Grille Bar/Push Bar

[Nagloc68]

Q: Does anyone have any experience/thoughts on the effectiveness of these as small Bull Bars for protection? (see photo)

Background:
I have been exploring Grille Bars for my 2013 GMC Yukon XL. I read the few posts on the forum,but these don't seem to be that popular amongst forum members. Maybe this tells me something!

Not many choices available as most brands, e.g., Setina, have stopped manufacturing for my model year, which is understandable. Most second hand bars do not come with mounting hardware and the brands no longer sell mounting kits either; plus I have not yet found one that fits my car. Westin continues to sell a new full coverage grille bar, bolt on, which I actually like, but there are also several options in the smaller versions that protect mainly the center bumper, often referred to as Bull Bars, see photo sample. Does anyone have any experience/thoughts on the effectiveness of these as protection? I am not interested in looks alone. I grew up in Australia where the "roo bar" was standard issue on most vehicles regularly driving country roads, for protection of car and driver if you hit a kangaroo (if you hit one, there was a tendency for the roo to bounce over the hood and land in the drivers lap - very dangerous, and the roo bar would help deflect the animal). Seriously. I am doing a lot of rural driving in the US and am looking for some additional protection. Thanks in advance for reading another post. Regards
GC

 

[Marky Dissod]

I have been exploring Grille Bars for my 2013 GMC Yukon XL. I read the few posts on the forum, but these don't seem to be that popular amongst forum members.
Maybe this tells me something.

Says more about the members' preferences than much of anything about the equipment.
What are you most concerned about hitting?

 

[intheburbs]

Well, let's just say there's a reason why insurance adjusters call them "damage multipliers." A bolt-on brush guard/push bar isn't going to protect your vehicle from anything.

Now, if you're talking about a 450-lb Road Armor bumper, then yes, that might prevent some damage.

 

[Nagloc68]

The biggest concern would be deer. I spend a lot of time in central/southern IL and we have a lot of deer!

 

[mikez71]

I am skeptical that a bull bar would deflect a deer much more than the bumper would.
But maybe considering the bumper is shock absorbent...

The one time I saw a car hit a deer, it was going the opposite direction on the highway in central illinois.
A pontiac grand am I think.. The deer flew ~25 ft up into the air, twirling around like a piece of cardboard.

 

[Marky Dissod]

The one time I saw a car hit a deer, it was going the opposite direction on the highway in central Illinois.
A Pontiac grand am I think. The deer flew ~25 ft up into the air, twirling around like a piece of cardboard.

Unfortunately that's not quite what happens when a GMTxxx suv's/pickup truck's much flatter front face hits a deer.

Impact occurs at 02sec.

 

[mikez71]

They killed bambi!

I wonder what damage was done.
Looks like there is a pushbumper in that video.

 

[Marky Dissod]

Usually a pushbumper makes it less likely for the deer to go UPward or into the windshield.

 

[JoeBlobs]

The one time I saw a car hit a deer, it was going the opposite direction on the highway in central illinois.
A pontiac grand am I think.. The deer flew ~25 ft up into the air, twirling around like a piece of cardboard.

This happened to me in a lowered GS300. Hit my hood at around 45 mph and must have been airborne for 20 yards before it hit the ground and ran off. Hood was destroyed as well as all the metal for the latching mechanism. Took a LONG time to straighten out and lock correctly.

I know I should, but I don't worry much about deer in the 'ol girl. My push bar (Setina style) may at the least keep the airbags from going off in a deer situation, of course this is completely speculative.

 

[Marky Dissod]

I know I should, but I don't worry much about deer in the 'ol girl. My push bar (Setina style) may at the least keep the airbags from going off in a deer situation,
of course this is completely speculative.

What worries me most is antlers coming thru the windshield. Airbags can't stop antlers.
As bad as I feel for the poor deer/doe, better to run over it vs it getting thru the windshield.

 

[Nagloc68]

Coming over the hood into the windshield is my big concern as mentioned in an earlier post. The video is a great example of what happens. Thanks for posting. I have a few items before a push bar, but I will keep looking for a used bar that fits.

 

[Marky Dissod]

Think I'd prefer an NYPD-style, minimalist-type pushbumper - minimum amount of steel, just enough to hold on to strategically placed semi-stiff rubber.
2ndary benefit for police depts is it makes the front slightly less round, which makes it easier to push other vehicles around when needed.
2ndary benefit for civilians is it makes deer less likely to go up onto the hood, as the previous video shows.