Custom front steel bumper?

[v413nc3]

ImageShack® - blueveloscity's images

That is Erron's 3k You can see generally what they are in that pic. They're 1.75" .120wall Chromo.

 

[Ludachris]

ImageShack® - blueveloscity's images

That is Erron's 3k You can see generally what they are in that pic. They're 1.75" .120wall Chromo.

Looks nice! That's what I need. Just need some tabs to act as supports for the bumper cover like the JMfab piece has.

 

[v413nc3]

I'm sure we can figure something out.

 

[jmakado]

Chris, if you would like I can get you in contact with a friend of mine that is a fabicator. He builds pro-stock cars for V. Gaines in Denver now. He's a super talented guy and used to work for RJ Race Cars in Illinois before he moved back here. I want to say he's built something like 40 pro stock cars for the likes of Jason Line and Greg Anderson, etc. He also built cars for Titan in the past. I'm sure you get the idea. He's got a home shop set up now to do stuff like what you are looking for. I can PM you his number if you are interested.

 

[aves911]

I know this won't really dissuade anyone from the chromoly tube front bumper frenzy, but in all honestly, the only thing the crash beam does is give you some support for low speed impacts.

Literally, the best, most cost effective option is to rework the stock steel crash bar to remove the material that you need. It will give you the clearance you need for ducting and as long as you don't completly compromise the 3-d structure (no reason too) of the beam you will have sufficient strenght to protect your intercooler and radiator from low speed impacts.

The most practical approach, for both the front and rear bumpers, is the just remove some of the extra material on the OEM pieces. It will net you almost the same strenght/weight of a full tube bumper, its free, and it completely supports the bumper covers factory style.

 

[v413nc3]

The 2G isn't metal it's fiberglass and when you cut it it's not technically legal for road racing. Attached correctly it will give you fairly good protection not to mention a fair amount of rigidity.

 

[talonTSIDriver]

I'm tellin ya guys, stay away from the walls!!!

Otherwise you'll end up like this unlucky evo at RA 2 weekends ago.

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[4pistons]

when you cut it it's not technically legal for road racing

What's "not legal"? Lots of race cars don't have bumpers.

Rick - '91 GSX

 

[Ludachris]

I know this won't really dissuade anyone from the chromoly tube front bumper frenzy, but in all honestly, the only thing the crash beam does is give you some support for low speed impacts.

Literally, the best, most cost effective option is to rework the stock steel crash bar to remove the material that you need. It will give you the clearance you need for ducting and as long as you don't completly compromise the 3-d structure (no reason too) of the beam you will have sufficient strenght to protect your intercooler and radiator from low speed impacts.

The most practical approach, for both the front and rear bumpers, is the just remove some of the extra material on the OEM pieces. It will net you almost the same strenght/weight of a full tube bumper, its free, and it completely supports the bumper covers factory style.

It's tough to imagine being able to cut down on the OEM bumper enough to be at the same weight and size as a chromoly bumper without compromising the strength of the bumper... has there been any comparisons done?

 

[tsiboosted]

I'm tellin ya guys, stay away from the walls!!!

Otherwise you'll end up like this unlucky evo at RA 2 weekends ago.

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Sorry to see that. Here is another "victim" of almost the same incident at our last series race. Except he went over 2 times. It sucks to see things like this happen. But they do in racing.

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[aves911]

It's tough to imagine being able to cut down on the OEM bumper enough to be at the same weight and size as a chromoly bumper without compromising the strength of the bumper... has there been any comparisons done?

Chris,


I'm not going to argue with you, I'll just make one more point. I mean afterall, trying find/make super cool custom race car parts is one of the best parts about modding a car. I mean that quite literally.

I'll say this much, from an engineering standpoint. *sigh* everyone likes to talk about ther mechanical engineering background At the point of switching to a tubular crash beam, you have already reduced the impact resistance of the beam to the point that the mounts (the clevis brackets that secure the beam to the frame rails) are "over engineered"

The ideal setup for most DSM'rs is the gut the front bumper making sure to leave AT LEAST some part of the 3d structure intact. If you are crazy about weight, change the crash beam mounts to aluminum. During impact, they are loaded in compression and should be fine from any standard AL alloy. It will save 3-5 lbs. If you are crazy about crash protection, reinforce your standard gutted bumper with some 3/16" steel angle at the seams.

Cheaper, easier, and more effictive. Most race car parts are made from tubing because that is what's available not because its particularly perfect.

