Bull Bars

[donpato]

Have read several posts concerning the pro and cons of Alloy v Steel v Smart bars  and I guess it comes down to what level of protection you need and what you are prepared to pay.

My concern is the weight of a steel bar, I have a new Challanger and wonder if I would need upgraded struts. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Diesel Power]

Hello.
Some Alloy Bullbars are coming out in heavy walled tube for strenght but they are starting to creep up in weight figures.
Steel is great if you need it, as in outback touring etc.
Some of the larger bullbars are or are going to be illegal in some capital cities.
Not too sure about upgrade of struts, you would be better talking to someone like ARB as i can suggest something but may not be suitable. You have to make your decision first on what bullbar you need.
Smartbars are useless! Why? because they are fitted to vehicles for asthetic purposes like commodores/ falcons. When you hit something substantial ie. Kangaroo, the bar will flex back and do a lot of damage to your panel work etc.
If they counld be mounted to an old FJ/BJ 45 series cruiser it would be fine as the bullbar sits out the front of vehicle by about 500mm.
Hope this helps.
Regards Angus.

[Mace]

A mate of mine has an east coast alloy bar on his triton, and it looks really shmick.

http://www.ecb.com.au/

I reckon the same/similar  bar would fit a challenger.

Yep, here it is.

http://www.ecb.com.au/vehicle.php?Make=3&Model=66&variant=917&SEARCH2.x=58&SEARCH2.y=14&SEARCH2=SEARCH

[02-SR5]

I have a 2011 Challenger with an ARB steel bar.

If you fit a steel bar you will need to fit springs, if you fit an alloy bay, the factory springs will be fine.

[D4D]

My concern is the weight of a steel bar, I have a new Challanger and wonder if I would need upgraded struts. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Why wouldn't you want to upgrade the suspension? Better ride, better clearance etc.

[scarps]

I've just had an alloy bar and winch fitted and it was the winch that added the most weight to the front. Drop of 20mm..
I'm in the process of having the springs upgraded to HD to raise the front back up and add support to the rear as I'm about to hook an off road CT to the back.
I asked the suspension specialist about the struts and his words, struts and rear shocks I have are as good as anything on the market atm. ARB are in development of new ones for my WK2, so will review when they come out and  upgrade them later.

[bushbandit]

If you have the new Challenger you will find its already raised the nearly 2inches you would get with a lift all new Triton owners have found this out recently when going for the 2inch lift.As you have the Triton suspension etc have a look at the www.newtriton.net Forum heaps on there about fitting bullbars and suspension sag ,upgrades etc.There is also a link there to the guys at Ultimate Suspension they are the experts on Triton come Challenger suspension and what needs to be done after fitting a heavier style bulbar.

[Bird]

A mate of mine has an east coast alloy bar on his triton, and it looks really shmick.
http://www.ecb.com.au

Sorry, but i think this company specializes in the ugliest bars on the planet.

EG




I think they styled it off this bloke

[Mace]

Sorry, but i think this company specializes in the ugliest bars on the planet.

I reckon the challenger/triton one looks good if ya like chrome bling.

[GeeTee]

Have read several posts concerning the pro and cons of Alloy v Steel v Smart bars  and I guess it comes down to what level of protection you need and what you are prepared to pay.

My concern is the weight of a steel bar, I have a new Challanger and wonder if I would need upgraded struts. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

yes a steel bar can be heavy - it will place your vehicle much closer to its maximum allowable front axle load (marginal for the Challenger - which has arguably under-done damping from the factory) and make the suspension work much harder (as well as reduce travel due to the weight).

All good reasons to upgrade the suspension.

Or investigate a lighter Smart Bar

Hope this helps

[dazzler]

and I guess it comes down to what level of protection you need and what you are prepared to pay.

Thats the beauty of mitsubishis factory bumper.  Maximum protection from the crumple zones for the occupants and costs nothing.

Barry Bargain.

[markymark]

Check out the options for your vehicle. I've always had steel bullbars but we went with a Smartbar for our 90 Series Prado - far from useless. On ours it sits out a fair bit so it would take a decent hit to make it bend & hit the vehicle, the same would apply to alloy & steel. We've hit a medium roo at 80kmhr & can't even see where it hit the bar. Having said that I reckon some of the more recent designs sit too close as mentioned above but that may not be the case for the Challenger.

Cheers

Mark.

[donpato]

Thanks for the input everyone,time to count the $$$$ & make a decision.

[nbd73]

Sorry, but i think this company specializes in the ugliest bars on the planet.

EG




I think they styled it off this bloke

Poor Brains, lumping him in with those griscocity bars.  He would never forgive you if he was real.