smartbar bullbar

[D4D]

I think it's got more to do with pedestrian safety.

Talking crap again, it is to keep the weight down over the front axle with all the other crap they have to cart around so they don't go over the GVM.

[buster0z]

Am I the only one here thinking who the #### really cares about pedestrian safety?

Honest to god how many pedestrians do you hit a year that that is a worry to you?

If I was hit with 3t of prado what kind of bullbar is on the vehicle is going to be the least of my worries. No matter what I'm going under the vehicle and it's going to bloody hurt.

Agree with ya mate

[The Alberto]

Getting hit by a Prado at 50kph is going to leave you dead or severely f@$*%d up! No bar, Steel Bar, Alloy Bar or Smart bar.

Honest to god how many pedestrians do you hit a year that that is a worry to you?

LOL, So true.....

[wooley]

Am I the only one here thinking who the #### really cares about pedestrian safety?

Honest to god how many pedestrians do you hit a year that that is a worry to you?

If I was hit with 3t of prado what kind of bullbar is on the vehicle is going to be the least of my worries. No matter what I'm going under the vehicle and it's going to bloody hurt.

[ntp]

I think the main reason that both the police and ambulance use the smart bar is the fact that they are a cheaper alternative than steel.

Don't ever think that government procures items because they are simply the best option. There are so many procurement guidelines, etc., that ensure that procurement outcomes are skewed because of other factors. You can rest assured that 'best item available' on the market is almost never the deciding factor.

I have no idea how many of them there are but a lot of ambos and police car have them, surely that must mean something.

You are once again proving the point others have made.


BTW - who do you go for in the Ashes?

[Prone]

I think the main reason that both the police and ambulance use the smart bar is the fact that they are a cheaper alternative than steel.

Not when I last checked, the smartbar was by far the most expensive compared to the ARB and TJM steel and alloy variants here in Tas.

Prone

[Wotacroc]

I have no idea how many of them there are but a lot of ambos and police car have them, surely that must mean something.

I think the main reason that both the police and ambulance use the smart bar is the fact that they are a cheaper alternative than steel.

[wooley]

But no one gets upset when people slig crap at the Smartbar, there are loads of comments saying the smartbar is ugly, weak, wouldn't trust it, marketing rubbish, you name it. It's all just personal opinion based on people's personal experiance or what they have read or been told. It just seemed like a very one sided debate bagging out the Smartbar.

If they were that good in terms of aesthetics, construction, strength, utility, purpose wouldn't more use them?!

[Chewbacca]

[QUOTE=Jasen;389820]

What I am a bit confused about is why people get so upset when I don't change my mind and just jump on the Smartbar hate train. I would understand the reaction if I went on an ARB and TJM thread and argued for the Smartbar but I didn't this tread is titled Smartbar Bullbar!




Are you serious? I think the reason why people have got upset is that you started slinging crap at steel bars saying that we are pedestrian killers and that they are nor strong and there is no need for them!!

I am pretty sure you have made up your mind already, so just make the bloody decision and leave it at that!

Matt

[mjrandom]

That's crap I have heard of that issue before, from memory I think they said they were gray import tyres and the ones you get in Australia are light truck so ok. I've got another 20k left on the original tyres yet so I need to get the bar before then.

You have a habit of making statements you know nothing about. It is not crap. The first ATRs sold here in 2008 were not LT. I can guarantee the tyres were not grey imports and were fitted by an Australia distributer of Coopers. Stick your head in the sand but while there keep an eye on your Coopers for cracking.

You know the people posting on here are only trying to help. You have obviously made up your mind, tried to justify that by slinging mud and talking shit. Then when challenged on that make it out to be a joke. You don't need a lift so whatever bar you put on can't compromise the original suspension height. So then you are happy to fit spacers when you find out even the lightest bar is still heavy.

Most of us on here use our 4wds as 4wds and so modify the original Toyota parts which when it is all said and done are a compromise between the Prados that don't see dirt to those that get used as hard as any 4wd can.

I am done in this thread.

Do what the @$%$# you want. Just don't expect the mainstream 4wding Prado to agree with you that:

a) a smart bar is pretty
b) a smart bar is safer under all situations
c) a smart bar is the best option for a bull bar
d) a smart bar is smart
e) we are all wrong

[wooley]

Having hit a roo not five minutes ago, and another 5 in the last month I wouldn't have anything but a steel bar.

These have all been smaller south east Roos not the big boys I get back home but the bar has also dealt with a couple of those and a whole bunch of other wildlife and faired only a broken light, number plate, and slightly bent mounts.

There is no chance I'd risk it with plastic.

If anything I'd get a bigger steel bar. If pricks jump out on me in the city that's natural selection at its best.

And yeah if you do hit one, put it out of its misery. 243 in the back makes that easy. Haha.

[Hutch]

Their is a thread in the 150 section will photos of just about every bar for a 150.

[mjrandom]

What was wrong with the Coopers?

I bought 265/65 17 ATRs which were pretty much the only alternative tyre at the time. They were passenger construction and suffered from circumferential cracking around the rim. Not huge cracks like some here have had and certainly not likely to result in catastrophic failure immediately but I was not happy. Only 40,000km from memory. By that time the BFGs were available and as the car was a novated lease one phonecall turned the Coopers into BFGs. I gave the Coopers away to someone who was happy to run them on his trailer. I hope they are now landfill.

[mjrandom]

There are so many choices and so many opinions and so many factors to consider, it's been blowing my mind for over two years and every time I think I have made my mind up someone comes up with a comment that makes me stop and rethink it all over again.

