Hello Scotty
(just given Scotty a piece of cheese) my jack Russel. :)
Concerning the subject concerning ventilation holes for the air flow to the radiator, there are pros and con's to have these holes, let me explain why:
First of all, a person will find it difficult to actually clean the sections of the radiator surrounding these holes, mud and other debri will be forced through these holes and cause worse cooling compared to not having them, thus this is why on my front bumper that
SYRON CONVERSIONS manufactured no additional holes were made in the design.
I do not experience any overheating problems with this front bumper fitted.
When an after market front bumper is fitted to a vehicle, you have to decide what options you want to have, either that the air bags will not function correctly or you would rather have the protection of the front bumper instead, airbags might protect you in an accident however they also have negative aspects to remember.
Now concerning front bumpers on vehicles, the basic
bottom line to remember is the actual fitment of the bumper, how, where and what crumple zones have been thought about.
It would be interesting to actually see the results of the various tests that have been carried out that the various brand named after market bumpers actually still allow the air bags to activate, yes I know that it is also a sensor that activates the actual air bag,
But
what is important is the factor of
Time
that it takes to activate the air bag, from the point of impact to protecting the various parts of the human body from injury.
However some people just fit these aftermarket front bumpers because they look good
macho feeling, image to uphold etc
Some people fit them because some front bumpers also have the correct mounting points for the fitment of winches and also the jacking points for various other applications.
If it is a Landrover, it would have to have both front and rear recovery points fitted
Some people fit a tow ball to the front of their vehicle for the launching of boats and sometimes if they want to move a caravan or trailer into place.
Depending on the application and usage of the vehicle concerned, will determine if the front bumper can be fitted low or heigher, however body lifts also have to be considered when the fitment of these aftermarket bumpers are fitted.
On some vehicle's, these front bumpers will shorten the
Life Span of the front suspension of a vehicle, espicially vehicle's that have independant fron suspension fitted, the vehicle's shocks will also take more of a hammering and another item to remember, if you fit other shocks to your vehicle, the garantee period might not be awarded if you have an aftermarket front bumper fitted this is a "Loophole" that the supplier ofr the shocks can use if you experience any failures with the shocks.
If you do fit the bumper heigher up, you could also consider the fitment of an under belly rock slider which will protect your engine sump from damage caused from small animals or rocky terrain.
I do not like the "ears" that sometimes come out on these front bumpers, reason been, they sometimes disturb the rays of your headlights, in other words distortion takes place.
One other thing, do not chrome your front bumper, it will blind you when the sun rays hit it at certain angles.
(Bennie - did you modify your Desert Stormer successfully?).
