How fragile are fiberglass bumpers?

[LowFourteen95]

I'm wondering just how fragile the figerglass bumpers are compared to the urethane. Is it enough of a difference favor the blitz over the combat front bumper? I have no experience with body kits, but I am about to jump in head first, so any tips would be appreciated. These are the parts I'm planning on:

Factory 98 Talon rear bumper with Erebuni 1/4 skirts
Factory 98 Talon spoiler
Combat, Erebuni 271 style, or blitz lowrise sides
Combat or Blitz front bumper
Undecided on whether to add 97-98 talon door moldings

P.S. The only aftermarket pieces that are offered in urethane, to my knowledge, are the blitz style, but if anyone knows of a source for a urethane combat front, please let me know

 

[TargeT]

fibr glass is V E R Y fragile

your paint will crack at teh smallest impact, the fiber glass itself will crack and shatter easly if you hit something,, it looks good, but becarful if you get fiberglass

 

[ArticNemesis]

Originally posted by TargeT
fibr glass is V E R Y fragile

your paint will crack at teh smallest impact, the fiber glass itself will crack and shatter easly if you hit something,, it looks good, but becarful if you get fiberglass

It all depends on how well the fiberglass is laid, and how well the painter prepped / painted the fiberglass.. Sure, if you're driving around with a 3 inch drop, the bottom half of the bumper won't last very long... Fiberglass won't handle driving into a curb or such, but if you are careful and don't go flying over obvious huge bumps, Fiberglass isn't that bad.

You just have to be more careful when driving around.

 

[mitsutunerwh2]

that is all true I must agree! Fiberglass is very fragile and if you get it make sure to take hills and bumps at angles. THe only reason to get fiberglass is if your kit doesnt come in urethane. If it does spend the extra money and get a urethane kit! I got one and there virtually unbreakable! The only down side of urethane is that it costs more and you cant do very much body modification with it without spending $$$ Also bondo wont stick to it so make sure the kist looks flawless. BUt all being said URETHANE is worth it!

 

[tunerkid]

i have a fiberglass kit.. this just means i have to be that much more careful. no biggie. just about EVERYONE with a kit - fier or urethane, WILL break it...

the thing with urethane is not many people make them and the styles are very limited, seems as though "shitty" brands are making urethane kits and well, if you get a urethane kit that has high and low spots, and or doesnt line up, or fit, you ARE ####ed... with a urethane kit, it must fit 99% PERFECT.

heres a secret: fiberglass isnt as bad as some people make it out to be

 

[1girlygirl]

I have the new laser fenders by VIS and they seem to be pretty stable so far, but then again, how stable do you expect fiberglass to be?

 

[EuroGSTSpyder]

Well I bought a kaminari kit for my GS..slammed it into a speedbump a few weekslater...All that happened was that it cracked at the bottom...nothing else. A urethane bumper would not have survived that balas any better so yes..it all depends on how well laifd the fiberglas sis and how thick it is. Of course a cheap 2layer/three layer will crack easily!

Urethane is better ....no doubt..but I dont like the way ppl are putting down FG...

And onemore thing...if FG breaks....its easy to fix..Tro that with a Urethane ;-)

 

[chriw21_2000]

Depends on the quality and a major part is the weather. If it is hot fiberglass will flex alot more than it it is cold. I have had on nose that lasted almost two years then I hit a peice of wood in the road and busted it. And Im droped. If you drive bad it wont last long, if you take it easy it will last a while. They all will crack eventually.

Laterz

 

[tunerkid]

chriw21_2000 - what brand kit do you have? why do i think you have a VIS kit? i want to know because if its VIS, i want to know how they hold p, my VIS drift kit is going on saturday

 

[paranoidTSi]

I've broke my fiberglass bumper 3 times now...was able to fix it all 3 times. They really aren't that hard to fix they are just a inconvience. I've torn a piece out of the bumper the size of half a pie and managed to get it back together with a fiberglass kit.

The biggest worry is going to places you are not familiar with, having a pot hole jump out at you is no fun.

 

[Davidle]

I love my fiberglass kit, becuz if it cracks, it's WAYYY easy to repair. No problem..

Now I have a friend that has the same front kit, except its urethane. We get quite some hot weather during the summer time and you can notice it starts to sag a bit.

Either way, they both are great. But remember, urethane is harder to work with if it doesnt fit right.

Good luck with your choice

 

[white1997gs]

either way, the blitz kit freakin rocks! (not that I have one, but hey, you can't knock good lookin kits)

 

[Sephroth57]

whats a typical repair job cost on a fiberglass bumper if it gets cracked? say you hit a bump and u got a crack now goin up the bumper a little bit. whats a repair and repaint cost?

 

[DSMhelex]

Sephroth57:
you can probably bondo it and use touchup paint to repaint

LowFourteen95
i have practically the same setup that you want, check out my gallery for pictures. i installed everything myself... no body shops for me!