should i go with brushguard available at nissan dealerships or a bull bar? which is stronger? i don't want to buy for cosmetic reasons only, i should be able to push another car safely without a damage to the front end. i looked at shockworks bumper - that thing is too strong - i heard that airbags might not go off incresing a likelihood of an injury. is this true?
1 - shockrock appears to be the strongest. Donwside - i can injuried if i'm in head on collision
2 - bull bar - second strongest, downside - covers front end partially.
3 - brushguard - heard that these bend and create more damage. on 06 models, they have 4-fulcrum attachment. does it make it stronger? has anybody tried to push stuff with brush?
thanks

As far as I know there are no high quality brush or bull bars for the Xterra. They are all for looks and most are made out of thin walled aluminum.

Since the airbags are released by a force sensor (detects quick deceleration) having a Shrock bumper will not affect when/how the airbag deploys.

shrock bumper FTW!!!

brush guards are cosmetic only. AND they do cause more damage in a collision.

As Muzikman stated, Shrock bumpers (or any aftermarket bumper) will NOT affect the performance of the airbags. The airbags are triggered by an inertia switch, so they deploy from the force of the impact. The sensor is not even located at the bumper.

If you want front protection, get a Shrock.

Hello, You will find bull bars and bushguards are more for looks today. Are you going to Africa? or into the bush? Will not add more ground clearance.

Shrock or ARB's are the best buy (good things are also more expensive).

and do your research on accidents with the front end...bull bars and bushguards create more damages than save them.

You airbags will work with either shrock or ARBs. Plus more ground clearance too.

Think about it? How often you will need to push a car? Will tow straps work just as well? for pulling?

NO one likes there behind push? .....you can pull? ooowww....Aloha

i just want strong front end. strong enough to push stuff out of my way. same weight as my xterra. my understanding shrock mounts directly to the frame. that means it is very stiff, so in the high-speed accident, it will not bend and absorb energy. that means rapid decelarion which are translated into high g-forces meaning high probablity of injury. has anybody been involved in the significant front end collision with shrock bumper? thanks guys.

Daniel (DBAX over on XOC) was in a significant front end collision with his X with a Shrock front bumper on, and both he and his pregnant wife were fine and uninjured.

After the crash, the truck ended up being totalled, and he had nothing but good things to say about the shrock bumper.

I really don't think you have to worry.

shockworks all the way around, is the way i want to do mine but that wont be for a long time...... well i dont think i will go with anything with less quality at least.......

What you have to remember is that the crumple zone on the frame is still there. That is what absorbs the impact, not the bumper.

i'm gonna go with shrockworks

i'm not really a mechanical type. can i install shrock bumper all by myself? it looks big and heavy, i heard around 100 lbs, is this job doable by a one person? i have X version, so no fog lights. how complicated is the installation? are there instructions on the net that i can find? i dont' want to buy something and later find out that i can't install it myself.

thanks guys.

I did mine by myself, incuding the winch. It's really not that bad at all. A few bolts and you're done.

can you guys provide detailed instructions what exactly is involved including removal of the old bumper?

another question is what does installation of shrock bumper do to your 3yr/36K mi dealer warranty? also, what are consequences with insurance companies? do your rates go up?
sorry for bombarding this board with these questions, i just want to make sure it's somthing i can live with.
thanks

I have had both. Buying a brush guard is a waste of money if you expect anything out of it besides a different look. Why spend $400 on truck jewelry when you can save a little longer and get so much more. From experience brush guards are just that- they MAY provide some protection from a tree limb that slaps the headlight. You cant push or pull with them because they will fold over into the hood. I recently got the shrock, and man there is peace-of-mind built in. This thing will crush almost any modern car in an impact. It is not me that I would be worried about in an accident. Its the person with the winch-bumper dent in their head that you have to worry about.

The stiff front bumper does not decrease the impact absorption...it increases it.

