is crash rated to the Australia safety standards to work with the airbag system.
He never said or meant "beefed up" or anything to that effect, in reference to the bumper. He did say it was a huge amount of work to meet the crash requirements. While I personally wasn't part of the Bison program, I can attest to that type of statement first-hand.
All I can say on this matter is, crash performance (and indeed airbag actuation) is very sensitive to any changes in the front structure without going into details. Not really looking to discuss this further, sorry.
Should people stop buying aftermarket bumpers or winch mounts? No, they have a very clear purpose. Should they expect differences in crash performance? Yes. Will it matter enough to make a difference? That's the part that takes money and time to answer.
The LX470 (and possibly some LC's) have a different condenser. I'm no expert on the differences between models and years but from what I have been able to determine. If you have a rear A/C evaporator, there is an increased size condenser used and a different high pressure line on the left side at the bottom of the condenser. Those two places is where I noticed issues fitting the original design on my LX.
If you are considering purchasing from Jason I'm sure if you specify if you have the larger condenser Jason will send you the correct plate.
Recently purchased a 02 hundo and am interested in going this route (Trail Tailor). I have a Warn M8000 winch, has anyone used on of these with the mount and is that enough winch for the 100 series?
Recently purchased a 02 hundo and am interested in going this route (Trail Tailor). I have a Warn M8000 winch, has anyone used on of these with the mount and is that enough winch for the 100 series?
I put a 12k# on my truck if that tells you what I think. I think 50% more than vehicle weight is a good rule of thumb. Not a lot of penalty in weight or cost, so might as well go bigger. The weight of a really stuck truck is immense.
