Steel bumpers for LX470

[Lcerva]

Hi everyone,

I busted my lx470’s bumper off-roading and felt that it may be the perfect excuse to ‘invest’ in a steel bumper. At first I was really interested in purchasing the Ironman bumper. It has a decent price point. I like how it looks more than the ARB and slee front bumpers. But it seems that most of these bumpers are not simply a bolt on job and require some additional modifications to install on the LX. The Sahara bull bar from ARB and slee front bumpers seem to be the only bolt-on jobs as it goes for LX470s. I’d like to devote this thread to steel bumpers and how they compare to each other on LX’s only. We don’t often hear about the install process of each particular available bumper and how they look. Please, post pictures and tell us what you did to install your steel bumper on your LX.

Cheers,
Lorenzo

 

[chogunn]

Hi - I installed a TJM T17 and it really is 95% bolt on. I needed to grind off a bit of trim underneath each head light, but otherwise it bolted up. Took me a few about 4-5hrs but I’m a slow worker. Drank a lot of coffee in between tightening up bolts

 

[nukegoat]

Can't help you here but I like your use of quotes around the word "invest"

 

[planomateo]

Another "devoted" bumper thread...

The ARB in the first post is fugly.

 

[CBeckFJ]

ARB sahara is ugly. The ARB deluxe to me is the best bumper, from a looks perspective, and an engineering perspective

 

[krice118]

100 series armor and suspension Outline

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[ga12r1]

I’m partial to Dissent:

 

[MongooseGA]

We don’t often hear about the install process of each particular available bumper and how they look. Please, post pictures and tell us what you did to install your steel bumper on your LX.

Cheers,
Lorenzo

View attachment 2201034

Yes we do. Like, all the time. It's literally one of the first real mods most people here do.

 

[Wesley Crusher]

IMO, there’s no better option than the ARB Deluxe. It’s a proven classic.

 

[suprarx7nut]

If you're keeping AHC, be mindful of the added weight. Some bumpers come in aluminum *cough* Dissent *cough* and can save you a lot of unneeded weight and stress on AHC.

I think the trimming required for Dissent is on par with all other front bumpers. It's minor. Not like cutting out sections of the rear frame, as is commonly needed for rear bumpers.

 

[bamabrock]

If you're keeping AHC, be mindful of the added weight. Some bumpers come in aluminum *cough* Dissent *cough* and can save you a lot of unneeded weight and stress on AHC.

I think the trimming required for Dissent is on par with all other front bumpers. It's minor. Not like cutting out sections of the rear frame, as is commonly needed for rear bumpers.

I ordered my rear dissent bumper in aluminum for that reason.

 

[BEG]

I had the Ironman Commercial Deluxe on my LX:

I don't remember having a particularly difficult time with installation. This bumper goes on over the existing frame horn end pieces, so no grinding or trimming was required. The only thing I had to do was make some shims to take up some extra space to get the gap right. I used the old OEM tie-down brackets by cutting off one of the angle legs. The remaining bolt holes were already perfectly spaced.

With regard to this bumper, and steel bumpers in general, It was very well-made and provided a lot of protection. However, it was very heavy and didn't provide much more approach angle. It's also not designed to allow the use of a Hawse fairlead. I decided to swap out to a Dissent aluminum front bumper. My AHC is much happier, I have much improved approach angle and tire clearance and I like the look a bit better. If you like the ARB/Aussie plate bumper style, check out the aluminum Kavik bumper.

 

[Mauser]

I built my own

 

[Kabanstva]

Dissent or Slee. ARB always looked way too bulky for me. Makes the 100 look like a heavy dinosaur up front.

 

[4Beast]

I have the TJM. My truck had it when I bought it, but I like it. It's similar to the ARB, but possibly slightly better looking? A Cadillac crashed into my lane on the highway and it hit her hard and only suffered a virtually imperceptible scratch and needed a quick straighten at a body shop, good as new. That impact might have totaled the truck with a stock bumper.

 

[SlowBuild]

I had the Ironman Commercial Deluxe on my LX:

I don't remember having a particularly difficult time with installation. This bumper goes on over the existing frame horn end pieces, so no grinding or trimming was required. The only thing I had to do was make some shims to take up some extra space to get the gap right. I used the old OEM tie-down brackets by cutting off one of the angle legs. The remaining bolt holes were already perfectly spaced.

With regard to this bumper, and steel bumpers in general, It was very well-made and provided a lot of protection. However, it was very heavy and didn't provide much more approach angle. It's also not designed to allow the use of a Hawse fairlead. I decided to swap out to a Dissent aluminum front bumper. My AHC is much happier, I have much improved approach angle and tire clearance and I like the look a bit better. If you like the ARB/Aussie plate bumper style, check out the aluminum Kavik bumper.

I like the @Kavik bumper and have been wanting one since i started seeing photos of @LandCruiserPhil ‘s a couple years ago. Ready to pull the trigger since October but I think he’s gone AWOL. Last post was 9/4/19. I hope he resurfaces cause I’d love to send him some cash.

 

[Torquen]

SLEE Blueberry is my preferred however the price of getting one of those to Australia is astronomical, so I'll end up with the ARB Sahara on mine.

 

[Lcerva]

I like the Kavik but he doesn’t seem to be available. I am worried about the weight on my ahc but am leaning toward the Ironman or arb deluxe. Any info or pics in regards to these bumpers on lx470s would help. I’m sorry if this has been a previous thread but I could not find info on these bumpers specific to lx470s. Would like to see more pics of how the look at different angles.

 

[planomateo]

Search is your friend, upper right hand corner of the site. Literally took less than 5 mins. Can also search "kavik bumper lx470" on Google and it will point you back to numerous threads on ih8mud.

Ironman bumper install

forum.ih8mud.com

Cream Puff Build Thread

Got these in from Australia this week. Put them on yesterday. Ride is much improved and much less bouncy. Should have done these a year ago. Don’t wait on this mod if you have added weight to your rig and want to keep AHC.

forum.ih8mud.com

Ironman Bumper - LX470 mount seems extremely sketchy? Opinions?

Yeah there's no way the frame is different. Mines a 2000. Given that the mount and frame are very very solid, I just can't get around any "installation issues". No matter what, physics prevails and we have a rigid body that, given the current spacer, will contact on two points: the frame horn...

forum.ih8mud.com

Kavik 100 Series Front Bumper

Thanks for taking a look. This bumper is designed for 1998 to 2007 Toyota UZJ100 and Lexus LX470’s. It is a 3 piece design (center section and 2 outer sections), individually welded and surface finished. It’s all aluminum, with the exception of Grade 8 hardware, and an optional steel winch...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[namsag]

I like the @Kavik bumper and have been wanting one since i started seeing photos of @LandCruiserPhil ‘s a couple years ago. Ready to pull the trigger since October but I think he’s gone AWOL. Last post was 9/4/19. I hope he resurfaces cause I’d love to send him some cash.

I was wanting to send him some cash too but it looks like that's over...I really hate that I missed out but I just got my LX last summer. I been waiting to see if would get back into production, but no sign of him, and he's quit saying he would get back when he could. Guess it's time to move on to look for something else.