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Purpose of ordering the Steel Bumper Group?

Yogi1956

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Having been in 2 accidents where my cars were totaled and not my fault and not avoidable I want my airbags to work when needed. Quite a few aftermarket bumpers can compromise the airbag function.

As far as rear bumpers not surviving “coming down on a rock”, aren’t you bolting the after market bumper to the same frame/brackets that the factory bumper is bolted to? Seems like you’d have to create an entire mounting system tied into the frame for the after market bumper to not deflect. Guessing 5% of the Jeeps out there come down on a rock with the rear bumper.

I had the Garvin rear bumper on my 13’ Rubicon 2 door, it was kind of a PIA adding weight and making rear access annoying but it was still bolted to the factory brackets.

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word302

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Having been in 2 accidents where my cars were totaled and not my fault and not avoidable I want my airbags to work when needed. Quite a few aftermarket bumpers can compromise the airbag function.

As far as rear bumpers not surviving “coming down on a rock”, aren’t you bolting the after market bumper to the same frame/brackets that the factory bumper is bolted to? Seems like you’d have to create an entire mounting system tied into the frame for the after market bumper to not deflect. Guessing 5% of the Jeeps out there come down on a rock with the rear bumper.

I had the Garvin rear bumper on my 13’ Rubicon 2 door, it was kind of a PIA adding weight and making rear access annoying but it was still bolted to the factory brackets.

Jeep Wrangler JL Purpose of ordering the Steel Bumper Group? A38695CD-E29F-4AB3-A110-9F4D7B20B9B8
No, the factory rear brackets come off and go in the trash along with that pos bumper. Aftermarket bumpers usually bolt directly to the frame.
 
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Jeepster21

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Seems to be a mixed opinion on whether the steel bumpers offer better safety or if there's no difference from the standard factory.
 

The_Paper_Cut

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I got it because I have a winch. I had an aftermarket mounting plate that sat on top of the plastic bumper for my 2020. But it covered the front grill entirely and didn’t look too great. So now on my 2021 I want the winch to sit nicely in the bumper and show off that beautiful grill. Plus the bumper itself looks pretty sweet
 

DadJokes

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Honestly, I wish you could get steel up front and keep the plastic rear bumper.
 

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Having been in 2 accidents where my cars were totaled and not my fault and not avoidable I want my airbags to work when needed. Quite a few aftermarket bumpers can compromise the airbag function.

As far as rear bumpers not surviving “coming down on a rock”, aren’t you bolting the after market bumper to the same frame/brackets that the factory bumper is bolted to? Seems like you’d have to create an entire mounting system tied into the frame for the after market bumper to not deflect. Guessing 5% of the Jeeps out there come down on a rock with the rear bumper.

I had the Garvin rear bumper on my 13’ Rubicon 2 door, it was kind of a PIA adding weight and making rear access annoying but it was still bolted to the factory brackets.

Jeep Wrangler JL Purpose of ordering the Steel Bumper Group? A38695CD-E29F-4AB3-A110-9F4D7B20B9B8
The given strength of a specific piece of steel is a combination of thickness and shape. If the goal is to be as lightweight as possible, shape becomes more important. The U-shaped rear bumper is designed to take a hit from directly behind. But that same shape is weak by nature, when hit from below or above. Also, those stamped steel brackets on the ends are only for giving rigidity to the plastic filler panels. They do not add strength to the bumper itself.

Aftermarket bumpers are specifically designed to have more cantilever strength to resist flexing from hits that come from both behind and below.

A quick example of the strength of shape when used properly, can be found with a simple tape measure. If extended out with the concaved number side up, it will support a few feet worth of length. But turn it sideways and it will only hold a fraction of that length before failing to support itself.

Growing up in truck and heavy equipment repair has included a lot of structural issues over the years.
 

Jhawth

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Personally I'd skip the OEM steel bumpers and save your money for aftermarket steel bumpers that will look way better and perform a lot better than OEM. I'm also not a fan of the "OEM look". It's so boring, plain and just cheap looking IMO 🤷
 

rickinAZ

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Personally I'd skip the OEM steel bumpers and save your money for aftermarket steel bumpers that will look way better and perform a lot better than OEM. I'm also not a fan of the "OEM look". It's so boring, plain and just cheap looking IMO 🤷
Lucky all of the OEM bumper people have thick skins.
 

AnnDee4444

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Personally I'd skip the OEM steel bumpers and save your money for aftermarket steel bumpers that will look way better and perform a lot better than OEM. I'm also not a fan of the "OEM look". It's so boring, plain and just cheap looking IMO 🤷
How do you feel about angry grills?
 

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CodyDog

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I changed out the OEM bumpers on two previous jeeps. This time around I'm pretty much keeping the Rubicon stock so the Steel Bumper Group was a great option to upgrade the bumper from the factory.
 

No IFS

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Why would a jeep have plastic bumper’s?
 
 



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