How safe are Ridgco/JCR/ABR/Warn Bumpers on DD?

[JeepDawg]

I'm not really trying to compare, as such, but I was curious about how do these bumpers affect the safety of a DD - especially in the event of a front end or rear end collision. Thanks!

 

[LilRhodyXJ]

I can atleast speak for ARB.. when they say that there bumpers are meant to crumple and allow the air bag to go off they aren't lying. I took a head on collosion with a gmc truck and the bumper did exactly what they said it would do, no delay in the airbag and the bumper kind of collapsed into itself. I wasn't wearing a seatbelt like a complete dumbass and I got pretty messed up but my passenger was fine so I somewhat belive the bumper saved the accident from being a lot worse... but on the airbag note I was told that the sensor on a 97+ is in the cabin or engine compartment so it wont matter what bumper you put on, it will still go off..You should ask someone more knowledge able about that because I just remember hearing it but can't confirm it.

hope this helps
Andrew

 

[97XJ_Sport]

probably safer than the piece of sheetmetal that they gave us from the factory. I also think that the airbags go off when the computer reads a massive decrease in acceleration, such as a collision.

 

[ponyracer1]

I don't believe it much matters. If you take off a stock bump and look at the brackets, there little better than sheetmetal. There is no crumple frames or impact absorbing material built into it. Therefore, when you hit something hard the force is transmitted through the bumper into the unibody where the force is absorbed. Don't believe it matters which bump you have, stock or otherwise if hit hard enough the unibody(XJ) is toast.

NOW in a low speed collision the aftermarket bump with beefy mounts could mean the difference between your truck being totalled and your truck having a scratched bumper!!

 

[JeepDawg]

Thanks! I always thought that I'd be better off in a lower speed collision with an aftermarket bumper, but I wasn't really clear on the physics of it all.. What seems intuitive is sometimes counter-intuitive.

 

[badron]

The third party bumper will hold up a little better under 5 MPH or so. If the Jeep is what your thinking about
By the time your at 15 MPH I start thinking more about my body then the Jeeps. Hit a big tree a 15 and without a belt you will get some kind of ouch anyway.
For safety reasons (IMO) it don't make much difference witch bumper.

 

[CHUGLYxj]

97+ the airbag sensor is in the cabin and also the steering colum should have a "crumple zone" in it so that it breaks away. In a high speed MVA the aftermarket bumper will hold the front together better but really not do much else. Depending on the mounts it may transfer more of the impact energy back into the vehicle if the unibody rails can't crumple. Are they bad? Buy a few and smash some XJs at different speeds and let us know.

 

[Rambo]

97+ the airbag sensor is in the cabin and also the steering colum should have a "crumple zone" in it so that it breaks away. In a high speed MVA the aftermarket bumper will hold the front together better but really not do much else. Depending on the mounts it may transfer more of the impact energy back into the vehicle if the unibody rails can't crumple. Are they bad? Buy a few and smash some XJs at different speeds and let us know.

:clap:

 

[AJsArmor]

There was a guy I built a bumper for with a full guard that that t-boned a car that ran a red light at about 45-50mph. He was allright, his XJ was totalled. He said while it did reduce the amount of damage, it didn't matter because all that force goes somewhere so from the back of the mounts on is where the framerails started to wrinkly and twist.

My own experience was in a parking lot, I had just pulled into a spot and a fullsize Chevy whips into the empty spot ahead of me, must have thought my spot was empty too because he plowed right into me at a good 10-15mph. Shoved my XJ back a foot he hit that hard. The guard I had on at that time was a prerunner type hoop with braces and it took it quite well. I think it may have bent it slightly, but not noticeable. His truck...woof. Grille in pieces, hood crumpled back...he wasn't happy but we exchanged info anyways and got $5 to paint my bumper.

Now one aspect of safety on the road...DEER! We have a ton of them around here and they get pretty big (200lbs+ is common). I've hit plenty of them over the years, most at highway speed and so far the damage tally is around $20 for a new headlight and bezel. Figuring insurance deductibles running $500-1000 it doesn't take long to pay off. Was going to build a bumper/guard for my buddies truck, a week before we planned on starting he smacked a deer. $6K of damage, ouch.

 

[FatXJ]

I built a big beefy bumper one weekend, 10 hours after I put it on, on my way to work in Wisconsin I smacked a deer. It broke a couple tack welds on a gusset I didn't get to finish welding but left no other damage. I designed the bumper to prevent damage from trees, poles, and deer.

