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An opportunity presented itself thanks to someone I met in one of our local clubs, http://nissanwheelers.com and I ended up spending two days down at ARB with Marc and Chris while they test fit one of their new ARB bull bars to the front of my X.
It was an amazing process to watch as I hovered and pestered them with questions all day long but I really started to sweat when they took the air saw to all the plastic pieces in the front of the truck to come up with templates that end users could use to fit their own ARB bar.
Initially, I didn't want to install a winch but after coming to my senses and realizing that this was the perfect time to put it in (ie I don't have a hydraulic lifting table in my driveway) plus I think Marc was interested in how it would fit with the new shape of the 09 grill. They offered a great deal to me on the winch and I went for it, it's a warn m8000 and will more than meet my needs in my overland travels.
The overall quality of the bumper & it's great looking mounting brackets really quelled a lot of my nervousness over the modifications that were required.
Also, while the front of the rig always seemed to be pretty solid, it's really nothing but a lot of plastic. The lower radiator is absolutely exposed but covered by the lower plastic fascia shroud so you can't tell just how badly it sticks out. There was one rather large gouge already in my lower plastic cover and I"m really lucky to not have killed my radiator.
The new ARB skid seems tougher than the stock skids but not as heavy as other aftermarket skids, it's certainly light years better than 2 layers of plastic! Now, I know I have good solid coverage down there for the type of terrain I explore.
I was worried about airflow but the ARB has some great features built into it that not only help increase airflow to the front of the vehicle but strengthen the bumper overall. After a good trip up a mountain and spending about an hour in 4lo going down the other side my temps were right where they should have been and possibly cooler...I was too busy having fun to really notice.
The frame mounts are very impressive and incorporate some crush zones while still maintaining a strong box shape that mounts to the front and underside of the frame rails. They also have made a pretty slick pinning system so once you get the bumper all adjusted for your vehicle, you simply drill out 2 holes per side and install bolts to keep the bumper from ever shifting.
It's just a great bumper system with openings for using a hi lift jack, an inset roller fairlead for the winch so it doesn't stick way out front, very nice running light/blinker/fog light inserts and tabs on top of the tube for mounting whatever.
Overall, with a stock suspension, I lost about 3/4" of height in the front due to the weight of the bumper + winch (w/100ft cable) and driveability is still excellent. More dive in hard braking but I haven't bottomed out yet, even doing my normal off road stuff and actual highway driving the X feels less twitchy than it did before as it tracks really well now.
There wasn't much noticeable body roll, especially the 2nd day but I have had to change the lines I used to pick on freeway onramps which really means I was going too fast around them anyway. hehe.
Will have to wait awhile to see if mpg takes a hit but nothing out of the ordinary so far.
I could go on & on but I'll let some pictures finish the tale, if you're considering protecting the front of your X, I really suggest you look hard at one of these new ARB bumpers.
Feel free to ask any questions and I'll try to answer them.
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and here's an album of pics with descriptions : http://s451.photobucket.com/albums/qq238/Fzztfzzt/ARB_bar/
It was an amazing process to watch as I hovered and pestered them with questions all day long but I really started to sweat when they took the air saw to all the plastic pieces in the front of the truck to come up with templates that end users could use to fit their own ARB bar.
Initially, I didn't want to install a winch but after coming to my senses and realizing that this was the perfect time to put it in (ie I don't have a hydraulic lifting table in my driveway) plus I think Marc was interested in how it would fit with the new shape of the 09 grill. They offered a great deal to me on the winch and I went for it, it's a warn m8000 and will more than meet my needs in my overland travels.
The overall quality of the bumper & it's great looking mounting brackets really quelled a lot of my nervousness over the modifications that were required.
Also, while the front of the rig always seemed to be pretty solid, it's really nothing but a lot of plastic. The lower radiator is absolutely exposed but covered by the lower plastic fascia shroud so you can't tell just how badly it sticks out. There was one rather large gouge already in my lower plastic cover and I"m really lucky to not have killed my radiator.
The new ARB skid seems tougher than the stock skids but not as heavy as other aftermarket skids, it's certainly light years better than 2 layers of plastic! Now, I know I have good solid coverage down there for the type of terrain I explore.
I was worried about airflow but the ARB has some great features built into it that not only help increase airflow to the front of the vehicle but strengthen the bumper overall. After a good trip up a mountain and spending about an hour in 4lo going down the other side my temps were right where they should have been and possibly cooler...I was too busy having fun to really notice.
The frame mounts are very impressive and incorporate some crush zones while still maintaining a strong box shape that mounts to the front and underside of the frame rails. They also have made a pretty slick pinning system so once you get the bumper all adjusted for your vehicle, you simply drill out 2 holes per side and install bolts to keep the bumper from ever shifting.
It's just a great bumper system with openings for using a hi lift jack, an inset roller fairlead for the winch so it doesn't stick way out front, very nice running light/blinker/fog light inserts and tabs on top of the tube for mounting whatever.
Overall, with a stock suspension, I lost about 3/4" of height in the front due to the weight of the bumper + winch (w/100ft cable) and driveability is still excellent. More dive in hard braking but I haven't bottomed out yet, even doing my normal off road stuff and actual highway driving the X feels less twitchy than it did before as it tracks really well now.
There wasn't much noticeable body roll, especially the 2nd day but I have had to change the lines I used to pick on freeway onramps which really means I was going too fast around them anyway. hehe.
Will have to wait awhile to see if mpg takes a hit but nothing out of the ordinary so far.
I could go on & on but I'll let some pictures finish the tale, if you're considering protecting the front of your X, I really suggest you look hard at one of these new ARB bumpers.
Feel free to ask any questions and I'll try to answer them.
and here's an album of pics with descriptions : http://s451.photobucket.com/albums/qq238/Fzztfzzt/ARB_bar/
