Shrockworks Front Bumper on my '14 Trail & Pics

[Big Murth]

A couple of days ago I announced that I "finally" got my front bumper installed, and not without a little bit of head-scratching thanks to less than stellar illustrations and specific details from the manufacturer---nonetheless, I have no complaints and am impressed with the fit and finish of Shrockworks' product. Here are several pictures, and as I think we all agree, the beauty of the SW bumper is it's minimal impact on the looks of the vehicle, and I'm almost certain that it doesn't have any additional dimensions adding to the overall length of the 4R---but as was pointed out by my Toyota mechanic who did the install, he noticed the effect of the almost 140lbs. hanging off the front end, and how the body sits lower in front.... I guess that's like having that "full-figured" girlfriend may you recall with fondness from when you were in your early 20's...sitting on top of the radiator like your personal hood ornament:girl:

He suggested the adjustable Bilsteins that might get the front end to sit up and even out with the rear (5100's?)-----a "very" mild lift and more M&S type rubber on tap, as soon as the present Bridgestones evolve into drag slicks.

 

[On Point]

personally, i'm not a fan. but it's your 4runner so do what you want! enjoy!

 

[txbonds]

Looks good. Looking at yours I'm thinking I might get the light inserts painted to match the truck when I get mine. Will see as my paint is a little darker. Thanks for sharing.

 

[RCFJ]

A couple of days ago I announced that I "finally" got my front bumper installed, and not without a little bit of head-scratching thanks to less than stellar illustrations and specific details from the manufacturer---nonetheless, I have no complaints and am impressed with the fit and finish of Shrockworks' product. Here are several pictures, and as I think we all agree, the beauty of the SW bumper is it's minimal impact on the looks of the vehicle, and I'm almost certain that it doesn't have any additional dimensions adding to the overall length of the 4R---but as was pointed out by my Toyota mechanic who did the install, he noticed the effect of the almost 140lbs. hanging off the front end, and how the body sits lower in front.... I guess that's like having that "full-figured" girlfriend may you recall with fondness from when you were in your early 20's...sitting on top of the radiator like your personal hood ornament:girl:

He suggested the adjustable Bilsteins that might get the front end to sit up and even out with the rear (5100's?)-----a "very" mild lift and more M&S type rubber on tap, as soon as the present Bridgestones evolve into drag slicks.

What happened to the grill? Is removing it a requirement of the SW bumper?

 

[Marcocopuffs]

You need a lift and tires ASAP. That bumper looks really out of place.

 

[jcoleman]

personally, i'm not a fan. but it's your 4runner so do what you want! enjoy!

Why would you even bother to post that?

I'm sure the OP appreciates your permission to do what he wants with his 4R.

 

[4Rager]

I like it, but I agree it will definitely look badass with a lift and tires. I would consider getting one, but I would have to buy it at the same time as my lift kit since the added weight requires different springs, and my budget can't handle the extra cost on top of the lift and tires. Do you plan on getting a winch?

 

[Big Murth]

Thanks for your responses;-)

At this point in time, no----I am not planning on getting a winch. I just checked in to the Sandia Casino Hotel here in Albuquerque, and the valet parking attendant complimented me on my "great looking bumper brush guard"...and a guy in my office complimented me on it earlier today also. It really doesn't look like it's overwhelming the looks of the stock vehicle, in person---but I will need to do something to stabilize and level the look and balance of the vehicle, so any shock/spring recommendations are appreciated.
Also, there's enough black accents (sliders, etc.,) that I'm still at this early stage of the game, not needing to do anything about any paint treatments or painting the light insert trim pieces to match body, etc.
Yup, a lift and bigger tires would make it look, "bad-ass" but my mods are needing to stay on the "mild, not wild" side at this juncture for two reasons mainly:
I'm somewhat of an old fart, and I don't need to try to pull off the Mickey Thompson Baja 1000 look, regardless of the enhanced functionality and practical aspects of those de riguer mods....and,
This is also a vehicle for business, so it might be off-putting to some of my clientele if I look like I'm heading out on safari, or going to tackle the Rubicon as soon as I finish doing business with them. I'd rather drive this than my wife's Lexus RX, and she doesn't want to swap anyway :rockthrow:

