So this happened chopped and welded

1siksix

Forum Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2014
Messages
13
Location
maryland
Car Year
2004
Car Model
forester
Transmission
auto
It started its life as a $50 xterra brushguard find.bolts up to stock points on the subframe.
 

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Another
 

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Mounting
 

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I havent seen another one locally like this, i get silly looks from jeep owners. But who cares most of them just bought their rigs and never turned a wrench. Heres another pic of the mount.
 

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Aren't welders and angle grinders fantastic! Opens up a whole new world of possibilities ;-)
 
That is a good question. I suppose since it came off another similar vehicle that it would be compliant. In a very serious head on i feel that it would provide superior protection in terms of structural rigidity. Ill look into that though, good point.
 
Yeah at the worse it would delay the airbag deployment but only by hundredths of a second and it would have to help absorb some of the impact force. It could even stop airbag deployment in situations when they do not need to be deployed.
 
^ timing of airbags and pre-tensioner seat belts is of the order of microseconds ...

It may also prevent deployment when it is necessary ... :(
 
But - at some point after my MY'97 Outback they changed deployment to not fully deploy under certain conditions; maybe this physical barrier will produce the same result ;-)

My Outback fully deployed when it need not have so the only injuries (minor) were from the airbags themselves.
 
I've worked for a towing company for many years and have seen some horrific wrecked vehicles. When i was younger and more reckless i ran an acura into a tree at about 60 and survived with no airbag, i'm lucky to be alive. Your seat belt and distance from the steering wheel is critical to safety. Personally i feel a large chunk of metal in the front is beneficial but that's just my personal preference. I always wear my seatbelt and will do my best to teach my kids the same.
 
So no modification needed to the mounting hardware? I've got one I pulled off a Suzuki SUV this weekend that I've gotta have a fabricator make mounts for (not sure if the stock ones would have fit mine, they were rusted to the subframe so I only salvaged the bar and lights)
 
I used the existing 4 bolt locations for the standard splash gaurd. I got longer bolts and 10.9 grade because they arent that big. Holds the weight just fine. I can jump and stand on it and it doesnt move at all (175lbs). The under support i made, youll probably have to make one similar, i chose 1" square mild steel tubing.
 
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