Like George Carlin said: “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”

I'll take a truck that self destructs itself with crumple zones in a high speed accident I can walk away from over a tank that will transfer all of the kinetic energy to my soft human bits in a 25mph accident. I like my brains, organs, bones, and aorta.

So who's engineered and crash tested an all steel, winch loaded bumper du jour?

ARB bumper is crash tested.

Good to know, I'd like to see the test data/perimeters, and the pedestrian tests.

Are you sure? It can be read in different ways. Given the costs of crash testing, I find it highly unlikely that they crash tested anything.

I suspect they just looked at existing crash test data and took a wild swag at it. Like I said in the other thread, I'd be very happy to be proven wrong and if ARB tells me specifically that they crash tested a 4R with their bumper then I'll be overjoyed.

From their site:

ARB has invested heavily in vehicle crash barrier tests to validate the performance and compliance of its air bag compatible bumpers. To ensure compatibility, ARB assesses each vehicle’s frontal crush characteristics and replicates the crush rate in the design of each air bag compatible bumper and mounting system. Using this method ensures that the vehicle’s crush rate and air bag triggering are not altered when a bumper is installed.

You're kidding, right?

OEM Front bumper design certainly does take pedestrian contact into consideration.

Yes it does, but there is no chance in hell that any of the aftermarket stuff even thought about pedestrians.

Crash testing costs in excess of $100k plus the cost of the vehicle. Larry and Vince cost about $100k each (I remember walking down the hallway in the VOLPE center in Cambridge and seeing the new models being developed). The dummies are reusable, but the test site, electronics and expendables will cost at least $100k per test. ARB has about 4 different front bumpers so we're looking at $400k for the 4R. Then you have the same for the LC, Tundra and what not.

I'd certainly look forward to a bumper manufacturer to chime in on this conversation.

My point all along.

Then there is the question of the crumple zones - even if by some fluke the airbags work as intended.

Depends on the church.

In your church?

Amen....