As much as I hate the Federal government in so many ways, vehicle safety is a big thing, and it is something they do well. About 40,000 some people die each and every year in the United States alone. That is what, one person every 7-8 minutes? It is a big deal. The United States has among the lowest rates of traffic fatalities per mile driven in the entire world. It isn't by chance or coincidence. It is by federal law, and excellent engineering.

When you are talking about a collision there is more to it than just a sensor, and it really doesn't matter where it is located in the car in any way whatsoever. What matters is what the sensors read, and how that information is assembled in the vehicles airbag computers and software. The software is designed for the stock vehicle, and ANY change to the vehicle is going to have some sort of effect on the vehicles behavior in a collision. The front bumper in particular is going to have a big effect. Ignore the crush cans if you wish, but the way that the front bumper reacts to an impact without them is relevant as well. If the bumper doesn't crush at all as would be expected they might deploy early, if it crushes too slow, they might deploy too late. We aren't talking about a couple of minutes, or a couple of seconds. The airbags need to be completely deployed in milliseconds.

My question is, IF the other bumpers are all "airbag compatible" and just as good, WHY aren't they labeled as such? What does a label cost? Considering it is just type, the true cost is actually $0.00. So why not? This stuff isn't as simple as "it fits, so it works fine", car manufacturers spend millions upon millions making their cars safer. Teams of engineers work on these problems alone.

You are taking a chance changing from stock period, changing to an aftermarket bumper engineered by people who take into consideration the factory bumpers crush characteristics and the factory safety design is still a risk. Changing to a bumper drawn up and welded by a guy who's only real knowledge is that it physically fits on the Jeep is risky business. What qualifications does the guy have to make the statement that it will work fine? Seriously. I hate to get agitated by it, but it is just silly. The fact that you put an aftermarket bumper on and the jeep doesn't instantaneously explode doesn't prove a damn thing.

 

I'm with you, but do you think that all aftermarket front bumpers might pose a saftey hazard that affects the airbag deployment adversely or just the ones that don't retain the crush cans?

 

I dont disagree that there are a lot of calcs & engineering that goes into them. I do understand your point about a lot of factors coming into effect. No arguement from me at all.

I just dont agree that having the cans in place makes any bumper any more or less safe than the next. In reality what are the chances of hitting the actual can? those two little cans in two small seperate places on the vehicle being hit simultaneously and directly forward is, IMO quite small.

There are plenty of pictures and evidence floating around here to "prove" either side. So to me that is moot.

I am not just a backyard hack tossing a lump of steel on my jeep and calling it good. I work in engineering & i am no stranger to safety or using a calculator to prove a point, but IMO it is just that. perfect calcualtions in a perfect world under perfect conditions. After nearly 25years of working around theory & reality, I looked at the evidence on both sides, weighed the options with an informed decision...
...and promptly threw my stock bumper in the dumpster.

But that is MY opinion based on MY experiences & I am in no way trying to tell people what to do, what is safe, or what is even right, it is simply what i chose to do. If i for one nanosecond thought i was endangering the life of my baby girl riding in my Jeep, i wouldnt have done it. I simply do not believe this minor piece added to my bumper to get it to squeek by some government mandate is effective. The chances of it actually getting hit in the way some engineer designed it to be hit in a perfect situation to me, are cosmicly (and comicly) small.

To me, this debate is no different than Synthetic vs. Dino. Everyone has thier own opinion, and we can argue it until people are no longer friends, it ultimately comes down to personal choice/decision. I made mine, everyone else can make thiers as they see fit, then we all go wheelin'

 

Amen to that;-)

 

Easy answer: Because it offers a lot more selection in front end bumpers, that's why.

Why don't companies that make "air bag compatible" bumpers be honest and say: "Air bag crush can compatible?" Because they want to place doubt in the purchaser's mind about the safety of bumpers that aren't "air bag compatible." At least those other companies are not obfuscating.

You make quite a leap--one that manufacturers that chose to advertise as "air bag compatible" want you to make: The other bumpers are not air bag compatible, and will lead to compromise of the performance of the air bags during a critical accident. Of course, there's no truth to that.

 

I have been reading this thread carefully and have come to the conclusion that the crush cans are just a federal mandate.

For me this argument stands until someone shows some objective evidence that proves the crush cans worth.

Now, I want to believe that the crush cans do work, but I have no evidence just my gut feeling.

 

those crush cans are for when you're not paying attention and texting at the toll both on the Jersey TP and you creep fwd and bump into a prius.
Seriously though, If you do get an aftermarket bumper (w/ no crushcans) and get in an accident the sensors would register as a harder impact (quicker rate of deceleration) and fire a millisecond sooner. It's still going to fire on time. Am I explaining it well?

 

Any change from a stock JK to a modified JK can change various safety features. If you lift a Jeep you are no longer keeping your front bumper low enough for most collisions to hit the crush cans since most vehicles are so much shorter. You also are changing the roll characteristics if you lift the vehicle which could affect the side impact air bags. There are just so many variables in each accident that it is impossible to say how each modification could, should, would affect the outcome. If you follow this logic you would just buy a stock JK and never modify it for fear of something happening.

 

That has always been my thinking every time I read that a particular company's bumper is "air bag compatible." Testing costs money. Big money. I doubt that ARB has provided vehicles for crash testing in any bumper configuration, much less in every bumper configuration for every application.

 

You are on the $$$$! You are so right. So what in the hell are we worried about. This thread is insane! :-0