Superbumper install

[hrothgar02]

I got off my butt and finally installed the bumper. It took less than 1 minute to "install". The unit was very heavy...17 lbs heavy. It was heavier than the near full sized superbumper that I got for my wife's Pilot. Very impressed with construction and the gauge of steel used. I had the Superbumper turned up (per the picture) but it was setting off the rear sensors. I talked to John (owner, Superbumper) and he suggested that I turn the unit upside down. I did and it hasn't been a huge issue. The sensor still goes off every once in a while. I consider this a minor price to pay in case of an accident. The unit sticks out approximately 10"; I can still get in and out of tight underground downtown parking without any issue. John also kicked in the locking pin for free.

 

[KCcarguy]

Super (knee cap) bumper.

 

[Foques]

boy, do I wish they had figured out a way to create a unit that till not set sensors off..

 

[kpromero]

Sensor on mine does not go off when i put in reverse.

 

[Ducmonsta]

boy, do I wish they had figured out a way to create a unit that till not set sensors off..

They do...it's called a Limited!

 

[Foques]

Sensor on mine does not go off when i put in reverse.

more info, sir!

 

[homeyclaus]

So wait, you put this on only so impacts are directly passed onto the frame of your vehicle, rather than the absorption zone on your bumper?

Not to questioning your logic or anything, but this defeats the purpose of a shock-absorbing bumper, frame and body crumple zones, and instead puts all the force of a rear impact on a single frame rail.

But gosh-darn it, you'll feel better having jacked up the car that hit you sit around in your neck brace

 

[Ukie]

So wait, you put this on only so impacts are directly passed onto the frame of your vehicle, rather than the absorption zone on your bumper?

But gosh-darn it, you'll feel better having jacked up the car that hit you sit around in your neck brace

Superbumper does the opposite: it absorbs energy and reduces whiplash. It uses rubber buffers to absorb energy. Also superbumper is not dead locked in a hitch, it can travel forward for couple inches so it doesn't affect a vehicle frame.

 

[Antman]

But gosh-darn it, you'll feel better having jacked up the car that hit you sit around in your neck brace

Not to be rude, but that's a relatively ignorant statement. Here's some documentation in this thread:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-g...grade-your-super-bumper-order.html#post869641

 

[1engineer]

So wait, you put this on only so impacts are directly passed onto the frame of your vehicle, rather than the absorption zone on your bumper?

Not to questioning your logic or anything, but this defeats the purpose of a shock-absorbing bumper, frame and body crumple zones, and instead puts all the force of a rear impact on a single frame rail.

But gosh-darn it, you'll feel better having jacked up the car that hit you sit around in your neck brace

Um, no. The super hitch AUGMENTS the stock safety features, not replace them. Example: 4Runner with one of these hitches is sitting at a light, stopped. A vehicle does not see it until too late and smashes into the 4Runner at 25 mph. The hitch will see the impact first, and bleed off some of the kinetic energy in that first millisecond with the hitch absorber. As the crash continues, the rest of the impacting vehicle strikes the actual bumper of the 4Runner and the stock safety features do their job. In a medium speed impact such as this the hitch will eventually poke a hole in the front of the striking vehicle but some energy will be absorbed as this happens.

I would still skin my shins on it though!

 

[Quentin]

Not to be rude, but that's a relatively ignorant statement. Here's some documentation in this thread:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-g...grade-your-super-bumper-order.html#post869641

This testimonial seems like pure anecdote. A 30mph rear collision would have demolished the car behind, particularly if it had all the force concentrated at one point. I hit an F150 with a ball hitch in my Impreza many moons ago and while it was very, very low speed (<5mph, I'd estimate), it destroyed my grille, hood, bumper, bumper beam, and radiator mount.

Well, I was taking my now 4 month old son and our dog for a ride this afternoon when I was rear ended by a car going 30 miles per hour (I was sitting in traffic and he was rubbernecking an accident).

I barely felt the impact and neither my son (he was checked out at the hospital to make sure) or dog seemed to be impacted by the collision. When I exited the truck to see if the other driver was alright (he was), I found a huge gash in his grill and pieces of his car scattered on the street.