 

[jcroffroad]

We had a customer get in a semi-head on collision with our stg2 front bumper and tie in brackets. He was going about 45 mph and was hit more on one side then the other. The bumper brackets shifted about 1/8" each to the passenger side and it put a sratch about 4" long in the face of the bumper. No other damage to his jeep.

We had another customer hit a freakin COW (yah a cow!?!?!) with our stg3 front bumper. The cow basicallly bounced off the bumper and skided down the side of his XJ. The cow crushed 1/2 of his XJ, but the bumper had no damage.

Both instances the airbags deployed.

Another time, a gentleman that had a pair of our stg2 sliders was t-boned in an intersection by a mid size truck. The sliders did not budge and the kids swears up and down that the sliders kept this truck from smashing into him inside. His XJ recieved alot of damage, but he was unhurt.

 

[LilRhodyXJ]

also the steering colum should have a "crumple zone" in it so that it breaks away

I doesn't work so well..It didn't happen for me and the steering wheel and column caused all the damage I took.

Andrew

 

[Hudson Bend]

My 96 xj was totaled in the front last november and then again in the rear this past June. Stock bumpers and the unibody are designed to crumple and take the brunt of the force away from the passengers/driver...a compromise in the design of the unibody to eliminate weight but still have some safety built in. Drawback is that it takes very little to do some major damage to the xj. Beefing up both bumpers does not remove the crumple zones in the unibody but it does help limit the extent of the damage in lower speed collisions when the tissue paper stock bumper melts away. Bumpers used to be the first bastion/bulwark(?) of safety but were sacrificed in the pursuit of lessor weight=better mileage. Aftermarkets bring some of that safety back to the xj and I won't leave home without them...a bit sensitive about getting hit again. Most accidents occur at lower speeds where a beefier front and rear will benefit you greatly. And I am fabbing up some sliders as we speak to protect my flanks as well. It's the bumper car mentality at work.

 

[RedHeep]

I took a 40 mph hit in the left rear quarter from a YJ on a dusty gravel road. I stopped and the liberty behind him didn't, hit him into me at an angle.
Dented my JCR bumper on the top corner of the tube about the size of a quarter, tow hook punched a hole in the hatch and wrinkled the frame rail in two places in the left rear wheel well.
Had a frame guy straighten me up for $100 and pull the wrinkles out. I was fine.
If I still had the stock bumper on it, the insurance company would have totaled the heep and the Naval hospital would have had a customer.

 

[motorcityxj]

i see it like this a stock bumper will be trashed on a small rock, stump or someone bumps you in a parking lot.

Now with a ridgid, jcr, arb bumper etc you feel no effects of the boulder, stump, and if someone bumps you their bumper gets trashed.

The harder larger more massive object wins, and if it trashed your uni body it would have trashed your unibody with a stock bumper.

The deer and cow story are good examples, they definately would have crushed your stock bumper, radiator support, hood, lights etc. Instead they fold over and they are flipping destroyed by the aftermarket bumper.

 

[Darky]

Bumpers used to be the first bastion/bulwark(?) of safety but were sacrificed in the pursuit of less force being transferred into the passenger compartment and passengers

fixed it fer ya

 

[bigolexj]

To add to this thread and hope it doesn't get off-top as a result, how does sleeving the frame and tieing into an internal cage affect rigidity? I mean, would the chances of severe frame damage be significantly decreased?

 

[fryed_1]

You would think it would, but probably not.

I think what would happen in that case is it would find the weakest points in the sleeve and instead of crumpling like they should it will just break clean in two with enough force.

I imagine the passengers would feel it more as well. You might not think crumple zones, however small they slow the deceleration, would matter, but I'd bet there's a hefty difference between .05secs of crumple zones doing their job and a dead stop from nowhere.

 

[JEEPZZ]

 

[AJsArmor]

To add to this thread and hope it doesn't get off-top as a result, how does sleeving the frame and tieing into an internal cage affect rigidity? I mean, would the chances of severe frame damage be significantly decreased?

Ditto what fryed_1 said. You'll find the weak points very quickly. From what I've seen on just bumpers, they may hold up just fine but wherever the mounts end is where you'll first see the damage. Unless a guy were to cut out the stock framerails, tuck in something stronger and weld it all up front to back with a full cage..then who knows. Either way is a total crap shoot.