Bull bar (nudge bar)
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Introduction
Bull bars / nudge bars (terminology depends on a world region) are metal or plastic bars which are mounted in front of vehicle's front bumper or behind vehicle's rear bumper.
There are various designs, and most are aftermarket products.
Front bull bars (which mount in front of the front bumper) are much more common than rear bull bars (which mount in front of the rear bumper).
Read more about bull bars in this generic world Wikipedia article: "Bull bar".
The term "bull bar" is sometimes also applied to aftermarket-made metal "off-roader" front bumpers which entirely replace vehicle's OEM plastic bumper. This article does not deal with such bumpers.
A bull bar MUST NOT be used as an anchor when towing or recovering a stuck vehicle!! It will rip off very easily. Most bull bars also can't handle the weight of an idiot jumping on them.
Uses and purposes
Bull bars are a popular accessory on many 4WD vehicles, as they are closely associated with vehicle's perceived "ruggedness".
In some areas of the world (like Australia, Africa, Scandinavia etc.) bull bars actually have utilitarian purpose of defending the vehicle in case of collision with wild animals, which commonly roam around. However, in most cases they are just fashion accessories.
Most bull bars can be used as mounts for additional driving lamps, and that is very useful for Jimnys, as Jimny's factory plastic bumpers are useless on their own as mounting points for additional lamps.
Contrary to popular belief or impression, bull bars are actually undesirable' for off road use (in general case). Primary reason is that most bull bars mount onto the chassis below the bumper. That way, bull bars actually decrease vehicle's approach/departure angle and ground clearance. This issue is especially prominent in Jimnys with 2nd gen. front bumper, because that bumper already hangs quite low. A bull bar worsens this to the level of rendering the vehicle almost useless off road.
Having a bull bar on a vehicle is currently illegal in certain countries. The main reason is that most bull bars will adversely impact the fate of anything that collides with them.
Front bull bars
OEM Suzuki front bull bars
Suzuki even used to make 1st gen. and 2nd gen. front bumpers in special editions with integrated plastic bull bars.
Their primary purpose is fashion. They have hardly any practical function or use, except as "bump stoppers" in very mild collisions.
The availability of those front bumpers depended on a country.
It isn't known if these OEM plastic bull bars can be transplanted from one front bumper to another. Maybe they are bolt on, or perhaps they are glued-on, or even die-cast as a single piece with the bumper?
- OEM 1st gen. front bumper with integrated plastic bull bar - examples 1, 2 and 3
- Suzuki Jimny front bumper, 1st gen, with integrated OEM bull bar - A01.jpg
Example 1
- Suzuki Jimny front bumper, 1st gen, with integrated OEM bull bar - B01.jpg
Example 2
- Suzuki Jimny front bumper, 1st gen, with integrated OEM bull bar - D01.jpg
Example 3
- OEM 1st gen. front bumper with integrated plastic bull bar - example 4
- Suzuki Jimny front bumper, 1st gen, with integrated OEM bull bar - C01.jpg
Example 4 - view 1 of 3
- Suzuki Jimny front bumper, 1st gen, with integrated OEM bull bar - C02.jpg
Example 4 - view 2 of 3
- Suzuki Jimny front bumper, 1st gen, with integrated OEM bull bar - C03.jpg
Example 4 - view 3 of 3
- OEM 2nd gen. front bumper with integrated plastic bull bar - example 4
- Suzuki Jimny front bumper, 2nd gen, with integrated OEM bull bar - A01.jpg
Example 1 - view 1 of 3
- Suzuki Jimny front bumper, 2nd gen, with integrated OEM bull bar - A02.jpg
Example 1 - view 2 of 3
- Suzuki Jimny front bumper, 2nd gen, with integrated OEM bull bar - A03.jpg
Example 1 - view 3 of 3
Aftermarket-made front bull bars
Introduction
There are various designs of aftermarket-made front bull bars for Jimnys. Most use stainless steel, while some use ordinary painted steel.
It is assumed (but not tried) that a certain aftermarket-made bull bar can only be used with a certain OEM plastic bumper generation. The assumption is because the vertical length (depth) of 1st gen, 2nd gen and 3rd gen OEM plastic front bumpers differs significantly. So, an aftermarket-made front bull bar for 1st gen. OEM front bumper would probably collide with the bottom of the 2nd gen. OEM front bumper, because that bumper reaches much lower towards the ground than the 1st gen. front bumper. In the opposite case, the bull bar would probably fit, but its bottom would hang too low compared to the bumper.
- Here is an example of a demounted aftermarket-made front bull bar for Jimny's 1st gen front bumper.
Examples with 1st gen front bumper
Aftermarket-made front bull bars for 1st gen. front bumpers are the most common, as they are the oldest, before the laws and regulations regarding bull bars were "tightened".
