ARB Deluxe Bull Bar

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HJWB

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Hi Folks, I've been trying ot make my mind up on a bull bar for a while now. I really wanted the sahara bar but have decided I would prefer the fuller protection that a deluxe bar affords. Now the question I have is "With a white D40, what colour should my bull bar be?" Vanity I know, but if you have pics to back your claim it'd be awesome!
 
personal preference.....

mine is black. but then i also have a full range of accompanying barwork, also in black. pics in garage. pic in garage doesnt include rear bar which is a more recent addition
 
id go for black . Just curious how much did you get a quote for. im intersted in getting one too
 
Being a white vehicle i would stick with black, Ive seen a few getting around and think it they look the goods.


My Nav's black so I'm not sure wheather to stick with the stock black powder coated bull bar or get it colour coded to match, its an extra $400 clams so its quite a big outlay, im also getting side steps and they're $200 a side to get painted,
That extra money would be nice towards my spotties.
I got quoted $2200 colour coded black with fog lights and fitted (Deluxe bar)
Sahara bar was much the same.
 
ive got a white one too. i am going to get the colour coded (white) arb sahara bar. got to save up first though!
if you have a look on the prado point forum there is a white prado with a white arb bar, looks pretty good. i wasnt sure at first either, hopefully it'l look ok.
 
Never mind the color. (black imo)
The next question should be "what springs should I fit to the front of my D40?"

Cat + pidgeons :big_smile:
 
Good feedback, I'll check the prado point forum too but I'm not big on all white. I was wondering if it needed some chrome on it to go with the wing mirrors but I think I may be chanelling "She Who Must Be Obeyed". :rolleyes: Might get some spotties with chrome surrounds.

Haven't been quoted a price yet Buzurk but I'm thinking I might buy it and get my cousin to fit it. He works for Opp Lock, better make sure he's allowed to bring competitors bars into the workshop :big_smile:

Oh and Aido when you make your mind up on the springs let me know, I'm thinking of tough dog, however I also checked out the new D40 on the nissan website and am wondering whether I should go Iron Man and save the money for a new Nav when my extended warranty runs out!!!
 
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HJWB.
Having seen this picture of a recently delivered D40 I would strongly recomend asking questions about suitable suspension before fitting a steel bar.

Our D22 was delivered with one. In which case the dealership fitted it and deliveried it with 3-4mm of clearance off the lower bump stop. The reply I got was " we fit them all the time and never have a problem."
Looking at the attitude of the D40 suspension it would also pay to uprate the springs or at least add a spring spacer to stop it from being too low in the front - an educated guess would say that a steel bar weighs in excess of 40kg and that is alot to carry forward of the front wheels. Just giving you a bit of food for thought is all. The tough dog springs here Tough Dog Dealer - Nissan Navara D40 Suspension, Shock Absorbers & Springs for $240 might be a better investment than powder coating.
 

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Thanks for the word up Aido, I'm definitely no mechanic and will be relying on advice such as yours and from the ARB people. I'll also lean on my mechanic cousin for confirmation of any salesmen "advice". I have opted to have the bar fitted first to assess its impact on suspension then purchase based on that assessment. Hoping this is the right attitude!
 
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For illustrative purposes here is a pic of my front end with steel bar and winch fitted - I was misguided in my timeline of crappy suspension when I quoted above that the dealer left this clearance with the bar fitted only. Although even with the bar fitted it would have been beyond a reasonable tollerance.
The winch with 30m of steel cable weighs 35 - 40kg and along with the bar equated to this.
 

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If your only fitting a bullbar some spring spacers will level out the ride without altering the handling too much. But if your going for a winch too, I'd look at upgrading the spring rates to carry the extra weight.
 
For illustrative purposes here is a pic of my front end with steel bar and winch fitted - I was misguided in my timeline of crappy suspension when I quoted above that the dealer left this clearance with the bar fitted only. Although even with the bar fitted it would have been beyond a reasonable tollerance.
The winch with 30m of steel cable weighs 35 - 40kg and along with the bar equated to this.

Gee Aido that was bad, Haven't seen anyone else on the forum with that problem, did you get a special with suspension to take on Bonnievlle speed week?
 
The only thing special was the dealership.
They obviously only "specialize" in Tida's - an Ipod + cosmetics dont require much in terms of suspension.
Any wonder I have disliked the performance of my new vehicle since new.

Anyhow on with the show.
 
i am booked in at end of month to get an efs lift and suspension upgrade. b4 the bullbar goes on the front lift will be around 65mm, after closer to 35/40mm. im also getting air bellows so i can still get comfort springs in the back... otherwise ride will be no good for offroad.
 
Well there you go.
Tony how did the bar affect the standard suspension?

My Nav seems to sit fine at the front but settles some at the rear with the van on it. Then again, that's a loaded 60L Engel, 2x 50Ah deep cycles, Honda Eu20Si + 10L of fuel and assorted junk inside the tub, and 180Kg on the ball.

I actually think there might be more load on the ball than I'd thought, the load levelers are supposed to compensate for up to 250Kg but they don't give me the kind of lift I was hoping for. My rig isn't unstable, so they're doing enough, but the tail kinda sags a little. I've got a pic of the rig at Ulladulla, I'll try attaching it here.
 

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Amazing how we always drift back to suspension. Is this an inherent flaw in the navara or is it a universal issue?

Tony if you're running standard suspension (with load levellers) on your navara then I think you're doing pretty well. I guess suspension comes down to personal preference and your type of driving/off roading. For me it will mostly be beaches and gravel roads, I dont think I require extreme or heavy duty springs, mind you if SWMBO gets her way we'll have an off road camper trailer too. Hmmm....
 
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any other colour than white and you'd have to go colour coded, but anything other than black on a white car would look silly. IMO

And the front suspension is definitely 1 of the 2 biggest flaws, the other is lack of torque down low. but thats another issue.

cheers
 
I had "medium" rate Old Man Emu front coils in my D40 when I fitted the winch to my ARB Deluxe bar. Dropped the front end by and additional 5mm over the previous height. So I installed "heavy" front springs and how have the "medium" from coils for sale. With just the steel bar the "medium" coils were perfect - but those coils are of a higher rate than the factory coils, as well as being longer....

I shudder to think how much punishment the front end would take with the weight of a steel bar on standard suspension. Maybe for a short amount of time all would be fine, but over any length of time I suspect things would not be great for long. The front spring rates are, in my opinion, just not up to the task.
 

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