Steel vs. Aluminum! Front bumper

After just getting nudged by another car it's obvious the plastics gotta go! So need some opinions.
There are obvious pros and cons with each and im sure everyone has their own reasoning why they went with their particular setup. Whether it be strength, weight savings over cost savings, corrosion resistance whatever. Just wondering what you're running and why you chose your bumper. And if you're happy or wish you'd gone the other route. Was thinking aluminum but now im not so sure. Thanks!

 

Take a look at this.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/12-15-pelfreybilt-aluminum-front-bumper-socal.514520/

I run an Al front bumper. It's light as hell but really sturdy. I've banged it off rocks pretty hard and just scratched off some powder coating.

 

Arb's are steel right? Never knew that about sensors thanks!

Been watching this. Thanks for the heads up! Wasnt really looking for the hoop but he is close and looks solid. Would buying and hacking off hoop be blasphemy?

 

Having worked for GM Proving Grounds, all other bumpers 'testing' is will it fit? Most don't even take into account the amount of flex on our pretzel frames.

 

Absolutely thrilled with my Pelfreybilt aluminum bumper. It's strong enough to handle some hard winch duty. It's more than enough protection. And it looks really good. With a synthetic winch line, the weight is such that I lost about 1/4" of ride height. No more. Long story short, no negatives that I can see and a laundry list of positives.

This truck (and bumper) get off roaded....not a mall crawler) It doesn't lead a pampered life.
And it shines like a star

 

Totally sold on my Aluminess front riding on the '14. It houses my M8000, and the pair proved themselves. Long story short, dirt road collapsed out from under the back end, hanging the truck into and over an 8-9' washout. In the dark, sub-optimal fall, did a single-line pull right the fuck out. Half expected the bumper to be tweaked afterwards, but it's still square as the day I put it on.

 

Do yourself a favor, check out magnum front bumpers

 

They are steel, and they are a bit hefty. That being said, when you compare the design to others you can see that a lot of engineering has gone into the design. The hoops around the headlights for example. Just about every domestic bumper I've seen has the hoops welded to the top of the bumper. ARB actually drills holes that hoops pass into and they tie into the bottom of the bumper (they are welded to the top as well). Does it matter? Well, without that reinforcement it will take less energy to cause the hoops to deflect backwards since it is relying solely on the top of the bumper to hold it in place. With the hoops tied through the top and into the bottom not only do you have the strength of the top of the bumper helping, but you also have the bottom end of the hoops helping to reinforce the top of the bumper. So an impact higher up (a running deer for example) is spread out not just on the hoops but also to more places on the plate part.

There are a lot of little details like that that are noticeable when you start looking at the designs for bumpers. The tradeoff for all that fanciness is the weight and size. If your ultimate goal is to go wheeling and you want the most clearance possible then I'd look elsewhere. If you're hauling your family with you on adventures then, for me anyways, the ARB was a no-brainer.

One thing that you will likely find out there is a line of thought that changing the bumper won't impact the airbags or other crash features. There's a lot of computer work going on during a crash and it's not quite as simple as a switch popping the airbag as soon as an impact happens. For example, airbags deploy differently for rollover vs rear end vs head on. Ford had a recall on their Super Duty trucks a few years back over the factory tow hooks. Apparently at some point they made a change in the forging process for the tow hooks that mount through the front bumper. That change had enough of an effect on the airbag system that the airbags weren't deploying properly and they had to recall and replace the hooks.

I really wish Toyota would make and offer a bullbar for the Tacomas like they do with the Hilux. Hell, I wish they offered half of the accessories that they make for the Hilux. http://www.toyota.com.au/hilux/accessories

But we're just not that market.

 

This is really good stuff thanks @Louisd75

 

Not trying to be a downer on your points or ARB products but all your points are basically opinions with out facts.
1. Hoop Design: Rigidity is a key component in design and over stiffening members isn't always a good thing and majority of time causes premature failure else where. High impact situations flexibility is a good thing for strength and absorption. Too stiff of hoops component then you cause a massive lever arm on the bumper to the mount causing bolts to experience tension loading and possibly buckling affect on frame components well below material yield.
2. ARB Engineering: All i've ever seen are claims ARB have studied similar crush rates of material properties vs stock components. Well you can't have a steel bumper and expect multiple direction impacts all to behavior similar to plastic crush zone. A 45 degree hit would drive a shear affect causing premature buckling of structural members. I can't say i've ever seen an FEA analysis of point loadings to verify any design or even mention of a standard used to design the bumper.

All in all anyone can make claims whats good whats bad but unless you physically test all bumpers or have material certifications, welders qualifications, trained NDE operators and quality personal to review and verify all paper trails then its all pointless besides aesthetics. I come from an industry where weld procedure, qualifications and weld maps are strictly monitored and required non destructive testing to verify welds are adequate per codes and/or standards.

 

True. So, to be clear, are you implying that the ARB hoops are designed and built too stiff? Or, we could look at it from a different angle;
Perhaps other designs aren't as stiff as they safely could be

ARB primarily designs using FEA correlated by crash tests with certain models. They've claimed that they do not crash test every model of vehicle that they design for, but they do perform FEA on every bumper they build. Do they test for 45°? Doubtful. Not even the NHTSA requires that (NHTSA oblique accident test angles are 7° and 15°). ARB designs to ADRs (Australian Design Rules) 69 (full frontal impact) and 70 (offset frontal impact) but there is no requirement that I've seen for oblique testing. Aftermarket bumpers sold in Australia are required to comply with the ADRs. Do the ADRs apply for goods designed for export? I don't know. I do know that from looking at pictures of the mounts and back side of the ARB Hilux bumper that, while there are likely vehicle specific dimensional differences, the overall design is essentially the same. I feel that it's a safe bet that the ARB bumper for the Tacoma meets the same crash requirements as those for the Hilux.

True. However as recent news has shown, even things such as material certifications can be falsified (Kobe steel, one of the suppliers to Toyota, may have been doing this for over a decade).

Judging from your location, is your industry refining?

 

Just ram bumpers and see who wins.. shesh...

 

I've been very happy with my CBI Moab 2.0 in aluminum and glad the ComeUp 9500lb winch fit no problems.....goes with the rest of my CBI stuff too. I chose aluminum mostly for weight as I also have a full set of CBI aluminum skid plates.

 

I cannot make up my mine... pelfreybilt, allpro, cbi...

 

Pelfreybilt, hands down

 

^This. Simply based on customer service alone, Pelfreybilt and they make a quality product!

 

I did aluminum because I didn't want to respring my front end. But now I'm looking at different lifts anyway so I guess it doesn't matter haha. But I am happy with it, and it's light enough that I've taken it off by myself to work on things (I'm a weak little girl)