Steel vs Alloy?

[Coldcomfort]

Hi all, I've always wondered why some folks install steel bull bars and some install alloy? For me it was a no brainer. My last patrol took out 4 roos (3 in one night) with no car damage at all. I had a steel bar. Is the alloy purely for weight saving? Or are there other reasons? We dont see too many alloy bars up here. Usually only tourists driving through.

Cheers all.....

[Winnie]

Saving weight is really the only reason IMO. Man are they light though, might protect you from a single wallaby hit but the bar will be cactus afterwards.
Steel all the way for me.

[Bloodyaussie]

I like to lean on the odd tree or fence post and I dont think the alloy is much chop there..... I dont even like the look!!!

[ova50]

I have had both steel and alloy on past 4x4s I have owned.
One of my kids hit a tree at about 15kph and barely marked the steel bar.
The alloy, I often said to people that if ever I hit something like a roo, chances were that I would be un bolting the bar and leaving it on the side of the road & hope my vehicle would still be drivable.

My Patrol, has a Team Poly Smart Bar and was on it when I got the vehicle.
A friend of mine claims they are a great bar and better than an alloy one.
This I"m not so sure of. :icon_bonk:

Can I add the Smart Bar to the list. (saves me putting up another thread)

[krbrooking]

Pretty sure its only the weight thing as why else would you put one on, other than those that like the look but me I'm with BA dont like the look and at least you can re-shape a steel one if it ever does bend or give way, mind you good luck re-shaping one. Same reason I go for steel rims.

P.S Love the avatar!!!!

[Winnie]

We did reshape the roo catcher on the front of Nisshead's new mav. Super dooper easy with the ally bar. Mind you if it was steel I don't think we would have needed to straighten it out.

[BigRAWesty]

Imo people choose alloy for looks..

But I'm a steel man.

Kallen Westbrook
Owner of
Westy's Accessories (http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?15134-Westy-s-Accessories.-A-small-back-yard-builder.)

[trekster]

Alloy cos it cost me $90 :D


Otherwise if funds did allow it would be a steel one!

[megatexture]

Weight I think but i also agree with westy when you see a 4by with low profiles and a alloy bar it always makes me laugh

I to have cleaned up 3roos in one night with no damage so its steel all the way for me

Ova50 this pics for you hopefully it will give you some confidence in the bar lol

[Winnie]

Mega that picture is a pissa! Hahaha love the roo bar!

[megatexture]

Yea I would have driven into town with it just to see the reactions of ppl lol

[mudnut]

I've got alloy, cause that's what was on the vehicle when I got it. Getting a steel bar and rear bar with jacking points is a job of the future, along with A/T tyres, rocksliders, under body protection and the list goes on and on ...

[ova50]

Ova50 this pics for you hopefully it will give you some confidence in the bar lol

I just had to ask, didnt I. !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well done.
Think the only saving grace I may have is the spot lights, winch and its controller. Dont think it will get through the bar then.
After I seen that, my reply was going to be:
Does anyone have a bull bar for sale to suit my vehicle????. (lol)
Decided not to because I cant afford one at this stage.

& without

[Coldcomfort]

Weight I think but i also agree with westy when you see a 4by with low profiles and a alloy bar it always makes me laugh

I to have cleaned up 3roos in one night with no damage so its steel all the way for me

Ova50 this pics for you hopefully it will give you some confidence in the bar lol

That photo was taken up here near the Alice. It was taken by a bloke I work with...... The car was owned by Hewlett Packard. It took a solid half hour to wrench the little bugger out of there. Amazing how these things get around.... And as an after thought, it was a 3.5K repair job. But the smart bar was re used!!

[MudRunnerTD]

I have a mate that has alway run a steel bar. About 3 years ago he bought a Tojo 75 pop top camper (ex rental job) it had one of those plastic roo bars on it. He says he hit a couple of Big Roos with it on his Lap and was Blown Away by how well the aroo Bar bounced back into shape! Unmarked!

Not my thing, I like steel, but he rated it very highly!

[evillius]

That photo was taken up here near the Alice. It was taken by a bloke I work with...... The car was owned by Hewlett Packard. It took a solid half hour to wrench the little bugger out of there. Amazing how these things get around.... And as an after thought, it was a 3.5K repair job. But the smart bar was re used!!

The main question I think is: was the falcon still drivable after hitting the roo? Was the radiator damaged? it looks like the little bugger went in a fair way - altho not as far as in the commodore...

Saw this a while ago. Apparently this BMW hit a deer at about 220 km/h in Germany. There's some more pics, but they're not that nice to look at. Don't want to upset anyone. :)

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/BBehrle/DEER1.jpg

[megatexture]

The main question I think is: was the falcon still drivable after hitting the roo? Was the radiator damaged? it looks like the little bugger went in a fair way - altho not as far as in the commodore...

Saw this a while ago. Apparently this BMW hit a deer at about 220 km/h in Germany. There's some more pics, but they're not that nice to look at. Don't want to upset anyone. :)

That just needs a little degreaser and will come up nice

[Coldcomfort]

The main question I think is: was the falcon still drivable after hitting the roo? Was the radiator damaged? it looks like the little bugger went in a fair way - altho not as far as in the commodore...

Saw this a while ago. Apparently this BMW hit a deer at about 220 km/h in Germany. There's some more pics, but they're not that nice to look at. Don't want to upset anyone. :)

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/BBehrle/DEER1.jpg

Yes the falcon was drivable. The power steering pump was cactus. Otherwise it was OK.

[threedogs]

General Rule of thumb is you double the alloy thickness to acheive the same strength.
a lot of QLD 4BYs have alloy bars cause of coastal enviroment.................
Roo in the engine bay Priceless Thats Gold

[megatexture]

Yea I think east coast bars are like 8 mm thick still alloy though

[Winnie]

The main question I think is: was the falcon still drivable after hitting the roo? Was the radiator damaged? it looks like the little bugger went in a fair way - altho not as far as in the commodore...

Saw this a while ago. Apparently this BMW hit a deer at about 220 km/h in Germany. There's some more pics, but they're not that nice to look at. Don't want to upset anyone. :)

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/BBehrle/DEER1.jpg

It's funny, you'd get out of the car to have a look at the damage and think, well it's not as bad as I thought.....

[threedogs]

8mm then you may start having weight issues, one of the Mags featured a 4x4
where the owner used aluminium for everything, must have cost a fortune IMO
then all the polishing.

[megatexture]

Just looked and they have 6mm on bar and 4 on tubes .. I swear it was more than that a few yrs ago . Not he firs time things were made smaller to cut cost lol