So do you NEED a bull bar? You can fit a nudge bar that can be a nice stable platform for spot lights. Don't spend money you don't have to.

My very 1st 4wd (well it was the missus car as usual) was a Daihatsu Feroza and it was to take two newly weds to the beach and on the beach and be a shopping cart. It was fabulous at that. I fitted it with a nudge bar (that I made) so I could put some lights on it. The next beast was a SWB P (delete banned word here). Again for the same reason. Just had one baby and it was fine. Number 2 son came along and the juggling of two under 3 in the back was going to be too much for my wife who is vertically challenged. So we sold that and bought a LWB P (delete banned word again). This time it had the nudge bar off the shorty. At this stage we were living about 15 minutes north of Rocky. My wife hit a wallaby. Bent the mounts for the nudge bar so a bit of gas axe work and ok. Then she hit another which popped out a headlight. OK fixed at home. Then a few weeks later while I was thinking maybe we need a bit more frontal protection she hit a decent sized Roo (not John) and it took out a light and did a bit of damage. I repaired it and fitted a 2nd hand TJM alloy bar I bought from the TJM dealer. Then the 90 series and still living out of town we put the smart bar on being impressed with the hyperbole and in practice it was ok. Then the 120 and we went for the only bar we thought looked good and now with a 150 imminent we are going back to leaving the lights unprotected with either a T3 or Sahara bar. Why? Because I still want the improved approach angle and bush ability. Wife doesn't like Dame Edna taking over the car and yes the lights will be vulnerable but we are in the position this time that having a car off the road for a week or two in the panel beaters won't kill us financially or be much of an inconvenience.

Don't put a bar on just because every other 4wd you see has one. Put something on if you need it. When deciding on the bar for the 150 we went through the few threads on here, in particular the photo thread. I printed all these out and then web searched photos for the few we liked and went from there.

If after all that the smart bar floats your boat go for it. Just for God's sake DON'T FIT A TUFF BLOODY BAR!

[mjrandom]

Sorry mjrandom.

Statements like the above frustrate me a little and it's mainly the use of the word 'will' in your sentence, how do you know that with a decent system our Prados will drive, handle and stop better. In order to know this for a fact you would have to test a standard and modified version in order to evaluate the stopping, handling and drive in some way.

I had a bar, winch and second battery fitted, then I had an OME suspension set up fitted and my feeling is the OME suspension improved the stopping, handling and drive 10 fold, but not quite back to how good it was in original form.

OK I will qualify that for you.

During the 5+ years I have had my 120 it has run on a Toughdog 2" lift for the first 4.5 years and since then on an OME system. Reasons are posted here in the 120 suspension area.

I am in a position where a couple of friends also had 120s in that time. V6s and D4Ds and the older diesel. Mine was the only one on aftermarket suspension. Mine was the only one with a bar and dual battery, compressor, fridge etc. Mine also had all terrain tyres, initally Coopers (never again) but since then BFG A/Ts. Some had accessories, some not. A couple had dumped the Dunlops for different tyres too after the Dunlops wore out.

As part of some activities we did as a group I was able to both drive and ride in these other 120s. Without any hesitation I would say that my 120 was more sure footed on the road and also stopped faster than any of the standard 120s. On loose tracks that was another factor higher again. After one trip where I was towing a trailer with 6 canoes on board and I had 3 kayaks on my roofrack one of the other 120 owners couldn't believe how much more body roll he was experiencing. I was not driving my Prado like a car either but as a 4wd pulling a tonne of trailer and canoes and bits. I don't drive my 4wds like cars as I have a car to play with. So on the way back we swapped people around and he drove my car. When we returned to Brisbane he fitted OME suspension to his 120, no bar or other bits but just a new suspension at a little over standard height. He still raves about how much better it is and how the traction control now doesn't flick into life as it used to. For me I have had stability control activate twice. Both times on sand tracks because I lacked the sense to lock the centre differential when I started on the track.

Yesterday I took a brand spankers 150 for a test drive. The body was definately taughter than my 120 but the handling and braking was not up the 120 which has 6 month old OME suspension. Sorry if that offends someone with a standard 150. The Toyota suspension feels like it was designed by one of the larger trawler companies with a licence to wallow being the overriding theme. We hit a couple of bumps and the suspension was so underdamped that it continued rocking for several car lengths afterwards. We drove the 120 on the same road and it went thump into the holes and that was it. The Grandtreks leave a lot to be desired as pretty much everyone acknowledges and the brakes were ok. No bite like I have but then I am running Bendix pads and slotted rotors so that is likely the difference. Again none of this was driving like a looney it was strictly at the speed limit or below on some industrial area roads, mainly to gauge vision and any changes such as the concave driver's mirror. The demo had 5,000km on board so likely the suspension was as old as my OME stuff. Having said all that the seats in the GXL were nicer than in my 120, don't know if that is due to a change or that mine are showing signs of 130,000+ km use.

As I said it depends on a good suspension. I was lucky the Toughdog stuff was matched well from day one and being adjustable I fiddled with the damping until I was happy. I did however have to go back for different springs in the OME set up until it was right.

If you are happy that the stock suspension is better than you OME stuff then ok for you maybe it is or was, but I suspect your OME suspension may not be the right spring rates for what you do.

Back in the dark ages I bought my 90 and drove it for a couple of years on standard suspension before I changed it. That was a dramatic difference and since then I drive my 4wds from the dealer with the suspension changed AFTER doing lots and lots of research.