4WD Bullbars

Bullbars act as a mounting point for spotlights, aerials and winches, as protection when colliding with animals that may unexpectedly cross roads, and to some degree improving the look of the vehicle. When it came to choose a bullbar for the Pajero I basically had 3 choices. Steel bullbar, alloy bullbar or alloy nudge bar.

Steel Bullbars

Steel bullbars are the strongest without question as both a mounting point and for collision protection, plus they look like they mean business which is a good look for a four wheel drive. The big downside is the weight. With a lot of extra weight hanging off the front of the vehicle there can be an effect on front suspension, steering, stopping and handling. Fuel consumption can also be effected both with air flow drag as well as the extra weight requiring that little bit more fuel to move around. Full bullbars are also more expensive than nudge bars. If I was doing a lot of high speed driving on outback roads particularly at dusk or early morning when animals are often on the road the negatives would be less important.

Alloy Bullbars

Alloy Bullbars look much the same as steel but are significantly lighter. They are not quite as strong but are a very good compromise. They also have the advantage of being rustproof. For tougher applications like winching the steel bullbars are probably better as well. I found is hard to find an alloy bullbar that looked right on the Pajero though since they mostly have some curves and angles that look out of place in my opinion.

Nudge Bars

Being a newcomer to the 4wd scene I decided on the alloy nudge bar option, to keep the weight, drag and cost down but still provide some protection for the radiator and a place to mount spotlights and aerials. I spent about $700 and got a genuine Mitsubishi nudge bar installed which I think looks great. I think the genuine one matches the lines of the vehicle much better than some of the slightly cheaper non-genuine models. I expect that in time I will replace the nudge bar with a bullbar however it is the right thing for my use of the vehicle for now.

Home

4WD specifications

• Factory Specs

4WD Accessories

• Bullbars
• Spotlights
• Sidesteps
• Roofracks
• Cargo Barriers
• Bash Plates

4WD Modifications

• LPG Conversion
• 4WD Tyres
• 4WD Suspension

Camping

4WD Destinations

• Fraser Island
• Moreton Island
• Bribie Island
• Bigriggen
• Landcruiser Mountain

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