 

[Marcocopuffs]

Bad ass looking aside... You're effectively lowering your truck with weight. I would imagine that this adversely affects highway handling. Not to mention the front end will have less clearance when off roading. Look into OME heavy duty springs to negate the sag. IMO heavy armor should be done right after or at the same time of a suspension swap that can handle the weight.

 

[gm350reratliff]

Looks good! I might have to check this out in person some day.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Maybe its because you don't have a lift and good tires and/or because of the accents being black the bumper looks a bit off to me (it might be the fact that the truck looks like it has two black eyes lol )

I saw [MENTION=49966]mikey's2010SR5[/MENTION]'s 5th gen in person and we chatted a bit about Shrockwork's solution to the gaps left by the missing bumper skin; on his 5th gen they always ended up drooping down because the sheet steel was so heavy compared to the mounting points. Is that the same with the 2014+ models? I am surprised that SW didn't try and make them out of aluminum instead to help prevent them from drooping (they really couldn't do much about the design as there's just not much Toyota left them to mount to without the bumper skin, so I can't fault them on the utility of their design.)

In any case, its a good looking bumper! I was happy to get mine for my 4th Gen, even though it did take a while (Mark at SW was very nice and took care of me for the trouble so I can't exactly say they don't care about their customers.)

 

[sn_85]

At this point in time, no----I am not planning on getting a winch. I just checked in to the Sandia Casino Hotel here in Albuquerque, and the valet parking attendant complimented me on my "great looking bumper brush guard"...and a guy in my office complimented me on it earlier today also. It really doesn't look like it's overwhelming the looks of the stock vehicle, in person---but I will need to do something to stabilize and level the look and balance of the vehicle, so any shock/spring recommendations are appreciated.
Also, there's enough black accents (sliders, etc.,) that I'm still at this early stage of the game, not needing to do anything about any paint treatments or painting the light insert trim pieces to match body, etc.
Yup, a lift and bigger tires would make it look, "bad-ass" but my mods are needing to stay on the "mild, not wild" side at this juncture for two reasons mainly:
I'm somewhat of an old fart, and I don't need to try to pull off the Mickey Thompson Baja 1000 look, regardless of the enhanced functionality and practical aspects of those de riguer mods....and,
This is also a vehicle for business, so it might be off-putting to some of my clientele if I look like I'm heading out on safari, or going to tackle the Rubicon as soon as I finish doing business with them. I'd rather drive this than my wife's Lexus RX, and she doesn't want to swap anyway :rockthrow:

I'm not sure I understand that comment and it's a tad ironic considering getting a front bumper is on the "wild" side of things. I think you already jumped off the deep end of wild with the bumper. As a few others have said, getting a front bumper without at least a leveling lift and new tires makes it look disproportional and out of place.

May I ask, why you got the front bumper in the first place? Most people get a front bumper after doing all other basic mods - lift, tires, skids, sliders. Once they getting into off roading or rock crawling situations where they protection, increased approach angles, or the need for winch then they'll get a front bumper. Seems you didn't need it for any of those reasons. If you needed added protection at the mall or grocery store, a simple bull bar would have sufficed or even the SS Slim/Hybrid bumper would have done well. If it is purely for looks and cosmetic reasons then you need lift and tires ASAP. As it stands now it looks a little silly with stock tires TBH.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

...

May I ask, why you got the front bumper in the first place? Most people get a front bumper after doing all other basic mods - lift, tires, skids, sliders. Once they getting into off roading or rock crawling situations where they protection, increased approach angles, or the need for winch then they'll get a front bumper. Seems you didn't need it for any of those reasons. If you needed added protection at the mall or grocery store, a simple bull bar would have sufficed or even the SS Slim/Hybrid bumper would have done well. If it is purely for looks and cosmetic reasons then you need lift and tires ASAP. As it stands now it looks a little silly with stock tires TBH.

