Rebar safety (Any S14 experts?)
 

Hi Revscene, so I'm in a little bit of a dilemma at the moment and I need some advice.

Thing is, I acquired a ING+ jdm front bumper for my 98' S14 240sx, since my old version select bumper got ruined by the previous owner.. But when I brought it to the bodyshop they told me it wouldn't fit. The reason was because the usdm reinforcement bar is alot bigger than the jdm one due to stricter regulations in America..

Big rebar seen in pic (circled in blue): http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ol2/rebar1.jpg

In order to make my bumper fit, they need to remove the rebar, which I think protects the car in case of a front end collision. So the question is, has anyone been in my situation before.. and what did you do? Or will it be okay to remove this bar? Thanks



EDIT: So removing the rebar is a no go, does anyone know if a jdm rebar would help AND fit onto a usdm s14?

if it were me, i wouldnt take the chance

Would the bumper fit if you have a jdm rebar??
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Cut the rebar?
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I don't think you need to remove the entire thing, you can trim down the rebar

Yup so after talking with my neighbor that owns a kitted S13, came to conclusion that removing the rebar entirely is a bad idea, as ICBC won't cover you if you don't have one.

Jdm rebar is a good question, does anyone know if getting one would help my situation?

Same goes for trimming the usdm rebar.

..... have you thought about trimming the bumper instead.....

That was actually the first thing, and it would be impossible to do because of the area of the bumper that wouldn't fit.

Also after giving some though I would rather use a JDM rebar if -possible-?

So does anyone know if getting the jdm rebar will make a difference, and if it does will it bolt on to my usdm s14? Thanks.

Also where to buy one would be a big problem too lol

cheaper to fab one yourself. lotsa local places that'll do custom work.

pretty sure AMTmachine shop could give you a good deal on custom fabbed re bar.

Get someone to do up a bash bar for you and attach it to the original bumper-struts. You'll get mad jdm points at the same time!

ask the dudes at rise. they know their s14s

jdm rebar is basically nothing.

there are two very small "nubs"? that come out of the frame rails, and then a super flimsy bumper support for the bumper to rest on. you can bend that with your hands. There is like a gap the size of that front mount between the supports.

I drove without re-bars. You're going to notice almost all aftermarket bumpers don't fit with re-bars.

I suggest you find the jdm brackets and possibly ask Rise how they do their S14s like someone said above

ive seen people just fabricate their own rebar using steel tubing. Dont know what ICBC would have to say about it, but it would be a lot safer than cutting it off

Thanks for all the posts, I'll look into either trimming the rebar or getting a custom one done. Maybe someone could forward this post to rise and see what they have to say :P

Trim + Gusset.
The body shop should be able to do it.
Doesn't need to have a full string of weld. Just a few intermittent welds should be fine.

get yourself some JDM rebars. it's not gonna protect the car very much in the case of an accident, but it's the risk you run for running a fancy bumper.

a bigger USDM rebar probably won't protect you that much better than a JDM one, and here's why:

many many import cars of yesteryear have bigger rebars compared to their JDM counterparts mostly because of low speed impact regulations. they are mostly built to satisfy repair cost thresholds in the case of a low speed impact. the bigger rebar can absorb and dissipate impact force better, so it doesn't cost insurance companies as much to repair. this is why we didn't get cars like the EVO for so many years. the FMIC would surely get damaged ($$$) in a parking lot fender bender. however, in higher speed collisions (40kph+) this will mean that the bigger rebar is gonna directly send all the crashing force into the frame rails. which is gonna ruin the frame rails for sure. kind of a stupid way of thinking way back. but hey, money rules all.

I don't know if a USDM rebar is going to protect you any better in a 50kph+ accident. the crashing force should be absorbed by the crumple zones pretty good. However, with the JDM rebars your car is probably going to get written off for sure. it's all a risk you gotta evaluate in the end.

i donno man...i would try not to touch the rebar if i was you...i mean safety > look?

im sure that DOT/SAE has done enough testing to say that a rebar will possible stop the engine block from sitting in your lap in the case of an avg MVA.:speechless:

Nismoparts.cc. I get most of my OEM replacement from them. They are in WA.

http://www.nissanparts.cc

Call them up and see if they have it. They have the most selection of JDM OEM stuff in northwest. Reasonable price as well.

Otherwise, you can trim and reinforce your rebar.

.............
Thats what Engine Mounts + the firewall is for..

We fab up plenty of rebars for apps like this

About how much would that cost? And how strong would it be compared to oem?

I wouldn't want to be sitting in your passenger seat.....and I would pitty the fool who would.....

Do some detailed research on REBARs..then comeback at me with some knowledge.