Does having a steel bumper help in a mild collision?

[UniqueUserName]

If you got rear-ended, shouldn't the other driver be bearing the cost of the repair?

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[Terpsmandan]

The first deer I hit with my JK bent the side of the bumper past the mount a little and I replaced it with a Smitty stubby and the second deer I killed got the pass fender but not a scratch on the bumper. Same style bumper is going on the front of my JL that will ship 1/25

 

[schizolingvo]

You're basing a vehicle and parts purchase based on when you get in another rear end accident? Is this a regular occurrence?

You could literally spend a week researching all the bumper options for the JL and there isn't one manufacturer that is going to tell you "ours is better for an accident". They're all going to tell you "for offroad use only". That's because they legally can't make them "street legal" without a shit ton of testing and certification.

Will solid steel be better in a low speed accident from behind? For sure, tear a hood open like it is tinfoil. But that energy is being transferred somewhere. That somewhere could be your frame. It's just the risk the majority of people who mod, take.

Not really a regular accurance, but chances of accidents such as this are statistically very likely in winter where I live. Slippery roads don't mix well with reckless driving and our taxis tend to drive recklessly.

Also the last point is a concern but real damage to the frame comes from higher speed and even a regular bumper won't save there, judging by my father's experience who got basically rammed from behind while he was standing at a crosswalk, letting someone go by.

 

[schizolingvo]

Also I understand that a Wrangler is an off-road first vehicle and I plan to get it to some trails, but it won't be a dedicated off-road vehicle for me so on-road concerns are also there.

 

[schizolingvo]

If you got rear-ended, shouldn't the other driver be bearing the cost of the repair?

The insurance company covers that, but there's still time to the repairs. Getting a new plastic bumper is way longer than just driving around with a scratched steel one (hopefully that's all the damage there would be in a similar scenario)

 

[schizolingvo]

Front and rear oem steel bumper attachment (between bumper and the frame) is design to cushion impact by flexing fist during the impact. Rear bumper sits much closer to the body and it does not take much to push the corner in.

Aftermarket bumpers usually forgo impact cushioning.
Please note that rear frame kinks at about 25 mph hit. Taking cushioning away just makes matter worce.

So additionally reinforcing it would be a bad idea, correct?

 

[BlackGenesis]

So additionally reinforcing it would be a bad idea, correct?

You want bumper that's fairly easy to bend to minimize frame damage. OEM plastic lined rear bumper has just minor steel plate and bunch of plastic cushion to do the job.

 

[rcadden]

The stock steel rear bumper is a joke.

I backed into a small tree on a trail - very, very slowly and the bumper pushed into the rear corner of the body putting a small crease in the paint. And the bumper distorted itself. Everything was barely noticeable, and it took my months to finally see the damage.

My Jeep was less than a week old, and without knowing the dash lights, I inadvertently turned off the rear backup warning alarm.

I thought the bumpers were supposed to minimize damage to from under 5 mph collisions. I was on an offroad mountain road making a u turn....very surprised and disappointed.

I've seen this stated about the OEM steel rear bumper many, many times. I'm planning to buy new aftermarket steel bumper(s) in the next ~3 months - is this a limitation of the OEM steel bumper, or is it an issue with how the bumper mounts to the frame, and thus a concern for *any* steel bumper?

I'm honestly only replacing the rear bumper for aesthetics - I'd like them to match and it seems like it looks a little silly to have a beefy bumper up front and then factory plastic in the back. Additionally, from a weight distribution/leveling standpoint, it seems better to have steel on both ends.

Is there a legitimate non-aesthetic reason I'd want to keep the factory plastic around back?

 

[schizolingvo]

You want bumper that's fairly easy to bend to minimize frame damage. OEM plastic lined rear bumper has just minor steel plate and bunch of plastic cushion to do the job.

Ok, got it. I will still be looking at some other front and rear bumpers, but won't be looking for the absolute strongest one. Did you have any experience with Rival products?

