Bullbars

Bull bars, sliders, wheel carriers etc!

Bullbars

Postby stufensom on Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:33 am

We have a thread for all the canopy's fitted, and all the tyres fitted, how about one for bullbars?

Maybe a pic, likes, dislikes, cost, perhaps weight and affect on handling, suspension etc?

just a thought
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Re: Bullbars

Postby sierra on Sun Mar 14, 2010 8:31 am

Negatives,

Weight
Handling
Braking
Increased drag
Decreased cooling efficiency for engine, A/C and intercooler
Increased injuries to pedestrians

Positives,

Looks cool
Keeps wildlife and pedestrians out of the engine bay
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Re: Bullbars

Postby Naff on Sun Mar 14, 2010 8:38 am

Increased approach angle would be another positive.
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Re: Bullbars

Postby greeny03 on Sun Mar 14, 2010 8:53 am

another positive:

Spotties can mount to it
Cb anttenna can mount to it
Sand flag can mount to it
ARB removable fishing rod holders can mount to it
Can fit a winch to it if you wish
Some come with driving lights(mines a VR, so they werent on the vehicle)
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Re: Bullbars

Postby Tony on Sun Mar 14, 2010 9:22 am

I have put the ARB deluxe winch bar on my MN. I haven't driven it yet but my wife says its had little effect on the performance and cooling so far. When the winch goes on may be different.
The only dislike I have is the headlights now reflect off it into your vision and the ARB fog lights are not a patch on the original MN fog lights.
As some one pointed out when the installer fits it up ask him to cut the flares about 15mm lower than the template if you want it to look neater, but there is a risk if it rubbing on a rough track.

Pics of mine here....viewtopic.php?f=51&t=4184&start=50
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Re: Bullbars

Postby sierra on Sun Mar 14, 2010 9:37 am

GLX-R MN wrote:I have put the ARB deluxe winch bar on my MN. I haven't driven it yet but my wife says its had little effect on the performance and cooling so far. When the winch goes on may be different.


Any chance of a pic of the front where the main air intake is?
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Re: Bullbars pics dial up warning

Postby Tony on Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:49 am

Some pics of the airflow.
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I think that black plate/cover could be replaced with a large air ram if needed.
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Re: Bullbars

Postby sam on Sun Mar 14, 2010 11:01 am

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Re: Bullbars

Postby sierra on Sun Mar 14, 2010 11:47 am

Thanks,
I was hoping for just one pic like the last one but closer and head on to put it in perspective.
Looking at that, if you add up the openings, they look about the same area as the number plate, maybe less?
My WA plate is 370mm x 130mm = 48,100sq/mm
The original opening is 1060mm[average] x 150mm[min] = 159,000sq/mm

That means 70% of the airflow is blocked off. A bit less because the plate blocks it a bit, 3% difference for mine, so 67% or 2/3 reduction.

I'm guessing the engineers allowed a bit for extreme conditions but not that much.
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Re: Bullbars

Postby stufensom on Sun Mar 14, 2010 4:42 pm

Cheers guys,

time delay over here means i'm not too quick to reply,

So do we have any other makes and models out there, or does everyone have an ARB?
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Re: Bullbars

Postby johno on Sun Mar 14, 2010 5:24 pm

stufensom wrote:So do we have any other makes and models out there


I don't have an ARB bar i went for the Ironman Protector bar
Click to view larger picture

I personally liked he appearance of the bar with a bit of chrome on it, and the pained lower part of the bar blends in well with the colour of my Triton.
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Re: Bullbars

Postby Tony on Sun Mar 14, 2010 7:35 pm

johno wrote:
stufensom wrote:So do we have any other makes and models out there


I don't have an ARB bar i went for the Ironman Protector bar
Click to view larger picture

I personally liked he appearance of the bar with a bit of chrome on it, and the pained lower part of the bar blends in well with the colour of my Triton.
Cheers Johno

That is quite neat actualy. :) Nice fitment too.
Last edited by Tony on Sun Mar 14, 2010 7:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bullbars

Postby al coholic on Sun Mar 14, 2010 7:36 pm

My bar is a TJM T15 Winch bar
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I absolutely love the rounded hoop look of this bar which is why i went for it, it is slightly cheaper than the ARB, has two aeriel tabs on the top and has the hi lift jack points built into it. It is perfect for me. :D

Dont know of too many more manufactures than ARB, TJM or Ironman though.

