[daoud]

I'm checking out a Hunter grille guard on eBay- good price, looks well-made...I checked with the seller and the total weight of the guard is 50 lbs. Is this a lot of weight to be tacking on to the front end like that? Would I see any difference in handling? Just seems heavy. Of course it wouldn't do much good if it was flimsy and light....any thoughts would be welcome!

 

[sloweddie]

Our Es are not serious off-road vehicles. The kind of places we go don't require protection from branches, trees, large boulders, water buffalos, etc. I've always thought those cowcatchers were largely for show on any 4wd truck as most people who've spent 50K+ on a truck/suv are not going to take them off-road and abuse the dog snot out of them hitting things and fording 3' deep creeks. Ther are those who do that and they probably could use something to protect their cars. What E owners are doing in fact are hanging 50lbs out front which will effect handling and gas milage. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
se

 

[Tim Vance]

I think the weight is being exaggerated :shock:

I have the Hunter Bull Bar, and there's no way it weighs 50 lbs! Maybe 20 lbs....

It doesn't effect steering, balance handling at all. You never know it's even there!

I'd go online to the Hunter website, and look up the technical specs if I were you...sounds like someone is trying to gouge you on the shipping

 

[daoud]

Our Es are not serious off-road vehicles. The kind of places we go don't require protection from branches, trees, large boulders, water buffalos, etc. I've always thought those cowcatchers were largely for show on any 4wd truck as most people who've spent 50K+ on a truck/suv are not going to take them off-road and abuse the dog snot out of them hitting things and fording 3' deep creeks. Ther are those who do that and they probably could use something to protect their cars. What E owners are doing in fact are hanging 50lbs out front which will effect handling and gas milage. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
se

Well.....if we're just sticking with things we REQUIRE, we'd do away with about 90% of this forum, right? :grin:I mean, does anyone REQUIRE a DVD player in their vehicle, for instance? Do most people even REQUIRE an SUV at all?..... I'm pretty well hip to the fact that an E isn't a serious off-roader. Quite honestly I just like the idea of protecting my E against things bumping into it, or me into them. I haven't had many nice vehicles in my life(and I've been driving for 30 years)and I want this ride to stay looking good. And, IMO the guard looks cool.

The grill guard I'm looking at is one that comes up around the headlights- it's a good bit more sizable than the bull bar. I will look at the Hunter website to check out actual weight, though.

Thanks for the input, y'all.

 

[Hathi]

Grill guard, bush brush etc.

Hello,

I am also interested in a full, or heavier front end protection for 2 reasons.

I do commute over highway and country back roads with a reasonable chance to encounter wildlife. A friend spoke of hitting a porcupine in a Corolla, leaving $1,600 CDN in damages. So, for anything larger than an unfortunate collision with a small beast, no amount of bolt on contraption will help much. If driving around with 50 lbs is of some value, for a small impact or a careless move by another car ( I watched someone back into a parked car at a gas station once, was both tragic and hilarious at the same time) I would consider it.

Still, bushbars/bull bars/roo bars are banned in the EU due to increased pedestrian deaths.

So, having no experience with them, I need an education in their ability to be functional, more as an insurance buy, to protect the front end.

Thanks

 

[daoud]

But Canada's not a member of the EU, correct? Shouldn't be a problem unless you're going to be driving in an EU member country. Or am I missing something?

 

[Hathi]

You are correct

Canada is not a member of the EU.

However, legislators pick up lots of ideas from all over the place. As more SUVs appear on the roads, and if city folks like the looks of guards, and people get injured, they might ban them at anytime, or, the trade-off between protecting the vehicle and real threat of injury should be considered.

Given the choice of a date in court or with an autobody shop, it's an easy choice.

 

[scorsone]

I think if you hit a pedestrian with or without a grill guard chances are you will find yourself in court.;-)

SlowEddie, the E can make it a lot of places and it doesn't take long for a forest road to get overgrown and tight. Personally I like the looks of the brush guards but I am more concerned about protecting the sides of the E from tree branch scratches than the plastic front end.8)

 

[sloweddie]

scorsone, I see your point. You go places I haven't yet.
I've seen some big PU/SUVs with them that have suffered damage from a fairly minor accident where the guard was pushed back into the body and or hood that would have been unscathed without the guard on but you just never know.
se

 

[Hathi]

Long post, but I'm trying to keep it light, yet address some ideas, that is all, no flame wars please.


sloweddie:

The damage you mentioned is a result of the bars bending onto the hood.


I got interested in these guards after joking with an Aussie friend about roo bars. Actually, I wanted the Aussie Honda roo bar part number, then call Honda of Canada and try to order them, just for laughs.


This was a part of our text/chat.

*****************************************************************

Should I email Honda Canada about the availability
of 'roo bars' ?? In fact, the dealership nearest you may even stock them,
complete with Honda part number!!! Wouldn't that set them off here,
chasing down roo bars? Are you grinning at your deranged Canadian??

