smartbar bullbar

[D4D]

They must be doing something right, have you seen their stock price lately?

[robbo792]

Have you ever thought there's probably a reason every 2nd 4wd you see is fitted with an ARB bar...

Best marketing department in the Australian 4x4 industry.

[Rogerthatv2]

If u want a non steel light bar that looks good why don't u look at the TJM alloy bar, at least it looks good and no need for a suspension upgrade.



Hutch- 2012 Prado 150, some TJM Kit.

Good looking 150 that one, - don't be so sure but on the alloy bay, believe it or not it weighs around 7kg less then the steel bar - it's all in the mount, winch frame etc. With that bar but I would not bother upgrading the suspension.

[robbo792]

I want my full 50mm and bar so that is what I go for and I have to say as long as you use your brain and get a decent system your Prado will drive, handle and stop waaaaaay better with a good suspension that it will standard irrespective of the weight over the front.

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.

[Wannabe]

I have the smartbar on my 150 SX and am very happy with it. Main reason was to save weight and stress. I actually think they do look better than the steel bars, but personal preference is personal only, and anyway the Prado is hardly a masterpiece of visual art. I have an arial mounted, but my heavy Night Stalker lights shook off on the Oodnadatta Track. The worst part of the bar is that light mounting plate makes it very difficult to tighten the nuts. I intend to install smaller, lighter lights with nyloc nuts.

[rhs58]

Not only do we have bars to provide frontal protection from animal (and pedestrian?) strikes, but also scrub pushing and for hanging useful things like driving lights, antennas, winches etc.
In my experience, the only animals that've come to grief on my ARB bar was a dog in the 'burbs, and a bird that took out a fog light.
Stupid roos and emus have missed the bar, done u-turns and done damage to the side of the vehicle...

[Hutch]

If u want a non steel light bar that looks good why don't u look at the TJM alloy bar, at least it looks good and no need for a suspension upgrade.



Hutch- 2012 Prado 150, some TJM Kit.

[AJ120]

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.

I know what you mean, I used to be indecisive but now I'm not sure

Cheers Andrew

[D4D]

Have you ever thought there's probably a reason every 2nd 4wd you see is fitted with an ARB bar...

[ntp]

I have been reading through the bull bar safety thread and it does look like a lot of people are using scare tactics and there is very little data to back it up.
Reading the thread has made me think that if the government and manufacturers can't do the crash tests and legislate, it can't be that much of an issue and why should I bother myself with trying to make my car pedestrian safe when there is no conclusive data to assist me.

It is simply personal choice. The best thing you can do to improve pedestrian safety is to undertake a driving course for your 4wd and teach your kids about road safety.

Keep it legal and you are fine.

Like I said earlier do what you want to do. Don't ram shit down other people's throats or think you are superior because you have seen a little bit of advertising magic on the internet. There are a lot of us on here who may be ludites but we have been around and know what works and what doesn't and given there is a large amount of choice we pick what suits but don't rubbish someone else's choice.

I think this sums it all up. Decide what works for you.

[mjrandom]

Assess your need for a bullbar. I use mine as much as a scrub pusher as protection from animal strikes. I don't drive in the city much if ever and live in the sticks (which is why we lose power when a dog farts near a power line). A mate is building up his 4wd and I have been fitting his electric brakes and charging system. He is towing a fair lump of a van but will never go anywhere he needs to worry about animals or tight tracks, my advice to him was fit the suspension and air bags, get the electrics ready and forget the bar.

As for the question of lift and weight and bar it depends where you are driving. You are doing sand tracks and have no need of a lift then good luck. Where we go if you don't let your tyres down and have a lift you will get stuck as the tracks are usually so chopped up you will bottom out and become a plough, unless you drive at warp speed plus a bit.

I want my full 50mm and bar so that is what I go for and I have to say as long as you use your brain and get a decent system your Prado will drive, handle and stop waaaaaay better with a good suspension that it will standard irrespective of the weight over the front.

Keep it legal and you are fine.

Like I said earlier do what you want to do. Don't ram shit down other people's throats or think you are superior because you have seen a little bit of advertising magic on the internet. There are a lot of us on here who may be ludites but we have been around and know what works and what doesn't and given there is a large amount of choice we pick what suits but don't rubbish someone else's choice.

[ntp]

Sorry posted twice

Doesn't pay to post angrily.

- Crash test figures relating to vehicular damage.
- Crash test figures relating to pedestrian injures.

Sadly, that's the problem with this issue. A lack of reliable data. Only because you asked, see this authoritative report: http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roa.../BullBar_1.pdf

Here is the conclusion of the report (my emphasis added):

Conclusion
In summary, the lack of comprehensive data on bull bars in the vehicle fleet at large and for vehicles involved in crashes precludes drawing detailed conclusions with regard to bull bar attributable road trauma. With respect to the negative impact of bullbars, it would appear, on balance, that bull bars present an additional risk to pedestrians and other vulnerable road users, and also possibly to occupants of sideimpacted vehicles. It is postulated that the extent of this risk is not likely to be great because it is difficult to isolate the influence of the bull bar from other factors knownto be strongly associated with injury outcomes, such as vehicle size and speed.


Recent improvements in the design and fitting of bull bars may have reduced the risk below that imposed by the older style bull bars used in the experimental studies and present in many of the crash records analysed here. Issues concerned with air bag deployment and the proper operation of crumple zones appear to have been addressedby recent improvements in bull bar design.


This report provides no conclusive basis for opposing the use of newer-style bull bars.There does, however, appear to be some case for considering measures to phase outthe use of older style, protruding, rigid bull bars, especially in urban areas. This would not be a panacea for road safety. It would have a minor effect on the road tollas a whole. Nevertheless, there is the potential to save pedestrian lives and those ofother relatively unprotected road users, such as bicyclists, as well as to reduce the risk to both the occupants of other vehicles and to the occupants of bull bar-fitted vehiclesthemselves.

[maxjj]

I have travelled twice around this country on a motorbike, no bullbar fitted, no animal strikes. Once up the centre and then left and then up the centre and right after visiting Darwin. Just didn`t travel between prior to 8.00am and after 5.00 pm.
Well there was the wedgy that didnt want to move for a while as it was feeding on a dead roo and I was doing warp speed. Lets just say I ducked and I reckon and it used the airbuffer form the bike to get airborne.

With the 4wd I did a lap and I didn`t hit anything either.


oh and this is well worth reading

http://www.arb.com.au/getting-starte...patibility.php

[AJ120]

I have been looking at these struct spacer and might go for it even if I get the Smartbar just to level it up. Can you tell me how hard they are to fit? Do you have to take the coil springs off to fit them? I did a full lift on my last car and didn't think to get spring compressors and when I undid the nut the coil spring lunched itself and landed 3 gardens away, luckily no one was hurt and I popped down to Supercheap and got a set of spring compressors for the second one.

Not hard to fit if you are half handy with the spanners, you dont need to disassemble the strut but you do need to remove it, no need to compress the spring. Basically you drop the bash plate, remover the sway bar, undo a couple of bolts at the bottom of the stub, undo the the nuts on the strut top and remove lower strut bolt then pop out the strut , place the strut spacer on and put it all back together.

there are a few really good "how to" suspension upgrade threads in the 120 section, the 150 is basically the same.


Cheers Andrew

[D4D]

If you don't agree with my opinion there is no need to start an argument.

Where's this argument you speak of? I was simply pointing out before you make a statement you might want to get your facts correct. You can fit whatever bar you like but if you accept the marketing blurb and condone any other bar based on a sales pitch then be prepared for a robust discussion.