Sierra, the airflow thing is absolutely a non issue, it may look like less airflow on paper but so many people have these bullbars fitted and no one has any problems............actually only probably two of those negatives you listed are an issue, being weight and incresed drag...........which to be honest are very minimal compromises to have full front end protection when venturing off road. I would only go half the places i do if i had a stock truck with no barwork as protection, it would only end up damaged. :?
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Re: Bullbars

Postby sierra on Sun Mar 14, 2010 8:29 pm

al coholic wrote:Sierra, the airflow thing is absolutely a non issue, it may look like less airflow on paper but so many people have these bullbars fitted and no one has any problems............actually only probably two of those negatives you listed are an issue, being weight and incresed drag...........which to be honest are very minimal compromises to have full front end protection when venturing off road. I would only go half the places i do if i had a stock truck with no barwork as protection, it would only end up damaged. :?


I can see the avantages but I think the disadvantages are being played down.
The airflow is severely restricted and must reduce power and increase fuel consumption.
My 2.5 manual is rated at 8.2L/100km average and that's about what I get, even with 131kw and 455Nm.
Your 3.2? auto is rated at 9.9L/100km, is that your average by calculation?

If it's more like 12L/100km and 20% more but you consider that a fair trade for the protection that's OK as long as it still goes the distance without any other negative effects like reduced engine and transmission life?
Do Mitsubishi sell anything that restricts the cooling air to the heat exchangers and engine bay?
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Re: Bullbars

Postby stufensom on Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:15 am

Oops, didn't mean to start an argument!

was hoping this was going to evolve into a fairly comprehensive photo library of all the different makes and models as per the canopy thread,

any alloy bars out there or are they just for girls?
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Re: Bullbars

Postby patto on Mon Mar 15, 2010 7:05 am

A bit more weight on the Front is much better then a roo sitting your engine bay....And for the sake of an extra $2 per 100km a worth while investment.

I dont see the Air flow as a real big issue as when looking at the radiator it has plenty of air flow through the upper part of the front bumper.

Some of you blokes talk as if these things are bloody race cars, and i think would be much better suited to a fully sik skyline or rexy.... The inter cooler yep it could be situated in a better place however of all the off road and hard driving i have done i have never experienced a problem regarding airflow or Temps even when fully loaded with trailer and all. As for power loss if you are able to tell the difference between running with a bull bar and without, you must be extremely anal or paranoid for which there is medication available.

If you do alot of off roading then you will benefit from having a good steel bar - me personally dont think much of alloy bars, they are just to weak. For me it ARB delux bar, i have always had ARB on previous 4x4s. I have knocked down countless number of roo's, taken on the odd Taxi, pushed trees for clearing tracks and they are well upto the task at hand.
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Re: Bullbars

Postby Homer on Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:26 am

Yep steel bars are definitely tougher, but a good alloy bar is a great option too and shouldn't be discounted - is my preference.

I had an alloy bar on the MK and its record was 5 x roos (admittedly mainly 'medium' build kangas), 6 x 6-8 inch dia gum trees pushed down (with a tyre strapped to it for buffering) and an Indian gentleman.

No damage from roos or Indians but bent the vehicle mounts a little when pushing down the trees - first day I bought the car.

Just need to ensure the bar is blacked out facing the driver in front of the headlights for reflection and don't bother going polished alloy if taking it near the beach.

Doesn't need paint and doesn't rust.

