[vet 180]

I am debating back and forth in my mind on this so thought I would make a thread. Basically a need a new front bar as the stock one is hacked from several off-road adventures.

Major factors:
Approach angle
Tyre clearance
Bar Weight (as light as possible is preferred)
Recovery points
Possibly if a winch

So I have narrowed it down to 3 at the moment.

1:





Advantages:
Light weight
Increased approach
Increased tire clearance
Price

Disadvantages:
No recovery points
No possibility for winch

2:






Without the plate at the front this is the lightest and cheapest. Otherwise same as above

3:






A few forum members have this one. I like the fact it has recovery points and can take a winch, but have calculated even with synthetic line you are looking at 50-60kgs over the other options with winch included.

I guess I am debating whether the extra weight is worth it. I need to do something about recovery points regardless as I have just been carefully using the tie down points, but it is ultimately an unsafe recovery. The last bumper will fix that with a weight penalty, but then there is always the question of how good the bumper recovery point is? From the pics it looks fine, but anyone with first hand experience with that bumper please chime in.

I do not go out alone very often, but I do from time to time and having the security of a winch will be nice.

What would the AZ crew do?




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[greyghost]

what is the brand of number two?

thats the one I would go for, keep the car as light as possible and ask yourself do you really need a winch.
no matter what way you look at it a winch is heavy and the front end of a Jimny isn't very strong.
on my last Jimny I had a Warn M6000 with synthetic rope and it still weighed in at 25Kg in the winch alone then you have to add the with of a bar, it doest it much to start adding too much for the front end to handle. my bar was an ARB that I had cut down so it was only a winch mount and I could never get the car to sit level.

[vet 180]

Thanks for the input.

I have actually been looking at winch weights and surprisingly the warn M6000 is the same weight as the M9500.

I guess another benefit of the second type is cutting guards for bigger tyres is much easier.

The only thing against it is if a stove into a dune or smash the front on rocks there is very little protection. And I also wonder if the Jimnybits front recovery points will work with it.

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[greenzook89]

Is a winch a must have for your terrain? Looks like very few anchor points in your other photos?

[vet 180]

greenzook89 wrote:

Is a winch a must have for your terrain? Looks like very few anchor points in your other photos?

Well you can always burry the spare wheel if you are out alone and winch off that. Also you have situations where a second car can’t snatch you out without getting stuck, but you could use their car and an anchor point. Then there is the rare situation where you or someone else is stuck on a rather dangerous position and you can’t snatch without fear of rolling so you need to winch in that situation.

The other reason for option 3 is a little more protection at the front. After all I need to replace the stock bumper because it’s beaten up.


As fair as winches go, regarding what I can easily access vs reviews va weight it seems the TMax 9500 with synthetic line is the best. Weight about the same as a warn M6000. Unless I can find some ultra lightweight 4000 pound utv winch


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[alien]

What about using your jack as a winch for those 0.0001% occasions? Sure.. it's SUPER slow moving 300mm at a time, but you'd have to be REALLY stuck to need more than half a metre of "shifting" one end of the car? Plus the added advantage you can just wrap a strap around any of the 4 wheels or the diff (providing you're not sunk to the chassis in mud/sand).

Also, if you have lockers, then wrapping a strap around a wheel gives you an instant winch as well.

Sort of like the argument of carrying a spare tyre or not IMO. There's other ways =)

[MrRocky]

I know jimnys get stuck often but given the already unbalanced handling characteristics already adding weight to the front of the car isnt an option i would entertain.
What about a winch cradle with an anderson plug and reece receiver incoorperated into the front. At least then it can be stored so as to distribute weight more evenly. Nose down and bum up style offroad would surely be multiplied with a steel bar and winch up front

[vet 180]

MrRocky wrote:

I know jimnys get stuck often but given the already unbalanced handling characteristics already adding weight to the front of the car isnt an option i would entertain.
What about a winch cradle with an anderson plug and reece receiver incoorperated into the front. At least then it can be stored so as to distribute weight more evenly. Nose down and bum up style offroad would surely be multiplied with a steel bar and winch up front

I did actually laugh out loud at the first sentence. Well done.

So the figures look something like this:

Light bumper:
3-4kgs for the bumper 8-10kg for the plate + Jimnybits front recovery points maybe another couple kg not sure what they weigh.

Winch bumper:
30-35kg for the bumper and I actually found a 4500pound superwinch that weighs 10kg. That’s sufficient in my books. In fact you are looking at 22pound with steel wire vs warns M6000 at 74pound.

So you are looking at around 25-30 extra for the winch and bar. I would say I need the winch, but it would be nice to be able to go out by myself and have the confidence since I need a new bar anyway.

On the topic of unbalanced, most times I have been close to tipping the jim it has actually been front flips. Throttle just in time has been what has saved it each time. In saying that I don’t think extra weight in the front end would have made any difference to the outcome. If the stock bumper didn’t squash it might have gone over.

alien wrote:

What about using your jack as a winch for those 0.0001% occasions? Sure.. it's SUPER slow moving 300mm at a time, but you'd have to be REALLY stuck to need more than half a metre of "shifting" one end of the car? Plus the added advantage you can just wrap a strap around any of the 4 wheels or the diff (providing you're not sunk to the chassis in mud/sand).

Also, if you have lockers, then wrapping a strap around a wheel gives you an instant winch as well.

Sort of like the argument of carrying a spare tyre or not IMO. There's other ways =)

I like the thought behind this but where I drive you often need a couple meters to really be in the clear.





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