I mean, I can see this helping at low speed accidents at preventing damage to your vehicle, but at high speeds, I tend to agree with homeyclause. This is bypassing the built in crumple zones in the body. Those high speed collisions are the ones that cause whiplash. Basically, the body is mounted onto the frame. The frame is designed to absorb X energy. The body is designed to absorb Y energy. This super bumper forces all the energy to go through the frame, so your threshold of where the energy is transferred to the occupants is no longer X + Y... it is just X. There is some add'l amount added to X by the damper in the superbumper, but that is clearly a very low threshold relative to the Y you're giving up in the body crumple zone. I'm sure it depends what car is hitting what car (4runner hit by a snow plow or a 4Runner hit by a Malibu and speeds and all that), but my gut feeling is that the manufacturer's crumple zones are better on their own.

Another testimonial I found amusing...

Hi Jeff, After having my E350 washed, I noticed a considerably large (3 inch tall & 4 inch long) blue paint streak on my Superbumper. This probably happened when someone in a blue vehicle was trying to park or exit. I'm certainly glad that I had installed the Superbumper since it most likely saved both my electrical trailer connection as well as some of my back-up sensors in the rear bumper. You have a great product.

John Bode - Eden Prairie, MN

I'm going to hazard a guess that the poor b@s**** driving the blue car thought they had enough room to get around the back of the E350 but the superbumper, sticking out an extra 10", was not noticed since it is well below the line of visibility of today's cars with high belt lines. It would have been particularly hard to see if the E350 was on the passenger side of the car as it squeezed through.

 

[Ukie]

Here's a link to video showing Superbumper in action.

 

[1engineer]

I mean, I can see this helping at low speed accidents at preventing damage to your vehicle, but at high speeds, I tend to agree with homeyclause. This is bypassing the built in crumple zones in the body. Those high speed collisions are the ones that cause whiplash. Basically, the body is mounted onto the frame. The frame is designed to absorb X energy. The body is designed to absorb Y energy. This super bumper forces all the energy to go through the frame, so your threshold of where the energy is transferred to the occupants is no longer X + Y... it is just X. There is some add'l amount added to X by the damper in the superbumper, but that is clearly a very low threshold relative to the Y you're giving up in the body crumple zone. I'm sure it depends what car is hitting what car (4runner hit by a snow plow or a 4Runner hit by a Malibu and speeds and all that), but my gut feeling is that the manufacturer's crumple zones are better on their own.

.

Think of the wreck in slow motion:
1. Vehicle hits a superbumper equipped vehicle from behind
2. In low speeds (<5mph), the superbumper absorbs all kinetic energy because that is all that is impacted. As long as the frame rails are stronger than the elastomer in the superbumper, there is no damage.
2a. In higher speeds, the superbumper will act the same as in low speed impact for that 1st millisecond or so and absorb whatever kinetic energy it can. In all actuality though the striking vehicle has continued forward momentum and the portion not striking the superbumper will impact the rear of the other vehicle, thereby using both vehicle's stock safety features to dissipate the kinetic energy. Remember that the superbumper is a very small area compared to the rest of the vehicle so all energy in that 1st millisecond will be concentrated on that point.

In a higher speed rear end collision I would expect the superbumper to absorb it's max energy before it goes through the front bumper cover and grille of the striking vehicle. By then the superbumper is out of play because the rest of the vehicle is striking the back of the stationary vehicle.

 

[PracticalFJ]

They and a simple receiver hitch and ball are great for slow speed impacts (look for an old post of mine) and tight parking situations.....

 

[homeyclaus]

This testimonial seems like pure anecdote. A 30mph rear collision would have demolished the car behind, particularly if it had all the force concentrated at one point. I hit an F150 with a ball hitch in my Impreza many moons ago and while it was very, very low speed (<5mph, I'd estimate), it destroyed my grille, hood, bumper, bumper beam, and radiator mount.

Sounds like the owners are proud of the damage their accessories do. Way to go, sport!

Another testimonial I found amusing...

