smartbar bullbar

[maxjj]

what chip did you fit?

[Prone]

duplicate post

[Rogerthatv2]

Don't know what's mighty about it but I would give you durable. Reminds me of my wheelie bin or Waeco in construction...

Glad you got your bar, cheers Dan.

[Prone]

Just had another look at the smartbar video.

If this video is to be believed then -

It would seem alloy is better than steel into the fixed bollard but steel was better than alloy for the 65kg water barrel.

Steel into the fixed bollard gave the impression that the centre/lower crossmember was to strong and didn't deform enough to stop the uprights bending excessively.

Either way in all tests the elastic limit of steel and alloy was exceeded. The plastic less so.

In all tests of all bars there was a fair intrusion into what would be radiator/intercooler/aircon condenser
area. Less with the steel and 65Kg barrel I think. Closer overhead views would have been good.

Plastic bars might return to original shape better but if they deform elastically into the radiators before rebounding you may still have serious mechanical problems. But i guess more room will be available to get your hands in to fix things. Bending the stretched metal bars away from damaged areas is going to be somewhat harder.

I saw quite a few smart bars, well a few, during trip to Kimberley last year. Most owners seemed happy, some who had hit things reported the offending item as having hit and bounced off with very little permanent damage.

Even found a prado 150 here in Tassie with a smart bar, they were somewhat amused when i asked if I could have a close look at it.
The blue and white checks on the vehicle (and their caps) normally keeps people from looking at and under their vehicle I guess.

I just googled bamboo bicycles - these things have a serious following!

Cheers
Prone
Prone

[maxjj]

who knows one day the smartbar, being smarter than the average bar, maybe be able to educate the flat earthers.



Jasen have noticed any increase in fuel economy since fitting the bar, mainly due to any bar affecting aerodynamics in a negative way.

[ntp]

You didn't think to take a photo for us?

Saw a great looking bamboo bicycle the other day. Bit to much flex though!

Did it look like this:

Any one for a Wooden Bull Bar? Splinters may be a problem.

I guess it could work???

[Dusty74]

I would hope anyone designing anything with steel or alloy would understand these stress limits, at least I hope so, I fly in a Dash8 every other day for work! Read: Large Alum Can!

Cheers,
Dusty

[krypto]

Saw a great looking bamboo bicycle the other day. Bit to much flex though!

[Prone]

Hmm,

Been a very interesting post. If I get a bar the smartbar may be the one, I have been looking for many months and was leaning this way, mainly due to weight considerations, shame about the looks.

Regarding the deformation of the bars after an impact the variation is probably due to the differing elasticity of the materials used in the bar.

Most metals, steel and aluminium alloys, deform irreversibly and do not return to their original shape after a severe stress. That is they are inelastic.

Plastics are probably made to be more elastic and so can take a fair bit of stress and then return to their original shape.

In fact it is a bit stranger. Rubber like materials, and this probably includes some plastics, have an increasing stress-strain curve which means that they become progressively harder to stress (bend).

The stress-strain curve for metals on the other hand actually decreases at high stress levels making them easier to stress (bend).

The following from wikipedia is also interesting -

Ferrous alloys and titanium alloys[2] have a distinct limit, an amplitude below which there appears to be no number of cycles that will cause failure. Other structural metals such as aluminium and copper, do not have a distinct limit and will eventually fail even from small stress amplitudes.

When I was involved with gliders I was told that wooden frames had a very long life unless severely overstressed (read crashed), Aluminium frames on the other hand had a definite life span due to cyclic stress eventually leading to metal fatigue.

Any one for a Wooden Bull Bar? Splinters may be a problem. And then there is bamboo scaffolding in other parts of the world...

Cheers
Prone

[ntp]

It also matches the black tyres, I might think about getting a matt black vinyl body wrap lol

What - like this?



Jasen the Gimp.

Its odd that in both cases with steel bars, there was minimal deformation to the bar, but the entire bar would rotate backward. Either the test rig is using a dodgy fixture (to favour the soft smart bar), or the steel bars tested use dodgy mounting systems.

Either way, without a comparison from an independent body, this video should be taken with a grain of salt.

My thoughts are that the Smartbar absorbs the energy whereas the steel tries to deflect the bollard, therefore transferring the forces to the mounts, which if the original mounts are used, have the concertina folds on them which will give easier than front of the bar.

[williade]

Bull Bar Crash Testing - SmartBar Alloy and Steel
http://youtu.be/W5SkGSiX_1M

Its odd that in both cases with steel bars, there was minimal deformation to the bar, but the entire bar would rotate backward. Either the test rig is using a dodgy fixture (to favour the soft smart bar), or the steel bars tested use dodgy mounting systems.

Either way, without a comparison from an independent body, this video should be taken with a grain of salt.

[Max]

I've been driving for over 20 years and have never hit a pedestrian. I've also never been in an accident where I've needed a seatbelt but that doesn't stop me putting one on every time I'm in a car.

I'm not going out to swap my steel bar for a Smartbar but some of the comments here against pedestrians and the Smartbar are lacking in logic.

I have morons, idiots and drunks walk out in front of my car all the time and the lack of regard for their own safety never ceases to amaze me. I doubt they'd last 5min outside of the city without injuring themselves (and probably blaming someone else). But that doesn't mean I don't use my brakes. Yeah I'll use my air horn. Yeah I take some pleasure at watching the brown stain growing in their pants...but...the main reason I sit on the horn until their ears bleed is the hope that next time they'll remember shitting themselves and think twice before walking out in front of any vehicle.

I'm really getting OT now but I've started my rant...The ones who really get me are the mothers who push their prams out at a pedestrian crossing in front of a car doing 40-60km/h only metres away. Sure the law may be on their side when they have to go to court but I can't imagine that will give them much solace when they're out choosing a tiny coffin or spend the rest of their days caring for a crippled child.

Was the pedestrian at fault when they got hit? From what I've seen around here, probably. Unfortunately I don't see people becoming any more aware of their surroundings but just the opposite. People don't deserve to be hit and injured or killed just because they're dumb.

I'd never really given the Smartbar much thought before this thread but now I will. If it does in fact live up to the marketing hype and protect me and my family from an animal strike at highway speeds AND improve a pedestrian's chances then I'll probably go with the ugly Smartbar that my mates will laugh at. I'm not saying the Smartbar is the way to go for everyone. It might not be right for me by the time I need another bar most of my driving is in the city and there are a lot of people around.

[The Alberto]

Its just so easy to cross the road safely.

I thought so too, and then I went for a holiday in Vietnam! Now that is some crazy sh!t. Anyone who has been there will know what I mean. All Australian drivers and pedestrians need to see their roads and traffic (especially in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City) to realise just how lucky we are.

Jasen - Never thought I would ever say this but, the bar looks good. I still prefer mine , but yours looks better that I would have thought. Also good on ya for having a crack at fitting it, I never would have had a go myself.

[robbo792]

The places where this might happen, they have already dropped the speed limit to 40k,
I can stop, much faster than anyone can get in front of my vehicle at that speed and have, usually morons (like me) not kids.
They generally won't be coming out from the side of a 100k freeway.

The parents are responsible for There children,
I'm not letting my kids run out, even in a 40zone and ya smart bar.
That's sort of thing that would be hard to live with. Driver would not need to be explaining anything to me.

A license is a privilege not a right.

It is the responsibility of all (drivers, pedestrians, cyclist, motorbike riders, professional drivers) to strive to anticipate the errors of others and use the road with full understanding of its intention.

Hell we're all pedestrians some of the time and we all (drivers, pedestrians, cyclist, motorbike riders, professional drivers) get distracted.