- Aftermarket-made front bull bar over 1st gen. front bumper - examples 1, 2 and 3
- Suzuki Jimny front bull bar, over 1st gen front bumper - A01.jpg
Example 1
- Suzuki Jimny front bull bar, over 1st gen front bumper - B01.jpg
Example 2
- Suzuki Jimny front bull bar, over 1st gen front bumper - C01.jpg
Example 3
- Aftermarket-made front bull bar over 1st gen. front bumper - example 4
- Suzuki Jimny front bull bar, over 1st gen front bumper - D01.jpg
Example 4 - view 1 of 3
- Suzuki Jimny front bull bar, over 1st gen front bumper - D02.jpg
Example 4 - view 2 of 3
- Suzuki Jimny front bull bar, over 1st gen front bumper - D03.jpg
Example 4 - view 3 of 3
- Aftermarket-made front bull bar over 1st gen. front bumper - example 5
- Suzuki Jimny front bull bar, over 1st gen front bumper - E01.jpg
Example 5 - view 1 of 3
- Suzuki Jimny front bull bar, over 1st gen front bumper - E02.jpg
Example 5 - view 2 of 3
- Suzuki Jimny front bull bar, over 1st gen front bumper - E03.jpg
Example 5 - view 3 of 3
- Aftermarket-made front bull bar over 1st gen. front bumper - example 6
- Suzuki Jimny front bull bar, over 1st gen front bumper - F01.jpg
Example 6 - view 1 of 3
- Suzuki Jimny front bull bar, over 1st gen front bumper - F02.jpg
Example 6 - view 2 of 3
- Suzuki Jimny front bull bar, over 1st gen front bumper - F03.jpg
Example 6 - view 3 of 3
- Aftermarket-made front bull bar over 1st gen. front bumper - example 7
- Suzuki Jimny front bull bar, over 1st gen front bumper - G01.jpg
Example 7 - view 1 of 2
- Suzuki Jimny front bull bar, over 1st gen front bumper - G02.jpg
Example 7 - view 2 of 2
Examples with 2nd gen front bumper
Aftermarket-made front bull bars for 2nd gen. front bumpers are not so common, as the laws and regulations regarding bull bars became "tighter" during this era.
- Aftermarket-made front bull bar over 2nd gen. front bumper - examples 1, 2 and 3
- Suzuki Jimny - front bull bar, over 2nd gen front bumper - A01.jpg
Example 1
- Suzuki Jimny - front bull bar, over 2nd gen front bumper - B01.jpg
Example 2
- Suzuki Jimny - front bull bar, over 2nd gen front bumper - C01.jpg
Example 3
- Aftermarket-made front bull bar over 2nd gen. front bumper - example 4
- Suzuki Jimny - front bull bar, over 2nd gen front bumper - D01.jpg
Example 4 - view 1 of 3
- Suzuki Jimny - front bull bar, over 2nd gen front bumper - D02.jpg
Example 4 - view 2 of 3
- Suzuki Jimny - front bull bar, over 2nd gen front bumper - D03.jpg
Example 4 - view 3 of 3
Examples with 3rd gen front bumper
There are no known aftermarket-made bull bars for 3rd gen. front bumper (at least not in Europe). The reason is probably that EU laws and regulations got so strict by the time when 3rd gen front bumper was introduced in 2012, that bull bars became entirely illegal as new installations.
DIY-made front bull bars
- This is a (not to pretty) DIY-made front bull bar on a 1st gen. front bumper.
- DIY-made front bull bar over 3rd gen. front bumper - example 1
- Suzuki Jimny - front bull bar, over 3rd gen front bumper - A01.jpg
Picture 1 of 8
- Suzuki Jimny - front bull bar, over 3rd gen front bumper - A02.jpg
Picture 2 of 8
- Suzuki Jimny - front bull bar, over 3rd gen front bumper - A03.jpg
Picture 3 of 8
- Suzuki Jimny - front bull bar, over 3rd gen front bumper - A04.jpg
Picture 4 of 8
- Suzuki Jimny - front bull bar, over 3rd gen front bumper - A05.jpg
Picture 5 of 8
- Suzuki Jimny - front bull bar, over 3rd gen front bumper - A06.jpg
Picture 6 of 8
- Suzuki Jimny - front bull bar, over 3rd gen front bumper - A07.jpg
Picture 7 of 8
- Suzuki Jimny - front bull bar, over 3rd gen front bumper - A08.jpg
Picture 8 of 8
Rear bull bars
Introduction
Since all Jimnys use the same rear bumper (exceptions are some Japanese domestic models and some Brazilian models), any rear bull bar which was made for Jimnys should be compatible with any Jimny.
Note that most rear bull bars collide with the tow bar (specifically, with the tow neck and/or the tow ball). Therefore, most rear bull bars can not be used if the tow bar is already fitted, and vice versa. But there are always exceptions, like in one of the pictures below.
OEM Suzuki rear bull bars
As far as it is known, Suzuki has not produced an edition of the rear plastic bumper with an integrated plastic bull bar.
However, Suzuki did offer a rear bull bar made of metal tubes, very similar to aftermarket-made models. It was probably one such model which was endorsed by Suzuki. The model offered by Suzuki had a disclaimer in Suzuki's accessories catalogues that it can't be fitted together with a tow bar.
Aftermarket-made rear bull bars
- Aftermarket-made rear bull bar over rear bumper - example 1
- Suzuki Jimny - rear bull bar - B01.jpg
Example 1 - view 1 of 3
- Suzuki Jimny - rear bull bar - B02.jpg
Example 1 - view 1 of 3
- Suzuki Jimny - rear bull bar - B03.jpg
Example 1 - view 1 of 3
- Aftermarket-made rear bull bar over rear bumper - example 2
- Suzuki Jimny - rear bull bar - C01.jpg
Example 2 - view 1 of 3
- Suzuki Jimny - rear bull bar - C02.jpg
Example 2 - view 1 of 3
- Suzuki Jimny - rear bull bar - C03.jpg
Example 2 - view 1 of 3
- Here is an exception to the rule. Tow bar together with a rear bull bar. It was probably a tight match.
DIY-made rear bull bars
Add pictures of a DIY rear bull bar here if you have them.
Page last edited on 3/02/2017 by user Bosanek