Honda Customer Service (HCS) ; Roo bars? Oh you have a Honda part number,
yes, I'll check inventory, one moment please.'

On hold: Horrible music scientifically designed to calm exactly whatever
my mental state is, is making me increasingly disturbed...


(HCS) Yes, Sir? We don't have the roo bars in our Toronto warehouse, but
they can be special ordered from an affiliate plant, offshore, with an
estimated delivery of 17 weeks.( Long pause) Might I ask the purpose of
this order? In all my years with Honda, I have never heard of these.

Hathi (H) They improve vehicle stability in snowstorms. A traction
enhancement. Check the online forums, all the write-ups are there.

(HCS) Oh?? I'll have to check them out. See, I have an Element as well!

(H) They do require periodic lubrication. Elemental Roo Bar Oil Additive is considered the best. Pricey stuff, but, hey, you get what you pay for. It is the best.

(HCS) Any problems having it shipped? Canada Customs can be so picky. I
have had some problems with things on Ebay.

(H) I never had a problem dealing with Customs. But, you
know, check it out first, don't take my word for anything.

(HCS) Well, I appreciate the advice. Always good to know how to pamper Elle.

(H) Elle???

(HCS) Yes, a nicknmane for the Element, Ellie. Or Elle. All Part of the
Honda family (such pride in their voice!!)

(H) Well, consider the Platypus Protection, sorry Premium Platypus
Plus Protection Package or P5 anti-theft device rev 3.1.5.7, and the
Killer Koala Kanopy if you really want performance and enhance Ellie's
versatility.

(HCS) Yes! Do you have the part numbers for those accessories???


(Ad nauseum. I have had dealings/ISSUES with HCS in the past. I want to get even.)

My friends reply:

********************************************************

hey!! Firstly? What's so funny about roo bars? Ah huh! And did you know every second vehicle here has a roo bar standard?

************************************
So, she didn't find anything funny about the bars, it is standard there, and not to keep branches from scratching up the paint.

Wonder if they get an insurance deduction for that option? Slogan for the Outback Insurance LLC 'The RooBar Advantage'. Kinda catchy, don't you think?

Seems lots of vehicles down under have them, and kangaroos weigh between 100 - 200 lbs. Seems that the kangaroo can be headed toward the car rather quickly, adding to the impact. The Aussies buy them, but are they only mounted at the lower front end, or are any products designed to mount at the top and bottom of the vehicle front end? Some Aussie police PUs have them, not for show I would imagine. Would be interesting to get an idea of the how's and why's of roo bars from a native Australian. If it is in fact an accepted way to prevent collision damage, there should be some engineering or insurance study to support the use .

I can't imagine hitting a roo ( or a 200 lb sack of potatos) at normal speeds and the bars accomplishing much, but, I'm here to try figure it out. With humour, always.


scorsone:

Consider the following URL/article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontal_Protection_System

I'm no lawyer, but if grill guards of any kind can be argued to defeat a safety feature designed into the vehicle, I think an accident claims lawyer would make that argument, and fault the car owner. Not an accident, but negligence or malice. I don't know how that would go.

Yes, I must agree, hit a pedestrian, and it is game over. I hit a deer up here I am required to report it to the game/wildlife/police authorities. No roasting of the road kill, despite the truly impressive cargo space in the Element, over 70 cu feet, methinks? But the deer/ quadreped, all those critters without birth certificates and driver's licenses on them can't sue me, easily. Improbable, I hope.

Please, have mercy and let us leave alone the scenario where a prize race horse escapes, only to be struck down by a vehicle with grill guards...please?


Or, a famous TV kangaroo personality, retired now, still rich and famous, escapes and gets nailed with roo bars.

Now that we have both hemispheres covered off, I can rest.

 

[elementbryon]

I have the Aries Off Road one piece brush guard and it weighs 40-50 lbs. If it weighed less than that it would be pretty flimsy. It did not affect handling or mpg in the slightest. Unlike most of the city folks commenting on here I actually live in the wilderness and actually drive off pavement, a lot. The guard does exactly what it is engineered for, it protects my front plastic, radiator and lights from getting carved up by brush, thus the term "brush guard", not "deer guard", "horse guard" or "pedestrian guard" even "roo guard." I have no doubt that a deer/roo collision at 55 mph would cause severe damage with or without a guard on the Element but the guard could mean the difference between driving home and walking several miles home.
The other benefit to having brush guards is having a tie down location for kayaks and canoes on the roof rack without having to wrap the rope around the bumper. This was the only reason I also installed the tail light brush guards since I cannot recall the last time I was blazing through the woods in reverse fast enough to put my tail lights in peril, but there is always a first.
Even if you buy a guard just for aesthetics then that is fine too since it is far less useless than some of the crazy stuff we put on our Elements and hey, useless stuff is usually pretty fun.

 

[scorsone]

No harm no foul. I think they all look good on the E. You can't use them to mount a winch but Elementbryon said it makes for great place to tie off cargo or mount lights.