I know a bloke with a pretty schmick looking one on his ML. I'll try and get a pic
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Re: Bullbars

Postby daryn on Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:27 am

stufensom wrote:Oops, didn't mean to start an argument!

was hoping this was going to evolve into a fairly comprehensive photo library of all the different makes and models as per the canopy thread,

any alloy bars out there or are they just for girls?


you have to be specific on what you ask for, the canopy thread is about 8 plus pages long with probably just one page of pics, that's why I created a thread to compliment for discussion only, it didn't work out that way though. I don't see any arguements above just a discussion, personally when a winch is installed you will then block air to the intercooler, until then heaps of air still getting in but the winch is the killer. I don't care and just have to wear the extra cost, give a little get a little :D
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Re: Bullbars

Postby daryn on Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:11 am

Some from my buildup thread

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Re: Bullbars

Postby sierra on Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:24 am

daryn wrote: I don't see any arguements above just a discussion, personally when a winch is installed you will then block air to the intercooler, until then heaps of air still getting in but the winch is the killer. I don't care and just have to wear the extra cost, give a little get a little :D


Thanks for being constructive Daryn and that does look very classy.
I still don't agree that plenty of air flows until the winch is fitted, some of these bars are flowing 1/2 the area of the number plate which is about 1/6 or 17% of the original flow through that main air intake.
Why can't the winch be mounted at the level between the 2 intakes[top and bottom] with the number plate mounted in front of it?[hinged]
How about removing the upper intake cover, with the Mits emblem between, completely and fit a SS mesh with about 90% flow to help compensate for the reduced flow below?
Why not voice concerns to someone like ARB about the airflow so they design one that still flows air? It's easy enough to flow air and stop the local wildlife from spoiling the day out or that manly image for those that need a boost up front.
;)
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Re: Bullbars

Postby daryn on Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:33 am

How about we get Mitsi to put the Intercooler back on top of the motor, then we can have a mean scoop to boot too. End of problem :)
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Re: Bullbars

Postby snowman on Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:43 am

sierra wrote:
I can see the avantages but I think the disadvantages are being played down.
The airflow is severely restricted and must reduce power and increase fuel consumption.
My 2.5 manual is rated at 8.2L/100km average and that's about what I get, even with 131kw and 455Nm.
Your 3.2? auto is rated at 9.9L/100km, is that your average by calculation?



by you own admission most of us have other accessories, tyre etc that 'contribute' to this. Don't forget also that, like you, there are some 3.2litre owners out there getting VERY GOOD if not better economy than published, even with some mods.

I am still convinced the auto is the main issue, not barwork.

sierra wrote:Thanks for being constructive Daryn ..............or that manly image for those that need a boost up front.;)


but that probably isn't sierra.
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Re: Bullbars

Postby Greedy on Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:56 am

ARB commercial bar (because I'm funds limited). :oops: Only went ARB as I wasn't aware of the other options and it was packaged with the canopy at delivery (well 6 weeks later anyway :roll: ).
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Re: Bullbars

Postby Greedy on Mon Mar 15, 2010 10:03 am

I'm not too sure that the bullbar affects fuel economy too greatly at all. When I took delivery, there was no bullbar or canopy installed. In those 6 weeks till ARB got their shite together, the mileage was about 9.8 ltr/100. After fitting this only went up to about 10.1. Bear in mind that I have a trademan rack on the canopy as well. I'm sure this would've had a more detrimental affect on fuel economy than the bullbar. Current economy is about 10.5 after the lift and tyres. Having said that, this is mainly city with some freeway driving. Open road at 110kph see the economy blow out to mid 11's. I still think the tradesman rack is the main culprit though.
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Re: Bullbars

Postby sierra on Mon Mar 15, 2010 10:43 am

snowman wrote:by you own admission most of us have other accessories, tyre etc that 'contribute' to this. Don't forget also that, like you, there are some 3.2litre owners out there getting VERY GOOD if not better economy than published, even with some mods.
I am still convinced the auto is the main issue, not barwork.


Why hasn't someone tried modifying the auto lock up? We've talked about it and posted a fair bit of info and it could be a very easy cheap mod.

No room under the bonnet for a top mounted intercooler,would need a power bulge and scoop.

OK, I'll concede it's not a concern to block off the cooling air for those that fit a bull bar, with one exception.
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