FJ Cruisers of Northern California

Found your dream bumper!!!

I just did a tour of a metal fab shop in Virginia. They are in R&D phase for their 4x4 fab department. I took my FJ in and let them disassemble anything they wanted to. I convinced them to use the Toyota FJ as their first production platform. They already finished R&D on the Jeep TJ. The best part is, is that the TJ community had significant input on the products. Now they want me to reach out to the FJ community. First things first... the FJ front bumper. Heres what they want to know: Type of material (aluminum or steel variety), Features (fog lights, winch, integrated skid plate, etc.), Weight, Styles (tube or sheet), and fair price point (how much would you like to pay for this bumper). They are also considering personalized laser cut logos, pictures, and text for the first 100 orders. My test bumper is going to be 1/4 inch aluminum plate (bent and tig welded), reinforced skeleton, three highlift jack points, 2.5 inch hitch receiver for removable winch, and integrated skid plate (steel). I will add the solidworks pic ASAP. Their lead designer drew up the first and second phase 3D image in like 10 min. Best of all... it will weigh 27-29 lbs.!!! The designer said that all the bends and welds are set so the bumper can take maximum impact. So let the input roll! We are getting first crack at it because I was a member here first. The blue room will be next.

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2011-07-04 10.40.09.jpg, 480 KB

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Permalink Reply by BritMok on July 4, 2011 at 9:55am

Awesome!

Metal: Aluminum (for light weight)

Features: Fog lights, winch mount, highlift jack points. I vote no on the integrated skid plate (go with Ricochet instead)

Style: Sheet (see Fab Fours and exp 1 for my favorite designs)

Not sure on price, since aluminum costs more than steel.

Weight is the biggest concern for me, I've got a Warn M8000 mounted on a Lucrum mount, with the rest of the bumper intact in stock form. I've been waiting for a lightweight aluminum bumper that has decent looks.

Thanks for doing this,

Mark.

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Permalink Reply by KGrit on July 4, 2011 at 6:32pm

Yeah, I'm in the same boat as far as weight goes. The skid plate will be an option that will bolt on from the bottom of the bumper mount to just past the rear diff. They are also designing a skid plate for stock FJ's and the 4 most popular lift kits. Aluminum does cost more, but due to the Fab shops other business division they get it in massive bulk... so cheaper for us. I consider this a real opportunity to get what FJ owners really want. Thanks for the feedback and it will go directly to the designer.

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Permalink Reply by KGrit on July 7, 2011 at 4:54pm

*correction* the bolt on skid plate goes just past the front diff lol!

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Permalink Reply by PRS TiFJ on July 7, 2011 at 5:00pm

I like the Idea of aluminum and the weight savings, but aluminum wouldn't stand up to the amount of abuse I put my armor through. Aluminum was an option when I got mine.

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Permalink Reply by Estysalinas on July 8, 2011 at 7:24am

Aluminum also tends to "grab" and not "slide" as well. I believe it has to do with the hardness of the two metals...there are other significant advantages to steel that you should through into the mix to. I would take a moment and review:

http://xnet3.uss.com/auto/steelvsal/basicfacts.htm

So I would say a lot of it really depends on what your intended use is.

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Permalink Reply by 5AND5TORM on July 4, 2011 at 1:13pm

Aluminum

Demello for looks, IMO they follow the body lines best.

also I suggest they make it so it protects the radiator, look at the photos of this bumper to get an idea...

http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/4x4-off-road-tech/121117-pict...

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Permalink Reply by KGrit on July 4, 2011 at 6:53pm

I personally showed the designer how far down the radiator is and watched him measure just past it for the second phase render. I like the Demello style too, but they don't want to copy and undercut other good Fab shops either (body lines and overall styling are a key to the final design). I talked with the second in command out there and most aluminum bumper models will be under $1K. We have been discussing price points a lot and I want to get the basic bumper out for $500 - $700. There's a lot that goes into setting the price, but I want quality and affordability and they know that. The 1/8 inch steel mock up should roll out this week. Its going to be a real basic design with a little FJ laser cut so they can show off the laser precision cutting. I will post the pic here so everyone can put their brutal 2 cents in... they want brutal honesty and 4x4 opinions so don't hold back.

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Permalink Reply by KGrit on July 7, 2011 at 5:24pm

I just got an email from the fab shop. It looks like they can keep the price point around $600 for the aluminum bumper! I haven't got the pics of the steel mock up yet, but I will post them as soon as I get them. I was expecting more feedback on this. I have forwarded what was posted. I will leave this up for one more week before I post to the blue room. If anyone has examples of some custom text, pitures/symbols that they would like to send to the designer... please post them here. He wants to push the boundaries of the laser and post the results back here. When my bumper arrives with my custom work I will post it here... and the results of my tests. Once everything is solidified they will take orders and issue a guarantee/warranty. The people that added their input here will get first dibs on getting their custom work on their bumper (up to 100 orders). If 100 orders are not placed here then the blue room gets the rest. You can add your input here and you are in no way obligated to place an order. They just want to put out a better bumper at a lower price point, then skid plate, rear bumper, side rails, and tube fenders. Its going to be TJ and FJ for awhile before they expand.

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Permalink Reply by potatomutato on July 8, 2011 at 6:49am

the lack of feedback is probably due to the fact that most of which can be designed for an FJC front bumper has already been done in one form or another. that being said, the one thing that only ARB has done so far is actually test for airbag compatibility.

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Permalink Reply by KGrit on July 8, 2011 at 7:17am

Yeah, I think what I'm looking for is everyones favorite features from other bumpers and combining the best ones and getting them for around $600 for aluminum and even cheaper for steel. Thats why the designer left the example so basic. He wanted feedback on features before they add them. They did the airbag test for the TJ, but have not done it for the FJ yet. They are mounting 2 airbag drivers right near the sensors for the test.