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Much to do about Crashbars

Slick Rick

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I don't think these little bars would amount to anything in a catastrophic crash of a 5000 Lb. vehicle anyway. More along the lines of making the insurance companies happy than of any real value.
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Russ.Gil

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You're over thinking this or don't understand how they work.

It's a steel tube that's less than a foot long. Go under there and look. I think it was a 13mm socket that is needed. The bolts were torqued so take a breaker bar too.

I spent some time looking at them while I was working on a light bracket (the two bolts make a great mounting point by the way) and am impressed with the simplicity of the design. Its not the weight that makes them useful. Their shape, position, bracket mount, diagonal support, etc. is genius.

I watched crash tests (on here someplace) and wondered how the impact energy from a frontal collision would push the car sideways (good thing) to keep the energy from going all the way into the cab. Looking at the entire design shows how they work. Its a series of collapsible sections that would force an intrusion out as they collapse. Its really quite simple.

Good job Ford. I'm keeping mine.

I can also see how a tapered one would be beneficial and still work to some extent if it was clearanced for a larger tire.
Don't have my bronco otherwise, I would go look at them ;( lol thanks for clarifying though I like the idea of what others have said here with getting aftermarket ones. I probably won't remove them or do anything lift or wheels wise for a while after getting the vehicle anyways was just trying to get input from others and I appreciate yours
 
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Russ.Gil

Russ.Gil

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Look at the wheels in this photo.

Iā€™m leaving them on.


6716C7E8-ED19-4B38-AF9C-A6627694B115.jpeg
Oof, definately looks like it did something protective from this picture. I don't plan on pulling them and moding stuff as soon as I get it anyways. I'm gonna sit back and see how this all plays out lol. Thanks for sharing.
 

AK SNO RIDER

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from another thread. you can see the difference. looks like they are contain the wheel so it doesn't move too much and jam into the footwell. that being said, rear passengers most likely will not have their safety compromised with the crash bars removed. depending the impact, the driver and front passenger may.
Preventing wheel intrusion is exactly what they are for.
 

swooshdave

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These will have zero impact in the safety of anyone in the back seat. Lifting and bigger tires (than 35s) are a bigger risk as youā€™re changing the designed vehicle dynamics.
 

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Russ.Gil

Russ.Gil

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These will have zero impact in the safety of anyone in the back seat. Lifting and bigger tires (than 35s) are a bigger risk as youā€™re changing the designed vehicle dynamics.
Yea I wouldn't go bigger than 35s personally.
 

AllthePonies

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Good to know. Appreciate the input. So then it really is just a concern of "how much more safe is it to have them" I tried to find crash test comparison from the IIHS but it looks like they only tested the base w/o sas as far as I can find.
If I recall correctly, the value of the crash bars became clear when the crew cab F150s had them and the extended cab F150s did not. The crew cabs passed the crash tests with flying colors and the extended cabs did not. Ford added them to the extended cabs after the tests showed how much value they added.

The crash bars exist to ensure that the tires donā€™t end up getting pushed into the passenger compartment and crush the passengerā€™s feet and legs. I served on a jury with a younger guy who walked with a cane because that exact thing happened to him. I personally wouldnā€™t risk losing my mobility, even if itā€™s a low risk, but everyone is different.
 

1975U15

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Ford willingly pulls the crash bars for the Sasquatch option. If they thought countless lives would be lost and crash standards were inadequate, they wouldnā€™t have done it.

I might also add whatever protection the bars add (lower extremities it seems) itā€™s adults and adolescents primarily that ride up front. Or at least they should. Your daughters in a car seat in the rear.

I value my wife and two kids more than anything. I wasnā€™t the least bit concerned removing the crash bars.

My.02

Edit: I have more concern about the 50lb doors folding like a lawn chair in a side impact. There isnā€™t much there.
 

AllthePonies

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Ford willingly pulls the crash bars for the Sasquatch option. If they thought countless lives would be lost and crash standards were inadequate, they wouldnā€™t have done it.

I might also add whatever protection the bars add (lower extremities it seems) itā€™s adults and adolescents primarily that ride up front. Or at least they should. Your daughters in a car seat in the rear.

I value my wife and two kids more than anything. I wasnā€™t the least bit concerned removing the crash bars.

My.02

Edit: I have more concern about the 50lb doors folding like a lawn chair in a side impact. There isnā€™t much there.
Iā€™d recommend reading this: https://www.motortrend.com/news/for...s-major-safety-gap-between-body-variants/amp/

ā€œIIHS concluded that the SuperCab had a compromised survival space following the crash procedure.ā€

ā€œThe reason for the disparity between these two models has to do with protective steel tubular bars which are welded to the frame and positioned in the front wheel wells exclusively on 2015 Ford F-150 SuperCrew models. Those help the SuperCrew model survive the small-overlap test.ā€
 

Dave-O

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So I've seen a lot of people talk about removing crash bars to fit bigger tires and the sas supposedly doesn't even have them but I haven't seen really anyone answer or ask this question.

Is it safe?

I mean, I'd love to throw a 2in leveling kid on my BL 4d with 35s when I get it but it's a well known fact from everything I've seen that doing so will require removing the crash bars. My biggest concern with that is 1 how will it effect the ride and potential tipping hazard with those removed (no idea what each bar weighs and if it's significant enough to keep the bronco down) and 2 how effective are they as a safety device if the sasquatch doesn't even come with them? As someone who intends to use this as his daily driver and for deep woods backpacking/camping trips and the like I want to know my family will be safe if I remove those. Does anyone have any thoughts/answers?
I understand the concern, especially if you have kids to worry about. That being said, 4WP and probably some one else offer aftermarket versions designed to fit 35ā€™s
 

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OMG really ? Here you go took me about 5 seconds to google this.... If you think you are safe because of that flimsy piece of metal, well...

 

bbarnshaw

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I get that. But how thick is the gage? Hollow steel and still weigh a decent amount. Have you removed them? Do you know how thick and heavy they are? If you have please share.
I removed mine for 35's. They are maybe 4-5 lbs each and only 7-8 inches long. I can't see how this little piece of metal adds any protective functionality. I am very risk adverse in general and had no issues with them being removed.
 

1975U15

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Iā€™d recommend reading this: https://www.motortrend.com/news/for...s-major-safety-gap-between-body-variants/amp/

ā€œIIHS concluded that the SuperCab had a compromised survival space following the crash procedure.ā€

ā€œThe reason for the disparity between these two models has to do with protective steel tubular bars which are welded to the frame and positioned in the front wheel wells exclusively on 2015 Ford F-150 SuperCrew models. Those help the SuperCrew model survive the small-overlap test.ā€
Thanks. Interesting. But Mike Levine was quoted in article and he said itā€™s all good and Fordā€™s the best. Based on that alone, crash bars stay removed. šŸ˜‰
 

Cmptn845

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I get that. But how thick is the gage? Hollow steel and still weigh a decent amount. Have you removed them? Do you know how thick and heavy they are? If you have please share.
Here are some photos. They are meant to prevent the tire/rim from smashing into the frame in a crash. I think the 35's have enough width to safely have the crash bars removed. I might be mistaken but I believe all badlands 33's and SAS do not have crash bars. But I could be wrong on that.

PXL_20210511_002423100.jpg


PXL_20210511_002418468.jpg
 

AllthePonies

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Thanks. Interesting. But Mike Levine was quoted in article and he said itā€™s all good and Fordā€™s the best. Based on that alone, crash bars stay removed. šŸ˜‰
:ROFLMAO: Iā€™ll go with the IIHS chief research officer here. This was a bit of a black eye for Ford. They didnā€™t anticipate having both models tested.
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