I totally agree with the tail light covers. Though with out them the front brush guard looks out of place a little bit.

Someday I will get the brush guards on my E but before then I have some other things that take priority of that mod.:-(

 

[daoud]

Bravo, Colonel! Or just Hathi, rather....the demilled non-Disney version.....?
Anyway, very entertaining and informative, in a certain way.

I DO think that there's a real possibility that any very strong impact would cause those brush guards to push back into the hood. Doesn't seem like there'd be anything to prevent it. The bull bar may be a safer bet.

What's needed- as far as I'm concerned- is A. Big. Steel. Bumper. Plain and simple- like on the Jeeps I drove in the Army in the backtime. We could and did run up over some pretty sizable trees with those bumpers. The only other kind of guard I ever saw was a mod they did- I think with just angle iron- that went on the front and was designed to cut an across-the-road-strung wire before it could decapitate the vehicle crew. That's ruin your whole day, wouldn't it?
Anyway...

 

[daoud]

And thanks everyone.....I think it all boils down to personal tastes/wants/needs or what have you. Like probably a lot of other folks around here I have a tendency to want to get every gizmo related to any of my interests....right now the E is my new toy....love interest......whatever....:grin:

 

[elementbryon]

And thanks everyone.....I think it all boils down to personal tastes/wants/needs or what have you. Like probably a lot of other folks around here I have a tendency to want to get every gizmo related to any of my interests....right now the E is my new toy....love interest......whatever....:grin:

Well spoken! The Element bug is very similar to the Jeep bug, once you start modding you cannot stop. The funny thing is that I never put a brush guard on either of my Jeeps. I used the mesh headlight inserts and mounted the Highlift jack on the front bumper and drove like the Jeep was a skidder.

The post about the Aussie Roo guard got me thinking. What other ubiquitous accessory comes to mind when you think of Aussie Outback rigs? And the answer is, air intake snorkel. From what I've read the snorkel is less for deep water fording and more for keeping the filter from getting clogged with dust from driving on dirt roads. Well I drive on dirt roads a lot so this would be a useful mod, right? Not to mention it looks pretty cool! :grin:

 

[daoud]

Well spoken! The Element bug is very similar to the Jeep bug, once you start modding you cannot stop. The funny thing is that I never put a brush guard on either of my Jeeps. I used the mesh headlight inserts and mounted the Highlift jack on the front bumper and drove like the Jeep was a skidder.

The post about the Aussie Roo guard got me thinking. What other ubiquitous accessory comes to mind when you think of Aussie Outback rigs? And the answer is, air intake snorkel. From what I've read the snorkel is less for deep water fording and more for keeping the filter from getting clogged with dust from driving on dirt roads. Well I drive on dirt roads a lot so this would be a useful mod, right? Not to mention it looks pretty cool! :grin:

When you mentioned "other ubiquitous accessory" for an Aussie Outback rig I immediately thought "a can of beer." A coldie, a stubby, a tinny....one of those.
And/or a beat-to-hell Akubra.

Well, if my E was an old ******* truck or a jeep or something with more steel in the front I could just get someone to weld me up a pipe bumper- cheap and RATHER functional- but an E's what I got so I believe Monday I'll order a brush guard.
If I don't like it I can unbolt it and put it back on the Bay and probably break even....

 

[elementbryon]

The good ole days of the cheap tube bumper are almost for the history books what with the current pickup trucks even sporting crumple zones and air bag sensors. Too bad too since I'm a millwright and have pretty much unlimited access to steel and equipment in the fab shops here in the mine.

 

[daoud]

The good ole days of the cheap tube bumper are almost for the history books what with the current pickup trucks even sporting crumple zones and air bag sensors. Too bad too since I'm a millwright and have pretty much unlimited access to steel and equipment in the fab shops here in the mine.

Roger that! That's why I said OLD ******* truck. Like the kind where the seat belts were all jammed down in the seat crack 'cause nobody ever used them......never mind airbags. Nuthin' but DEE-troit steel, at least in the front end.

 

[desinia]

Doggone it! Haven't ANY of you people ever actually driven your E's before in the one space where a guard on front is actually useful?

Consider the greatest of all North American urban herd animals,"emo currus", sedately grazing singly and in groups of truly impressive numbers, spreading across their native territories in groups of anything from a couple to as much as a hundred or more. Cars travel in harmony between them without spooking the beasts for the most part, but let one good gust of wind blow through these fields and then you have a stampede of panicking hundred pound nightmares racing through the parking lots in a mass migration filled with the terrifying sounds of the dreaded north american shopping cart smashing against expensive paint jobs - or the sudden screech of brakes when drivers suddenly have one of them fly out of a cross lane from between parked vehicles and it's too late to stop.

Since I drive my E through the REAL dangers of the terrain it was intended for, I'll leave the rest of the conversation get back to the thread now...:roll:

 

[Jojo]

And you never know when a coyote will want a free ride:-D

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