Front Bumper Crossroads

Yeah, I know there are a thousand different threads on this and a million companies that make them but my main concern is safety. My rig sees 90% driving and 10% wheeling. I want something safe for driving so that if I get into an accident I don't risk further harm to myself or someone else. I want the ARB badly but it's going to take me forever to save up for it. I know it is the safest bumper and most aesthetically pleasing, but $800 is alot for a bumper. That's why I have been looking at the JCR Stage 4 since it is priced well and everyone gives great reviews of them.
Is it going to do all the things ARB claims if I get into an accident? Also, I'm guessing since I only have a 3" lift that my ground clearance will increase with a JCR type bumper and decrease with the ARB...definitely don't want that. I read on a thread here once that the ARB saved a guy's life, but didn't elaborate. If whoever that was reads this I sure would like the full story...

i would trust jcr bumpers no questions asked.

junk90xj said:

i would trust jcr bumpers no questions asked.

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Jcr is my first choice of bumpers.

As far as the bumper goes, for the general reasons except for protecting in wrecks...Yea go with the JCR Stage 4. That is what I have, and it has alot of beef. I love the bumper, I've gotten numerous compliments on it, and i think it added lots of clearance and protection to the front of the Jeep. The bumper is low profile, i think it will be good for wheeling, and it wraps around and protects the front grill pretty well.

As far as wrecks....
I work for a rescue squad, I extricate people from vehicles following car crashes on a regular basis. My opinion from what I've seen is that your bumper is going to be the most beneficial in slower impact crashes, where your bumper is going to push into the plastic that is on most newer cars, causing you very little damage. Secondly, i think that your bumper *might* help more in high impact crashes because the front of your Jeep with a JCR bumper obviously doesn't have much in the area of "crush zones"...which i think is ok...because probably the vehicle you hit will have crush zones so your Jeep will push into their vehicle more first. But after that point, in high impact crashes, its anyone's game. The transfer of energy from that point affects the rest of the front of your Jeep so much the bumper probably doesnt matter much. Your axle/control arms will buckle, engine get pushed back, firewall gets pushed back.

A bumper...ARB or whatever is not going to help if you hit a F250. I've seen small cars hit larger SUV's and while the small car was screwed pretty bad, so was the SUV. On the other hand...I think XJ's are pretty safe vehicles. Even without Cages I've seen 2 in high speed roll overs and the passenger compartment was in tact very well, and one wreck were initially I couldn't tell what the vehicle was due to the drivers side damage, and the patient was ok to the point they actually refused ambulance care...it was a '01 stock Cherokee.

Just don't play bumper cars with ton-weighted vehicles.