 

[pablo_max3045]

Just my opinion, but the looking at a bumper in terms of vehicle protection seems backwards to me.
I could not give a single fuck if my vehicle is damaged in a crash. The only important thing, to me at least, are the people inside.
Admittedly, in my younger days I was far more concerned with protecting my vehicle than myself and other occupants.
I had a big ass steel bumper and brush guard with zero crumple zones on a rig years back and t-boned a cop who ran a red light. Visually, my truck looked ok, the cop car was totaled. I still have neck and back issues from that crash 15 years later.

 

[BlackGenesis]

Ok, got it. I will still be looking at some other front and rear bumpers, but won't be looking for the absolute strongest one. Did you have any experience with Rival products?

No I did not.

 

[schizolingvo]

Just my opinion, but the looking at a bumper in terms of vehicle protection seems backwards to me.
I could not give a single fuck if my vehicle is damaged in a crash. The only important thing, to me at least, are the people inside.
Admittedly, in my younger days I was far more concerned with protecting my vehicle than myself and other occupants.
I had a big ass steel bumper and brush guard with zero crumple zones on a rig years back and t-boned a cop who ran a red light. Visually, my truck looked ok, the cop car was totaled. I still have neck and back issues from that crash 15 years later.

I mean the initial concern was about low-speed rear bumps which are generally not threatening, but I see your point, yes.

 

[longfiredragon]

Engineers have been building vehicles for a long time now with crumple zone bumpers and other parts of the vehicle as well. We know without a shadow of a doubt that they work, what do they work at? they work at keeping you safer. Not a low speed, no, but at higher speed.

The same goes for a lot of things now days. Like motorcycle helmets. A person I knew years ago got hit head on by an idiot on his bike. He was wearing an Arai, one of the best helmets made with crumple zone Tech. built in. He was doing 50 mph, the idiot in the car was estimated also at around 50 mph. That's a 100 mph collision. He went straight through the windshield, head first, bent the steering wheel and hit the driver. He broke his shoulder, that was it. No head trauma, no swelling of the brain. (Witch is attributed to most motorcycle fatalities) He sent the helmet to Arai with a thank you note. Arai x-rayed it, the outside of the helmet did get cracked but the crumple zones on the inside worked exactly as they were designed. Was he lucky, maybe, but the point is crumple type stuff bumpers, etc. work.

So don't forget the JL received a 5 star crash rating both for frontal impact and rear. I watched the video. They ran a JL into a concreate barrier on the drivers side only. It picked the jeep up, flipped it upside down and slide on its roof a long way. And yes, for sure the Jeep was totaled. But guess what, the occupants most likely would have walked away with only minor injury's, or scratched up a bit. So these flimsy JL bumpers actually work really well and were designed to crumple and keep the people inside safer.

Put steel bumpers on, and you most likely take away a lot of the safety the JL bumpers offer. Hence why none of them even attempt to get them approved.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[schizolingvo]

So don't forget the JL received a 5 star crash rating both for frontal impact and rear. I watched the video. They ran a JL into a concreate barrier on the drivers side only. It picked the jeep up, flipped it upside down and slide on its roof a long way. And yes, for sure the Jeep was totaled. But guess what, the occupants most likely would have walked away with only minor injury's, or scratched up a bit. So these flimsy JL bumpers actually work really well and were designed to crumple and keep the people inside safer.

Ok, yeah, that's important. Did it really get a 5 star rating even though the rear passengers don't have anything for safety but the seatbelts? I see a 1 star rating from NCAP

 

[Spank]

Keep in mind that even a stock Wrangler still sits higher than typical cars and SUVs, not to mention their likely unibody construction vs your frame, so your bumper probably won't eat shit as easily as it would smacking into a mid-size truck or larger. I rear-ended a Honda Odyssey in bad weather in one of my JKs a long time ago, annihilating the entire rear half of the vehicle, with only minor scratches to the stock OEM plastic bumper.

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