The reason is that in a typical collision, the crumple zones involved are localized...IE: Left front corner, etc...with a stiff member across the entire truck front, in a severe crash...the bumper more evenly distributes the forces across a larger surface area...and, forces ALL the crumple zones to cushion the impact, instead of only the ones making direct impact contact.

As the Shrock is attached to the frame, and the frame is the primarary crumple zone (The frame horns are striated so as to create controled crumple points)...the two frame horns are BOTH involved, providing maximum absorption of the impact...and the maximum chances of walking away...as evidenced by the above mentioned couple and their unborn child...and many other examples.

The insurance companies consider the shrock to be an upgrade, rather than a problem.

There are A LOT of people on the various forums who were in an accident, and the insurance company PAID for the Shrock to replace the OEM parts...(The shrock is cheaper than the OEM's too, which helps...as less labor to install, no painting to match, etc.)

In short, no real downside to the Shrock.

I'd ignore the ARB reference...that's one of the weakest of the aftermarket bumpers, with the worst performance...but its well made, just a weak, less practical design....but still better than the best brush guard.

:D

Muzicman nailed it. The frame is built to absorb energy. Bullbars and Nissan show-bumpers are usually referred to as "damage multipliers", because they bend into your front fascia and radiator.

A Shrock bumper will be undamaged at an impact that would damage a stock bumper, and that might shove a bullbar back into your grille.

Althought installing the bumper by yourself is prossible, I would really suggest offering a friend a couple beers to come over and help. It makes things easy.

You don't have to be a mechanic to install the bumper, but a few tools are needed. A floor jack, (jack stands help), wrenches/sockets and a torque wrench is good to as I feel proper torque on bolts is important.

If I can find the directions for the install of my bumper I'll post them up. Jim from Shrock emailed them to me, so I have them in digital format some place.

Here is what I sent someone after installing my bumper. Remember this was almost a year ago and was one of the first bumpers from Shrock for the 05+ X's.

First off, use a floor jack and a 2nd person when trying to put the bumper on. With the winch inside this will be needed. With no winch you can stong arm it into place if needed.

The hardest part of the install will be getting the old bumper off. This took me the longest as I was not sure where all the screws and bolts were.

First take off the front skidplate
Remove all bolts and screws you can see on the old bumper (I think there are three under the front.
Remove the three screws from each side's front inner fender
Pull the inner fender out and there will be three bolts that hold the bumper to the fender
Disconnect the fog light wires
There are (I think) 6 clips that hold the top of the grill in place. Pop them out with a small flat headed screw driver
Reach down behind the grill and undo the 4 clips that hold the bottom of the grill to the bumper.
Remove the grill
Remove the 4 to 6 bolts that hold the top of the bumper.
Bumper should then pull away.

After that it's pretty self explainitory.

There are two other tips.

1. Confirm you have all mounting hardware befor you start. I was missing more than half the bolts. It cost me $2.99 at Trader Horn to buy them, but it added almost an hour to my install time.
2. Do not tighten the mounting brack bolts until the bumper is on and lined up. The person who was helping me zipped them on with an air wrench and I had to loosen them back up.
3. Unless he fixed it, the skid plate is bent wrong (you'll see what I mean when you try and mount it). I used a floor jack to hold it in place and used a large impact wrench to tighen the bolts enough to bend it into place. It looks good and you can't even tell (I just don't want to have to try and take the bolts off by hand now). ;)

3. Unless he fixed it, the skid plate is bent wrong (you'll see what I mean when you try and mount it). I used a floor jack to hold it in place and used a large impact wrench to tighen the bolts enough to bend it into place. It looks good and you can't even tell (I just don't want to have to try and take the bolts off by hand now). ;)


It is fixed. My install went like a breeze. We had a chain hoist so no floor jack was used. No problems with missing hardware. No problems with wrong bends, etc. The only hang-up I had was winch related. Cables were too short. Great product, no doubt. I even had a guy at HomeDepot ask me if the X came that way.