Hehe... if he's anything like me, he probably got excited when he got his 4Runner.

When I bought my 4th Gen I used the money from the sale of my old pile of crap S10 Blazer to pay for a SW bumper. The choice was mostly cosmetic and protection (on-road and off-road) at the time, but after I off-roaded it for the first time I quickly realized the XREAS wasn't going to cut it and went for a proper 2.5" Radflo lift.

 

[drsus]

i hate the fact that it seem like all 2014- front bumpers are doing away with the stock plastic under the headlights...makes it look weird, but I'm guessing that part of the front clip does that when you remove it so they have to fill it in . would be nice if they designed it to be cut and keep that part...

I edited some, I re read and it came across as me not liking the bumper, I like it, I was just nitpicking because I do that.
The sagging for sure will be fixed with the lift and the whole look of the truck will come together nicely.

 

[bareisong]

I might get the light inserts painted to match the truck when I get mine.

 

[awdjunkies]

At this point in time, no----I am not planning on getting a winch. I just checked in to the Sandia Casino Hotel here in Albuquerque, and the valet parking attendant complimented me on my "great looking bumper brush guard"...and a guy in my office complimented me on it earlier today also. It really doesn't look like it's overwhelming the looks of the stock vehicle, in person---but I will need to do something to stabilize and level the look and balance of the vehicle, so any shock/spring recommendations are appreciated.
Also, there's enough black accents (sliders, etc.,) that I'm still at this early stage of the game, not needing to do anything about any paint treatments or painting the light insert trim pieces to match body, etc.
Yup, a lift and bigger tires would make it look, "bad-ass" but my mods are needing to stay on the "mild, not wild" side at this juncture for two reasons mainly:
I'm somewhat of an old fart, and I don't need to try to pull off the Mickey Thompson Baja 1000 look, regardless of the enhanced functionality and practical aspects of those de riguer mods....and,
This is also a vehicle for business, so it might be off-putting to some of my clientele if I look like I'm heading out on safari, or going to tackle the Rubicon as soon as I finish doing business with them. I'd rather drive this than my wife's Lexus RX, and she doesn't want to swap anyway :rockthrow:

First off, beautiful 4runner and House. I read this post and thought(specifically the words in bold) funny, that's the way I feel sometimes. But true, a slight lift will help the front end, not only with the sagging, but also in the handling department(But I am sure you knew that).

 

[On Point]

Why would you even bother to post that?

I'm sure the OP appreciates your permission to do what he wants with his 4R.

Sorry for voicing an opinion... guess that's not allowed here.

 

[jcoleman]

Sorry for voicing an opinion... guess that's not allowed here.

You know, it's not so much that you offered an opinion--The comment simply added nothing to the thread imo.

Other's voiced similar opinions, but they added some constructive discussion as to why it wasn't to their taste.

On that note, I wonder what it would take for Shrockworks to have some plastic inserts molded in lieu of the current steel trim pieces? Perhaps carbon for the weight reduction

 

[chmura]

Looks good!

But I would prefer to cut the oem bumper so you can retain the oem portion of the bumper below the headlights. Similar to what ARB does and CBI to their rear bumpers for the 5th gen.

 

[wfo9]

Stating the obvious, but there is a huge advantage to not cutting the stock bumper. You can remove it and go back to stock very easily. Sell the bumper....

I think it looks great as is. Maybe color match under the headlights.

Anyway, the bumper is not for looks, it is for function and durability off-road. I would never put one on a truck that I did not plan to wheel the crap out of.

I would suggest a lift ASAP. Go with a heavier spring upfront. Maybe a med if you don't plan on a winch. Heavy if you do. OME or Toytec are reasonable.