I'm going to hazard a guess that the poor b@s**** driving the blue car thought they had enough room to get around the back of the E350 but the superbumper, sticking out an extra 10", was not noticed since it is well below the line of visibility of today's cars with high belt lines. It would have been particularly hard to see if the E350 was on the passenger side of the car as it squeezed through.

Yep, proud of the damage their accessories do, when no damage would have occurred otherwise. Let's see, a product whose web site claims that it's for the express purpose of doing so, it's on your car, and the above case... if I were the victim of that, and I'll try to stay classy because the owner of said product is not... you're talking to my lawyer.

Um, no. The super hitch AUGMENTS the stock safety features, not replace them. Example: 4Runner with one of these hitches is sitting at a light, stopped. A vehicle does not see it until too late and smashes into the 4Runner at 25 mph. The hitch will see the impact first, and bleed off some of the kinetic energy in that first millisecond with the hitch absorber. As the crash continues, the rest of the impacting vehicle strikes the actual bumper of the 4Runner and the stock safety features do their job. In a medium speed impact such as this the hitch will eventually poke a hole in the front of the striking vehicle but some energy will be absorbed as this happens.

I would still skin my shins on it though!

Wow, just wow. You have several inches of the impact directly transferred to only the rearmost frame crossmember. That will exert lateral force inwards on the frame ends as it gives way, and will likely jam the rear bumper shock absorbers. Until then the frame transfers the energy to the body through the frame mounts.

In a collision, the energy transfer over time is changed substantially by the addition of this, and the extra length lengthens the time further. This can, in fact, change accelerometer readings which then cause other side effects like airbags not deploying, or worse yet, that wonderful piece of engineering, the active head restraint from getting enough leverage to be in place in time to stop your head snapping back.

You don't need to have taken physics in grade 11 to see this is a bad idea in an accident with significant kinetic energy involved. And you're the ******* in low-speed accidents.

Not to be rude, but that's a relatively ignorant statement. Here's some documentation in this thread:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-g...grade-your-super-bumper-order.html#post869641

I know Antman, I actually thought about my response. In my defense, I regard everything I read on the internet with a great deal of skepticism, doubly so if it's selling something. Their claims don't pass my sniff test.

 

[kingpin748]

I can't believe you guys are arguing about this. I mean, I like to argue but come on.

And for the record, that thing makes your truck look like it's dropping a deuce.

 

[Antman]

The Doodybumper :lmao:

 

[Quentin]

I heard this happens if someone with a front superbumper rear ends someone with a back superbumper.

 

[1engineer]

Sounds like the owners are proud of the damage their accessories do. Way to go, sport!



Yep, proud of the damage their accessories do, when no damage would have occurred otherwise. Let's see, a product whose web site claims that it's for the express purpose of doing so, it's on your car, and the above case... if I were the victim of that, and I'll try to stay classy because the owner of said product is not... you're talking to my lawyer.



Wow, just wow. You have several inches of the impact directly transferred to only the rearmost frame crossmember. That will exert lateral force inwards on the frame ends as it gives way, and will likely jam the rear bumper shock absorbers. Until then the frame transfers the energy to the body through the frame mounts.

In a collision, the energy transfer over time is changed substantially by the addition of this, and the extra length lengthens the time further. This can, in fact, change accelerometer readings which then cause other side effects like airbags not deploying, or worse yet, that wonderful piece of engineering, the active head restraint from getting enough leverage to be in place in time to stop your head snapping back.

You don't need to have taken physics in grade 11 to see this is a bad idea in an accident with significant kinetic energy involved. And you're the ******* in low-speed accidents.



I know Antman, I actually thought about my response. In my defense, I regard everything I read on the internet with a great deal of skepticism, doubly so if it's selling something. Their claims don't pass my sniff test.

Last post on this subject: You would be right Homeyclaus if, IF the hitch was solid. Too many unknowns to really argue and yes, the truck looks like it is prariedoggin' with one of these things.

 

[ciaz]

That's ugly as ****. It's right up there with the fake carbon fiber stickers and bug guards, imo. Lose that thing!