I have a 2008 JK Sahara 4 door and am looking to upgrade the front bumper. I see prices from 300 to 1000 range. I came across the ARB front bumper that is "air bag compatible". My questions is this, the other brands that are out there are not ? What the heck is the difference? Does that mean I will be safer with the ARB as opposed to another brand?


First time Jeep owner.

Thank you

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe ALL are compatible. ARB just advertises it. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I believe that is the case

 

You are correct. ARB just has a better marketing scheme .

 

They are all air bag compatible as the sensor isnt in the bumper anyhow. I think there is ONE other company (maybe Arb) that adds "crush cans" that are supposed to stops your air bags from deploying in a slow speed situation. Dont worry about it. There are guys one here (including myself) that have made bumpers and we have heard nothing of early air bag deployment.

 

I don't know about the JK but I do know a lot of passenger cars use speed sensors(speedo) to disable the air bags under 40 KM/H (25 MPH)to eliminate slow speed deployment. If you pull off your factory plastic bar you will see that there is a steel bar behind it, so putting an after market steel bar is just like having this without the plastic. It probably has more to do with pedestrian protection than air bags.

 

If they didn't serve a purpose, Jeep would not have put them in there. Period. They serve to absorb some of the impact in a low speed collision before the jeep itself does. My opinion would be why risk having the airbags deploy from something as unavoidable as having a Hummer back into their parking space fast and give your parked JK a serious knock? The accelerometers may not be intended to deploy until they sense say an 18mph crash, but the computer would be assuming the crush cans were in place. Seems at least possible that without them and a completely inflexible bumper you risk a deployment, that would pay for that extra $600 pretty quickly.

As far as the idea that "all of the bumpers are air bag compatible" then why don't they advertise them as such? Of the one and only thing one would want to leave stock, I would think airbags would have to be at or near the top of the list. Disable the ESP, you can drive more carefully. Remove the doors, you cross intersections with caution. Protect from a front end collision on a highway? 50% of it is up to somebody else.

 

Airbag sensor will work with any bumpers. AEV and ARB bumpers are the only one to incorporate the crush cans, which will prevent airbag deployment at very low speed by absorbing the shock.

 

jeep mech said airbag sensor is in the middle of the vehicle. best bet would be don't park near anny soccer moms in their hummers...and don't drive into anything with your new aftermarket bumper

 

Thus the ARB and AEV front bumpers are the true airbag compatible bumpers.

Simply safer.

 

heard the sensor is inside the vehicle and crush cans are supposed to reduce impact - but not sure how much 2 coffee cans will slow impact from a 3-5K vehicle?

check out the MOPAR bumper - most dealerships with give you a price well below aftermarket bumpers and the MOPARS look and perform great - no rubbing and they do have coffee cans.