Maybe that's a good thing @asstip. More crumple less damage to the frame it's connected too.
Can an aftermarket front bumper prevent this kind of damage?
- Thread starter jazngab
- Start date
Maybe that's a good thing @asstip. More crumple less damage to the frame it's connected too.
The main thing that killed Dale Earnhardt was the collision happened at about 200 mph. Driving that fast , exciting as it all is, is asking for it. I say that very respectfully, he was one of the greats, and going that fast was his job.
I have only had one fender bender in a Jeep, that was years ago...but I’ve been very fortunate considering the shape I’ve driven then in a few times when younger. Stupid..
I have always slowed down at intersections, and driven them a little more cautiously than a normal car.
I don’t know anything about the mechanics of safety , but I sure don’t want to be in a Can Am SlingShot when they hit a car , they make a Jeep look like a Rolls Royce safety wise.
I have only had one fender bender in a Jeep, that was years ago...but I’ve been very fortunate considering the shape I’ve driven then in a few times when younger. Stupid..
I have always slowed down at intersections, and driven them a little more cautiously than a normal car.
I don’t know anything about the mechanics of safety , but I sure don’t want to be in a Can Am SlingShot when they hit a car , they make a Jeep look like a Rolls Royce safety wise.
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Newton, who lived over 300 years ago, says that if your front bumper were strong enough to avoid any damage to the subject TJ then the driver would probably be dead unless the driver of the TJ were lucky enough to have collided with a well engineered vehicle with massive crumple zones and not a concrete wall.
I have been thinking about a deer protection bumper like this lately. Just something that would keep the deer from crushing my grill and radiator and thus ending a good trip. It would suck to hit a dear at home and damage a jeep. But it would suck even worse if I was 1000 miles from home and hit a dear and I couldn't drive the Jeep back home. So I keep thinking about something that provides enough coverage and strength to save the grill/radiator so I can continue the trip.
I have considered new bumpers or adding something like a grill hoop to the top of my OEM bumper. I had one in the past but in doesn't fit now that I have a winch.
These are pretty cheap. And premade. I like how far out front they are. And that they cover the entire front end.
https://www.morris4x4center.com/smittybilt-src-front-bumper-with-d-ring-mounts-sb-76721.html
@Zaythedad pm'd me these pics. Of his Smittybilt tube bumper after rear ending someone. Looks like it held up for the kind of thing I'm hoping to avoid. Maybe he'll chime in with more details?
I'm no expert, but I've seen a TJ that hit a deer with a similar bumper. The deer was forced under the jeep, and bent the frame. Probably one in a million odds of duplicating this.
I hit a deer at 60 MPH in Mercedes sedan, and was able to keep driving, minus one head light. When I spoke to the service manager about the damage, he told me my car was designed to send whatever you hit up and over the roof, and not through the windshield. My experience is the design works.
I don't think there's one design that works for every situation.
Halfstock
TJ Enthusiast
The bumper on my TJ in the photo is an EAG bumper. Paramount Restyling sells the same unit as well. Yep, Asian made, but so are most of the "name brand" bumpers sold be Quadratec, Morris 4x4 and Extreme Terrain. The powder coat quality is on par with the couple of Smittybilt bumpers I've had in the past.
The OreFab bumper I put on my wife's JK is night and day difference in build quality, and powder coating is far superior to the Asian made products.
That's not the point. No bumper is going to save you from hitting a deer at 60mph. But a cheap Jeep bumper might save you in a minor fender bender like above. That's all. Not expecting any big result from running a certain bumper. Just that if you do run one that juts out and is sturdy enough - it might just help you out in a minor collision. While at the same time being weak enough that it doesn't bend your frame.
In that scenario, run the OEM bumper. That's probably the only bumper with actual testing. Everything else is speculation.
Zaythedad
TJ Enthusiast
Last year rear ended this girl and man was I a lucky cat the bumper held up amazing!
not one issue except that I scratched the coating on the rail lol. Even moved that bumper over to the New(er) rubi love it and makes a good seat when we are in a circle with friends haha.
much love fellow jeepers
Zaythedad
TJ Enthusiast
Jeep is required by NHTSA to do extensive crash testing. Front bumper impacts is part of that testing. They are designed and tested to provide the exact results of surviving small impacts and protecting the frame as listed above.
It's not really the frame I'm worried about. If I hit something so hard my frame gets bent. My Jeep is a total anyway. I'm more concerned about the front clip sheet metal. And having my Jeep totalled in a stupid minor impact - like shown above. The stock bumper sticks out like 6 inches (guessing) at a fairly low point. Whereas that big tube bumper pictured above sticks out far further. At a much higher angle. I think if he'd had a stock bumper he would have at least had some grill or fender damage. If not both.
We've had two cars totalled over the last couple years. For what seemed like very minor damage. I don't think it would take alot of damage to have my Jeep totalled. And it's not the cost involved. It's the time involved in finding another one. I think I spent at least three to four months and countless hours finding my current one.
Not to mention the cost of travel, a rental car when your insurance runs out, Carfax and having them checked out at a mechanic. Finding any 20 yr old car in good condition for a fair price is hard to do. No matter what type of car you're looking for. That's the real thing I'm trying to avoid. Having to find another one. (And the time and money to make it how I want it. And the countless hours working on it. That you'll never get back in insurance money.)
A large impact accident I fully expect my Jeep to be totalled. No matter which bumper I've got. And starting over. Hopefully I'm healthy afterward. I'd just like to avoid losing my Jeep over some stupid minor fender bender. And if a crappy $200 bumper will do that. I'm all about it.
I think you have been misinformed about bumper standards for our vehiucles. In the early 1970s NHTSA issued the original rule you seem to referring to. It required front bumpers to absorb a 5 mph impact to protect components such as fuel systems and lights. ONLY 5 mph and nothing whatsoever about protecting passengers or frames. In the early 1980s the regulation was revised to reduce the impact speed to 2-1/2 mph. A 2-1/2 mph impact is [retty much a non-event and at any speed above that the bumpers on our TJ's are largely irrelevant when it comes to how much damage our vehicles sustain.
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