 

[Ludachris]

Hey I don't mind seeing an opinion that differs from mine. The whole point of this thread was to find an alternative solution to the stock steel bumper that is lighter weight and less bulky in order to have more room for bumper cover modifications that will allow more airflow to the radiator, I/C, oil cooler, and other cooling systems.

The reason I brought up a tubular option was because it seemed like the best option to achieve those goals and still maintain a certain level of protection. I just figured that cutting the factory bumper could get you close to these goals but not as close as a tubular bar. The tubular bar would take up almost half the height of the stock bumper - and for us road racers with FMIC's and hotter running water temps than the daily drivers, that gets us very excited. I'm no engineer though and I don't claim to be. Maybe cutting the factory bumper is the better way to go. But I'd be willing to spend a little money on it to try it and see. I like trying new things out.

 

[Scrymerr]

Here is my input based on my experience in the collision repair industry, and my experience with modifying my factory impact bar:

First, I would not encourage anyone to modify anything so important to passenger safety in the case of a wreck. Obviously this does not apply to cars with rollcages and such, but if you drive your car on the street, and wear a factory seatbelt, I would also advise leaving the factory impact bar on and intact.

Secondly, after trimming my factory fiberglass impact bar to fit over my FMIC, I was incredibly surprised how strong it is. I would not doubt that my modified impact bar is 'stronger' than a tubular steel piece, and does not weigh much. Additionally, as the above poster mentioned, I was not only concerned with the impact bar itself going across the front of the vehicle, but the mounts also. The mounts play a major part in distributing the force during an impact, and I do not like the idea of trying to use anything else.

Lastly, even if there was a potential weight savings of a few pounds, I would still keep the factory piece. I bought a brand new absorber, and after reinstalling the bumper cover, it sits better than ever. The factory setup sits right behind the bumper cover providing the majority of rigidity to the front bumper of the car. I have seen too many cases of custom bumper supports, or none at all, and the front end is not very rigid. Leaning slightly on the bumper cover causes it to deflect, and it sags even when the vehicle is stationary. I can only imagine how badly the bumper would deform at great speeds.

I am very pleased with my slightly-modified factory system. I don't feel that I compromised structural integrity too much, potential weight savings would have been minimal, the front end looks better, and is much more sturdy.

 

[Ludachris]

Well maybe the 2G guys might not have a need for this. The 1G does not come with a lighter weight fiberglass crash beam and we can retain the factory mounts even if we used a tubular steel bar in place of the factory crash beam. So maybe this modification only really makes sense for us.

That might be why the only people making a case for keeping the factory piece are 2G guys. Must be nice to own a 2G

 

[95eclipser]

thats a cool idea

 

[v413nc3]

Yeah, I'm happy with the tubular style. It's removed considerable flex from the front of the car since I'm not allowed by rules to extend my roll cage through the firewall. But hey, if the stock front allowed flex it has to be as strong right? Sorry but a 1.75" .120 wall chromo tube attached to the factory steel mounts into the frame rails is going to be considerably stronger, more rigid and in a road race car a better option. If you drive your vehicle on the street you don't want rigidity. You want something that crunches down and absorbs impact. In that case you want your factory setup.

 

[tsiboosted]

Must be nice to own a 2G

It is Chris

In the future, when I take my car to the "next" level, I may look more into fabbing up some sort of front bumper like the one earlier in the thread. But for right now, money and time are against me and I will just have to be happy with what I have. *sigh*

I do not street my car (obviously) so there are a lot more options for me than people that still street their's.

Something along these lines here. I like hwo it has upper protection for the top part of the radiator/innercooler as well. Would not be "exactly" like this one, but it is a good guide to go off of I believe for what I would want to do.

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[UnsafeAtAnySpd]

Did any of you guys ever end up fabbing up tubular set-ups for your cars? My car doesn't even have the stock bumper right now (any pics of what it looks like even?), so going with something like this sounds ideal for my car as it sits now.

 

[let_it_snow03]

Well I know this is an old thread but I didn't want to start a new one (hate searching for something and a million threads pop up, just reuse the old ones!!!). Anyways, why not bend a square bar. You can bend it the same way you bend the tubular one. Just fill it full of salt, heat, and bend. When your done cut the backside of it off (more weight savings) so now you have a "C" channel instead of a square. The C channel is going to be much stronger than a tubular bar. Just try to bend a C channel and than try to bend a tubualr bar and you will see which one is stronger. Of course this is all my opinion and thoughts. I've never actually built a front bumper but I've done alot of metal work (I build custom signs for a living) so I am somewhat familiar with this kind of thing.

PS PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!